Why Pairing Sales Leaders with Marketing Expertise Sets Your Business Up for Success
- Crossbeam Industrial Marketing
- Sep 20
- 4 min read
In many industrial B2B companies, leadership creates a “Sales & Marketing” role and almost always fills the role with someone with a strong sales background. That makes sense on the surface because they’ve been in the field, excel at building relationships, and understand what it takes to close a deal. However, they are now expected to lead marketing without the training or tools to do so effectively.
Here’s the catch: sales and marketing are not interchangeable. Expecting one person to wear both hats is likely to set that person up to fail when the skill sets are so different. Both are essential functions and should be resourced as such.
To build a true growth engine, leadership must pair sales expertise with marketing strategy, and structure teams to support both.
What Sales Leaders Do Best
Sales leaders thrive when they can:
Build and manage customer relationships.
Coach sales reps on negotiation and closing skills.
Forecast pipeline revenue and manage quotas.
Provide direct feedback from the field on what customers are asking for.
Solve problems in real time when deals stall or objections surface.
This real-world perspective is so important. Sales leaders have their finger on the pulse of the customer and know exactly what’s happening at the deal level.
Where Marketing Leaders Add Value
Marketing plays a different but complementary role. Marketing leaders bring structure, process, and creativity to the growth engine by:
Developing messaging and positioning that resonate with buyers.
Building campaigns that generate awareness and demand.
Creating lead nurturing workflows so opportunities don’t go cold.
Implementing systems (CRM, automation, analytics) that measure ROI.
Equipping sales with collateral, case studies, and tools that move deals forward.
Where sales is immediate and transactional, marketing is long-term and systemic. One focuses on closing this quarter’s deals, and the other builds next quarter’s pipeline.
The Risk of Blurring the Lines
When companies assign marketing responsibility to a sales-first leader without additional support, here’s what often happens:
Marketing becomes reactive instead of strategic (“we need a flyer for next week’s show”).
Lead generation depends almost entirely on sales hunting, not inbound opportunities.
The company underinvests in brand visibility, so prospects don’t know they exist until sales calls them.
Leadership becomes frustrated when “marketing” doesn’t appear to deliver measurable ROI.
It’s not the sales leader’s fault. The structure of dual responsibility creates this internal misalignment when sales leaders are expected to “do marketing” without the right support. They simply do not have the training or background to handle marketing effectively when their true strength is in sales management.
Industry Examples
Trade Shows
Trade shows are a cornerstone of industrial marketing, but they are often mismanaged when marketing isn’t part of the plan.
A sales-first leader will focus on in-booth activity and networking. They’ll staff the booth, meet prospects, and collect business cards. This is valuable but limited.
A marketing leader, on the other hand, layers in strategy around the event:
Pre-show campaigns to drive target prospects to the booth.
Onsite messaging aligned to buyer pain points.
Lead capture systems that connect directly to the CRM for fast follow-up.
Post-show nurture workflows to build future pipeline.
The result? Instead of 300 business cards in a box, you walk away with 300 qualified contacts segmented by buying stage, and a pipeline that extends months beyond the event.
This is where sales and marketing together outperform either one alone.
New Product Launch
A new product launch is an exciting time for a manufacturer. There’s something new to talk about and the potential for growth in areas that the new product can address.
A sales-first leader will focus on preparing their team to get the message out in the field. The launch efforts will probably have the following priorities:
Sales teams are briefed on the new product and asked to “get it in front of customers.”
Reps rely on existing relationships and cold outreach to generate interest.
Collateral is created ad hoc — often last-minute — with limited messaging consistency.
Launch success is measured by short-term sales activity, not long-term pipeline growth.
If sales and marketing work in partnership, a well-rounded approach for the launch can be implemented, including priorities such as:
Marketing develops a go-to-market strategy with clear positioning, messaging, and buyer personas.
A multi-channel campaign is launched: email, social, SEO, and paid media targeting relevant segments.
Sales is equipped with tailored launch kits: product sheets, case studies, objection-handling guides.
Marketing tracks engagement and lead quality, while sales provides feedback from the field.
The result? A coordinated launch that builds awareness, generates qualified leads, and supports sales conversations with the right tools at the right time.
Bottom Line
Sales and marketing are two sides of the same coin, but they aren’t the same job. Sales leaders excel at building relationships and closing business. Marketing leaders excel at building systems, strategies, and stories that make selling easier.
When you combine the two intentionally rather than expecting one person to do both, you set your teams, your leaders, and your business up for long-term success.
Ready to strengthen your sales and marketing partnership?
At Crossbeam Industrial Marketing, we specialize in helping industrial companies pair their strong sales expertise with the marketing strategy and execution they’ve been missing. From lead generation systems to trade show planning, we help you create alignment, capture ROI, and give your Sales & Marketing Manager the support they need to succeed.
