There is a story as old as the corporate world itself. In one corner of the ring, we have the
The outcome of this battle is not a winner. The result is lost money, wasted opportunities and stalled growth.
To solve this historical conflict, the concept of Smarketing was born (and matured). It’s not just a catchy buzzword; it’s a critical business survival methodology. In a digital environment where the buyer is in control, the disconnect between the marketing message and the sales reality is lethal.
In this article, we’ll break down what Smarketing really is, why ignoring it is costing you thousands and, most importantly, how to implement it step-by-step to create a unified revenue machine.
What exactly is Smarketing?
Smarketing is the integration of the processes, objectives and communication of the Sales and Marketing teams. The term merges both words to emphasize that they should no longer operate as independent silos, but as a single body with a common goal: Generate Revenue.
Traditionally, the funnel looked like this: Marketing attracts and “passes the baton” to Sales, washing their hands afterwards. In Smarketing, the funnel is a continuous feedback loop.
The harsh reality in data
To understand the urgency, let’s look at the data. According to studies by Aberdeen Group and HubSpot:
- Companies with strong Smarketing alignment achieve 20% annual revenue growth, compared to a 4% drop in poorly aligned companies.
- 79% of marketing leads never convert to sales, mainly due to lack of nurturing and poor handoff.
Smarketing transforms the relationship from “office sharing adversaries” to “strategic business partners”.
The 5 pillars of a successful Smarketing strategy
Implementing Smarketing is not about having a monthly meeting over beers so that everyone gets along. It requires structure, data and firm commitments. These are the foundations:
1. Speaking the Same Language: Unified Definitions
The first sticking point is always semantic. What is a “Lead”? For Marketing, it can be anyone who downloads an ebook. For Sales, it’s someone with budget ready to sign up today.
Smarketing requires defining with surgical precision the stages of the customer life cycle:
- Lead: Basic contact with minimum data.
- MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead): A lead that has shown interest and fits the demographic profile, but perhaps is not yet ready to buy.
- SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): An MQL that has been vetted (manually or automatically) and is considered ready for a direct sales conversation.
- Opportunity: A SQL that has confirmed that it has a need and budget.
Without these written definitions, alignment is impossible.
2. The Service Level Agreement (SLA)
This is the heart of the contract. A Service Level Agreement (SLA) in Smarketing is a bi-directional document where each team agrees to meet specific numerical targets to support the other.
- Marketing Commitment: “We will deliver 100 MQLs of quality every month to the sales team”.
- Sales Commitment: “We will contact each delivered MQL within 2 hours and make at least 5 follow-up attempts”.
If Marketing delivers but Sales doesn’t call fast, the system fails. If Sales calls fast but the leads are bad, the system fails. The SLA puts accountability on the table.
3. Revenue Goals
Historically, Marketing is measured by “Leads generated” and Sales by “Closings”. This is a mistake. In Smarketing, Marketing must also have a revenue share. If Marketing brings in 10,000 leads but none buy, Marketing has failed, even if their web traffic graphs look pretty. Both teams should be evaluated on their contribution to the Bottom Line (Net Profit).
4. Closed-Loop Reporting
Information cannot travel only in one direction (from Marketing to Sales). It needs to go back. Sales must report what happened to the leads that Marketing sent.
- Were they the correct charge?
- Why didn’t they buy (Price, Competition, Timing).
- What content was mentioned in the call?
This information allows Marketing to adjust their campaigns, stop spending money on channels that bring empty leads and double the investment on what really works.
5. Integrated Data and Technology
There can be no Smarketing if Marketing uses a tool and Sales uses an Excel or a disconnected CRM. You need a “Single Source of Truth”. The CRM must be the ecosystem where both coexist, allowing you to see the entire user story, from the first click on an ad to the signing of the contract.
How to implement Smarketing in 5 Steps?
Ready to move from theory to practice? Here’s the action plan.
Step 1: Joint “Buyer Persona” Audit
Gather both teams in a room. Ask Sales, “What are the real questions customers ask? What are their fears?”. Often, Marketing builds “Personas” based on theoretical ideals, while Sales deals with day-to-day reality. Update the ideal customer profile (ICP) based on actual sales data, not marketing assumptions.
