The AI Sales Process Map: The Ten-Stage Sales Process Framework

The AI Sales Process Map: The Ten-Stage Sales Process Framework

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

Sales leaders today often fall into the trap of using artificial intelligence tools randomly rather than systematically. This sporadic usage is like owning a Swiss Army knife but only using the bottle opener; you miss out on ninety percent of the available value. AI’s real power comes not from isolated tools but from integrating capabilities across every stage of your sales processes. When mapped correctly, AI accelerates every interaction, shortens sales cycles, and makes revenue generation more predictable.

Random AI adoption leads to inconsistent results. Some reps use it effectively, while others revert to manual methods under pressure, resulting in uneven performance. Systematic AI integration, however, compounds improvements across the entire sales cycle. Data captured at one stage strengthens the next, creating a virtuous cycle of sales success that is scalable, measurable, and sustainable. The outcome is not just faster deals, but stronger business acumen and more consistent revenue management.

The ten-stage AI sales process framework provides a structured way to apply AI:

  1. Prospecting,
  2. Outreach,
  3. Qualification,
  4. Scoping,
  5. Presentation,
  6. Economic Buyer meetings,
  7. Validation Events,
  8. Proposals,
  9. Closing,
  10. Onboarding/expansion.

Each stage leverages AI differently, from intent data analysis in prospecting to AI-driven customer success monitoring post-close. Integration ensures that research informs outreach, discovery guides scoping, and validation improves proposals. By connecting the entire workflow, sales teams gain predictable processes and continuous optimization opportunities.

Process-based implementation builds competitive advantage. Competitors can replicate isolated AI tools, but systematic integration across sales strategies and sales management creates a differentiated approach that scales with growth. Consistency across the team reduces dependency on individual skill differences, enhances messaging, and strengthens value selling.

The measurement framework behind this approach ensures continuous improvement. Stage-specific conversion rates, velocity metrics, and data quality indicators guide refinements. Weekly reviews, monthly AI effectiveness assessments, and quarterly adjustments keep teams aligned while maximizing ROI from AI investments. Over time, these optimizations compound, creating a performance engine that drives long-term revenue generation.

The future of B2B sales isn’t choosing between humans and AI. It’s humans amplified by AI. Let’s build that future together.

If you’d like to explore this topic in more depth, there’s a podcast episode that covers all of this information and more. You can find the link to the episode here and consider subscribing to the podcast AI Tools for Sales Pros on your favorite podcast player.

Hiring for Growth: How to Build a Sales Team That Drives Long-Term Success

Hiring for Growth: How to Build a Sales Team That Drives Long-Term Success

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

Building a successful sales team requires more than just filling open seats with available candidates. Company leadership must strategically align its hiring process with business objectives, market needs, and long-term goals. 

Whether you’re a solopreneur transitioning to a team-based approach or a CEO managing a growing sales force, the principles of intentional recruitment and onboarding remain the same. Hiring the right people is an investment in the future of your business.

One of the most common pitfalls in sales hiring is a lack of intentionality. Too often, small businesses hire out of convenience, choosing candidates from their immediate network or taking the first person who seems interested. While this approach may solve an immediate need, it rarely leads to long-term success. 

Hiring a salesperson means selecting someone who can actively drive growth and represent your brand with competence and integrity. The stakes are even higher when you’re working with a lean team; every hire matters, and mediocrity is not an option.

To avoid these missteps, it’s essential to approach hiring with the same rigor you apply to your sales process. Think of recruiting as a parallel to securing a high-value client. Just as you wouldn’t sell your product without qualifying leads or understanding their needs, you shouldn’t hire without a structured process to evaluate candidates. 

Begin by defining what success looks like for the role. What skills and attributes are non-negotiable? What specific outcomes do you expect this person to achieve within their first 90 days? A clear job description and measurable KPIs set the foundation for finding the right fit.

Cultural alignment is another critical factor. Your salespeople are the face of your business to prospects and customers. Their ability to embody your company’s values and mission can make or break the customer experience. A candidate might have a stellar track record, but if their approach clashes with your team’s culture, the partnership is unlikely to succeed. At the same time, skills and experience must align with the specific demands of the role. For instance, if your goal is aggressive market penetration, you need a hunter mentality, someone skilled in building relationships from scratch and closing deals in uncharted territory.

