Attributing pipeline to a single source (Marketing, SDR, AE) oversimplifies a collaborative process. This reporting style identifies team underperformance but offers no insight into *why* it's happening or how to fix it, rendering it strategically useless for scaling or problem-solving.
Traditional funnels jump from a marketing signal (like an MQL) to an opportunity, creating a blind spot. They miss the 'Engagement' period of initial interaction and the 'Prospecting' phase of active sales pursuit. Ignoring these stages makes it impossible to diagnose performance issues or identify improvement levers.
Creating a Stage 0 opportunity when a lead books a meeting is a stop-gap for not having a measurable 'Prospecting' stage. A true opportunity should only be created after qualification via conversation. This faulty process pollutes pipeline data and hides prospecting inefficiencies.
Using a single, overwritable field like 'Lead Status' to track prospecting is a critical error. It prevents you from seeing how many attempts it takes to secure a meeting. A proper model uses a separate container for each prospecting cycle, revealing the true effort required to generate an opportunity.
Instead of a linear handoff, the "GTM Factory" model tracks sales and marketing as parallel processes. This provides end-to-end visibility, like a manufacturing line, exposing how marketing's ongoing influence throughout the sales cycle compounds with sales activities to accelerate pipeline and improve win rates.
Board reports often highlight positive top-line growth (e.g., "deals are up 25%") while ignoring underlying process flaws. This "fluff" reporting hides massive inefficiencies, like an abysmal lead-to-deal conversion rate, preventing the business from addressing the root causes of waste and suboptimal performance.
Legacy GTM models relegate marketing to top-of-funnel activities. Data shows marketing’s continued engagement *after* a deal is created significantly impacts outcomes. Deals with active marketing signals during the sales cycle close faster and at a higher rate, proving marketing is a full-funnel powerhouse.