Pipeline planMarketing and sales alignment in B2B: the SLA, shared definitions and weekly review that make demand generation work
Marketing and sales alignment in B2B comes from four mechanisms, not from workshops: one shared pipeline target, written definitions of a qualified lead and an opportunity, a two-way service level agreement on volumes and follow-up times, and a weekly review where both teams look at the same CRM report. Add a shared target account list, and demand generation stops producing leads sales ignores and starts producing meetings sales asked for.
Key takeaways
- Give marketing and sales one pipeline number, not separate lead and bookings targets.
- Write the definitions: qualified lead, accepted lead, opportunity, sourced and influenced.
- Make the SLA two-way: marketing commits volume and quality, sales commits follow-up time and feedback.
- Hold a 30-minute weekly review on one CRM report, not on two decks.
- Agree the target account list together and refresh it every quarter.
Why alignment breaks
Misalignment is usually a design problem. Marketing is measured on leads, sales on bookings, and the handoff between them has no owner. Marketing sends volume, sales ignores what does not look ready, and both teams report numbers that are true and useless.
Buying behaviour makes the gap worse. Gartner reports that buyers spend only 17% of their buying time with potential suppliers, and that buying groups include six to 10 decision makers. Most of the journey happens where neither team is looking, so the handoff has to be designed around accounts and evidence, not one form fill.
The four mechanisms
| Mechanism | What it is | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Shared target | One pipeline number both teams report against, split by sourced and influenced | CRO or CMO |
| Written definitions | Qualified lead, accepted lead, opportunity, sourced, influenced, recycled | Marketing operations and sales operations |
| Two-way SLA | Volumes and quality from marketing, follow-up time and feedback from sales | Both leaders |
| Weekly review | 30 minutes on one CRM report: accepted rate, meetings, opportunities, reasons for rejection | Demand gen lead and sales manager |
What goes in the SLA
- Marketing commits: a number of qualified leads or meetings per month by segment, with the fit criteria written down.
- Sales commits: first follow-up within an agreed time, such as one business day for demo requests, and an accept or reject decision with a reason.
- Both commit: a recycle path for leads that are not ready, with nurture owned by marketing.
- Account plays: for Tier 1 accounts, marketing supports named opportunities with ads and content to the buying committee, and sales shares which accounts and roles matter.
- Review: the SLA is checked in the weekly meeting and revised every quarter.
The weekly review
- Open one CRM report, filtered to the last seven days and the quarter to date.
- Check volumes against the SLA by segment.
- Check follow-up times and the accept rate.
- Read the rejection reasons and decide one change to targeting or offers.
- Review target accounts that showed buying activity and agree who acts.
- Record decisions in the CRM or a shared note, not in someone’s memory.
What to look for in an agency
An agency that supports alignment will ask to see your rejection reasons and follow-up times in the first week, will report against sales-accepted pipeline rather than raw leads, and will join the weekly review. If an agency only reports to marketing, it will optimize toward what marketing measures. PlanConversion is one of the agencies in this market, so read this as a buyer checklist, not a ranking.
Frequently asked questions
What is a marketing and sales SLA?
A written agreement on what marketing delivers (qualified leads or meetings, with fit criteria) and what sales does with them (follow-up time, accept or reject with a reason), reviewed weekly and revised quarterly.
Should marketing have its own pipeline target?
Report sourced and influenced pipeline for marketing, but tie both teams to one shared pipeline number. Separate targets with different definitions are the root cause of most misalignment.
How fast should sales follow up on demo requests?
Agree a time in the SLA and measure it. Many teams aim for the same business day for demo requests. What matters most is that the time is written down, tracked and reviewed.
Who should own the handoff between marketing and sales?
Marketing operations or RevOps should own the rules and the report; the sales and marketing leaders own the SLA itself.
Related service: RevOps and marketing operations. See also pricing and client results.
We run enterprise B2B demand generation for teams in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and the United States.