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – How Sales Leaders Use CRMs to Align Sales Processes, Value Selling, and Revenue Management – Episode 152

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – How Sales Leaders Use CRMs to Align Sales Processes, Value Selling, and Revenue Management – Episode 152

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey build on last week’s discussion of qualification methodologies and take the conversation further—into how these frameworks should live inside your CRM. From aligning sales processes with the buyer’s journey to enforcing accountability at each stage, this conversation offers practical strategies that every sales leader and salesperson can implement. Expect a deep dive into sales management, revenue generation, sales processes, and how value selling thrives when marketing and sales teams work in sync.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Why your CRM is the right home for qualification methodologies (00:48)
  • Best practices for embedding qualification questions into sales processes (02:01)
  • How sales leaders enforce discipline and consistency across teams (03:18)
  • Eliminating Excel spreadsheets and consolidating data for effective revenue management (05:12)
  • Aligning marketing collateral with sales strategies to support qualification and value selling (06:00)
  • Real-world stories of late-stage deal failures caused by missing buyer-side approvals (10:21)

Key Quotes

  • Kevin Lawson (05:12): “Oh, please, oh, please evacuate Excel spreadsheets from your solution guide… For the purposes of this discussion, we want to strenuously avoid having third-party apps disconnected from your system.”
  • Sean O’Shaughnessey (10:40): “There is nothing worse than missing your quarterly number because you didn’t know how they were going to buy… Knowing the paperwork process is the difference between celebrating the win and missing your commission check.”
  • Kevin Lawson (14:10): “Having a qualification methodology mapped into your CRM, aligned with a buyer’s journey and supported by marketing resources, gives you a fully wrapped system that prevents that dreaded CEO call asking, ‘What’s the status of that deal?’”

Additional Resources

A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast

Embed your qualification methodology directly into your CRM, tied to each stage of your sales process.

Don’t let critical deal information reside inside spreadsheets or Word docs; configure your CRM so progression requires those qualification questions to be answered. This not only improves sales accuracy but also enhances revenue management, ensures consistency across your team, and creates alignment with marketing resources to drive value selling.

Summary

This episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales is a must-listen for anyone serious about building sustainable sales success. Sean and Kevin reveal how sales strategies such as qualification methodologies come to life when fully integrated into CRM-driven sales processes. You’ll learn why sales management must prioritize data consistency, how business acumen prevents late-stage deal disasters, and how aligning messaging between sales and marketing fuels stronger revenue generation. If you want practical insights on improving your sales processes and elevating your organization’s performance, download this episode today and start putting these best practices to work.

Turning Around Sales Performance: Strategies for CEOs and Sales Managers to Foster Internal Alignment

Turning Around Sales Performance: Strategies for CEOs and Sales Managers to Foster Internal Alignment

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

Navigating a sales turnaround isn’t just about fixing numbers; it’s about transforming the business. It’s about realigning expectations, rebuilding internal trust, and creating a structured, sustainable path forward. 

If you’re a CEO, sales manager, or a key salesperson in your organization, the pressure to reverse a sales slump can feel overwhelming. However, the truth is that turnarounds aren’t made in a sprint; they’re built through clarity, consistency, and effective communication.

Too often, sales leaders make the mistake of focusing only on the downward trend. They get caught up in the urgency of the numbers and forget that the real challenge lies in managing upward, setting expectations with executive leadership, and aligning them with reality. 

If your sales team is underperforming, your internal stakeholders are your new audience. Just as with external prospects, you need to manage their expectations with a clear, actionable plan.

The process starts with a shift in mindset. 

Instead of viewing upper management as critics, think of them as clients. What do they need to believe in this turnaround? What information do they need to trust your leadership? Start by building a high-level outline. Avoid over-engineering the details in the early stages. Focus on where you want to go, then reverse-engineer the steps to get there.

Every turnaround starts from a rear position. That means your first job is to stop the downward momentum. Before you can scale revenue, you need to stabilize it. That requires a clear definition of success, agreed upon by everyone involved. 

  • Are you trying to double revenue in 12 months? 
  • Or just return to last year’s baseline? 
  • Is that goal realistic given your market, team, and resources? 

If not, revise it. A stretch goal is fine. A fantasy is not.

