Introduction

Sales and marketing have endless tools, but signals get lost between teams. This breaks attribution and kills alignment.

What’s the problem it solves?

The main problem is broken attribution when leads move between marketing, sales, and customer success. Signals like source, intent, or promises get lost in silos, leaving teams blind and customers confused.

Quick Summary

The article explains why sales and marketing alignment isn’t about more meetings or dashboards. The issue is broken “signal wiring” between systems. A webinar lead may hit the CRM, but the SDR doesn’t know if it came from ads, emails, or downloads. Replies from prospects go untagged, AEs don’t know intent, and CS inherits new customers without context. The result is unknown attribution, wasted effort, and bad customer handoffs.

To fix this, the author proposes the Route → Structure → Sync model. First, route signals like clicks, replies, or form fills into a central execution system. Then, structure them with tags and campaigns so every lead is handled with context. Finally, sync everything back into the CRM for clean reporting.

Three practical “tracks” show how to patch leaks:

• Track A: Preserve marketing source data for SDRs.
• Track B: Structure replies and send context to AEs.
• Track C: Pass attribution history to CS so onboarding is informed.

This system prevents lead decay, supports re-scoring of dormant leads, and ensures every team sees the full customer journey. Instead of finger-pointing, teams work off the same clean data.

Key Takeaways

• Attribution often fails because signals break at handoff points, not because data is missing.
• Route → Structure → Sync is the framework to preserve signals across the entire funnel.
• Tools like HeyReach + Albato can automate routing, tagging, and syncing.
• Lifecycle stages should be defined by real buyer actions, not arbitrary CRM fields.
• Scoring needs both fit and urgency to avoid wasting sales time.
• Pick one track to fix your biggest leak first, then add the others later.

What to do

• Audit your funnel for signal leaks at marketing → SDR, SDR → AE, and AE → CS.
• Implement Route → Structure → Sync for at least one transition this week.
• Define lifecycle stages based on real behaviors (download, demo request, deal closed).
• Score leads on both fit (role, size, ICP) and urgency (intent, activity).
• Set up fallback logs (Sheets/Airtable) so no signals disappear unnoticed.
• Automate re-scoring and reactivation of dormant leads to protect pipeline value.

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