In our previous blog, I explained why your Sales and Marketing teams should be combined to form a single and united business function. I also discussed the benefits of doing so and outlined the actions that you need to take to make this happen in your business.


Here at Ask Marketing, we firmly believe that your Marketing and Sales teams should be so intertwined that there is no clear point at which your Marketing ends and your Sales begins – making the sales journey a more seamless process for your prospects along the way.

You can brush up on our previous article Why your Sales & Marketing Teams should merge and how to unite them here.

Today, in this follow-up article, I will discuss the three exact metrics you can use to determine how successfully your Sales and Marketing teams are working together.

Together, these three metrics have proved to so many of our clients that this is not simply a hypothetical or academic approach, rather it’s highly practical and earns remarkable results.

According to HubSpot, organisations with tightly aligned Sales and Marketing teams saw 27% faster profit growth and 36% higher customer retention. 56% of these companies also met their revenue goals and 19% exceeded them.

Okay, so now that you’re all up to speed, let’s discuss these three key metrics in more detail.

1. Initial Lead Call > Proposal Sent CVR


This first metric is about understanding the percentage of initial lead calls your team conducts that end up converting into a proposal being sent.

The higher the percentage, the more this proves that your Sales and Marketing teams are working harmoniously together to attract highly qualified leads.

Keep in mind that the initial lead call does not happen until after the lead has been educated and qualified by marketing.

2. Proposal Sent > Client Won CVR


The next metric focuses on the number of proposals being sent that successfully convert the prospect into a client.

It’s important to understand at this point that you should not be sending proposals until you have a verbal commitment from your lead. Your proposal should act as a digital contract between you and the prospect who has effectively already decided to come on board. There should be no surprises in your proposals as everything should have been covered verbally already.

This metric shows the depth of integration between your Sales and Marketing teams, as Marketing has worked to educate the client and Sales has explained all the finer details before they put pen to paper.

If you get this step right, it will also drastically reduce the cost of building and sending proposals.

3. Total Leads > Client Won CVR


This final metric measures the number of clients that you have won as a percentage of the total leads that have come into your business.

In this case, a lead refers to anyone who has booked in for their first call or touchpoint with your Sales team.

Of course, this metric sits across your entire customer journey, so the percentage will be a lower, rolling figure – but it is a great indication of how well your Sales and Marketing teams are working together across the board.

Without these metrics, you cannot effectively measure the efficacy of your pipeline

If you’re not measuring each of these metrics in your service-based business, you’ll have no idea what the conversion rate of your pipeline is – meaning you cannot expect to gain the full advantage of merging your Sales and Marketing teams.

That’s why it’s so important to implement these metrics into your organisation going forward.

For more, check out our previous blog or watch our latest LinkedIn Live event, where we discuss exactly how to build your B2B pipeline in 2023.

Of course, if you are interested in learning more about how to align your Sales and Marketing teams’ core mission, how to bring them together as a united function, or how to understand the pieces of content that you need to further improve your customer journey, Ask Marketing can help you.

Do you need help building these metrics into your Sales and Marketing function?

All you have to do is Ask!

At Ask Digital Marketing, we combine decisive digital strategy and managed marketing execution to help B2B service-based businesses build demand, establish thought leadership and own their industry through digital business marketing.

Stop waiting. Start building. Experience success.

Just get in touch with us and we can discuss your business to help you navigate the digital marketing landscape towards success.

Let’s harness the power of digital marketing today!

For more great marketing content, connect with our company leaders, Alexandra King and Stephanie King, or follow our Ask Marketing LinkedIn page.

Alexandra King

Ali has a proven track record of aligning with commercial business objectives and translating research into key insights that result in exceptional marketing strategies, online user experiences and positive financial results.