Why Structure Decides Whether Alignment Holds

Alignment’s Silent Break Point

Alignment doesn’t always collapse because lack of trying or effort. Many times it collapses because the org chart forces teams to operate in silos.

• Sales and marketing are still structured around funnels that end at closed-won

• Each function owns its own stage and scoreboard

• Handoffs, debates, and gaps multiply causing buyers to feel friction long before leaders see it in the numbers

When pressure mounts, silos always win. The result is predictable: stalled pipeline, forecast misses, and growth built on shaky ground.

Shift 1: Upskill Before You Restructure

Leaders often rush into org redesigns. But structure fails if the people inside it are not prepared to operate differently.

Targeted upskilling is the first stage of structural alignment:

• Building skills to execute in a buyer-centric system

• Training for joint planning and lifecycle accountability

• Preparing individuals to thrive in cross-functional work, not just functional silos

Without this step, new structures collapse under pressure. Teams revert to old habits, and misalignment resurfaces.

Shift 2: Redesign for Shared Accountability

Most companies treat collaboration as an add-on. But collaboration only holds if the structure enforces it.

Structural alignment happens when accountability is shared across sales, marketing, and success. That means:

• Shared KPIs tied to pipeline health, conversion, and expansion

• Joint ownership of outcomes that no single function can hit alone

• Reviews that measure system performance, not functional wins

This removes the conditions for turf wars. The structure itself makes collaboration the default.

Shift 3: Transition to a Customer Lifecycle Model

The funnel-based structure made sense when growth was only about net-new logos. It breaks down in a world where retention, expansion, and long-term value drive sustainable growth.

The alternative is a customer lifecycle model:

• Revenue outcomes are co-owned across acquisition, onboarding, retention, and expansion

• Teams operate as one revenue engine instead of disconnected departments

• Trust across functions builds because performance is measured on shared outcomes, not siloed scoreboards

This model eliminates handoffs that buyers feel and creates durable alignment that holds under pressure.

Structural Audit: 5 questions to ask next week

• Are definitions and KPIs the same in Marketing, Sales, and Success reviews?

• Do recurring meetings end with decisions that change execution?

• Is anyone accountable for onboarding to expansion outcomes, or only acquisition?

• Do QBRs debate the “real number”, or the actions to fix the number?

• Can we trace how field feedback changed targeting or messaging this quarter?

The Bottom Line

Alignment doesn’t always fail because teams aren’t trying hard enough. It fails because the structure they inherit was designed for the way the modern buyer buys.

Leaders who redesign structure around skills, shared accountability, and the full customer lifecycle build a revenue engine that holds under pressure, scales with confidence, and produces growth that lasts.

If this was useful, forward it to a colleague who would benefit from rethinking how sales and marketing can align to drive sustainable growth.

Until next week,
Jeff
RevEngine™ | Built for Revenue Leaders Driving Alignment and Growth—Together