This case study is based on work we did with a global B2B enterprise operating across multiple sectors. While the client remains anonymous, the challenges, solutions, and outcomes are real.
The company powers B2B engagement in industries like healthcare, technology, and finance through a blend of major events, digital demand generation, research, and accredited training solutions.
A successful GTM design must be built from the bottom up. Without strong foundations, more complicated processes and initiatives either fall apart or become stunted. We see this all the time with things like unclear ICP definitions, loose MQL criteria, and poor pipeline management processes.
Our work with this high-profile client is a perfect example of how these things throttle revenue – and how fixing them can completely change the trajectory of your business growth.
Our client’s pipeline was bloated with stale deals, inbound follow-up was delayed by days, and conversion rates sat at 0.2%. Forecasts were consistently missed, and sales and marketing operated in silos without shared accountability or visibility.
Union Square Consulting delivered a three-pillar GTM roadmap; cleaning up aged pipeline, supporting creation of a new inbound SDR function, and connecting sales and marketing through aligned MQL definitions and structured feedback loops.
Our client reduced zombie pipeline by $22.5M, improved lead-to-closed won conversions from 0.2% to 5%, and increased monthly closed new inbound revenue from under $60K to $340K in their new SDR teams’ first month after launch.
The volume of inbound leads was high, but conversion rates were extremely low—only 0.2% of MQLs were closing. The few deals that did close were largely sourced by sales reps themselves. With many inbound leads proving to be a poor fit, sales teams began prioritizing their own outreach efforts.
Our client was struggling with massive problems in their revenue engine. Almost everything that could be going wrong, was going wrong, from lead generation to pipeline visibility to conversion rates. After a deep investigation of their systems, we identified three root problems:
Zombie Pipeline: They had approximately $15M in pipeline that was older than two sales cycles and another $15M that had been sitting in the same stage for over 1.5 sales cycles. We call this “zombie pipeline” – deals that are unlikely to close but haven’t been formally removed. This can happen for several reasons: processes to monitor deal health may be missing, or reps may hesitate to close out deals due to performance metrics tied to pipeline volume and win rates. Whatever the reason, zombie pipeline quietly erodes visibility, forecasting, and decision-making.
Saturation of Low-Quality MQLs: The volume of inbound leads was high, but conversion rates were extremely low—only 0.2% of MQLs were closing. The few deals that did close were largely sourced by sales reps themselves. With many inbound leads proving to be a poor fit, sales teams began prioritizing their own outreach efforts. Meanwhile, high-intent hand-raisers often faced delays in follow-up—sometimes taking a week or more—by which time most had already engaged with a competitor.
Disconnected Marketing and Sales: Marketing was investing millions of dollars into campaigns, but the results weren’t translating into revenue. Leads were either not followed up on or weren’t converting due to quality gaps. Without a structured communication loop between marketing and sales, it was difficult for the teams to collaborate or learn from each other’s insights—leading to missed opportunities and stalled growth.
We recommended building a new inbound SDR team to handle the substantial inbound lead flow—more than 1,000 leads per month—and supported them with our expertise through the rollout.
We created a three-pillar roadmap to address these challenges, with focused initiatives for marketing, SDRs (a function that had not yet existed), and sales.
Pipeline Clean-Up:
Our client’s pipeline was significantly inflated with outdated or stagnant opportunities. We introduced new processes to clean up the zombie pipeline, which had a substantial impact:
Some parts of their business naturally involve longer sales cycles, so we also implemented pressure-testing processes to ensure older opportunities were still valid and moving forward.
Improving Lead Conversion:
At the time, lead follow-up processes were underdeveloped. We recommended building a new inbound SDR team to handle the substantial inbound lead flow—more than 1,000 leads per month—and supported them with our expertise through the rollout. We also ensured:
Connecting Marketing and Sales:
We built the connective tissue between marketing and sales—introducing feedback loops so that high-quality leads were worked quickly, and learnings from successful campaigns were shared back into marketing strategy.
While marketing had scaled back campaigns to focus on internal improvements, they are now positioned to scale a more efficient GTM system for future growth.
With significantly higher ROI per MQL, our client is now in a position to scale marketing campaigns with greater confidence and efficiency.
The groundwork laid through these changes will allow our client to accelerate their GTM strategy and achieve higher levels of productivity and revenue generation.
Now, It’s Time to Scale: Improving MQL quality initially resulted in a decline in MQL volume, which can be frustrating for teams that are measured on lead quantity rather than revenue contribution. But with significantly higher ROI per MQL, our client is now in a position to scale marketing campaigns with greater confidence and efficiency.
See why building an optimized revenue engine is a no-brainer need for growth-minded businesses.