Take 5

How can sales and marketing collaborate to ensure quality prospect interaction?

Having sales and marketing aligned is critical in getting deals closed! I believe both can work together to develop a clear and laser-focused approach to landing the client. We always leverage our marketing talent at Withum to work with our leaders, create content, design and launch campaigns. We then leverage our sales team to specifically target those efforts at very specific companies or individuals within those companies. Having sales and marketing live inside the same CRM technology solution is an absolute MUST to guarantee that everyone is on the same page and not tripping over each other. Both must work together to continuously analyze the results to ensure we achieve our desired outcomes.

James C Bourke, CPA, CITP,CFF, CGMA, managing director — advisory services, Withum Smith+Brown, PC

Marketing’s clients are the people in the sales function. Marketing exists to support the objective of driving firmwide revenue, not just creating visibility, credibility and relevance (VCR). Many marketing organizations are focused on VCR and forget why they are there in the first place. Firms can spend lots of money on VCR and not drive revenue, but I wouldn’t recommend it! Once these concepts are fully embraced, marketers have the mindset to be optimally effective and wise choices and implementations follow. When I ran marketing, I always judged our performance by how the sales organization (our clients) perceived our organization.

Gale Crosley, CPA, CGMA, CEO, Crosley+Company

Sales and marketing must operate as aligned, equal partners to strategically close deals and drive revenue. By sharing goals, creating open communication channels and maintaining mutual accountability, these teams can ensure every prospect interaction is intentional and impactful. Marketing brings expertise in branding and messaging, while sales offer insights from client interactions—together, they craft strategies that resonate with prospects. Regular collaboration fosters innovation and ensures a seamless client journey, from the first touchpoint to closing the deal. Trust and transparency allow both teams to adapt quickly and refine their approach based on feedback. Celebrating shared wins and learning from challenges strengthens the partnership and ensures a unified effort toward growth. When sales and marketing complement each other, the firm thrives.

Jeff Jacobs, director of development, Wilkins Miller

An overlooked fundamental is having sales and marketing not aligned in their CRM prospect lifecycle stages. Setting up“rules for CRM tools”clarifies the handoff for when marketing owns a lead and when Biz Dev (BD) owns a lead. It could be as simple as marketing owning opt-in communications and BD owning leads from opt-in to close. If these “rules for CRM tools”aren’t set up, a lead may receive a marketing email inviting them to set up a free consultation within hours of a proposal email from BD, leading to unnecessary confusion in the prospect's mind. When marketing and BD communicate their“rules for CRM tools,”there are clear lines of communication with leads in the pipeline.

Mark Jamnik, co-founder, Kindred

By leveraging each team's strengths, sales and marketing can work together to ensure every prospect interaction is strategically designed to close deals and secure new revenue. Marketing can craft targeted materials that clearly convey what sets the firm apart, while sales will focus on reinforcing these messages during conversations. One way to achieve this is by having marketing implement nurturing campaigns, such as emails and newsletters, to warm up leads, which the sales team can then follow up with personalized communication to convert them into active opportunities. Regular strategy meetings allow both teams to analyze prospect behavior and develop tailored responses that address distinct challenges and goals. By aligning these efforts, both teams ensure that every prospect interaction is optimized to drive revenue and close deals.

Michael J. Stephano, CPA, managing partner, Stephano Slack LLC

Interviews by Eileen Monesson