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Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – Why Consistent Sales Strategies Win: Forecasting, Messaging, and Revenue Management – Episode 151

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – Why Consistent Sales Strategies Win: Forecasting, Messaging, and Revenue Management – Episode 151

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey delve into the crucial role of deal qualification in driving sales success. From simple frameworks like BANT to advanced methodologies such as MEDDIC and MEDDPICCC, Kevin and Sean explain how consistent sales processes, value selling, and business acumen can sharpen forecasting, strengthen messaging, and ultimately accelerate revenue generation. Whether you’re managing a sales team or selling solo, this discussion will help you refine your sales strategies and improve your revenue management outcomes.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The cooking analogy for sales qualification – how preparing a meal mirrors building consistent sales processes 
  • Why full qualification matters – reducing forecast slippage, aligning solutions to customer needs, and driving predictable revenue generation.
  • BANT explained – Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline as a simple framework for qualifying deals 
  • Beyond BANT – an overview of advanced methodologies such as SPIN, SPICED, and NEAT for value selling in complex deals 
  • Deep dive into MEDDIC and MEDDPICCC – why metrics, the economic buyer, and champions are essential for enterprise-level sales success 
  • The importance of sales management consistency – ensuring every salesperson in an organization qualifies deals with the same discipline 

Key Quotes

  • Kevin Lawson : “When you close things better, when you have more deal intelligence or customer intelligence or relationship intelligence gained through a qualifying methodology, you end up being better able to serve a customer.”
  • Sean O’Shaughnessey : “If you have five salespeople trying to qualify deals, you want them to qualify them the same way—consistency matters because it creates repeatable sales success.”
  • Sean O’Shaughnessey : “Every deal needs a champion. If you can get a champion to sell for you when you’re not there, you are far more likely to win.”

Additional Resources

  • HubSpot Blog: A Guide to Sales Qualification Frameworkshttps://blog.hubspot.com/sales/6-popular-sales-methodologies-summarized
  • The Qualified Sales Leader by John McMahon is an essential read on MEDDIC from one of the most successful sales leaders in software history. https://a.co/d/76089W7
  • Join the B2B Sales Lab for 90 days free and access practical community discussions on sales strategies, revenue management, and messaging. https://b2b-sales-lab.com

A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast

Select and consistently implement one sales qualification framework across all your deals.
Whether you adopt BANT for simplicity or MEDDPICCC for enterprise-level selling, consistency in qualification builds stronger forecasts, improves customer alignment, and accelerates revenue generation. Decide on one methodology, train your team, and hold yourself accountable to using it every time.

Why You Should Listen

This episode is packed with practical insights for salespeople, managers, and business leaders committed to improving revenue management and sales success. Kevin and Sean take you from everyday analogies to advanced enterprise strategies, showing why consistent qualification is the backbone of predictable growth. If you want sharper sales processes, better forecasting, and stronger messaging that supports value selling, you won’t want to miss this conversation. Download now and start applying these proven sales strategies to your own pipeline.

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – Winning Sales Strategies for Productive, High-Impact Pipeline Reviews – Episode 149

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – Winning Sales Strategies for Productive, High-Impact Pipeline Reviews – Episode 149

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

Pipeline reviews don’t need to feel like an ambush. In this episode, Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey break down how to turn pipeline meetings into high-value working sessions that improve sales management, strengthen sales processes, and accelerate revenue generation. The conversation focuses on preparation discipline, trust, and transparency, as well as a practical playbook for advancing complex deals through relationship mapping and peer-to-peer executive engagement.

You’ll hear straightforward sales strategies you can implement immediately, whether you lead a large enterprise team or a small, founder-led organization. Expect a sharp focus on business acumen, value selling, and the day-to-day messaging that keeps deals moving. The result is a meeting format that fuels sales success and better revenue management, not another hour of defensive status reporting.

