Aligned to Achieve: How to Unite Your Sales and Marketing Teams into a Single Force for Growth

Crack the Code to Rocketing Business Growth

Aligned to Achieve challenges the status quo of marketing and sales operating in disharmony and prescribes an empirically supported framework to completely align the revenue teams, from lead generation to closing.

Fast–paced, intelligent, and written for practical implementation, this evolutionary guidebook for the busy, forward–moving executive provides a tangible, repeatedly successful approach to unifying sales and marketing on messages, goals, data, and processes. Competition in the business–to–business space has evolved rapidly with advances in technology, and organizations that don′t update obsolete growth strategies will fail. The market is crowded, and differentiating a brand to hold a buyer′s limited attention requires a consistent, seamless journey through every purchase. This inspiring guide gives you everything you need to make it happen.

"Austin and Eiler offer a wonderfully fresh perspective through their paired marketing and sales voices. They′re empowering our industry to move the dialog forward with the insights and concepts they′ve shared in Aligned to Achieve."
Phil Fernandez, CEO of Marketo

"Written by two of the brightest sales and marketing leaders in b–to–b, Aligned to Achieve covers proven strategy and pragmatic tactics together in an easy–to–read format. Highly recommended for all revenue generators who want to increase the effectiveness and ROI of their efforts moving forward."
Matt Heinz, President of Heinz Marketing

"The importance of sales and marketing alignment has been talked about for years but rarely acted upon. Aligned to Achieve provides the foundational ′why′ sales and marketing must align, which is supported by fact–based research conducted by the authors. More than just theory and fluff, you will find specific, actionable steps your organization can take now to align across the board. This book is required reading for all sales and marketing leaders and their CEOs."
Barbara Giamanco, Author of The New Handshake: Sales Meets Social Media

Foreword xi

Chapter 1 Why Align? 1

Misalignment Stalls Your Path to Growth 2

Misalignment Leads to Mistrust and Hostility 3

Here s What We ve Seen and Why We re Devoted to Changing It 5

Misalignment Is Getting Worse and Here s Why 13

What It Takes to Align 15

What to Expect from This Book 18

Chapter 2 Get Those Cultural Obstacles out of Your Way 19

Alignment Must Be a CEO–Driven Initiative 20

Recognize Your Differences as You Build Your Alignment Strategy 25

Get Ready for These Common Objections to Alignment 34

Translating Culture into Growth–Driving Behaviors 42

If You Do Nothing Else About Culture, Do These Things 45

Chapter 3 Build Alignment into Every Process 47

Process Is Where Your Culture Hits the Road (It s a Bumpy One) 48

Creating Your Customer Engagement Strategy 48

Alignment Process Fundamentals 52

Don t Just Change Processes, Rebuild Them to Support Alignment 54

If You Do Nothing Else About Process, Do These Things 71

Chapter 4 An Aligned Organization Requires a Different Kind of Leader 73

Is Alignment Obvious or Is It a Stretch Goal? 74

Attributes of an Aligned Leader 75

What Makes a Good Leader in an Aligned Organization? 87

If You Do Nothing Else About Leadership, Do These Things 92

Chapter 5 Data Is the Great Equalizer of Alignment 93

More Data from More Sources 94

Data Is the Currency of Growth 99

Determining Data s Value 102

Maintaining Your Data s Health 106

Establish Your Starting Point 107

Data s Role across the Customer Journey 112

Data Is the Great Equalizer 117

If You Do Nothing Else About Data, Do These Things 118

Chapter 6 Push Alignment Beyond Sales and Marketing and into the CIO s Office 119

Technology Is Shifting Faster than You 120

View Technology as a Tool, Not a Silver Bullet 123

Technology Should Support Your Data Strategy 123

Keep Your Eye on Alignment 125

Building an Alignment–Optimized Tech Stack 130

Getting Your Budget In Order 135

Remember That Technology Should Enable, Not Detract 135

Where IT Fits in an Aligned Organization 136

Collusion Is Such a Dirty Word, but It Works 140

If You Do Nothing Else About Technology, Do These Things 141

Chapter 7 Cracking the Code of Alignment 143

Uncovering the Roots of Misalignment 144

Challenges to Alignment 146

What Separates Alignment Leaders and Laggards 147

At Least We Can All Be Friends 153

If You Do Nothing Else About Understanding Your Misalignment, Do These Things 155

Chapter 8 Leading–Edge Concepts for Reaching Complete Alignment 157

Prepare for What s Next 158

Prediction #1 The Rise of the Consultative Seller 159

Prediction #2 Millennials Have a Major Impact 161

Prediction #3 Cross–Training Becomes Imperative 162

Prediction #4 Academia Catches Up 166

Prediction #5 Marketing Compensation Gets Tied to Pipeline 166

Prediction #6 Account–Based Everything Becomes a Top Priority 167

Prediction #7 Customer Data Strategy Rises in Importance 170

Expect Alignment to Continue Its Expansion 172

Prepare Your Team for Tomorrow, but Start Cheering Them on Today 173

If You Do Nothing Else About Alignment, Do These Things 174

Acknowledgments 177

Index 179

TRACY EILER has been driving marketing strategy at technology companies for 25 years. She is the chief marketing officer at InsideView, where she leads the company′s end–to–end marketing strategy to help sales and marketing leaders grow revenue. Tracy was recently named a B2B Demand Marketing Game Changer, and included in the Top 20 Women to Watch in Sales Lead Management, and Top 30 Most Influential Women in B2B Marketing Technology.

ANDREA AUSTIN has been building high–performance, customer–focused teams that capture sustainable growth for over 20 years. She is the vice president of enterprise sales at InsideView, where her passion for collaboration fosters a climate that inspires sales and customer success teams to challenge the status–quo. Andrea has been named a leading sales mentor by Women in Sales North America.