If you’re convinced your marketing team should magically prove every dollar spent comes back as revenue, you’re probably also still waiting for your first unicorn hire.
Attributing marketing efforts to real business growth is messy, not mathematical. Everyone wants to believe you can track every campaign directly to the bottom line. In reality, even the sharpest teams run into roadblocks: unclear goals, misaligned sales and marketing, and leadership expecting marketing to work miracles without giving them the steering wheel or the gas.
And I’m just going to say it: there are a TON of C-level execs who are not educating themselves enough on the power of a strong brand, let alone marketing in general.
For this reason they treat it like a tactic instead of a strategy. When you do this, you start looking at how much you’ve spent rather than how much you’ve invested. Building a brand will grow sales more than dialing for dollars. It’ll also help with retention.
However, the problem is that building a brand takes time and you won’t see the ROI right away, but it’s no different than putting in the reps to build muscle and endurance. It all takes time and consistency that so many businesses overlook.
Only 52% of senior marketing leaders can actually prove marketing’s value and receive credit for its contribution to business outcomes. Almost half of CMOs say marketing is still viewed as an expense instead of a strategic investment.
Truth is, most companies are operating blind, stuck in a loop of lead gen and gut feelings, missing out on the kind of growth that only comes from getting marketing and business strategy truly aligned.
Here’s what you’ll take away from this post:
- The real red flags in B2B marketing that keep teams spinning their wheels
- How to set up goals and measurement so marketing finally gets credit for what actually works
- Tactical ways to align marketing, sales, and leadership for pipeline that drives real revenue
Ready to cut through the noise and fix what’s really broken? Let’s get into it.
Start at the Top: Aligning Marketing With Business Goals
If you want marketing to drive real business growth, every strategy, channel, and campaign must connect directly to measurable business outcomes.
The days of running “awareness” campaigns with no clear purpose or end goal should be over. When marketing is aligned with company goals, it becomes a growth engine not just a cost center.
Use OKRs to Create Real Alignment
Organizational and departmental goals need to be set with absolute clarity. This is where OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) come in. Think of your business objectives as your map, and each department as a vehicle getting you to revenue and retention, which are your final destinations.
Here’s an example:
- Company Objective: Increase annual recurring revenue (ARR) by 20 percent, going from $10 million to $12 million by year-end.
- Key Results: Add $2 million in new business by year-end and improve customer retention from 85 percent to 90 percent.
- Marketing Objective: Generate enough qualified pipeline to support 40 percent of the company’s new revenue goal, or $800,000 in new ARR.
- Key Results: Generate 400 new qualified leads per quarter from target ICPs; launch three demand generation campaigns per quarter focused on accounts most likely to buy; increase lead-to-opportunity conversion rate by 10%.
When you tie every campaign, content piece, and dollar spent back to these OKRs, marketing becomes measurable and accountable.
Sales and Marketing Alignment: Commission Should Follow Contribution
It is not enough to hand off leads and hope for the best.
Marketing and sales need to work as a single unit, with shared accountability for revenue. If marketing is expected to drive meaningful pipeline and enable sales, it makes sense for marketers to share in the upside.
If marketing’s work is helping close deals, commission should follow contribution. This changes the dynamic from finger pointing to true collaboration.
The Lead Volume Trap: Why Finger Pointing Happens
One of the biggest red flags in B2B marketing is when teams obsess over lead volume but have no idea how many of those leads turn into real pipeline, let alone closed revenue.
Tracking lead volume is only useful if you also measure what percentage of those leads turn into qualified opportunities and then closed-won or closed-lost deals.
Without this data, you end up with endless finger pointing between sales and marketing, with each side blaming the other for missed targets.
So instead, track leads all the way through the funnel. Know your conversion rates, and always ask why deals are won or lost.
The goal is not more leads, but more of the right leads that turn into real revenue. That’s alignment worth investing in.
Red Flags I’m Seeing Everywhere in B2B Marketing
A lot of B2B marketing teams are surrounded by red flags they either ignore or excuse as “just how things are done.”
The result is wasted budgets, friction between teams, and a lot of running in place instead of moving forward.
Here’s what I see over and over:
AI hype vs. reality
The tech world wants you to believe AI is the answer to every problem, but the reality is much more nuanced. AI can speed up repetitive tasks and help you scale, but it is not a substitute for sharp strategy or real human connection.
Human oversight is still required. If you do not have smart people guiding your AI, you will just automate mistakes faster.
AI should be instilled to do the following:
- Repetitive tasks. Think pulling lists, segmentation, taking ideas and organizing them, taking copy and making it sharper, etc.
- Replace a specific function NOT do everything.
- Be a think partner around data analysis and ideas.
- Creating and running more robust workflows than your typical marketing automation 3-5 sequence flows that are general and not personalized.
Marketing budgets are being cut, and fear is driving the bus
I am seeing more companies slash their marketing budgets or pause programs because of economic nerves or AI confusion. The companies that treat marketing as an investment, not a cost, are the ones who keep growing market share.
The ones who pull back out of fear end up stuck in a cycle of hiring more sales reps, blaming marketing for lack of results, and reacting to trends instead of making data-driven decisions.
More specifically, this is about being proactive with your strategic initiative company-wide not just in short term wins like getting reps to buy lists and cold call or email.
Marketing only works as well as the people and decision-makers behind it
No tech stack can save you from poor leadership or teams without clear authority.
The impact of marketing is directly tied to the skills, accountability, and courage of the people who run it and the executives willing to let them make bold, strategic calls.
