Why Your Sales Team Is Struggling (And How Better Marketing Can Fix It)

Sales teams often work incredibly hard, supported by tools like CRMs, ongoing training, and even additional headcount. But despite the effort and investment, results can stall. Revenue plateaus, conversion rates dip, and the sales pipeline becomes unpredictable. It's a frustratingly common scenario.

If that sounds familiar, the problem isn’t just your sales activity; it’s the system around it. And more often than not, the missing link is marketing.

6 Reasons Your Sales Team Might Be Struggling

Even experienced and capable salespeople hit roadblocks, especially when they’re missing the support of a strong marketing system. Here are six common causes:

1. The Leads Aren’t Good Enough

They’re not ready to buy, they don’t understand what you do, or they’re simply the wrong fit.

2. Sales Are Wasting Time Qualifying

Too many conversations start with basic questions that your website or marketing should have answered.

3. The Messaging Doesn’t Resonate

Your team is selling features and benefits when they should be focused on solving specific business problems.

4. Sales And Marketing Aren’t Aligned

There’s no agreed-upon handover process, no shared CRM, and no clear definition of what makes a sales-ready lead.

5. There’s No Visibility

Data is scattered, reporting is patchy, and there’s no way to see what’s really driving results.

6. Leads Aren’t Being Followed Up Properly

Too often, only the “hot” leads get attention – while warmer, early-stage prospects are left behind. Without lead nurturing, follow-up, and consistent engagement, you’re missing out on thousands of untapped opportunities.

Until these problems are solved, your sales team is stuck fighting an uphill battle.

Where Things Get Stuck: The Sales-Marketing Disconnect

Often, sales and marketing operate in silos - each doing their job, but not necessarily pulling in the same direction.

Marketing may be focused on generating traffic or creating content, without thinking about what happens when a lead actually gets handed over. Meanwhile, sales is chasing monthly targets with little support, little insight, and no way to influence the kind of leads that come through.

This disconnect shows up as:

• Leads that never convert.
• Sales teams are too slow to respond to new leads.
• Sales teams don’t get enough information/context about a new lead.
• No process for nurturing prospects who aren’t ready.
• Inconsistent messaging between marketing content and sales calls.
• Missed opportunities from leads slipping through the cracks.

How Better Marketing Fixes It

A strategic marketing system gives your sales team what they really need: a steady stream of sales-ready leads, with the tools and information to close them.

Here’s how:

Define what a good lead actually looks like: Marketing and sales work together to create shared lead definitions, ideal client profiles, and qualification criteria.

Nurture leads before they hit sales: Email automation and helpful content warm up leads - so by the time they speak to sales, they’re informed and interested.

Let automation handle the early conversations: Chatbots, forms, and workflows qualify leads and book appointments automatically, saving your team time.

Use one CRM that both sales and marketing can see: With shared visibility, your team can track every interaction, from first click to closed deal.

Build messaging that sells the outcome: Instead of pushing features or technical specs, your marketing speaks to real-world business problems, the same ones your sales team solves every day.

Stay in touch with leads that haven’t converted (yet): Not every lead is ready to buy straight away, but that doesn’t mean they’re a waste of time. A strong marketing engine keeps them engaged, builds trust over time, and brings them back when the timing is right.

Score and segment leads based on behaviour: With lead scoring in place, you can surface those showing high buying intent, even the hidden gems already sitting in your database - and prioritise them for sales follow-up.

Why JDR Group Makes a Difference

We’ve worked with over 3,000 SMEs over the last 20 years. We’ve seen what works, and we’ve built a proven system to help sales and marketing teams work together - not against each other.

When you work with JDR, you get:

• A clear strategy tailored to your business goals.
• One system to attract, convert and close more of the right leads.
• A dedicated team that understands sales, not just marketing.
• Complete visibility from first enquiry to final sale.

We use HubSpot because it brings everything into one place. Whether that's your CRM, your website, your marketing, or your reporting, meaning fewer silos, less guesswork, and more control.

Let’s Fix the Disconnect

If you want more sales, better leads, and a stronger pipeline, we can help.

Start by booking a free sales and marketing review. We’ll show you where things are breaking down, what to fix first, and how to build a system that works.

Or, to learn more, download our free guide: How To Increase Sales.