Why Are Sales and Marketing Still Fighting?

Somewhere between the Sales and Marketing departments, something keeps breaking down. Sales blames Marketing for weak leads. Marketing blames Sales for ignoring them. And everyone wonders why the pipeline feels like it’s running on fumes.

At BiltLine, we've experienced this dynamic. Great companies — smart teams, solid equipment, loyal customers — still end up with internal gridlock because their sales and marketing aren’t pulling in the same direction. The problem isn’t lack of effort; it’s lack of alignment.

The Ongoing Tug-of-War Between Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing share the same goals but rarely the same playbook. They’re supposed to be partners, yet too often they end up working at cross purposes.

• Sales lives in the now. This week’s quote, this month’s close, this quarter’s quota.

• Marketing plays the long game. Campaigns, visibility, brand perception, nurturing future customers.

  
  

Both are essential. But when sales needs something today and marketing’s working on something for next quarter, tension flares. One feels unheard, the other feels unappreciated.

And while everyone’s busy defending their corner, competitors are quietly taking market share.

The Print Buyer Changed — Did You?

Today’s print buyer doesn’t start with your rep; they start with the internet. By the time they call, they’ve already checked your capabilities, browsed your LinkedIn, and compared products online.

That means Marketing is already halfway through the sales process before Sales even gets involved.

But here’s the kicker: if your Sales team doesn’t know what Marketing’s been saying, the story falls apart. The buyer gets mixed messages, and mixed messages kill confidence.

The reverse is true, too. If Marketing never hears what Sales learns in the field, the objections, the hot buttons, the real decision drivers, campaigns drift off course.

When Sales and Marketing operate like two separate departments, they miss the chance to turn insight into momentum.

The Blame Game Doesn’t Pay

When a deal closes, Sales gets the glory. When one falls through, Marketing gets the heat. But the truth is, neither one wins or loses alone.

If Marketing doesn’t generate the right leads, Sales never gets the chance. If Sales doesn’t follow up with urgency and clarity, Marketing’s effort goes to waste.

The cost of that disconnect shows up in slow growth, flat margins, and burned-out teams.

Building a Unified Growth Engine

The fix isn’t complicated, but it is intentional. Alignment between Sales and Marketing doesn’t happen by accident. Here’s what we coach clients to build:

1. Shared Plans, Shared Numbers: Start with a single growth plan. Marketing and Sales sit at the same table, define the same KPIs, and track them together; pipeline velocity, lead quality, close rate, retention. One scoreboard.

2. Real Feedback Loops: Sales talks to customers every day. Marketing should be mining that data, not guessing from afar. Weekly or biweekly check-ins can uncover trends before they turn into missed opportunities.

3. Consistent Storytelling: From website copy to sales decks to trade show booths, every message should sound like it came from one company. A buyer shouldn’t hear one story online and a different one in person.

4. Shared Credit: When you win, you win together. When you lose, you learn together. Credit is free — use it generously.

The BiltLine View

Alignment isn’t just a soft skill; it’s a profit driver. When Sales and Marketing move in sync, printers and packagers close faster, retain more customers, and make smarter investments in the right channels.

We help teams see where the disconnects are, in data, process, or communication, and build strategies that actually work in the real-world pace of production.

Because when Sales and Marketing stop fighting and start pulling together, everyone moves faster, including your bottom line.