I do believe that marketing continues to face issues where other senior leaders feel that they’re top rated marketers and should be cooks in the kitchen too. There are opinions and clear authority but the responsibility again falls on marketing.
And when things don’t go as planned, it’s also marketing’s fault. See how siloes get created and perpetuated?
Give your head of marketing the authority and responsibility. Stop overpowering every decision then pointing the finger when results are dire.
Content chaos
Companies are churning out endless content, but most of it does nothing to help sales or actually guide buyers.
If your content is not making your customer the hero or driving the buyer journey forward, you are just adding more noise. Great content clarifies, builds trust, and proves you understand your audience better than anyone else.
Lead gen obsession
Obsessing over the number of leads instead of the quality or conversion is a trap.
It is not about adding names to a list; it is about how many of those leads turn into real pipeline and closed revenue. Demand gen is about meaningful, qualified engagement, not vanity metrics.
I don’t get why more companies are not looking at things like:
- Of the number of new leads we got in this month from marketing, how many have led to meaningful conversations?
- How many leads are moving into pipeline opportunities?
- How many pipeline opportunities are closed-won? Closed-lost?
- Where in the buyer journey do we see the biggest gaps? Objections? Friction?
- How can we as a team work together to make interactions with our brand feel more seamless and natural?
How to Get It Right: My No-Nonsense Playbook
If you want to build real pipeline and revenue, it’s time to simplify and get brutally honest about what actually works.
Here’s how I approach it with clients who want to see marketing move the needle.
Align every tactic to a business objective and measurable outcome.
Every move you make should tie back to a clear business goal. If it cannot be measured, it is not worth your time.
- Tie every campaign, piece of content, and channel to revenue or retention.
- Use OKRs to create direct accountability for business results.
- Ditch activities that exist only to “check the box.”
Make your buyer the hero, not the bystander.
Your prospects want to see themselves winning, not just hear you brag about your features.
- Center customer pain points and outcomes in all your messaging.
- Showcase real customer stories and results.
- Use language that says “we get you” instead of “look at us.”
Build for the full buyer journey, not just top-of-funnel noise.
Attention means nothing if you do not nurture it into real conversations and closed revenue.
- Create content for every stage: awareness, consideration, decision, and post-sale.
- Equip sales with tools and content to keep the conversation moving.
- Don’t stop at first touch; keep adding value long after the deal is signed.
Run creative tests within clear boundaries, using data and feedback.
Experiment, but do it with intent.
- Know exactly what you are testing and why.
- Use data and feedback from your actual market to make decisions.
- Cut losing tactics quickly and double down on winners.
Go organic-first and make it a company-wide habit.
Trust and reach are built in the open, not behind paid campaigns or just within marketing. I believe as much as humanly possible, every single senior leader should be active on LinkedIn and pushing out content.
- Encourage every team member to share insights and stories online.
- Build organic authority before spending big on paid.
- Amplify what works with ads, not the other way around.
Obsess over channel performance and retention.
Every channel you use should earn its place.
- Track what is driving real pipeline and customer loyalty.
- Drop what is not working, even if it used to.
- Regularly review channel performance and make bold cuts.
Track the metrics that matter: qualified pipeline, conversions, and real conversations.
If you cannot tie it to pipeline and/or revenue, question why you are tracking it at all.
- Focus on pipeline generated, not just leads.
- Watch conversion rates at every funnel stage.
- Measure quality sales conversations, not vanity engagement.
What Sophisticated Buyers Want Now
B2B buyers are sharper, more skeptical, and more self-directed than ever before.
In fact, 70% of a typical B2B purchase decision happens before a buyer ever contacts a sales rep. They rely on online content, peer networks, and trusted resources to guide their process and they expect you to keep up.
If you want to win their trust and business, you need to show up in a way that actually matters to them.
- Personalized, relevant content is a must. 64% of B2B buyers say they are more likely to engage with vendors who provide tailored, relevant information at every stage of their journey.
- Buyers want to feel understood. Don’t we all? Start with writing copy that feels more like you’re at coffee with a friend and providing them legit advice. Nobody wants to feel like a number so humanize your approach.
- Trust is built with proof, not hype. Case studies, testimonials, and data-backed results have more influence than product features alone.
- Consistency and presence matter. How you show up matters. It’s not just when the sale is happening or when the renewal is due. Building solid relationships with your customers and prospects will grow your business. It’s simple but not easy.
- Context is critical. Buyers expect you to anticipate where they are in their journey and provide the right information at the right time.
- Quality beats volume. This is my beef with lead gen. It’s typically such a volume game and number to hit that the quality suffers, which ultimately affects pipeline and revenue.
- Buyers distrust empty promises. They want specifics, transparency, and a clear sense that you understand their world.
Focus your energy on building real relationships and delivering value before you ever ask for the meeting. When you do, you turn your content into an engine for trust and pipeline
Final Thoughts
B2B marketing isn’t a game of volume or vanity.
The teams that win are the ones who anchor every tactic to real business outcomes, align marketing and sales around shared goals, and keep their buyers (not their egos) at the center of the story.
If you want to grow your pipeline and actually close deals, focus on building trust, delivering real value, and executing with relentless consistency.
And finally, the companies that treat marketing as an investment, not an expense, will keep winning market share long after the rest have cut their budgets and blamed the economy.
If you’re ready to cut through the noise and actually see your marketing drive business growth, let’s talk. You know where to reach me.