Key Topics Discussed

  • Make pipeline reviews not suck — Focus the agenda on the few deals that genuinely need help; skip deep dives on healthy opportunities. [~00:00:00]
  • The salesperson’s prep checklist — Current notes, clear qualification status, and a concrete next step; never open with “I need to get a meeting.” [~00:03:00]
  • Trust, transparency, and speed — Why open admission of gaps prevents executive “gotchas” and keeps the team collaborative. [~00:04:34–00:05:34]
  • Taming the “big deal” distraction — How sales leaders manage CEO attention and ensure one opportunity doesn’t hijack the meeting. [~00:07:52–00:08:20]
  • Relationship mapping for top deals — Title-to-title engagement, executive assignments, and the “11-on-11” football metaphor for flawless execution. [~00:09:00–00:11:55]
  • Adapting for smaller orgs — Three-on-three analogy, “weaponize” your internal team as peer resources, and coach reps to lead 1:1s. [~00:12:30–00:15:06]

Key Quotes

  • Sean O’Shaughnessey [~00:01:36]: “Bring up the ones that hurt, the deals where you need help. Wouldn’t it be nice to get helped in a pipeline review instead of just being told to ‘get your ass out there and go work on it’?”
  • Kevin Lawson [~00:05:00]: “Transparency is our key that will keep us moving forward and fast. Sales pipeline meetings don’t have to be the Spanish Inquisition.”
  • Sean O’Shaughnessey [~00:11:34]: “Run your top deals like you’re running a football team, every player knows their assignment, and you execute flawlessly.”
  • Kevin Lawson [~00:14:33]: “For one-to-ones, the salesperson should be leading the meeting, your job is to coach them to bring challenges you can clear.”

Additional Resources (mentioned in the episode)

  • Sales Meeting Agenda Templates — Free downloadable agendas for effective pipeline reviews and 1:1s (from Sean and Kevin’s sites).
  • B2B Sales Lab Community — A peer-led forum to refine sales strategies, strengthen messaging, and accelerate revenue generation. https://b2b-sales-lab.com/

A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast

Adopt the “Help-First Pipeline Review” and Relationship Map.

Before your next review, split your pipeline into two lists: On-Track and Needs Help. Use meeting time almost exclusively on the “Needs Help” list. For each flagged deal, arrive with: (1) current status and qualification level, (2) the single next step, and (3) a relationship map that pairs your execs and functional leaders title-to-title with the customer’s counterparts (CEO↔CEO, CFO↔CFO, VP Eng↔VP Eng). Assign those internal players specific outreach tasks and deadlines. This simple shift transforms pipeline reviews into working sessions that improve sales management, sharpen sales processes, and advance value-based conversations, fast.

Two quick tips to lock it in:

  1. Never start with “I need to get a meeting.” Instead, say, “I’m trying to reach Larry; here are the three touches I’ve already made and my next move.”
  2. Preempt “big deal” derailments by updating its status in CRM ahead of time and summarizing it briefly; then return to the prepared “Needs Help” list.

Summary

If pipeline reviews feel like public performance reviews, this conversation will reset the culture. Kevin and Sean outline a decisive, repeatable approach that blends business acumen, crisp messaging, and practical value selling to move deals. By prioritizing help over inspection, mapping peer-to-peer relationships, and coaching reps to lead, you’ll turn a dreaded ritual into a lever for sales success and consistent revenue management. Queue it up, your next pipeline meeting can actually be the best hour of your sales week.

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – John McLeod Explains How to Avoid the AI Trap: Using New Tools Without Losing Your Sales Message – Episode 140

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – John McLeod Explains How to Avoid the AI Trap: Using New Tools Without Losing Your Sales Message – Episode 140

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, hosts Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey are joined by veteran fractional VP of Sales, John McLeod. Together, they dive into a critical topic for today’s sales leaders: embracing artificial intelligence tools without compromising your value proposition, messaging, or sales processes. John brings deep expertise in sales management, business acumen, and revenue generation strategies, offering a measured approach to evaluating sales tech, especially AI solutions, through a risk-and-reward lens. Whether you’re a business owner, sales manager, or BDR excited about AI, this conversation grounds you in practical wisdom.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The Real Risk of AI in Sales (00:01:22): How overreliance on untrained AI tools can misrepresent your brand and do more harm than good.
  • Sales Productivity vs. Organizational Efficiency (00:02:01): Why the focus shouldn’t just be on doing more faster, but also on syncing with your company’s value selling model
  • Three Essential AI Use Cases in Sales (00:03:25): Research, qualification, and outreach—and why each comes with its own operational risk.
  • The Ethical Use of AI and Messaging Integrity (00:07:43): Why maintaining consistent messaging across AI-enabled tools is essential to preserving brand integrity and revenue management.
  • Training AI for Sales Value (00:10:00): How smart prompt engineering and structured inputs drive better outcomes from generative AI tools.

