Related challenge
Marketing and sales alignment
Are marketing and sales working at cross purposes? STOF connects customer insight, commercial choices, roles and working rhythm into one shared effort.
Challenge · Lots of leads, few deals
Plenty of leads. Too few deals.
On paper, things are going well. The number of leads is rising, the campaigns are performing, the dashboard is green. But at the end of the quarter, there are no more deals than before. Marketing points at the follow-up, sales at the quality of the leads.
Both are often partly right. The real problem is usually that nobody has agreed what a good lead is, for which customer and at what moment. So marketing measures something other than what sales needs.
How can you tell leads aren't turning into deals?
- Sales doesn't call leads back, or only late, because they're ‘not serious anyway’.
- Marketing reports numbers of leads, sales reports revenue, and the two figures never meet.
- Many conversations stall after the first contact, without anyone knowing why.
- Your best customers didn't come through the campaigns, but through your network.
- There's debate about the lead definition, but nothing changes.
- What sales hears in conversations doesn't make it back into campaigns or content.
More leads won't solve this
When leads don't turn into deals, the reflex is to turn up the campaigns. That makes the problem bigger: sales gets even more opportunities that don't fit, and trusts marketing even less. It only helps once it's clear which customers you really want, what problem they have and which signals show that an opportunity is ready for a conversation.
A good lead isn't a technical definition in the CRM. It's a shared agreement between marketing and sales about who your customer is, and when it's time to get in touch.
Where opportunities usually disappear
- Before the lead: campaigns attract broad attention, because nobody made a sharp choice about who they're for.
- At the handover: a lead goes to sales without context, or sits waiting too long.
- In the first conversation: sales tells a different story from what the campaign promised, and interest fades.
The STOF rhythm when leads don't become deals
- Look and listen — we follow a number of leads from first click to closed deal, or to the point where they disappeared. And we talk to marketing and sales about what they see.
- Make a sharp choice — together we set down which customers you want, which signals make an opportunity relevant and so what isn't a good lead.
- Align — marketing and sales get one story and clear agreements on the handover: who does what, when and with which information.
- Follow through — a fixed rhythm in which both teams look at the pipeline together and adjust course, so the agreements don't fade after a month.
A good place to start
Don't know yet where opportunities disappear? Then the Growth diagnosis shows you in three weeks where things get stuck and what needs to change first. If it's already clear the problem sits between marketing and sales, the Alignment programme brings both teams into line. See the programmes under Commercial strategy.
Also read ‘Marketing and sales work hard. Just not always on the same thing’, on the wider collaboration between both teams.
When is STOF right for this challenge?
STOF is a good fit when marketing and sales both work professionally, but don't connect. We prefer to work with growing B2B companies of around 15 to 250 people. We look closely at campaigns, handover and conversations. If you are mainly looking for more leads or someone to run the campaigns, we're not the right partner.
Want to lay the groundwork yourselves? The guide on building a commercial strategy explains how to set the ideal customer profile and the handover.
Want to sharpen the profile first? The guide Ideal customer profile shows in six steps how to choose the organisations that deliver the most, and who doesn't fit.
For an example of agreements between marketing and sales, see the guide The marketing-sales SLA: what a good lead is, when to hand over, how fast to follow up and how to adjust together.
Frequently asked questions
Isn't this just a matter of a better lead definition?
A definition helps, but only if marketing and sales agree on the choice behind it: which customers you are for and which problem you solve. Without that choice, the definition becomes a compromise nobody acts on.
Do we need to replace our CRM or marketing system?
Usually not. We look at choices, agreements and behaviour first. Only if the system really gets in the way of the agreements do we advise what needs to change.
What does it cost?
We work on a project basis, not by the hour. After the free introductory call, if there's a fit, you get a proposal with a fixed price, a clear timeline and what you will have at the end.
How do we start?
With a free 45-minute introductory call with Nona or Carlijn. We look at where opportunities disappear and what a sensible first step would be. Even if it turns out you don't need us.
From more leads to better deals.
In a free 45-minute introductory call, we look at where opportunities disappear between marketing and sales, and what a good first step would be.
Bring your challenge to the tableFurther reading
Solution
Commercial strategy
STOF develops a commercial strategy that connects market choices, customer value, organisation and execution. From a sharp choice to momentum.
Related challenge
Growth has stalled
Lots of activity, but growth is lagging? STOF finds out where growth gets stuck, and which three to five changes matter first.