Sheet 1: Instructions

	
	
	

		
Sales & Marketing Alignment Tool 
		
		
	

		
Instructions
		
	

		
Use our Sales & Marketing Alignment Tool to assess the alignment between your Sales & Marketing functions. 
This prescriptive self-assessment tool allows you to rate your compliance with best practices across 6 different dimensions.
		
Ranking Scale
	
	

		
1. In the "Weighting" tab, weight the importance for each criteria.  Be sure that your total weight equals no more or less than 100%.
		
1 - Intial Ad/Hoc Process (poor)
	
	

		
2. In the "Self Assessment (Mktg)" & "Self Assessment (Sales)" tabs, rank your organization utilizing the "Ranking Scale" on the right hand side.
		
2 - Repeatable/Intuitive Process
	
	

		
3. Check the "Alignment Index" tab to identify your current/goal state in each category.  
		
3 - Defined/Defining Process
	
	

		
4. View the "Recommendations (Mktg)" & "Recommendations (Sales)" tabs for actionable advice on how to improve your capabilities.
		
4 - Managed & Measured Process
	
	

		


		
5 - Optimized Process (full)
	



Sheet 2: Weighting

	
	

		
Sales & Marketing Alignment Tool 
		
		
	

		
Weighting Scale
		
	

		
Organizational Relationships
		
Metrics and 
Value-Measurement
		
Lead Generation 
& Pipeline 
Management
		
Culture
		
Systems 
& Technology
		
Messaging 
& Materials
		
Total
	
	

		
15%
		
15%
		
40%
		
10%
		
15%
		
5%
		
100%
	

 


Sheet 3: Self Assessment (Mktg)

	
	
	
	
	
	

		
Marketing Assessment 
		
		
	

		
Description 
		
Level of Compliance
		
Score
		
Notes/Comments
	
	

		
Organizational Relationships
		
	

		
Understanding of Sales by Marketing
		
1
		
Marketing management lacks understanding of sales function, process, and skills
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Limited understanding of sales function by Marketing management
		
	

		
3
		
Good understanding of Sales by Marketing management, but less among staff
		
	

		
4
		
Understanding of Sales function encouraged among all Marketing staff
		
	

		
5
		
Understanding of Sales function/process required by all Marketing staff
		
	

		
Understanding of Marketing by Sales
		
1
		
Sales Management lack understanding of Marketing best practices
		
3
		


	
	

		
2
		
Limited understanding of Marketing function & role by Sales Management
		
	

		
3
		
Good understanding of Marketing function & role by Sales Management
		
	

		
4
		
Understanding of Marketing function & role encouraged among all Sales staff
		
	

		
5
		
Understanding of Marketing function & role required for all Sales staff
		
	

		
Organizational Development, Training, & Learning
		
1
		
Casual conversations and meetings on ad hoc basis
		
4
		


	
	

		
2
		
Casual conversations and ad hoc meetings among select staff and managers
		
	

		
3
		
Newsletters, reports,  emails are sent out, some formal meetings between groups
		
	

		
4
		
Formal alignment program sponsored by Senior Management
		
	

		
5
		
Formal alignment program required - widespread participation across Sales & MT
		
	

		
Communications Style and Ease of Access
		
1
		
Marketing to Sales only, generally only when new materials/programs roll out
		
3
		


	
	

		
2
		
Marketing to Sales only, somewhat informal, occasionally asking for feedback
		
	

		
3
		
Consistent two-way, formal communications around specific activities & programs
		
	

		
4
		
Consistent blend of formal & informal among sales and marketing management
		
	

		
5
		
Two-way, formal and informal communications, continuous feedback loop
		
	

		
Relationship Definitions
		
1
		
Undefined. Functions have developed independently and are focused on their own tasks
		
4
		


	
	

		
2
		
Starting to Define. Efforts underway to prevent disputes, establish common language, and clarify expectations
		
	

		
3
		
Defined. Common language, few disputes, regular meetings to clarify mutual expectations
		
	

		
4
		
Aligned. Clear but flexible boundaries, common language, joint planning
		
	

		
5
		
Integrated. Share systems, performance metrics, and rewards together.
		
