Your Biggest Revenue Opportunities Aren’t Hidden In Sales

For many CEOs, the instinctive reaction to slowing growth is predictable: hire more salespeople, pump more budget into acquisition channels, and widen the top of the funnel. While this approach can work, it rarely scales indefinitely. As Brad Pitts put it, leaders eventually hit “the point of diminishing returns,” where more spending no longer efficiently translates into more revenue. 

A more strategic, and often overlooked, path exists: treat marketing as a revenue engine, not a cost center. 

Brad Pitts and Faisal Laljee, Associate Chief Marketing Officers with The CMO Syndicate, outlined the misconceptions CEOs commonly hold, the true revenue potential of marketing, and a pragmatic framework for accelerating growth through smarter alignment of sales, marketing, and customer experience. 

The Growth Challenge: When More Sales Isn’t the Answer 

Many CEOs still default to the belief that revenue acceleration comes from doubling down on acquisition. But the math rarely holds. 

“You can only hire so many salespeople with expertise. You can only invest in so many channels until you reach the point of diminishing returns.” 
— Brad Pitts 

Instead, organizations should focus on generating what he calls “pre-sold customers”. Buyers who enter the sales process informed, aligned, and already leaning toward a decision. This is marketing’s untapped power. 

Pitts shared a benchmark many CEOs find surprising: 

“In a B2B context, marketing should own 30% of the revenue running through the organization.” 
— Brad Pitts 

That 30% represents deals marketing identifies, nurtures, and meaningfully progresses before sales ever gets involved. 

Four Common Mistakes CEOs Make; And Why They Matter 

Laljee summarized the repeated patterns he and Pitts have seen across industries: 

1. Limiting marketing to lead generation

“Marketing really should be accelerating the pipeline and closing deals.” 
— Faisal Laljee  

Traffic and lead volume alone don’t grow revenue. Pipeline velocity does. 

2. Not holding marketing accountable for revenue

If sales is measured on revenue, why isn’t marketing? 

3. Planning in silos

Marketing, product, customer experience, and operations must share unified goals. 

4. Prioritizing short-term tactics over long-term growth

Marketing creates value over time.  

“Treat marketing not like a car that depreciates, but think of it as a house. The more you renovate, the more it pays off.” 
— Faisal Laljee  

Introducing the Demand Engine Model: A New Mandate for CMOs 

Pitts and Laljee introduced a four-part framework, the Demand Engine Model, designed to shift marketing from a support function to a revenue driver. 

1. TurnmarketingInto a revenue acceleration function 

“Marketing should be the driver of generating buyers, not just leads.” 
— Brad Pitts 

This requires deeper education of prospects, better alignment with product positioning, and content that builds informed confidence. 

2. Holdmarketingaccountable for revenue contribution 

Marketing should own and be measured against a clear percentage of revenue targets. 

3. Trackbuying signals, not vanity metrics 

Laljee was especially pointed here: 

“You should not worry about click-through rate but really talk about conversion rate.” 
— Faisal Laljee  

And Pitts added practical examples: deal velocity, successful sales touches, cost per buyer, retention, and lifetime value. 

A SaaS client, Pitts noted, saw a 38% revenue lift simply by shifting from lead generation to pipeline acceleration. 

4. Fundmarketing as arevenue channel, not a cost center 

“If you're cutting marketing, you're cutting your future revenue.” 
— Faisal Laljee  

Giving Marketing the Power to Influence the Entire Customer Journey 

A recurring theme: accountability must come with authority. 

Laljee shared a telling example from his e-commerce experience: 

“Marketing was handed the product and told ‘go and sell it,’ with zero say in product, pricing, or customer experience.” 
— Faisal Laljee  

Assigning revenue ownership without enabling marketing to influence product development, customer experience, or operational delivery creates a setup destined to fail. 

As Pitts put it: 

“There’s often silos that kill productivity and the revenue opportunity. Alignment on goals is critical.” 
— Brad Pitts 

Mindset Shifts CEOs Must Make 

Pitts and Laljee distilled the CEO mindset changes required to unlock marketing’s full potential: 

1. Assign revenue ownership to marketing

Even if it feels uncomfortable at first. 

2. Stop focusing on lead volume

Quality, intent, and velocity matter far more. 

3. Treat marketing as part of the closing function

Marketing should help convert, not just attract, buyers. 

Imagine, Pitts challenged the audience: 

“If marketing was responsible for closing 30% of your deals before sales even spoke a word, how much faster could you grow?” 
— Brad Pitts 

Key Takeaways for CEOs 

Pitts closed the session with three strategic imperatives: 

1. Think of marketing as a revenue driver

Start by assigning even 5–10% of revenue responsibility to marketing. 

2. Align every function around a single, shared goal

Sales, marketing, product, customer experience, and operations must work as one value chain. 

3. Invest in marketing as an engine of future revenue

“Marketing is not a cost center. It's an investment in achieving your goals.” 
— Brad Pitts 

The Bottom Line 

Marketing is no longer optional, nor is it simply a support function. Marketing is the engine of predictable, scalable, profitable growth, but only when CEOs give it the accountability, authority, and investment it deserves. 

If CEOs embrace the Demand Engine model, shift their mindset, and empower marketing to operate as a true revenue partner, growth becomes not just possible, but inevitable. 

📩 Contact us here to learn more about how The CMO Syndicate can help you. 

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