The Sales and Marketing SLA: How to Build One That Actually Works

"Marketing gives us junk leads." "Sales doesn't follow up on the leads we give them." If you've spent any time in B2B, you've heard both sides of this argument. And in most companies, both sides are right.

Marketing generates leads using criteria that sales doesn't agree with. Sales cherry-picks the leads they like and ignores the rest. Nobody measures the handoff. Nobody owns the gap between the two teams. The result: wasted marketing spend, frustrated reps, and leaked revenue.

The fix is a Sales and Marketing SLA — a formal agreement that defines what each team commits to, how performance is measured, and what happens when commitments aren't met. It's the single most impactful alignment tool available to revenue leaders, and most companies either don't have one or have one that's ignored.

Why Verbal Agreements Fail

Every company has an informal understanding between sales and marketing. "Marketing will send us good leads, and sales will follow up." The problem with informal agreements:

No shared definitions. Marketing's definition of a "qualified lead" is different from sales' definition. Without a written, agreed-upon definition, every lead is debatable.
No measurable commitments. "More leads" and "faster follow-up" aren't measurable. Without specific numbers, neither side can be held accountable.
No consequences. When marketing sends unqualified leads or sales ignores good ones, nothing happens. Without consequences, behavior doesn't change.
No review cadence. Verbal agreements don't get reviewed. Conditions change — new products, new markets, new headcount — but the informal understanding stays frozen.

The 4 Components of an Effective SLA

Component 1: Shared Definitions

Before you can agree on commitments, you need shared language. These definitions must be specific, measurable, and jointly approved.

Lead Stages:

Stage	Definition	Criteria	Owner
Raw Lead	Any contact who has engaged	Filled out a form, attended an event, downloaded content	Marketing
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)	Lead meets minimum qualification criteria	ICP fit score > 70 AND engagement score > 50	Marketing
SAL (Sales Accepted Lead)	Sales has reviewed and accepted the lead	Confirmed ICP fit, valid contact info, not a duplicate	SDR/BDR
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)	Lead has been qualified through conversation	BANT/MEDDIC criteria met through discovery call	SDR/BDR
Opportunity	Qualified deal in active sales process	Budget confirmed, decision-maker engaged, timeline established	AE

The specific criteria will vary by company, but the principle is universal: every stage must have objective, measurable criteria that both teams agree on. If marketing considers "downloaded a whitepaper" an MQL but sales considers it a "tire kicker," your SLA is dead on arrival.

Component 2: Marketing Commitments

Marketing commits to delivering a specific volume of leads at a specific quality level. The key is making both dimensions explicit.

Volume Commitment:

Marketing will deliver X MQLs per month (calculated from the revenue target backward through the funnel)
MQLs will be distributed across segments as follows: Enterprise (X%), Mid-Market (X%), SMB (X%)
Source mix targets: Inbound (X%), Outbound-supported (X%), Event (X%), Partner (X%)

Quality Commitment:

X% of MQLs will be accepted by sales (SAL rate target)
MQL-to-SQL conversion rate will be at or above X%
All MQLs will meet the agreed-upon criteria before passing to sales
Leads will be enriched with required data fields before handoff

Example Calculation: If your revenue target is ${5M} in new ARR and your average deal is ${50K}, you need 100 deals. At a 25% close rate, you need 400 SQLs. At a 30% MQL-to-SQL rate, you need 1,333 MQLs. That's your marketing volume commitment: ~111 MQLs per month.

Component 3: Sales Commitments

Sales commits to specific follow-up behaviors on every lead marketing delivers. This is where most SLAs fail — marketing makes commitments but sales doesn't.

Speed Commitments:

All MQLs will receive first touch within 4 hours during business hours
High-intent leads (demo requests, pricing page visits) will receive first touch within 1 hour
Leads from events will be followed up within 24 hours of the event

Effort Commitments:

Every MQL will receive a minimum of 6 touch attempts across at least 2 channels before being disqualified
Follow-up will include personalized messaging referencing the lead's specific engagement
SDRs will update the lead status in CRM within 24 hours of each attempt

Feedback Commitments:

Sales will provide disposition codes for every rejected MQL (wrong persona, wrong company size, not ready, bad data, etc.)
Rejection reasons will be shared with marketing weekly for lead scoring calibration
Sales will flag lead quality issues within 48 hours, not at the end of the quarter

Component 4: Escalation Process

An SLA without consequences is a suggestion. The escalation process defines what happens when either side falls short.

