If your company runs on EOS, you know how much the framework thrives on clarity, accountability, and the right people in the right seats.
But here’s one mistake we see all the time: sales is in charge of marketing.
On paper, it makes sense. The sales leader is already responsible for revenue, so why not let them oversee marketing too? After all, marketing exists to generate leads… right?
Wrong.
When sales leads marketing, the strategy becomes too focused on short-term wins, and you miss out on everything that makes marketing valuable in the first place.
Let’s talk about why this structure holds EOS-run businesses back—and what to do instead.
The Problem: Sales and Marketing Have Different Jobs
Sales and marketing should be aligned, but they are not the same thing.
🔹 Sales is about closing deals. They operate on short timelines, focusing on immediate wins and bottom-of-the-funnel opportunities.
🔹 Marketing is about creating demand. It builds awareness, educates potential buyers, and nurtures leads long before they’re ready to purchase.
When sales owns marketing, it typically turns into a reactive, lead-chasing machine. Marketing stops focusing on brand awareness, content, and long-term strategy. Instead, it only activates when sales needs more leads—resulting in inconsistent efforts, disjointed messaging, and missed opportunities to build real demand.
And worst of all? If marketing doesn’t deliver instant results, it gets written off as “not working.”
How EOS Businesses Get This Wrong
EOS is all about accountability and focus—so why do so many EOS-run companies put marketing under sales?
1️⃣ They think marketing is just support for sales.
Many leadership teams see marketing as a lead generation tool, not a strategic function that fuels business growth.
2️⃣ Marketing isn’t seen as a true department.
In EOS-run businesses, sales is often a well-defined function, but marketing is treated like an add-on rather than its own essential seat at the table.
3️⃣ The short-term mindset wins.
Sales leaders have quotas to hit. They need leads now, so marketing gets pushed into a cycle of quick-fix tactics instead of long-term brand building.
The result? Marketing never gets the time, resources, or leadership it needs to actually drive long-term growth.
The Fix: Marketing Needs Its Own Leadership & Strategy
For EOS-run companies to succeed, marketing needs to be a separate function with clear ownership, KPIs, and long-term strategy.
✅ Give marketing a real seat at the leadership table.
It should report to the Visionary, the Integrator, or even its own dedicated marketing leader—not sales.
✅ Let marketing focus on building demand, not just capturing it.
Strong brands generate inbound leads, shorten sales cycles, and make selling easier. That only happens when marketing is allowed to think long-term.
✅ Keep sales and marketing aligned, but distinct.
Sales should be involved in marketing strategy—but they shouldn’t dictate every move. The two functions should work together to create a steady pipeline, not operate in a constant state of urgency.
The Takeaway: Sales and Marketing Work Best as Partners, Not as One
If your EOS company has marketing sitting under sales, ask yourself:
🔹 Is marketing getting the attention it needs to drive long-term results?
🔹 Are we only doing lead-gen campaigns, or are we actually creating demand?
🔹 Do we have a clear marketing leader, or is it just “whoever has time for it”?
Marketing should be a proactive force, not just a reaction to sales requests. When you treat it as a real function in your business, you get better results, stronger brand awareness, and a more predictable sales pipeline.
Time to stop treating marketing like an afterthought—and start using it as a real growth driver.
Does your EOS company have marketing in the right seat? If not, let’s talk.
Work Habits & Productivity
StringCan's Director of Client Services and Strategy, Steve DePuys, has a wealth of knowledge and experience in supporting entrepreneurs and businesses through exceptionally well planned strategy and thoughtful execution. Steve is an incredible teammate and mentor. You'll find him grilling, chilling on the golf course, wishing hockey was back in AZ, or absorbing some world history.
Jay, the CEO of StringCan, oversees strategy and vision, building culture that makes going into work something he looks forward to, recruiting additional awesome team members to help exceed clients goals, leading the team and allocating where StringCan invests time and money.
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