Step 2: Lead Scoring Configuration
Don’t pass all leads to sales. That wastes their time and makes them hate marketing. Implement a joint Lead Scoring system.
- Example: If someone visits the “Pricing” page, +20 points. If it is a CEO, +10 points. If it is a student, -50 points.
- Agree on a threshold: “We will only pass on to Sales the leads that exceed 70 points”.
Step 3: Drafting and Signing the SLA
Create the formal document. It should be simple but strict. Use this formula to calculate how many leads Marketing needs to generate: (Total Sales Quota) / (Average Ticket) = Number of Customers needed. (Customers needed) / (Lead to Customer Conversion Rate) = Number of Leads needed.
Thus, the Marketing objective is based on real financial mathematics, not on “get as many as we can”.
Step 4: Establish The Smarketing Meeting
Forget annual meetings. You need weekly or biweekly meetings of short duration (15-30 minutes). Suggested agenda:
- SLA review: Are we meeting the numbers this week?
- Quality feedback: Sales brings examples of recent good and bad leads.
- Upcoming campaigns: Marketing explains what promotions it will be launching so that Sales is prepared.
Step 5: Technological unification
Make sure that Marketing’s web form fields are mapped correctly in the Sales CRM. If Marketing asks “Sector”, Sales should see “Sector” in their tab. Automate alerts: when a lead becomes a SQL, the assigned salesperson should receive an instant notification (Email, Slack, SMS).
From Smarketing to RevOps: The Natural Evolution
Smarketing is the first step. The most advanced companies are evolving towards
The goal is to eliminate friction not only in sales, but in customer renewal and expansion. Under a RevOps model, data flows seamlessly through the entire customer lifecycle, ensuring that what Marketing promises, Sales sells and Customer Success delivers.
Common mistakes that kill Smarketing
Even with the best intentions, alignment initiatives can fail. Avoid these mistakes:
- Culture of Blame: If the weekly meeting is dedicated to finger-pointing (“You didn’t call,” “You sent junk”), the project will die. The focus should be on data-driven problem solving, not opinion.
- Static SLA: The market changes. If your SLA is the same as it was two years ago, it’s useless. Review it quarterly.
- “Deaf” Marketing: If content marketing writers have never heard a sales call or demo, they will write content disconnected from reality. Implement “listening” sessions where marketers accompany salespeople.
Agency 360: Aligning marketing and sales
Smarketing is not optional in today’s economy. Buyers are more informed than ever; they have typically completed 70% of their purchase decision before speaking to a human. If the message they read on your website (Marketing) doesn’t match the experience they receive when talking to the salesperson (Sales), trust is broken and the sale is lost.
Aligning your teams is the most powerful lever you have to increase the ROI of your advertising investment and improve the closing rate of your salespeople.
Stop seeing Marketing as the “do nice things” department and Sales as the “lone cowboys”. They are two halves of the same engine. If they’re not in sync, the car doesn’t move forward. If they are, there is no speed limit.
Discover the power of 360° Marketing now.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How often should the SLA be reviewed? At a minimum, every quarter (Q). However, if there are drastic changes in the product or market, it should be reviewed immediately. It is also good to do a quick monthly check to see if conversion rates are holding steady.
What do I do if Sales refuses to use CRM? This is a leadership problem, not a technology problem. CRM use should not be optional. A common phrase in modern sales management is, “If it’s not in the CRM, it didn’t happen.” To motivate them, demonstrate how CRM helps them sell more (by automating tasks) rather than presenting it as a control tool.
Can Smarketing work for small companies? Absolutely. In fact, it’s easier. In an SME, often Marketing is one person and Sales is two. Communication is fluid. The important thing is to establish processes (MQL definitions, follow-up) before growing, so that scale doesn’t break the system.
Marketing tecnológico en vena. Fanático de las tecnologías Martech que rompen moldes: IA generativa, blockchain, no-code, metaverso, automatización extrema… Convencido de que el futuro no se espera, se construye (y se vende muy bien).
Responsable del marketing más disruptivo y tecnológico.
