Team Alignment
Break down silos. Create shared goals, SLAs, and collaboration frameworks across revenue teams.
⏱️ TL;DR: Alignment requires shared definitions (MQL, SQL, etc.), SLAs between teams, joint planning sessions, and unified metrics. Start with an ICP workshop and build from there.
The Alignment Problem
Without alignment, teams optimize for different goals:
- Marketing: "We generated 1,000 MQLs!"
- Sales: "These leads are garbage."
- CS: "Sales keeps closing bad-fit customers."
Everyone hits their targets, but revenue suffers.
Step 1: Align on ICP
Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) alignment is the foundation.
ICP Workshop Agenda
- Analyze best customers: Who are your top 20% by revenue and retention?
- Identify patterns: Industry, size, tech stack, org structure
- Document anti-patterns: Which customers churned or struggled?
- Create ICP document: Shared, written criteria
💡 Include All Teams
Marketing knows what converts, Sales knows what closes, CS knows what retains. You need all perspectives.
Step 2: Shared Definitions
Every team must use the same vocabulary.
Essential Definitions to Align
| Term | Definition (Example) |
|---|---|
| Lead | Any identified contact with email |
| MQL | Lead scoring threshold reached (>50 points) |
| SQL | Sales-accepted with budget, timeline, authority |
| Opportunity | Active deal in pipeline with defined value |
| Customer | Closed-won deal, contract signed |
⚠️ Document Everything
Verbal agreements aren't enough. Write definitions in a shared wiki/doc that everyone can reference.
Step 3: SLAs Between Teams
Service Level Agreements create accountability.
Marketing → Sales SLA
- Marketing commits to: X MQLs/month matching ICP criteria
- Sales commits to: Follow up within 4 hours, provide feedback on lead quality
Sales → CS SLA
- Sales commits to: Complete handoff doc, intro call within 48h of close
- CS commits to: Onboarding kickoff within 5 days, share expansion signals
SLA Template
- What: Specific deliverable or action
- When: Time-bound commitment
- Who: Responsible person/team
- How measured: Metric to track compliance
- Escalation: What happens if SLA is missed
Step 4: Joint Planning
Alignment isn't a one-time event. Build recurring touchpoints.
Planning Cadence
| Frequency | Meeting | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | Revenue Planning | Goals, targets, resources |
| Quarterly | GTM Review | Strategy adjustments |
| Monthly | Revenue Sync | Performance, pipeline, issues |
| Weekly | Lead Review | Quality, handoff, feedback |
Step 5: Unified Metrics
The most important alignment: shared metrics.
North Star Metric
One number everyone is accountable for. Examples:
- ARR growth
- Net Revenue Retention
- New logos closed
Supporting Metrics
- Marketing: Pipeline generated ($), MQL-to-SQL rate
- Sales: Win rate, average deal size, sales cycle
- CS: Retention rate, expansion revenue, NPS
📊 Show Impact
Marketing should track pipeline/revenue, not just MQLs. Sales should track retention of their deals. Connect each team to downstream results.
Common Alignment Challenges
Challenge: "Marketing leads are low quality"
Solution: Define MQL criteria together. Create feedback loop. Sales must document rejection reasons.
Challenge: "Sales won't follow up on leads"
Solution: SLA with time commitment. Track follow-up rates. Tie to compensation.
Challenge: "CS blames Sales for churn"
Solution: Include CS in ICP definition. Create customer fit score. Sales incentive on retention.
Alignment Checklist
- ☑️ ICP documented and agreed
- ☑️ Shared definitions for Lead, MQL, SQL, etc.
- ☑️ Marketing → Sales SLA in place
- ☑️ Sales → CS SLA in place
- ☑️ Regular cross-functional meetings scheduled
- ☑️ North star metric identified
- ☑️ Each team's metrics tie to revenue