Every leader and C-suite executive is longing for the same pipe dream: to look at a closed deal and trace it back to a single marketing touchpoint.

And then whatever that channel or activity was, double down on it to get more results.

And then when it doesn’t play out like that, put the blame on ‘bad marketing’.

To make matters worse, MarTech companies sold us the promise that everything is perfectly measurable and attributable. If we buy the right CRM and set it up neatly, we can track and attribute every click, every open, and every conversion with surgical precision.

The reality couldn’t be farther from that.

Data, no matter how hard we try to corral it, will never paint a perfectly granular picture of what is working and what isn’t. Complex B2B marketing isn't a vending machine where you put a dollar in and get a lead out. It is the aggregate effect of the whole of the brand footprint.

  • That monthly thought leadership blog you post? It's doing its part.

  • The casual email newsletter that “only” 20% of your list opens? It's doing its part.

  • The webinar you host occasionally with “just” 25 registrants? It's doing its part.

  • The podcast you guested on three months ago and forgot about? It's doing its part.

  • The consistent LinkedIn posting you find pointless? It's doing its part.

 

It’s time we stop trying to attribute a six-figure closed deal to a single marketing action. Marketing works when you do good marketing: helpful, sharing value, and not trying to sell.

In 3 years of Rodeo13, and after a decade in diverse B2B marketing roles, I've seen some things work for one client but not for another. Marketing is basically a “try and try again” experiment. No one has the secret formula for a viral post, or the recipe for an instant “100 ready-to-buy” list of leads.

CRMs and the Lead Scoring Trap

It is so easy to obsess over numbers. And while we of course track "vanity metrics" like email opens or website traffic, we don’t panic when they dip. A temporary drop doesn't mean the marketing is bad or broken. It usually just means your buyers got busier, faced a heavier inbox, or that month’s content simply wasn’t their priority. It wasn’t bad content or bad marketing.

You can have a seemingly rock-solid lead scoring automation set up in your CRM, only to find yourself staring at dozens of leads with 20 touchpoints, a “ready-to-buy” lead score, and absolutely zero buying intent. So, what’s the point?

On the other end of the spectrum, there’s the classic "referral". A new client signs on, and when asked how they found you, they say, "Oh, I was referred by So-and-So". So, you attribute the deal to the “referral pile”, completely ignoring the reality of the buyer's journey.

That referral was just a small puzzle piece. After hearing your name, that prospect checked out your website, read your blog, skimmed your case studies, and looked at your personal LinkedIn profile. Several months may have passed between the referral and their getting in touch and they may never have triggered a "buyer intent" signal in your CRM.

But marketing was doing the heavy lifting the entire time. And it was the entirety of your marketing that moved them from "I heard about these guys" to "These guys seem like they really know what they do, So-and-So vouches for them, and I happen to be in the market for what they’re selling."

This works the same way with restaurant recommendations. You hear about a place, and you’ll check out their reviews on Google/Yelp, visit their website, and check out their menu. You don’t just go in blind. Their marketing is doing the background work.

The closed deal (or the restaurant visit) comes from good marketing. And good marketing isn't always measurable in a spreadsheet or on a dashboard.

Revenue Growth > Dashboard Metrics

You may say, "That sounds great, but my C-suite/Board/Investors still want to see numbers".

My answer to that is, "No, they want to see revenue growth."

 

Complex five or six-figure B2B deals don't happen because somebody clicked an email or an ad on a Thursday afternoon.

They happen because you consistently show up, provide value, and build trust. Let’s not forget that the B2B buyer journey is a marathon, not a sprint. And at any given point in time, only <5% of your target audience is in the market to buy.

So, if your stakeholders want numbers, show them your Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and the number of deals closed. In other words, revenue. If marketing and sales are doing their job, you should see a consistent volume of RFQs and consistent revenue growth. They shouldn’t care about fluctuations in email opens and website traffic.

I'm not saying you should switch off all attribution, burn your dashboards, and ignore all data. What I am saying is: do not rely on a single source of truth. Single-touch attribution is flawed. Linear attribution relies on assumptions. Anyone claiming to have found the Holy Grail of Accurate Attribution is trying to sell the certainty the C-suite so desperately wants to buy.

To understand what is actually driving your growth, you need the whole picture. It all counts: the CRM data on marketing and sales activities, customer interviews, and direct sales feedback.

It's not just about tracking metrics; it’s about understanding real customer connections and the struggles they face. So let’s prioritize meaningful interactions over data noise.