Chasing efficiency without first ensuring effectiveness is a mistake. Marketing multiplies sales, making it 8x more effective and 5x more efficient. Cutting marketing too soon kills momentum, and short-term thinking leads to long-term failure. Causal AI proves marketing’s impact, helping teams invest smarter. If you want predictable, scalable sales success, focus on effectiveness first, then efficiency.
Last week, Mark Stouse and I dug into a growing issue in B2B sales: why efficiency alone doesn’t achieve sales effectiveness. This is a recap of that conversation.
In a nutshell, you can’t measure efficiency without knowing if what you’re doing actually works.
It’s easy to use “efficiency” as a way to justify cost-cutting. But slashing budgets, laying off employees, and stripping things down without understanding what’s really driving results is not efficiency. That’s just guessing.
“When you hear different leaders talking about organizational efficiency and using AI to become more efficient, for the most part, that is their attempt to reframe a narrative that is really about cost-cutting and has absolutely nothing to do with efficiency.”
Mark Stouse, CEO, ProofAnalytics.ai
If you’re interested, you can watch the LinkedIn Live recording.
Mark and I talked about this before, but it’s worth repeating: marketing is a multiplier for sales.
When done right, marketing makes sales 8x more effective and 5x more efficient, especially in mid-sized, growing companies. Sales follows a linear “value-add” formula. Add more reps, close more deals.
But marketing isn’t linear. It generates demand and builds credibility over time. And when potential customers trust you, selling becomes a lot easier.
“Marketing by definition is leverage. It exists as a non-linear multiplier of the performance of other parts of the business, one of which happens to be sales. Sales without marketing is like fishing without bait. Sure, you might catch something, but it’ll take a lot longer and require a lot more effort.”
Cutting marketing and adding more salespeople won’t solve the problem if the foundation isn’t there. Without strong marketing, closing deals will always be an uphill battle.
There is a common misconception that efficiency equals effectiveness. But there is a difference between doing the right things versus doing things right.
Many companies, especially in tech, prioritize efficiency—often a code word for cost-cutting—without first establishing whether their sales process is actually effective.
Cutting budgets and headcount without knowing what’s driving the outcomes doesn’t just make us leaner, it also makes us weaker. After all, 8 x 0 = 0.
“If you don’t know your effectiveness, there is no way for you to know your efficiency or your cost-effectiveness.”
One of the biggest challenges in tech is short-term thinking. Many startups are built to burn fast and exit fast. VCs pump in money with the goal of flipping a company in 3–4 years, so founders prioritize fast revenue over long-term strategy.
“Some startups fail because they shouldn't have existed in the first place. The market wasn’t ready, and no amount of execution could change that. When a VC tells you to put the pedal to the metal, and if you need more cash to ‘just ask,’ there’s no room for efficiency—just growth at all costs.”
This “growth at all costs” mindset is why 92% of startups have failed since 2007. When the market shifts, companies that ignored building up their brand reputation struggle to survive.
Mark used a great analogy: launching a rocket.
Most of a rocket’s fuel is burned just to get into orbit. Once it’s there, it can stay there with small adjustments. But if you cut the engines too soon, you fall back to earth—and getting back up is 10X harder and more expensive.
“There’s only one shot at a first impression. If the market sees you go up and then come back down, they’ll be skeptical when you try to launch again. Cutting marketing too soon is like taking your foot off the gas in a race and expecting to maintain speed.”
Airbnb learned this the hard way. They built an incredible brand, then cut marketing to save money. When they tried to restart, they had to spend far more just to regain momentum.
Even if you scale back, staying consistent beats turning marketing on and off.
Marketing budgets are always on the chopping block. If you can’t prove impact, expect cuts.
With causal AI tools, like Proof Analytics, companies can measure which activities drive revenue today and tomorrow, making adjustments accordingly.
“If you can’t show how marketing is creating real business impact, expect your budget to shrink. Causal AI is the way forward. Consistency beats the amount of money spent. Radical consistency in marketing wins every time.”
When GTM teams work together, using data to inform decisions, they’re able to prove exactly what drives sales.
To achieve sales effectiveness, we need to know where to invest and why. And the more effective we are, the more efficient we become.
AI and analytics make this easier than ever. Companies that use data-driven decisions to align sales and marketing will win. Those that cut marketing too soon, ignore brand investment, or focus too much on “efficiency” will continue to struggle.
Don’t just do things right. Do the right things.
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