Why Sales and Marketing's Service Level Agreement (SLA) is Non-Negotiable

Sales and Marketing resemble one team from the outside. They sit in the same meetings, discuss growth, and measure similar metrics. But when you dig deeper, they typically move in different lanes. Sales desires lead to closing quickly. Marketing aims to generate demand and foster engagement. Both are concerned about revenue, but tend to speak past one another. This disconnect creates issues. The solution isn't more meetings or improved software. The solution is a clear, concise Service Level Agreement—an SLA.

An SLA is not a notion or a loose hand. It's a formal document that stipulates exactly what each team will produce, how they will be held responsible, and how success will be quantified. Without it, everything revolves around speculation, and that speculation costs you leads, time, and money.

Why Teams Fall Apart Without One

When there is no SLA, leads don't move quickly. Marketing can brag about high lead counts, but Sales ends up neglecting them because they're unqualified or not followed up on promptly. Leads turn cold. Sales blames Marketing for providing poor leads. Marketing blames Sales for not following up. And the buyer? They go to a competitor who does respond.

It's not a misalignment—it's a breakdown. Sales and Marketing both fail to meet their targets, and rather than fix the issue, they begin to cover up. Data gets manipulated. Reports don't add up. Trust dissolves. The business loses business and never really knows why.

What a Real SLA Looks Like

An effective SLA establishes what a qualified lead really is. It specifies the job function, company size, budget range, and unambiguous indicators of intent. It contains a weekly or monthly lead commitment by Marketing, not only in quantity, but in quality.

The SLA also specifies expectations for Sales. For instance, how soon will they get back to a new lead? Not a qualitative answer, but a specific number, such as in an hour or on the same day. If the leads are not followed up on in that timeframe, then that is a failed commitment.

It also describes what happens to rejected leads by Sales. Are they kicked back to Marketing? Do they go into a nurture program? Do they log why they were rejected? All of this has to be documented, and both teams have to agree on it.

Lastly, an SLA has periodic reporting. It does not have to be elaborate. It needs to indicate whether or not each team is delivering its share of the bargain. If the contract states 200 qualified leads in a month and a two-hour response time, that's what should be monitored and looked at collectively.

Why Guessing Is Not a Strategy

Without an SLA, Sales and Marketing guess. Sales guesses Marketing doesn't know a good lead when they see one. Marketing guesses that Sales doesn't follow through or provide authentic feedback. Guessing squanders time and damages performance.

If you're managing a revenue team without an actual SLA, you're not coordinated—you're betting. And the larger your team or your pipeline, the more you're risking.

What Changes When You Get It Right

Once an SLA is in place, everything works better. Sales knows what to expect. Marketing knows what's being done with the leads they generate. Campaigns improve because feedback is consistent. Sales improve because lead quality goes up. Conversion rates rise because no one is guessing anymore.

Most importantly, the customer enjoys a smoother, more seamless experience. They don't even notice the handoff from one team to another because it is executed well. That level of trust and velocity builds loyalty and seals deals.

Teams that work with powerful SLAs typically experience two to three times greater lead-to-close conversion rates. Not because they work harder, but because they quit wasting time on what doesn't work.

Don't Wait to Fix This

If your teams are still working with loose expectations or habits, it's time to create a genuine SLA. Please put it in writing. Be explicit. Agree on the numbers. Then get together weekly to review and correct.

You don't need additional tools or larger budgets to expand. You need alignment. And alignment only works when it's put in writing, precise, and adhered to.