But tacticians are natural partners in sales and marketing alignment, which fits their desire to optimize processes and results.

FORBES: Six Archetypes of Sales and Marketing

Strategists are strong proponents of sales-marketing alignment and often help bring that about.

FORBES: Six Archetypes of Sales and Marketing

Over the years a number of studies have found that over half of all companies list sales and marketing alignment as one of their top operational goals, yet an overwhelming majority of them also ranked it as their top challenge.

FORBES: Three Steps to Alignment

That level of partnership between Sales and Marketing is what alignment is all about.

FORBES: How Alignment Helped Sales Win

To be a long-term asset, partnership marketing must be in alignment with what each partner brand stands for.

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In the case of sales and marketing, however, there is another important factor in achieving alignment.

FORBES: Six Archetypes of Sales and Marketing

According to Forrester Research, only 8 percent of companies have achieved sales and marekting alignment and only 14 percent have actually defined the rules of engagement for how sales and marketing should interact.

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