Key Quotes

  • John McLeod (00:05:27):
    “AI tools are meant to be trained. The biggest risk is: are they in fact supporting your unique and distinctive value proposition and holding true to that?”
  • Sean O’Shaughnessey (00:11:38):
    “You won’t lose your job to AI—but you might lose it to another salesperson who knows how to use AI more effectively.”
  • Kevin Lawson (00:09:40):
    “When you introduce AI and efficiency, that naturally raises the bar of expectation for performance. What is the new normal when you get there?”

Additional Resources

  • John McLeod’s LinkedIn Profile – https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnmcleod1/

A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast

Train Your AI with Purpose: Don’t just “plug and play” AI tools. Take the time to structure your inputs and refine your prompts so that the tool reflects your value, not just generic sales content. Spend time A/B testing different approaches to ensure messaging aligns with your company’s strategic sales positioning. Start today by reviewing your most recent outreach generated by AI and ask: “Does this truly represent our value?” If not, retrain your prompts before using them again.

Why You Should Listen Now

If you’ve ever been tempted by the next great sales tool or AI platform promising instant leads and effortless sales success, this episode will recalibrate your thinking. John McLeod delivers candid insights on balancing tech adoption with strategic discipline. With Sean and Kevin steering the conversation, this discussion is rich with real-world experience in sales management, messaging, and revenue generation. Tune in now to stay ahead without losing what makes your company valuable.

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – From Regular Season to Postseason: Coaching Your Sales Team to Win – E128

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales – From Regular Season to Postseason: Coaching Your Sales Team to Win – E128

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

As a sales leader, are you coaching your team for the long haul, or are you scrambling in the final weeks of the quarter? In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, Kevin Lawson and Sean O’Shaughnessey break down the difference between regular season and postseason play—whether in sports or sales. They explore why last-minute Hail Mary strategies can be damaging, how to manage time, and the importance of effective and consistent coaching. With March Madness and The Masters as the backdrop, this conversation is packed with insights to help you refine your sales approach and ensure your team is always in winning form.

Key Topics Discussed

  • The Sales Tournament Mentality (00:02:00) – What sales teams can learn from March Madness and The Masters, and why only one team wins while the rest lose.
  • Building a Winning Sales Team (00:03:30) – How business owners can prepare their sales teams to perform under pressure by ensuring the right people are in the right seats.
  • The Role of Sales Coaching (00:05:00) – Why sales leaders must incorporate skills development into every sales meeting instead of just reviewing the pipeline.
  • The Pitfalls of End-of-Quarter Desperation (00:07:50) – How last-minute discounting and rushed deals create long-term problems and train customers to buy at a discount.
  • Mastering Time Management in Sales (00:10:00) – How prioritization and disciplined execution throughout the quarter prevent last-minute chaos and boost consistent performance.

Key Quotes

  • Kevin Lawson (00:07:53): “If you’re behind in sales right now, don’t throw Hail Marys. Don’t discount. You’re teaching your prospects to wait until the end of the quarter for a better deal—and that’s a losing game.”
  • Sean O’Shaughnessey (00:13:00): “You have one thing in sales you can never get back: time. If you wasted today, it’s gone forever. You can’t go back and fix it.”
  • Kevin Lawson (00:09:00): “Salespeople with commission breath stink. If your only focus is closing the deal before Friday, your prospects will smell it a mile away—and that’s not how you build relationships.”

A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast

Develop a Five-Week Sales Training Plan – Sales leaders should map out the next five sales meetings, dedicating at least five minutes to skills development in each session. Focus on topics such as pipeline progression, prospect qualification, and closing techniques. Training should not be an afterthought—it should be a fundamental part of your sales strategy.

Why You Should Listen to This Episode

Whether you’re a sales leader or a frontline salesperson, this episode is your playbook for maintaining momentum all year long. Avoid the common traps of end-of-quarter desperation, build a disciplined approach to sales training, and master the art of time management. Just like in sports, sales success isn’t about last-minute heroics—it’s about consistent execution.

Tune in now and take your sales game to the next level!

