How Leading Teams Are Closing the Revenue Clarity Gap

Marketing and sales teams are often flush with data but starved for clarity, reacting to noise instead of acting on real buyer signals. That’s the clarity gap — and it’s costing revenue teams in pipeline.

In our latest live session, Predictiv’s Head of Marketing, Lindsay O’Brien, and VP of Sales, Angie Waters, break down what 100 senior B2B marketers revealed as the challenges and best practices in revenue activation — and what it means for sellers on the ground.

This wasn't just a marketing conversation. It’s a cross-functional deep dive into how leading revenue teams are realigning their strategy around truth, timing, and total buyer activation.

You’ll hear how top-performing teams are:

• Prioritizing pipeline based on unified revenue opportunity signals
• Shifting from individual contacts to full buying committee engagement
• Closing the sales-marketing disconnect with shared readiness triggers
• Activating revenue through owned, first-party execution

Watch the full session, or scroll down for the full transcript.

‍Lindsay O'Brien: Great! Hi, everyone! I'm Lindsay O'Brien, Head of Marketing and Operations at Predictiv. I'm joined by Angie Waters, our VP of Sales in North America.

Lindsay O'Brien: Angie has an interesting background—she's spent most of her career selling marketing solutions, balancing sales and marketing perspectives. Angie, how long have you been in sales, and how much of that has been selling to marketers?

Angie Waters: All of it. Just over 20 years selling to B2B marketers, entirely focused on the B2B marketing services space.

Lindsay O'Brien: Cool. So, Angie, for anyone unfamiliar, this year we surveyed 100 B2B marketing leaders (senior manager level and above) on challenges and what's working in revenue activation. I'll send the report as a follow-up if you haven't seen it.

Lindsay O'Brien: What was different? We used a mixed-method approach: quantitative survey data plus qualitative interviews to get the "why" behind the "what." Honestly, we'll never go back to numbers-only surveys—pairing data with real stories changed how we interpreted everything.

Lindsay O'Brien: A great example: Leaders feel their strategies reach only 42% of their total addressable market (TAM). At surface level, that sounds like failure, but interviews revealed it's by design—they're intentional about targeting due to limited resources.

Lindsay O'Brien: Without that context, the story would've been wrong. This sums up the report's theme: The #1 challenge for marketers is lack of unified data. You have tons of numbers, but piecing insights into a truthful, shared story for sales and marketing is tough.

Lindsay O'Brien: It's not for lack of trying—they're struggling to separate noise from real signals. Angie, quick take from your sales perspective?

Angie Waters: Context matters. 42% doesn't panic me—the best sellers know not everyone's ready. It's not about chasing everyone (sorry if I've chased you!). Buyers don't wave flags; it's about spotting real signals from high-fit segments. That mirrors strong sales teams.

Angie Waters: But the challenge is the same: Data isn't unified, buyers are elusive, no one wants to be sold to. Balance revenue goals and excitement with buyers' readiness for conversations.

Lindsay O'Brien: Resonates—most leaders say they have too much data, not too little. They need to navigate the "data swamp" and act on insights. One big way: TAM audits to find best-fit opportunities.

Lindsay O'Brien: We just did one internally: New lead/account scoring, CRM hygiene, analysis of closed-won deals (companies, industries, sizes, regions). TAM audits often get eye-rolls—"another list that goes nowhere"—but 93% of marketers seeing revenue impact do them yearly; those with significant impact do quarterly. Discipline pays off.

Lindsay O'Brien: Teams aren't chasing 100% TAM—they're going deep on what matters. Angie, signs sales teams are spreading too wide instead of deep?

Angie Waters: We audit pipeline constantly—businesses change. Too wide? Coverage gaps, can't reach all accounts/people, meetings lag, conversations shallow (curious but not committed). Pipeline looks full but isn't healthy revenue.

Angie Waters: Deeper on fit/ready segments sharpens everything: Conversations shift from "why" to "how," focusing on active buyers and decision-makers.

Lindsay O'Brien: TAM audits cover accounts and buyer committees—key with slower cycles and more stakeholders. Angie, you have a story about this impacting a deal?

Angie Waters: Not the best story, but it turned out okay. Deal looked perfect: Fit, timing, momentum, champions/influencers all in, budget/authority seemed set. Then CFO looped in at the 11th hour—disengaged, scrutinized every dollar, stalled the whole team. Visibility gap.

Angie Waters: As a seller, I own some of that, but tools/shared goals could activate across committees better.

Lindsay O'Brien: (Laughs) No experience fighting for marketing budget here... But it shows marketers need closeness to finance—sounds like they were surprised too.

Angie Waters: Check-ins between sales/marketing help spot patterns and share active accounts to tailor strategies. Budget influences committees—not just downloads, but recent brand touches.

Lindsay O'Brien: Or something to hand them! After TAM audits, ruthless prioritization: If everything's important, nothing is. But teams struggle—strategic C-level accounts vs. ready buyers. 9/10 worry about misprioritizing (missing targets, low pipeline quality).

Lindsay O'Brien: Fix? Sales-marketing alignment (B2B world peace!). 3 in 4 prioritize it for full data stories/shared context.

Lindsay O'Brien: Angie, what can marketers do to better support sales?

Angie Waters: Synchronized intention: Who we're targeting, early input on campaigns/shared metrics. Sales validates misprioritization risks. Regular check-ins align engagement data vs. sales interactions—feels like collaboration, not handoff.

Lindsay O'Brien: Frequency? Full teams or one-on-one? Weekly touchpoints?

Angie Waters: Depends on team size/campaign. Weekly works here; quarterly for smaller. Personalize cadence by segments/audience. Start with sales leader to avoid mixed signals.

Lindsay O'Brien: Agree! For in-between moments (no meetings): Slack? Email? Quick video?

Angie Waters: Slack's great—quick, responsive. I'm collaborative; loop me in on questions.

Lindsay O'Brien: We've unified signals, listed/prioritized opportunities—now activation! Most teams blend broad demand gen with ABM—right play, as only a fraction of buyers are ready. Always-on + targeted keeps us top-of-mind.

Lindsay O'Brien: Top channels marketers prefer: Sales outreach, company website, industry events, paid ads, email. Angie, match what you see? Any disagreements?

Angie Waters: Sales outreach #1—our job! Content syndication helps follow-up. Key: Context on buyer responses per channel.

Angie Waters: Glad paid ads are there (I've built segmented campaigns). Essential for brand visibility pre-sales—eye-rolls aside, influences before I'm in the room (e.g., CFO story: A quick ROI touch could've helped).

Angie Waters: Webinars too—not every lead needs pouncing; follow up with content to solve pains, facilitate understanding. Mix channels, align to intent/revenue signals.

Lindsay O'Brien: By demo time, they've researched—you meet them there (likely shortlist). Without prior work, you're off it.

Angie Waters: Website's crucial—lacks content/education? Cuts you from shortlist.

Lindsay O'Brien: Not all activity equals: Data + context tells the real story, not dashboards' made-up ones.

Lindsay O'Brien: Wrap-up: Q4 takeaway—activation from knowing/focusing on what matters, not doing more. Angie, one advice for revenue teams?

Angie Waters: Build from shared truth: Clarity in intentional alignment defines reality, uncovers hidden revenue. Stars align when we do.

Lindsay O'Brien: Awesome. Thanks, Angie—love our one-on-ones; fun sharing with everyone. Resonated? Reach out—we're here. Recording in your inbox in 24 hours. Thanks, Angie!

Angie Waters: Thank you, Lindsay. Bye!

Lindsay O'Brien: Bye.