One of the things I keep coming back to is the relationship between marketing and sales.

It sounds obvious. Marketing generates demand and sales converts it.

But the handoff between those two things can still be surprisingly messy.

A new Demand Gen Report benchmark published this month is looking specifically at what separates aligned B2B teams from teams that continue to operate in silos.

At the core, it’s pretty simple. Aligned teams work toward the same revenue goals, track the same metrics, and have clear processes for handing off leads. That matters even more heading into Q4.

Because when the pressure to hit the number increases, misalignment gets expensive.

Marketing is asking why Sales isn’t following up. Sales is questioning the quality of the leads. Everyone is working from a different dashboard. Before long, you’re spending more time arguing about the pipeline than actually building it.

Q4 is a good time to fix the handoff before adding another campaign.

I'd start with three questions:

One revenue number. One definition of progress. One shared view of the customer. It sounds straightforward, but getting everyone aligned isn’t always.

Here's another question I'd put on the September planning agenda: What happens when your next buyer doesn't Google you?

AI search is becoming an increasingly important part of how buyers research companies, products, and solutions. And marketers are starting to respond.

A recent Demand Gen Report article highlighted the growing emergence of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) as B2B companies look for ways to become visible in AI-powered search environments.

I think the important distinction is that this isn't simply a new version of SEO.

SEO is about getting found. AI search is increasingly about getting understood.

The question is no longer just, “Can people find us?” It’s also, “Does the system understand us well enough to recommend us?”

That makes everything around your brand more important: your positioning, website, customer stories, thought leadership, and the third-party sources that talk about you.

The key is consistency. The clearer and more consistent the story, the easier it is for AI systems to understand (and recommend) you.

There’s a new B2B marketing benchmark I think is worth paying attention to as we head into Q4.

A Walker Sands study published this week found that B2B companies are facing a significant growth-maturity gap. Teams are under increasing pressure to prove revenue impact, while gaps in GTM alignment and measurement are making that harder. The research also points to AI-enabled marketing operations and better revenue measurement as major areas for investment.

That feels especially relevant right now.

Because as we head into Q4, the answer probably isn't another campaign, or another dashboard.

It's getting better at connecting the work we're already doing to actual growth.

More activity isn't the same as more impact. And that's probably the question worth asking before we add anything else to the plan: What are we doing that actually moves the business forward?

We're getting closer to FTW: San Francisco, happening September 29–October 1.

I'll be joining fintech leaders, founders, operators, and investors for conversations around AI, growth, GTM, leadership, and the future of financial services.

What I'm looking forward to most is the opportunity to move beyond the headlines and have real conversations about what's next. If you're going to be there, come say hello!

I'd love to hear what you're building, what you're seeing in the market, and where you think fintech is headed next.

If you're heading to San Francisco this fall, there's another conversation worth putting on your calendar.

Compliance at Fintech Speed is happening October 5 during SF Tech Week, bringing together Stripe and MidLyr for a conversation about a challenge that's becoming increasingly important for fintech leaders: How do you scale AI without slowing down innovation?

The discussion will look at how fintechs are moving beyond traditional, manual approaches to compliance and building governance directly into AI workflows.

I think this is an especially timely conversation as more financial services companies move from experimenting with AI to putting it into production.

RSVP for Compliance at Fintech Speed.

October 5 · 6:00 PM PT · San Francisco · SF Tech Week

Join me alongside Catalyst Bay, AScaleX, and Brex on Thursday, October 1 for AI GTM Night—an intimate evening for the people building and growing AI companies.

Hear directly from GTM leaders, founders, early marketing and sales hires, and investors about what is actually moving the needle: finding demand before a product is fully built, positioning in a contested category, and choosing early customers who unlock distribution.

Expect a practical panel, startup demos, and a happy hour designed for useful conversations with a curated group of AI leaders and builders.

Register here →

As August wraps up, there’s still time to reset before Q4 gets busy.

Don’t add more noise. Fix what matters.

Align the team. Sharpen the message. Focus on the right buyers. Use AI where it creates real leverage.

Because the goal has always been better growth.

- Angelique