Sales and marketing alignment is no longer a luxury for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs)—it’s a necessity. When these two departments operate in harmony, businesses experience improved lead quality, higher conversion rates, and increased revenue. Yet, many organizations still struggle to bridge the gap between these critical functions. This compilation of 30 up-to-date statistics sheds light on the current state of sales and marketing alignment, its benefits, challenges, and future trends.
What Is Sales and Marketing Alignment—and Why It Matters Now
Sales and marketing alignment refers to the collaborative process where both teams work together toward shared goals, exchange insights, and coordinate strategies to drive business growth. This synergy ensures a seamless customer journey from first touch through close. Why does that matter?
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Companies where sales and marketing are highly aligned have 19% faster growth and 15% more profitability.
(Source: Forrester, A Sales Executive’s Perspective on Alignment: Outdated Stereotypes, Pipeline and Revenue Goals for Marketing)
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When sales departments prioritize alignment with marketing, they are nearly 300% more likely to exceed new customer acquisition targets.
(Source: Gartner, Gartner Survey Finds Aligning Commercial Functions as Sales Leaders’ Top Priority for 2023)
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$1 trillion is the cost to businesses each year when sales and marketing are misaligned.
(Source: Harvard Business Review, Are Your Marketing and Sales Teams on the Same Page?)
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85% of sales and marketing leaders say alignment between their departments is the largest opportunity for improving business performance.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
The Business Case: How Alignment Fuels Growth, Revenue, and Retention
The numbers don’t lie—when sales and marketing are on the same page, the results are impressive. This section explores how alignment directly contributes to key business outcomes like revenue growth, improved lead conversion, and stronger customer retention.
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Sales professionals at companies where sales and marketing are aligned are 103% more likely to exceed their goals compared to those at organizations without that alignment.
(Source: HubSpot, Sales Trends Report 2024)
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39% of sales reps say what’s needed to get higher quality leads from marketing is alignment between the departments on goals and strategies.
(Source: HubSpot, Sales Trends Report 2024)
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Stronger alignment between sales and marketing can lead to a 65% increase in converting target accounts into qualified pipeline opportunities.
(Source: Influ2, The State of Sales and Marketing Alignment in 2025)
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B2B organizations can outperform their competition by 50% in revenue growth by unifying their commercial strategies and engaging multiple stakeholders across each customer account.
(Source: Gartner, Gartner Survey Finds Aligning Commercial Functions as Sales Leaders’ Top Priority for 2023)
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62% of respondents say their sales and marketing teams define qualified leads differently—a disconnect that often results in inefficient and ineffective customer engagement.
(Source: Gartner, Gartner Survey Finds Aligning Commercial Functions as Sales Leaders’ Top Priority for 2023)
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Companies with aligned sales and marketing teams are 67% better at closing deals.
(Source: Marketo, Jumpstart Revenue Growth with Sales and Marketing Alignment)
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When sales and marketing teams are aligned, companies see 208% more value from marketing with 108% less friction.
(Source: Marketo, Jumpstart Revenue Growth with Sales and Marketing Alignment)
The Misalignment Trap: Where Sales and Marketing Break Down
Despite the benefits, many businesses still struggle to align their sales and marketing teams. This section highlights common pitfalls that prevent true collaboration—and the hidden costs that come with operating in silos.
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65% of sales and marketing professionals believe there is a lack of alignment between the sales and marketing leaders in their organizations.
(Source: Forrester, The Truth About B2B Sales And Marketing Alignment)
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96% of sales and marketing professionals agree that their departments don’t measure success using the same metrics.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
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97% of sales and marketing professionals report their departments plan two different processes for engaging with customers and do not cooperate on pipeline growth.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
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97% of sales and marketing professionals say marketing creates content without sales’ input, and that it’s too product-led versus the customer problem to be solved, and it also does not help the buyer through the buying journey.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
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93% of sales and marketing professionals do not see themselves as active partners in participating in each other’s planning process.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
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47% of marketers say they are challenged in trying to align content efforts across sales and marketing.
(Source: Content Marketing Institute, Technology Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025)
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59% of sales pros say the leads they’re getting from marketing are high quality.
(Source: HubSpot, Sales Trends Report 2024)
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47% of organizations cite having separate funnels as the top reason for misalignment.
(Source: Gartner, The Sales and Marketing Relationship in 2023)
Breaking Silos: Building a Culture of Cross-Team Collaboration
Achieving alignment starts with intentional collaboration. From tools and processes to shared goals and meetings, these statistics show what successful companies are doing to build bridges between sales and marketing.
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78% of sales pros say their CRM is effective at improving sales and marketing alignment.
(Source: HubSpot, Sales Trends Report 2024)
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86% of marketing professionals spend their efforts on accounts that sales is targeting.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
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51.9% of sales and marketing leaders are actively working on improving collaboration between their teams.
(Source: MarketingProfs, The State of Marketing and Sales Alignment in 2025
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72.2% of aligned teams say regular joint meetings improve communication and coordination.
(Source: Marketing Alliance, The current state of marketing and sales alignment)
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77.8% say integrated tools that centralize and share data can improve alignment between marketing and sales.
(Source: Marketing Alliance, The current state of marketing and sales alignment)
Looking Ahead: What’s Next for Sales and Marketing Synergy
As the lines between sales and marketing continue to blur, the future lies in deeper integration and smarter strategies. Here’s a look at where alignment is heading—and what forward-thinking SMBs can do to stay ahead.
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54% of B2B marketers say there is some synergy between marketing and sales revealing both a tipping point and an opportunity.
(Source: LinkedIn, 2024 B2B Marketing Benchmark)
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90% of sales and marketing professionals agree that when initiatives and messages are aligned, the customer experience is positively impacted.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
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53% of marketers are hoping to use intent data to align sales and marketing.
(Source: Mixology, Intent-based lead generation)
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Sales professionals who leverage sales enablement content are 58% more likely to exceed their targets compared to those who don’t.
(Source: HubSpot, Sales Trends Report)
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61% of sales pros say alignment is more important than it was last year.
(Source: HubSpot, Sales Trends Report)
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87% of sales and marketing leaders say collaboration between sales and marketing enables critical business growth.
(Source: LinkedIn, Moments of Trust)
“The key to aligning sales and marketing isn’t just strategy—it’s data. When both teams are working from the same high-quality insights, they can target smarter, act faster, and close more deals together.”
— Beth Powell, Senior Director of Marketing, Salesgenie
These statistics make it clear: aligning your sales and marketing teams is one of the most impactful moves an SMB can make. From stronger conversion rates and customer retention to improved collaboration and data use, alignment unlocks growth. Businesses that act now will gain a significant edge over competitors still stuck in silos.
Ready to Align Your Sales and Marketing Teams?
Salesgenie can help your business find and connect with the right audience—together. Let’s talk about how high-quality data can drive more aligned marketing and smarter sales outreach.
