Sales and Marketing don't hate each other— they are designed to clash

Different objectives. Different incentives. Different time horizons.

I’ve been on both sides — and here’s the honest tension:

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴:

Too academic. Too polished. Too theoretical. Corporate operators insulated from quota pressure.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀:

Too tactical. Too reactive. Too “just selling” — whether it’s bananas or enterprise software — without understanding the system around it.

But there are 𝟯 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲:

𝟭) 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽.

A buyer can now move from awareness → evaluation → conversion

with zero sales involvement — if your positioning, messaging, and targeting are sharp.

AI compresses this even further.

This creates a new GTM architecture:

Sales shaped by Marketing.

Marketing informed by Sales.

Most orgs still operate as if this shift didn’t happen.

𝟮) 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀: 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲.

A single narrative shift.

A single asset.

A single conference moment.

A single sponsorship.

One move can reshape your entire pipeline.

High leverage — if you let it work.

Respect it. Amplify it. Don’t fight it.

𝟯) 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁.

They carry your strategy into the field.

They give your narrative real-world traction.

They surface the signals your dashboards can’t capture.

Give them more than “enablement.”

Give them 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴:

customer patterns, problem insights, jobs-to-be-done, the logic behind the decisions you make.

And remember:

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

Listen as much as you teach.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸? 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

The best GTM engines don’t “align” Sales and Marketing —

𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀.

Which of these gaps feels most familiar in your org?