What if the biggest reason your leads aren't converting has nothing to do with lead quality?
When Typeform's David Okuniev watched his marketing team generate 500 qualified leads that sales couldn't close, he discovered the real culprit: artificial barriers between departments. This episode cuts through the marketing mystique to reveal what marketing actually is, where it belongs in your organization, and why 73% of leads die in the handoff between marketing and sales.
Marketing isn't just awareness building—it's relationship creation. While awareness means people know you exist, relationships mean they're emotionally invested in what you offer. Even that plumber fixing your toilet needs more than visibility; they need trust when you're choosing who to let into your home.
The real power lies in understanding that marketing serves two masters: building brand perception and generating qualified leads. These feel like different jobs because they require different metrics, but they belong under the same roof. The best marketers don't just get people in the door—they ensure those people arrive with the right expectations.
The most successful companies operate with a Chief Revenue Officer who owns the customer experience end-to-end. This person becomes the voice of the customer internally, the one everyone turns to when asking "what will customers think of this feature?" They understand customer psychology, behaviors, and evolution—not just demographics and personas.
Steve Jobs exemplified this approach. His marketing genius wasn't mystical—he was simply his own customer. He built for himself, which gave him unparalleled empathy for his audience. When you can't be your own customer, you must get as close as possible to that level of understanding.
The handoff between marketing and sales breaks down when strategies don't align with customer expectations. A launch-based sales model won't work with customers nurtured through an evergreen program. The messaging, timing, and approach must match the journey you've created.
Most founders make the mistake of adopting other people's models instead of building systems tailored to their specific business and customer base. Your sales strategy must match what marketing promised. Your product must deliver on what the brand suggested. This alignment starts at the top—if marketing and sales are pointing fingers at each other, it's typically a CEO problem, not a department problem.
For early-stage companies, focus on immediate cash flow over brand awareness. Build unified revenue teams instead of siloed departments. Keep marketing strategy in-house rather than outsourcing to agencies. Master one channel before expanding to others. And remember: if it doesn't ultimately drive revenue, it's not effective marketing.
Watch the Full Episode on Defining Marketing below:
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