LEADERSHIP

IS IT GETTING HARDER FOR BRANDS TO STAND OUT? According to Jennifer Stanley, Partner at McKinsey, the tools that once made brands leaders have now become base level requirements. But the marketing teams having the most success are the ones working closely with a key internal partner: the sales team.“ The companies pulling ahead are creating a connected experience across digital and human channels and operating core B2B marketing efforts tightly together with sales, versus separate from, so customers get the same message, the same information and the same level of expertise wherever they engage,” says Jennifer. This collaboration can make a significant difference to the success of the B2B sales funnel, with Carol Carpenter, Chief Marketing Officer of Cohesity, sharing that she ties marketing initiatives directly to pipeline and revenue – suggesting that a focus on performance can considerably change the relationship between the two teams.“ We moved away from looking backwards at trends after the fact and focused on what ' s happening right now,” Carol says.“ That means more regular, more valuable engagement during the quarter to deliver against genuinely shared revenue performance goals.”

Jennifer Stanley Partner McKinsey

By bridging the gap between these two teams, organisations can build a more unified and high-performing commercial function that is able to meet the rising expectations of B2B buyers.

Creating shared targets According to McKinsey’ s 2026 B2B Pulse Survey, companies are more likely to achieve top revenue bands by introducing sales-led ownership across Account Based Marketing( ABM) activities – standing at 43 %, compared to 31 %. But this doesn’ t mean that sales and marketing should work separately, says Jennifer.“ Collaboration remains essential, but when accountability is diffused, decisionmaking slows, priorities blur and execution loses focus,” she says.

52 October 2026