We have always run Marketing and Sales as a single seat on our leadership team, but our lead generation is stalling and our sales pipeline is inconsistent. How do we determine if it is time to split these into two separate seats on our Accountability Chart?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Combining Marketing and Sales into a single seat is common in early-stage companies, but as you scale, this structure often leads to a conflict of priorities. Marketing focuses on long-term brand awareness, market education, and lead generation, while Sales focuses on short-term relationship building, pipeline management, and closing deals.

To decide if it is time to split these seats, look at your current leadership team member's GWC. Often, a leader who is highly skilled at managing a sales team and closing deals lacks the patience or technical expertise required to manage digital marketing campaigns, AI automation, and brand strategy.

Look at the Kolbe A index profiles for both functions. A great Sales leader often has a high Quick Start profile, thriving on immediate action and human interaction. A modern Marketing leader, especially one running tech-enabled operations, needs a higher Fact Finder and Follow Thru score to analyze data, map out customer journeys, and manage complex marketing tech stacks.

If your current leader is struggling to give equal attention to both disciplines, you must split them on your Accountability Chart. Define five distinct roles for the Sales seat and five distinct roles for the Marketing seat.

Both seats will still report directly to the Integrator, ensuring they remain aligned. Splitting these functions allows each leader to focus entirely on their specific discipline, resulting in a cleaner, more predictable customer acquisition engine that increases your overall valuation.