I Didn’t “Align” with Sales. I Earned Their Trust. The Relationship-First Approach That Changed How We Drove Pipeline

Chelsea Mariah
Apr 21
5 min read

Updated: Apr 26

As a growth marketer and ABX practitioner with a background in biz dev, recruiting and HR, my approach has always been a little different.

While others chased MQLs and obsessed over tech stacks, I found myself prioritizing something a lot harder to measure... Trust.

Trust with my reps

Mutual respect with Sales leadership

Empathy across the entire GTM org

Was It Always Easy? Not Even Close.

I won’t lie—there were plenty of moments I second-guessed this approach.

Prioritizing trust over quick wins?

Spending hours in 1:1s instead of launching the next flashy new ad campaign?

It wasn’t what most marketers were doing. It was time-consuming. And frankly?

Sometimes it felt like a grind.

But the results spoke louder than the doubts. Because once you earn that trust—once you build real alignment—you stop wasting time spinning your wheels. And you start building momentum that actually moves revenue.

Every single team I have worked with, the trust I spent so much time establishing - became the foundation for every campaign that worked—and every quarter we hit our number.

Alignment isn’t built in strategy decks, y'all.

It’s built in real, earned trust—one conversation, one account plan, one shared win at a time.

And once you’ve got that trust? That shared respect?

That’s when the real magic happens, and the real work gets done.

Misalignment Actually Costs You (Time + $$)

Let’s call it what it is: chaos in disguise.

When GTM teams operate in silos, everything breaks down and you get

Wasted marketing spend. Campaigns launched in a vacuum. Great content collecting dust because it doesn’t actually serve the sales process.
Reps guessing what works. They’re stuck flying blind. No insight into what messages land or why a lead even came in.
A disjointed buyer journey. Prospects feel it. And when it feels disconnected? Trust erodes—fast.
Sales and Marketing misfires. One team’s optimizing for leads, the other’s optimizing for revenue. No wonder it falls apart.
RevOps building in the dark. Systems don’t align with strategy because the strategy isn’t aligned to begin with.

This isn’t a “nice to fix” problem.

It’s the root of why deals stall, budgets get cut, and goals don’t get met.

GTM Teams Should Run Like a Pit Crew

If you want a visual for how tight this alignment needs to be, think F1 or NASCAR.

A pit crew doesn’t kinda know what to do.

They’re choreographed. Synced. Clockwork.

Each member has one job.

They know it, own it, and execute in seconds.

Every second matters. Every move is connected.

Your GTM motion should be no different.

Everyone knows their role. Everyone’s clear on the timing. Everyone trusts the next person will do their job so they can do theirs.

That’s the level of precision it takes to win in today’s market.

How I Built Real Alignment (And You Can Too)

Let’s be real: alignment doesn’t show up because you ran a kickoff meeting.

It’s built through habits, not hype.

There’s no secret sauce. Just time, trust, and a deep willingness to get in the trenches with your sales partners.

Here’s what I did differently—and why it worked:

I committed to 1:1s with every AE and every VP of Sales.

Not to “present marketing updates,” but to build real partnerships. I showed up curious. I wanted to know what they were seeing in the field, what was resonating, what was falling flat.

I got close to the data.

I sat with RevOps. Poured over pipeline signals. Dug into account behavior. Asked a million questions. When something looked off, I didn’t assume—I investigated.

I translated the signals into action.

I didn’t just say “this segment is surging.” I asked, “how do we build a play around it—together?”

I helped architect one shared GTM motion.

Not a new campaign every month. A clear, cohesive strategy that everyone—from BDRs to Sales VPs to RevOps—could align to and execute against.

That’s when things started to click:

→ Messaging got sharper. → Pipeline got stronger. → Our team grew together in one powerful motion

The Power of Weekly 1:1s with Sales

If there’s one habit that made the biggest difference in building trust and staying aligned, it was this: weekly 1:1s with every Sales VP and rep I supported.

These weren’t status updates. They were working sessions. Safe spaces to troubleshoot pipeline friction, share observations, and co-create plays.

Here’s the simple structure I followed:

0:00–0:05: Quick rapport + check-in: Start casual. Any wins? Anything top of mind?
0:05–0:12: Pipeline review: What’s moving? What’s stuck? Any opps at risk?
0:12–0:20: In-market account signals: Who’s got intent? Who’s been on site? Any surging accounts?
0:20–0:27: Marketing support: Where can I help? Air cover, content, follow-ups, new messaging?
0:27–0:30: Align on actions: What are the follow-ups? Who’s doing what before next week?

Over time, these meetings created a rhythm. A relationship. A mutual understanding of what mattered.

And that’s what laid the groundwork for alignment that really lasted.

Know Your Role. Respect the Handoff.

GTM is a team sport. And just like on the field, knowing your position (and owning it) is everything.

Marketing sets the play. Messaging, positioning, target lists, campaign orchestration—we create the conditions for demand.
Sales drives it forward. They engage, qualify, and close—translating interest into outcomes.
RevOps keeps it moving. They build the infrastructure to support momentum. Without them, nothing scales.

Turn Strategy into Action: NEW GTM Alignment Worksheet coming soon!

Stay tuned here and on social for the GTM Alignment Worksheet that will empower you with a fast-track to clarity around what it takes to build trust and alignment for faster time to more revenue.

I built it for teams who are tired of working hard without working together.

What's included in the worksheet?? You will:

Map ownership and handoffs across the funnel >> Who owns what? When does it change hands? No more “I thought you had it.”
Audit (or establish) your alignment rituals >> We’re talking about the real stuff: meetings, metrics, moments of collaboration. Are they working—or just recurring?
Identify disconnects and action gaps >> Where does friction live? What signals are we missing? Where are we duplicating efforts or dropping the ball?
Build your 'one motion' >> Align around a shared ICP, messaging, account focus, and execution rhythm. The outcome? A GTM motion that moves.