	

		
Collaboration, Trust & Credibility
		
1
		
Two groups are at odds, open criticism, lack of cooperation, finger-pointing is common
		
3
		


	
	

		
2
		
Relationships are polite but strained, collaboration is rare, groups work in silos
		
	

		
3
		
Relationships improving, but open sharing and collaboration is sporadic
		
	

		
4
		
Sales & Marketing Management work together well, staff less likely to collaborate
		
	

		
5
		
Trust is high. All staff in both groups work well together openly, productively. 
		
	

		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Metrics & Value-Measurement
		
	

		
Campaign ROI Maturity
		
1
		
Operational Marketing metrics only (email click thru rates etc.)
		
5
		


	
	

		
2
		
Marketing metrics and some cost metrics; metrics rarely reviewed
		
	

		
3
		
Review and act on marketing, cost, and campaign ROI metrics
		
	

		
4
		
Metrics for each process/campaign are defined and measured
		
	

		
5
		
Marketing metrics analyzed to inform resource allocation decisions
		
	

		
Marketing Metrics Maturity
		
1
		
Marketing campaigns & investments measured rarely, if ever
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Cost/Lead, Cost/Sale measured, but rarely reviewed
		
	

		
3
		
Review and act on ROI and cost metrics for all marketing efforts
		
	

		
4
		
Measure Return on Customer (net present value of customer base)
		
	

		
5
		
Balanced Scorecard to set objectives, measures, targets, initiatives
		
	

		
Link between Marketing and Sales Metrics
		
1
		
Value of Marketing investments rarely measured by Sales
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Sales/Marketing metrics not linked, no cause-effect relationships
		
	

		
3
		
Metrics becoming linked and understood by Marketing & Sales
		
	

		
4
		
Metrics formally linked, reviewed, major issues acted upon
		
	

		
5
		
Marketing/Sales metrics are used together to provide predictive insight
		
	

		
Alignment Improvement Practices
		
1
		
None
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Sporadic projects/events in place to improve sales & marketing alignment
		
	

		
3
		
May benchmark alignment formally, but benchmarks are seldom acted upon
		
	

		
4
		
Routinely benchmark sales & marketing alignment and act upon insights
		
	

		
5
		
Alignment benchmarks, initiatives, & progress are required 
		
	

		
Financial Performance
		
1
		
Very little/no forecasting
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Sales figures are dramatically higher or lower than forecast
		
	

		
3
		
Sales forecasting is improving and variances are getting smaller
		
	

		
4
		
Sales figures are often close to the forecast, but not always
		
	

		
5
		
Sales figures are usually close to the forecast
		
	

		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Lead Generation & Pipeline Management
		
	

		
Demand Generation
		
1
		
No demand generation campaigns, Sales develops their own leads
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Marketing demand generation and sales demand generation happen separately
		
	

		
3
		
Marketing executes demand generation campaigns.  Leads passed to sales & may/may not be followed up on
		
	

		
4
		
Marketing executes demand generation, qualified leads are passed on and sales follows up
		
	

		
5
		
Synchronized demand generation program managed dually by sales & marketing
		
	

		
Lead Scoring & Management
		
1
		
No lead scoring or qualification  - all leads get passed to sales
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Leads are qualified by Marketing, but sales does not systematically work them
		
	

		
3
		
Improving lead qualification and pass-along process, but leads are not always worked
		
	

		
4
		
Formal shared lead definitions and processes for passing leads to sales
		
	

		
5
		
Optimized lead scoring & management process with formal processes in place 
		
	

		
Pipeline Reporting & Visibility
		
1
		
We have no formal pipeline reporting
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Sales informally reports pipeline information, but Marketing is not involved
		
	

		
3
		
Sales management shares formal pipeline reports with marketing management
		
	

		
4
		
Sales & marketing staff have access to the same pipeline & use it sporadically to check lead gen. effectiveness
		
	

		
5
		
Marketing & Sales openly share pipeline and work together to improve the flow of leads in the sales process
		
	

		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Culture
		
	

		
Executive Alignment
		
1
		
Marketing & Sales report up through siloed executives
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Marketing & Sales executives report to the same senior leader, but do not collaborate
		
	

		
3
		
Marketing & Sales executives are starting to work more collaboratively
		
	

