Marketing Isn’t a Department. It’s a Revenue Function.
Something funny happened on this episode of AMBUSH On Air. LISTEN HERE!
We set out to talk about the evolving role of the CMO… and ended up questioning whether the title should even exist anymore.
Joined by two of the smartest operators I know — Kate Coffey-Bacon and Khaled Nassra — we unpacked what’s really happening inside modern revenue teams. And spoiler alert:
Marketing and sales being “separate” is becoming a liability.
The Signal We Can’t Ignore
Across the Microsoft channel and beyond, the signs are everywhere:
CMOs are being held accountable to revenue — without control over the full funnel
Sales teams are struggling with pipeline quality, while marketing celebrates MQL volume
Attribution battles are replacing alignment
Customer experience is fragmented across marketing, sales, product, and success
The problem isn’t effort. It’s structure.
As Khaled put it, we’re still using go-to-market models from the 80s while product teams have gone agile, iterative, and cross-functional. Revenue functions haven’t caught up.
The Funnel Isn’t a Funnel Anymore
Kate dropped one of the biggest truths of the episode:
We’re not operating in a funnel. We’re operating in a continuous revenue loop.
Buyers move anonymously. They self-educate. They loop in peers. They re-enter the journey after purchase. And yet internally, we still run:
A marketing process
A sales process
A customer success process
…as if they’re different worlds.
They’re not. To the buyer, it’s one experience.
That means the future CMO isn’t a campaign leader. They’re a full-lifecycle revenue leader. I had SUCH a fun few conversations with my bestie, Tiffany Allen about this over the course of the last few weeks as well. People are afraid to lead with the cash conversation.
So What Does the New “CMO” Actually Do?
If we rewrote the job description today, it would include:
Revenue ownership, not just pipeline contribution
The modern marketing leader doesn’t stop at SQLs. They care about deal velocity, close rates, retention, and expansion.
Cross-functional fluency
You should understand product well enough to sit in demos. Sales well enough to review lost deals. Finance well enough to read a P&L. This is non-negotiable.
Customer experience accountability
Not just acquisition messaging — but renewal, advocacy, and long-term value perception.
Internal alignment architect
Your job is no longer just “growth.” It’s removing friction between teams so revenue can actually happen.
The Real Career Shift
One of the most important parts of this episode wasn’t about titles. It was about mindset.
Revenue leaders are made when marketers:
Sit on sales calls
Review CRM data
Study close-lost reasons
Learn financial literacy
Understand how their work shows up in the P&L
You stop being “the marketing person” and start being someone responsible for business outcomes.
That’s the shift.
The Takeaway
The CMO role isn’t disappearing. It’s expanding beyond recognition.
And the marketers who thrive next aren’t the ones who run the most campaigns. They’re the ones who:
Understand the business model
Speak the language of sales and finance
Own customer outcomes
Build alignment instead of attribution fights
This episode is a must-listen if you’re a marketer who wants a seat at the revenue table — or already has one and is wondering why the old playbook no longer works.
Because the future isn’t Marketing vs Sales.