Driving Sales Performance with Strategic Competitive Analysis

Driving Sales Performance with Strategic Competitive Analysis

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

Ever wonder why some sales teams consistently outperform their competitors while others struggle to close deals? The answer often lies in how well they understand and leverage competitive analysis in their sales process.

Let’s talk about competitive analysis in sales. It’s not just about knowing your competition – it’s about understanding how to use that knowledge to drive results. You need to grasp why prospects choose specific solutions over others and, more importantly, why they sometimes choose to do nothing at all.

Have you considered how many deals you’ve lost not to competitors but to indecision? These “no decision” outcomes often stem from a fundamental gap in prospect qualification. Intelligent sales professionals dig deeper, asking targeted questions about organizational priorities, resource allocation, and strategic initiatives. They understand that timing can be just as crucial as the solution itself.

The modern sales landscape demands a sophisticated approach to competitive analysis. Your success hinges on aligning your organization’s strengths with your prospect’s needs. But here’s the real question: Do you truly understand what your ideal client values most?

Many sales professionals miss the mark by focusing solely on feature comparisons. While product capabilities matter, they’re just one piece of the puzzle. The real power lies in understanding how your solution addresses your prospect’s challenges. This requires a comprehensive view of your competitive landscape, including direct and indirect competitors.

Think about your last few lost deals. What patterns emerge when you analyze the feedback? Every objection and hesitation after presenting pricing are valuable data points that should shape your competitive strategy. Your sales conversations must reflect a deep understanding of your prospect’s value metrics.

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The Secret to Sales Success: Effective Management and Qualification of MQLs and SQLs

The Secret to Sales Success: Effective Management and Qualification of MQLs and SQLs

By Sean O'Shaughnessey

The concept of leads is familiar to sales and marketing novices and experts. However, leads are not created equal. There are Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL) and Sales Qualified Leads (SQL). The differences between these two types of leads and the approach to handling them can significantly impact the efficiency and success of your sales pipeline.

The journey of a lead typically begins with the marketing team. They craft messages and campaigns to attract potential customers, drawing them towards the company. These potential customers or leads are known as Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs). MQLs are individuals who have shown interest in the company’s product or service but have yet to be vetted for sales-readiness. They may have responded positively to the company’s marketing efforts by downloading a case study, signing up for a newsletter, following the company on social media, or a wide variety of other criteria that can be unique to each selling organization.

Unfortunately, just because a lead has shown interest does not mean they are ready to make a purchase. This is where the sales team comes in. Their role is to qualify these leads further, turning them into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs). SQLs are leads the sales team has determined are ready for direct sales engagement. They have been vetted and have shown a clear interest and willingness to hear about the company’s offering from a sales perspective. 

While marketing messages are designed to attract and engage a broad audience, the sales approach is more personal and more targeted. Sales focuses on building a relationship with the individual, understanding their unique needs, and demonstrating how the product or service can meet those needs.

Miscommunication or differing expectations can result in leads being passed along that are not truly sales-ready. This can waste time and resources and even damage potential customer relationships. It’s important for sales and marketing to work together, communicate effectively, and have a clear understanding of what constitutes a qualified lead.

One way to navigate this challenge is to establish clear criteria for MQLs and SQLs. What actions or behaviors indicate that a lead is ready to move from marketing to sales? This might include downloading certain resources, attending webinars, or requesting a product demo. By defining these criteria, both teams can ensure they’re on the same page and that leads are passed along at the appropriate time.

Salespeople should also understand how a lead became an MQL. What attracted them to the company? What information have they consumed? This understanding can inform the sales approach and help the salesperson build a relationship with the lead.

Communication between sales and marketing doesn’t end when a lead becomes an SQL. Salespeople should provide feedback to their marketing colleagues about the leads they’re receiving. If certain leads aren’t panning out, it’s important to communicate this so that marketing can adjust their strategies accordingly. Similarly, marketing should be open to feedback and willing to collaborate with sales to refine their lead qualification process.

In the end, marketing and sales have the same goal: to generate revenue for the company. By working together to manage and qualify leads effectively, they can ensure they’re both working towards this common goal. 

With clear communication, collaboration, and a shared understanding of what makes a lead sales-ready, marketing and sales can streamline the sales pipeline and drive success. 

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