Level 1: Weekly Review

Both teams review SLA performance in a shared weekly meeting
Deviations are discussed, root causes identified, and adjustments made
Issues resolved at this level don't escalate

Level 2: Manager Escalation

If either side misses SLA commitments for 2+ consecutive weeks
Marketing and sales managers meet to diagnose and resolve
Corrective actions documented with a timeline

Level 3: Leadership Escalation

If SLA misses persist for a full month or more
VP of Marketing and VP of Sales (or CRO) review performance
Structural changes considered: headcount, budget, process redesign

Sample SLA Template

Element	Marketing Commitment	Sales Commitment
Volume	Deliver 120 MQLs/month	Work 100% of MQLs delivered
Quality	70%+ SAL acceptance rate	Provide disposition on 100% of rejected leads
Speed	Deliver leads to CRM within 1 hour of conversion	First touch within 4 hours (1 hour for high-intent)
Effort	Enrich all leads with 5 required fields	Minimum 6 touches across 2+ channels per lead
Reporting	Weekly MQL delivery and source report	Weekly lead disposition and conversion report
Review	Monthly SLA review meeting	Monthly SLA review meeting
Escalation	2-week miss triggers manager review	2-week miss triggers manager review

SLA Metrics Dashboard

Build a shared dashboard that both teams review weekly:

Marketing Metrics:

MQLs delivered vs. commitment (by week and month)
MQL quality: SAL acceptance rate, SQL conversion rate
Lead-to-MQL conversion rate by source
Average lead enrichment completeness

Sales Metrics:

Average speed-to-first-touch (by lead type)
Touch attempt completion rate (% of leads with 6+ touches)
Lead disposition distribution (why leads are rejected)
SQL-to-Opportunity conversion rate

Shared Metrics:

MQL-to-Revenue conversion rate and cycle time
Cost per MQL, cost per SQL, cost per opportunity
SLA compliance rate (% of weeks both sides met commitments)

Common Failure Modes

Failure Mode 1: Set It and Forget It

The Problem: The SLA is created with great fanfare, presented at a kickoff meeting, and then never reviewed. Conditions change — new products, new segments, seasonality — but the SLA stays frozen.

The Fix: Schedule a monthly SLA review meeting on the calendar. Put it in the CRM as a recurring event. Make it a standing agenda item in the revenue leadership meeting. Adjust targets quarterly based on actual performance data.

Failure Mode 2: One-Sided Accountability

The Problem: Marketing has hard numbers to hit (MQL volume, SAL rate) but sales commitments are vague ("follow up promptly"). This creates resentment and undermines the partnership.

The Fix: Both sides must have equally specific, equally measurable commitments. If marketing is held to a number, sales must be held to a number. Speed-to-lead is as measurable as MQL volume.

Failure Mode 3: Gaming the Metrics

The Problem: Marketing inflates MQL numbers by lowering the qualification bar. Sales rejects leads they don't want to work by citing quality issues. Both sides hit their numbers while the overall funnel suffers.

The Fix: Tie SLA metrics to downstream outcomes. Marketing's MQL quality is measured by SQL conversion rate, not just SAL acceptance. Sales' follow-up quality is measured by conversion rate, not just touch count. When incentives align with outcomes, gaming becomes self-defeating.

Failure Mode 4: No Feedback Loop

The Problem: Sales rejects leads but doesn't say why. Marketing doesn't know which campaigns generate pipeline and which generate noise. Both teams optimize in the dark.

The Fix: Make lead disposition codes mandatory and specific. Not "not qualified" — but "wrong persona," "company too small," "no budget this year," "already a customer." Review disposition data weekly and use it to calibrate lead scoring, targeting, and content strategy.

Monthly SLA Review Meeting Agenda

Use this agenda template for your recurring SLA review:

1. Performance Review (15 minutes)

Marketing: MQLs delivered vs. target, SAL acceptance rate, lead quality trends
Sales: Speed-to-lead, touch completion rate, disposition summary

2. Funnel Analysis (10 minutes)

MQL-to-SQL conversion rate trends
SQL-to-Opportunity conversion rate trends
Cycle time changes

3. Issue Discussion (15 minutes)

What's not working? (Both sides share)
Root cause analysis for any SLA misses
Specific leads or deals to discuss as examples

4. Adjustments (10 minutes)

Any changes to definitions, targets, or processes
Action items with owners and deadlines

5. Wins (5 minutes)

Deals that closed because the SLA worked
Improvements that drove measurable results

The best sales and marketing teams aren't the ones that never argue about leads. They're the ones that have a system for resolving the argument — with data, shared definitions, and mutual accountability. That system is the SLA. Build it, measure it, review it, and iterate. The alignment will follow.