Marketing Sourced Pipeline
High-performing B2B companies have 40-60% of pipeline sourced by marketing. Below 30% often signals underinvestment in demand generation (Forrester 2024).
💡TL;DR
Marketing Sourced Pipeline = pipeline originating from marketing first-touch. Measure: $ value and % of total pipeline. Benchmarks: 30-50% for sales-led orgs, 50-70% for marketing-led orgs. Track separately from marketing-influenced (which includes any touch). High marketing-sourced % with low close rate may signal quality issues.
Definition
The dollar value of sales opportunities that originated from marketing activities (vs. sales-sourced from outbound). Marketing Sourced Pipeline = Total pipeline where first touch was a marketing campaign. It measures marketing's contribution to revenue generation.
🏢What This Means for SMB Teams
For SMBs with limited sales capacity, marketing-sourced pipeline is critical. Target 50%+ to reduce reliance on expensive outbound. If below 30%, invest in content, SEO, and referral programs.
Connect marketing signals to sales actions. Zero handoff friction.
Marketing generates intent, sales captures revenue—in sync.
📋Practical Example
A 40-person B2B SaaS had 75% sales-sourced pipeline—high CAC and scaling challenges. They invested in: content marketing ($15k/month), SEO optimization, and a referral program. After 12 months, marketing-sourced pipeline grew from 25% to 52% of total. Average CAC dropped 28% as inbound leads required less sales effort. Total pipeline increased 40% without adding headcount.
🔧Implementation Steps
- 1
Define "marketing-sourced": first touch was marketing (content, ad, event, referral).
- 2
Configure CRM to capture and preserve lead source at opportunity creation.
- 3
Track marketing-sourced pipeline weekly: $ value and % of total.
- 4
Compare close rates: marketing-sourced vs. sales-sourced to ensure quality parity.
- 5
Set targets: increase marketing-sourced % by X points per quarter.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between sourced and influenced?
Sourced = marketing was the first touch that created the lead. Influenced = marketing touched the account at any point during the deal. Sourced is stricter and shows direct contribution; influenced shows broader marketing involvement.
How do I increase marketing-sourced pipeline?
Invest in: (1) Content/SEO for organic discovery, (2) Paid demand gen with ICP targeting, (3) Referral programs for low-CAC leads, (4) Event/webinar programs for engaged leads. Measure each channel's contribution to sourced pipeline.
⚡How Optifai Uses This
Optifai tracks pipeline source with first-touch attribution, showing marketing's direct contribution to revenue. The ROI Ledger compares marketing-sourced vs. sales-sourced economics.
📚References
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Related Terms
Multi-Touch Attribution
An attribution approach that distributes credit across multiple touchpoints in the buyer journey rather than only first or last touch.
Revenue Attribution
Methods for assigning revenue credit to marketing and sales interactions. Modern practice blends multi-touch models with causal tests to validate lift.
CPL (Cost Per Lead)
The cost to acquire one lead (name + contact info) through marketing efforts. CPL = Total Marketing Spend ÷ Number of Leads Generated. It measures top-of-funnel efficiency but should be evaluated alongside lead quality (MQL rate, SQL rate, close rate).
Pipeline Coverage
The ratio of total pipeline value to sales quota, indicating whether there are enough opportunities to meet revenue targets given historical conversion rates.