How Sales & Marketing Alignment Can Build a Brand Your Customers Love

Sales and marketing teams are like two sides of the same coin — both essential but often misaligned. When these teams work separately, businesses lose revenue, waste marketing dollars, and create frustrating customer experiences. But when sales and marketing align, they create a powerful, unified force that builds a brand customers can’t resist.

At Applied Storytelling, we believe the secret to this alignment lies in crafting a clear and compelling brand message using the StoryBrand framework. Let’s explore common issues between sales and marketing and how StoryBrand can bring these teams together.

The Biggest Issues Holding Back Sales & Marketing Teams

1. Misaligned Goals and KPIs

   • The Problem: Marketing chases leads while sales focuses on closing deals. The disconnect leads to finger-pointing when revenue targets aren’t met.

   • The Fix: Establish shared goals like revenue targets, customer lifetime value, or lead-to-customer conversion rates. Using StoryBrand, both teams can define success by creating a unified customer success story.

2. Lead Quality vs. Lead Quantity

   • The Problem: Marketing may generate tons of leads, but sales complains they aren’t qualified.

   • The Fix: StoryBrand helps clarify what makes a perfect customer by defining the problem your product or service solves. Use this clarity to craft lead generation campaigns that attract the right people.

3. Poor Communication and Feedback Loops

   • The Problem: Sales and marketing operate in silos, rarely sharing updates or customer feedback.

   • The Fix: Regular meetings and shared systems help. StoryBrand adds value by creating a shared language that keeps everyone on the same page.

4. Lack of Unified Messaging

   • The Problem: Inconsistent brand messaging confuses potential customers and makes your business seem disorganized.

   • The Fix: StoryBrand’s BrandScript framework helps both teams deliver a consistent message, ensuring marketing content and sales pitches tell the same clear and compelling story.

5. Siloed Operations

   • The Problem: Sales and marketing function like separate companies within the same business.

   • The Fix: StoryBrand workshops bring these teams together by creating a unified narrative. A single clear message builds trust with potential customers and motivates both teams to collaborate.

6. Customer Journey Disconnect

   • The Problem: Marketing focuses on generating interest, while sales handles the close — leaving gaps in the customer’s experience.

   • The Fix: Map the entire customer journey using StoryBrand’s framework. Both teams will know their roles at every stage, ensuring a seamless experience from first contact to final sale.

7. Inconsistent Data and Reporting

   • The Problem: Sales and marketing often use different tools, leading to confusion about what’s working.

   • The Fix: Use integrated CRM and marketing platforms, but also align on how success is measured through a StoryBrand-powered customer success story.

8. Disagreement on Priorities

   • The Problem: Marketing may focus on long-term brand building, while sales wants immediate leads.

   • The Fix: Balance short-term campaigns with long-term brand building. StoryBrand helps your teams understand how both efforts build a lasting customer relationship.

9. No Clear Service Level Agreement (SLA)

   • The Problem: Marketing isn’t held accountable for lead quality, and sales isn’t accountable for timely follow-up.

   • The Fix: A well-defined SLA creates accountability. StoryBrand’s clear messaging process ensures both teams understand what qualifies as a sales-ready lead.

How StoryBrand Helps Teams Align and Thrive

When sales and marketing teams speak the same language, magic happens. StoryBrand provides that common language by clarifying what your business offers, how it solves customer problems, and why it matters.

Why Choose a StoryBrand Workshop?

At Applied Storytelling, our StoryBrand workshops unite your sales and marketing teams through a guided, interactive process. Together, we’ll create a compelling BrandScript that:

• Clarifies your brand’s core message

• Defines your ideal customer

• Maps the entire customer journey

• Aligns marketing campaigns with sales pitches

The result? A stronger, more unified team and a brand your customers will trust, remember, and love.

Ready to Align and Grow?

Don’t let sales and marketing misalignment hold your business back. Book a StoryBrand workshop with Applied Storytelling today. We’ll help you build a unified team, a clear message, and a brand your customers will love.