Sales - Product - Engineering - Marketing. Build Long-Lasting Cross-functional Relationships
As an early-stage founder or future sales leader, you must inevitably collaborate with cross-functional partners to scale your company successfully.
These partners typically include:
Product
Engineering
Marketing
In the early days, these roles often live within the founding team.
But as the startup grow, probably a leadership team is now born with leaders in all the relevant functions.
That's when communication and collaboration between sales and other departments become crucial.
Misalignment can lead to inefficiency, frustration, and missed opportunities.
In fact, some of my most challenging moments as a sales leader were caused by strained relationships between sales and other departments.
1. Sales <> Product
This is one of the most critical relationships in your company.
Ideally, communication flows both ways:
Sales provides customer feedback to the product team.
The product team actively seeks input from sales to improve the product.
However, avoid a reactive approach like “Submit ideas via this form” or “Reach out when something comes up.”
These processes often fail because they lack accountability.
Instead, establish systems that encourage collaboration:
Regular Sales-Product Meetings: Schedule monthly check-ins to share insights both ways.
Tagged AI Recordings: Use AI to record sales calls and tag key product-related feedback with specific keywords.
Shared KPIs: Align performance metrics (e.g., product adoption, customer satisfaction) to team compensation plans.
2. Sales <> Engineering
Sales and engineering teams often interact less directly, but it’s vital to simplify communication when they do.
Different personalities and technical jargon can lead to friction. (I have been there too!)
Here’s how to smooth this relationship:
Bridge the Gap: Avoid overly technical language when explaining customer issues or product needs. Likewise, ask engineering to simplify explanations for non-technical audiences.
Critical Updates: Keep sales informed about major engineering milestones, significantly when they impact product functionality or releases.
Build recurrent meetings where the teams can mingle and get to know each other personally.
3. Sales <> Marketing
The sales-marketing relationship is often the most direct - and the most challenging.
When the two teams don’t align, the blame game starts (you have been there):
Sales accuse marketing of poor-quality leads.
Marketing accuses sales of weak follow-ups or slow response times.
To avoid this dynamic, implement systems, for example:
Shared Lead Scoring: Work together to define what makes a lead “qualified.”
Mutual KPIs: Set joint goals like “time to lead” or conversion rates.
Clear Disqualification Criteria: Agree on what leads should not be pursued and why.
Attribution Models: Clarify who gets credit for deals (and ensure it’s fair).
This relationship is critical. It is too important to be broken or miss out on opportunities.
If sales and marketing don’t work well together, it can disrupt your entire revenue engine.
Key Takeaways
As your company grows, building strong cross-functional relationships is non-negotiable.
How?
Establish transparent systems for communication and accountability.
Avoid relying on “informal chats” or unstructured meetings - these create frustration over time.
Remember, the CEO (or founder) watches how you handle these relationships.
Your ability to collaborate effectively can influence their confidence in your leadership.
Finally, don’t lose sight of the big picture.
Your cross-functional counterparts are allies, not competitors.
Most importantly, they are your team.
We often think of our team as the team we manage, but our team is the leadership team.
By delivering results together, you’ll hit your targets and unlock additional resources and budget to grow even faster.
Win together.
