If you work in B2B sales or marketing, you know the drill: sales says the leads are junk, marketing says sales can’t close, and everyone’s annoyed. Meanwhile, deals creep along at a snail’s pace. If you’re tired of the “blame game” and want to actually speed up your deal cycles, this guide is for you.
Let’s cut through the noise and get specific: Here’s how to use Getrafiki to get marketing and sales on the same page—so you close more deals, faster (and spend less time in pointless meetings).
Why Sales and Marketing Get Out of Sync
Let’s be honest: alignment gets a lot of lip service, but not much follow-through. Here’s why things usually fall apart:
- Different goals: Marketing’s measured on leads, sales on revenue.
- Siloed data: Each team has their own tools, spreadsheets, and “truth.”
- No feedback loop: Marketing rarely sees what happens to leads after handoff.
- Vague definitions: What’s a “qualified lead,” anyway? Ask five people, get five answers.
The result? Slow deals, missed targets, and a lot of finger-pointing.
What Actually Matters for Faster Deal Cycles
Before you jump into yet another tool, let’s get real about what moves the needle:
- Shared visibility: Everyone should see the same pipeline and lead data.
- Real feedback: Sales should tell marketing what’s working—and what’s not.
- Clear definitions: Agree on what a qualified lead looks like. Document it.
- Fast handoffs: Leads shouldn’t sit in limbo or get lost between teams.
Most alignment tools promise the moon, but deliver a dashboard you check once a month. If you want faster deal cycles, you need actionable info, not another status report.
Step 1: Get Both Teams Looking at the Same Data
First up: kill the silos. Getrafiki can pull together data from your marketing campaigns, CRM, and sales activities—so everyone’s looking at the same numbers, not fighting over whose spreadsheet is “right.”
How to set it up:
- Connect your marketing platforms: Plug in sources like HubSpot, Google Ads, or LinkedIn.
- Connect your sales CRM: Sync Salesforce, Pipedrive, or whatever else you’re using.
- Map your funnel stages: Make sure both teams agree on what each stage actually means.
- Build shared dashboards: Create a single view where marketing and sales can track lead status, pipeline, and conversion rates.
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate this. Start with the basics: number of leads, qualified leads, opportunities, and deals closed. Fancy attribution models can wait.
What works:
Teams stop arguing over “whose numbers” are correct. You get a real-time picture of what’s happening, without digging through 12 tabs.
What doesn’t:
If your data is messy to begin with, no tool will save you. Clean up your CRM and campaign tracking first, or you’ll just automate the chaos.
Step 2: Define (and Actually Use) Your Lead Scoring Rules
This is where most teams get tripped up. If marketing thinks a lead is “hot” just because they downloaded a PDF, but sales wants a booked demo, you’ll never agree on what’s qualified.
How Getrafiki helps:
- Set up lead scoring based on real signals (page views, demo requests, job title, etc.).
- Use historical deal data to tweak the scoring rules—don’t just guess.
- Automatically flag leads that meet both teams’ criteria.
How to do it:
- List out your “must-have” lead signals: What actions or attributes actually predict a deal? (Be honest, not aspirational.)
- Build your scoring model: Weight the factors that matter—ignore the rest.
- Test and refine: Review closed deals and lost deals every month. Adjust your scoring as you go.
Pro tip: Don’t try to build a perfect model from day one. Start simple. You can always add more nuance later.
What works:
When sales and marketing agree on what a “good lead” looks like, handoffs get faster and nobody’s wasting time on junk.
What doesn’t:
Over-engineering. If your lead scoring looks like a NASA checklist, nobody will trust it (or use it).
Step 3: Automate the Lead Handoff (and Track What Happens Next)
The “black hole” between marketing and sales is where deals die. Getrafiki can automate alerts, assignments, and follow-ups—so leads don’t get lost, and everyone knows what’s happening.
Here’s how to use it:
- Automatic notifications: When a lead hits your qualified threshold, sales gets pinged right away (email, Slack, whatever works).
- Instant assignments: Route leads based on territory, product interest, or rep availability.
- Track follow-up: See if (and how quickly) sales actually reaches out.
What you should care about:
- Response times: Are reps following up within minutes, or letting leads go cold?
- Conversion rates: Which campaigns and lead sources actually turn into deals?
- Drop-off points: Where do leads stall out in the funnel?
What works:
Automating the handoff cuts out the guesswork and finger-pointing. You can actually measure if leads are being worked—and where things break down.
What doesn’t:
If you automate bad processes, you just make mistakes faster. Make sure your handoff rules are clear and agreed on before you flip the switch.
Step 4: Build a Real Feedback Loop (Not Just Monthly Reports)
Alignment isn’t a one-and-done checklist. You need real feedback, fast, so both teams can fix what’s broken.
How to use Getrafiki for this:
- Pipeline insights: See which lead sources and campaigns are generating deals, not just MQLs.
- Deal outcome tracking: Tag why deals are won or lost—pricing, timing, competitor, etc.
- Commenting and notes: Sales can leave feedback on lead quality right in the tool, so marketing gets context (not just hears complaints in the hallway).
How to keep it useful:
- Set up a short, weekly review (15 minutes tops) to look at the latest data together.
- Focus on what’s actionable. Don’t turn this into a blame session.
- Adjust campaigns, scoring, or messaging based on real feedback.
What works:
Closing the loop means you can fix mistakes quickly, double down on what’s working, and stop guessing about why deals stall.
What doesn’t:
If feedback just sits in a dashboard and nobody acts on it, nothing changes. Keep it simple and keep moving.
Step 5: Keep it Simple, Then Iterate
No tool, including Getrafiki, will magically fix misalignment overnight. The key is to start simple, get both teams using the same playbook, and adjust as you go.
Here’s how to keep from overcomplicating things:
- Start with one or two key metrics you both care about (like qualified leads and closed deals).
- Add more complexity only when you’ve nailed the basics.
- Review results together every week or two—don’t wait for quarterly “alignment summits.”
A few things to ignore:
- Overhyped AI “insights” that nobody trusts.
- Vanity metrics (website visits, social likes) that don’t tie to revenue.
- Fancy integrations you’ll never actually use.
Summary: Don’t Wait for “Perfect” Alignment
Sales and marketing alignment isn’t a one-and-done project, and it doesn’t need to be complicated. With a tool like Getrafiki, you can cut the noise, focus on what actually matters, and start closing deals faster—without endless meetings or finger-pointing.
Start small, keep it honest, and tweak as you go. Forget perfection; just aim for a little better every week. That’s how you win.