For IT and engineering staffing firms, growth rarely breaks down because of a lack of effort. More often, it breaks down because sales, marketing, and technology are pulling in different directions. Each function may be doing its job well in isolation, yet the buyer experience still feels fragmented. Messages don’t line up. Data lives in different systems. Accountability is unclear. And to the buyer, the experience feels broken.
That disconnect was the focus of a breakout session at the 2025 TechServe Executive Summit, where leaders from across sales, marketing, and technology came together to discuss what alignment really looks like in practice and why it matters now more than ever.
Moderated by Leslie Vickrey, CEO & Founder of ClearEdge, the session featured Leslie Cardec, CMO of ClearEdge; Kip Havel, CMO of Dexian; and Jeff Gray, Chief Customer Relationship Officer at Dexian. Together, they explored how organizations can move beyond silos and operate as a single revenue engine.
Shared Accountability Changes Behavior
One of the strongest themes throughout the discussion was that alignment doesn’t start with tools or org charts. It starts with shared accountability.
From a marketing perspective, Cardec emphasized that trust erodes quickly when teams don’t operate from the same definitions and success metrics. “If sales, marketing, and tech don’t share the same truth,” she said, “then each function is optimizing for itself instead of the buyer.”
That misalignment shows up in subtle but costly ways. Marketing may celebrate engagement metrics, while sales focuses on pipeline and revenue. Without shared ownership of outcomes, collaboration becomes transactional instead of strategic.
Gray reinforced that alignment becomes real when incentives are aligned. “Kip and I are aligned financially,” he noted. “We have similar KPIs and incentives to work together for a common outcome, and that makes a big difference.”
Havel echoed that point from the marketing side. “Marketing has a responsibility to understand the business first,” he said. “It’s not about style over substance. If you don’t understand how revenue is generated, you’ll never earn the respect of sales.”
One Buyer Journey, One Narrative
While internal alignment matters, the ultimate test is how the buyer experiences the organization. Buyers don’t care which department they’re interacting with. They expect a consistent experience at every touchpoint.
Cardec described a common breakdown she sees across organizations. “From the buyer’s perspective, it can feel like they’re being sold to by three different companies,” she said. “Marketing talks vision, sales talks features, and product talks technical details, but none of it ladders up to the same story.”
That inconsistency creates friction at precisely the moment when trust matters most. Gray emphasized that modern buyers need context and continuity, not repeated transactions. “Buyers need consistency,” he said. “They don’t want to be resold at every step. They want one unified message they can believe in.”
At Dexian, that philosophy led to a deliberate effort to map the entire customer journey from first interaction to long-term engagement. “We mapped the entire journey on paper,” Gray explained. “Then we put the technology and feedback mechanisms behind it so we could understand the experience in real time.”
Technology Should Enable, Not Distract
Technology played a prominent role in the discussion, but not as the hero of the story. Instead, it was framed as a multiplier of whatever foundation already exists.
“Technology is incredible,” Cardec said, “but it needs to connect teams, not just collect data.” Without alignment, even the best tools become shelfware.
Havel cautioned against chasing new tools before fixing fundamentals. “Don’t buy technology until you need it,” he said. “If you don’t understand your customer journey and you don’t have clean data, the tools just become waste.”
Alignment as a Growth Imperative
As the session wrapped, one theme rose above the rest: alignment is not a one-time initiative. It’s an ongoing discipline that requires shared goals, mutual respect, and consistent reinforcement.
For IT and engineering staffing firms navigating complex buyer journeys, tighter margins, and increasing competition, the cost of misalignment is simply too high. Firms that treat sales, marketing, and technology as separate functions risk delivering a fractured experience. Those that operate as a unified revenue engine position themselves for sustainable growth.
Actionable Takeaways:
- Establish Shared Goals: Create common objectives and metrics between sales and marketing to enhance accountability and collaboration.
- Engage in Field Activities: Marketers should regularly interact with sales teams to understand their needs and foster mutual respect.
- Utilize Existing Tools: Focus on leveraging current technology to enhance efficiency rather than constantly seeking new solutions.
- Promote Trust: Foster a culture of trust and accountability within teams to ensure smoother collaboration and better outcomes.
