Ride the Tide: Rethinking How Marketing and Sales Work Together

It's an Ebb and Flow, Not a Handoff

For years, we’ve all leaned on the same metaphor to describe the relationship between Marketing and Sales: the handoff. Marketing builds awareness, generates leads, nurtures them until they’re "qualified," and then passes the baton to Sales to bring the deal across the finish line.

It’s simple. It’s familiar. And if you’ve worked in B2B long enough, you know it’s also outdated.

The Problem With the Handoff Mentality

Think about how you buy today. You don’t follow a linear path. You research on your own time, explore different channels, talk to peers, and revisit solutions later. The same goes for your buyers. The idea of a clean break where Marketing steps back and Sales steps in just doesn’t reflect reality anymore.

And when Marketing checks out after a lead becomes "qualified," it creates friction:

• Leads lose momentum as Sales gets up to speed

• Messaging becomes inconsistent

• Opportunities stall from lack of ongoing engagement

You’ve probably seen it firsthand: a promising lead suddenly cools off or goes quiet after showing strong interest. Often, it’s not because they’re no longer interested, but because the experience broke down.

Traditional Funnel: Handoff

A Better Model: Ebb and Flow

Now, picture the funnel not as a straight line, but like the ocean: always moving, shifting, and flowing.

Marketing has more influence at the top of the funnel, where building awareness and generating interest are key. As buyers move into evaluation and decision-making, Sales becomes more prominent. But instead of a baton pass, it’s more like a tide - sometimes Marketing leads, sometimes Sales does. And often, both are pulling together.

Especially in the middle of the funnel, it’s a shared effort:

• Marketing keeps the account engaged through content, ads, and brand touches

• Sales builds relationships, uncovers pain points, and drives the deal forward

Even near the close, Marketing still plays a part:

• Providing Sales with timely enablement tools

• Reinforcing messaging through targeted campaigns

• Supporting urgency with content and social proof

And after the deal? Marketing is there to support customer success, drive retention, and tee up expansion. Marketing can turn a new customer into a lifetime of loyalty by creating internal champions that can even help close future deals (think case studies).

Modern Funnel: Ebb and Flow

Every Wave is Different

Just like no two waves in the ocean are exactly the same, no two buyer journeys are identical. The level of coordination between Marketing and Sales can vary depending on numerous factors:

• Account-Based Marketing (ABM) Strategy: In ABM motions, Marketing stays heavily involved even late in the funnel, tailoring engagement to support Sales throughout the deal cycle.

• Vertical or Sector: Highly regulated industries or technical sectors may require more educational nurturing from Marketing during later stages.

• Company Size: Selling to an enterprise with multiple stakeholders often demands longer-term marketing support, while SMB deals may move faster and shift to Sales control earlier.

• Sales Cycle Duration: Longer sales cycles require ongoing touchpoints from both teams to keep the account engaged and build sustained momentum.

• Buyer Behavior: High-intent accounts that actively engage with marketing assets may warrant tighter collaboration and more personalized follow-up.

• Product Complexity: Solutions with a steep learning curve require more nurture, content reinforcement, and buyer education beyond the initial qualification.

The "ebb and flow" model allows both teams to adjust dynamically based on these variables, rather than forcing every deal into a rigid, one-size-fits-all process.

Why This Matters

When Marketing and Sales are in sync, not siloed, the experience for the buyer feels seamless. That’s when deals move faster, win rates improve, and teams hit their numbers together.

You don’t win deals by passing the baton. You win by staying in the race together.

How to Get Started

The first step toward embracing the ebb-and-flow model is to realign your goals. Rather than focusing separately on MQLs, SALs, or sourced pipeline, both Marketing and Sales should rally around the shared outcome that truly matters: winning deals and growing customers.

Traditional marketing metrics still have value as milestones, but they should no longer be treated as end goals. When both teams are measured by the success of closed-won revenue and customer growth, the collaboration naturally deepens. Marketing doesn't check out after an MQL, and Sales doesn't operate in isolation at close.

By redefining success in terms of shared outcomes, you create the foundation for a truly aligned, buyer-centric revenue engine.

Final Thoughts

At Markopia, we believe in building marketing operations that support this ebb-and-flow approach. Shared data, aligned processes, and a unified focus on revenue are the foundation.

So let’s ditch the handoff. Let’s embrace the tide.

Stay tuned for Part 2 in this series: "Riding the Swell: How to Spot and Capitalize on Buyer Momentum."