Our sales leader and marketing director spend every Level 10 Meeting blaming each other for missed revenue targets, turning IDS into an endless trial over lead quality. How do we force them to stop litigating the past and align on lead conversion?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When sales and marketing spend their time finger-pointing, it means they view themselves as heads of competing fiefdoms rather than members of one leadership team. Cracks at this level appear as massive canyons across your entire go-to-market pipeline. Your job is to dismantle their defensive silos and force them into shared accountability.

First, stop letting them litigate historical grievances during your Level 10 Meeting. When an issue surfaces around revenue, do not allow a debate over who failed last month. Shift the conversation to the root cause using IDS. Define the exact metric that is off track and establish shared, unambiguous definitions for a qualified lead and an acceptable conversion rate. If both leaders do not agree on the criteria, that definition is your immediate issue to solve.

Second, tie their Scorecard measurables together. If marketing is only measured on total leads generated and sales is only measured on closed revenue, they have zero structural incentive to collaborate. Marketing must own lead quality and pipeline velocity, while sales must own pipeline conversion and stage compliance. Put both numbers on the weekly leadership Scorecard.

Finally, demand a First Team mindset. Their primary team is the leadership team, not their departmental staff. Remind both leaders that if the company misses its revenue target, neither department is successful regardless of their internal metrics. If they cannot set aside personal egos to build a unified pipeline, you have the wrong people in the seats.