		
4
		
Marketing & Sales executives are close partners and collaborators
		
	

		
5
		
Marketing & Sales report to a common executive
		
	

		
Shared Risks and Rewards
		
1
		
Very little risk being taken on either side, rewards not tied to joint success
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
One side takes all the risk, rewards are shared
		
	

		
3
		
Marketing and Sales start sharing risks and rewards
		
	

		
4
		
Risks and rewards are always shared between Sales & Marketing
		
	

		
5
		
Managers on both sides share in risks and rewards
		
	

		
Marketing-Sales Relationship
		
1
		
Finger pointing, blame and battles for power and resources are common
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Marketing-business relationship isn't managed or is non-existent
		
	

		
3
		
Marketing-Sales relationship managed on ad hoc basis, mostly conflict resolution
		
	

		
4
		
Mostly collaborative and cooperative relationship, proactively working together
		
	

		
5
		
Sales and Marketing share a strong "We rise or fall together culture"
		
	

		
Relationship/Trust Style
		
1
		
Consistent conflict and mistrust between Marketing & business
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Transactional relationship between Marketing & Sales, occasional conflict
		
	

		
3
		
Marketing becoming a valued service provider and relationships are strengthening
		
	

		
4
		
Long-term partnership is emerging as credibility is increased on both sides
		
	

		
5
		
Marketing and Sales are trusted partners and collaborate closely on all fronts
		
	

		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Systems & Technology
		
	

		
Marketing Automation
		
1
		
No marketing automation, campaigns are ad hoc, project driven, or by request
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Processes are becoming defined, technology is used sporadically
		
	

		
3
		
Technology is implemented to automate key marketing processes
		
	

		
4
		
Process metrics exist and are benchmarked and reviewed often
		
	

		
5
		
Real-time messaging, lead scoring & nurturing, closed loop systems
		
	

		
Sales Automation
		
1
		
No Sales Automation system in place
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Sales automation system in place (Salesforce.com, Right Now, etc.) but not widely/consistently used by sales
		
	

		
3
		
Sales automation system in place, use required - some data is inconsistent, missing, outdated
		
	

		
4
		
System in place, widely used by sales, data is reliable and current
		
	

		
5
		
Sales automation system is required by sales mgmt., drives pipeline reports and revenue projection
		
	

		
System Integration
		
1
		
Systems are disparate and siloed.  Access is ad hoc and manual
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Systems are siloed. Standard reports are automated, but rarely used
		
	

		
3
		
Beginning to link systems to provide a shared view of customer & sales data
		
	

		
4
		
Major systems are integrated and key reports are automated & widely used for decision-making & forecasting
		
	

		
5
		
Shared view of customer for sales & marketing. Data is complete, current, and clean
		
	

		
Access to Data & Data Management
		
1
		
Customer and prospect data resides in multiple places, difficult to access, ad hoc data pulling
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Processes are becoming defined, technology is used sporadically
		
	

		
3
		
Technology is implemented to automate key marketing processes
		
	

		
4
		
Process metrics exists and are benchmarked and reviewed often
		
	

		
5
		
Sales & Marketing have a single, shared view of customer data and automated or formal processes 
		
	

		


		


		


		


		


	
	

		
Messaging & Materials
		
	

		
Marketing Materials & Collateral
		
1
		
Collateral from marketing is often thrown away by sales. Lots of home-grown rogue materials in the field
		
2
		


	
	

		
2
		
Marketing collateral is distributed by marketing, sometimes used
		
	

		
3
		
Marketing is beginning to seek sales input on marketing collateral, and rogue materials are diminishing
		
	

		
4
		
Sales has input on collateral, mostly satisfied -- collateral is consistently used
		
	

		
5
		
Sales and marketing collaborate on marketing materials. Collateral is highly valued and consistently used
		
	

		
Messaging & Brand
		
1
		
Sales messaging in the field is completely different than the official marketing messages
		
1
		


	
	

		
2
		
Sales is aware of the official marketing message, but often chooses different/old messages in the selling process
		
	

		
3
		
Sales is beginning to integrate marketing and brand messages into their sales discussions
		
	

		
4
		
Sales often echoes marketing messages, but not always
		
	

		
5
		
Sales and marketing messages are completely in sync