It's one of the oldest stories in business: the friction between sales and marketing. Marketing complains that sales doesn't follow up on their leads, while sales insists the leads from marketing are low-quality. This misalignment is costly, leading to wasted resources, missed opportunities, and stalled growth. The solution? A formal contract that gets both teams on the same page: a Service-Level Agreement (SLA).
What is a Sales and Marketing SLA?
A Service-Level Agreement (SLA) is a formal, documented contract between your sales and marketing teams. It moves beyond vague promises and establishes clear, quantifiable goals for each group. The purpose of an SLA is to create mutual accountability and a unified approach to lead generation and conversion, a concept often called "Smarketing."
Essential Components of a Robust SLA
A strong SLA doesn't need to be overly complex, but it must include these essential components:
- Shared, Concrete Lead Definitions: Both teams must agree on the exact criteria for a lead at each stage. What constitutes a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)? What specific actions or data points elevate an MQL to a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)? Documenting these definitions eliminates ambiguity.
- A Documented Lead Handoff Process: How, specifically, does a lead get passed from marketing to sales? This process should be seamless and automated through your CRM. The SLA should define the exact trigger for the handoff and what information must be included.
- Specific Goals for the Marketing Team: Marketing's commitment must be quantified. The SLA should state the exact number of MQLs marketing agrees to generate for the sales team each month or quarter. This makes their goal tangible and measurable.
- Specific Goals for the Sales Team: In return, sales must commit to how they will handle the leads provided by marketing. The SLA should define metrics for the speed and persistence of lead follow-up. For example, "Sales will attempt to contact every SQL within 24 hours and make a minimum of 5 follow-up attempts."
By creating an SLA, you transform the relationship between sales and marketing from one of friction to one of partnership. When both teams are working from the same playbook with shared goals and clear accountability, the entire business grows faster.