Ashley Lewin has audited 30+ companies in her career and seen the same pattern: marketing teams stuck chasing MQLs while revenue stalls. In this episode, Carolyn and Trevor dig into Ashley’s perspective on why MQLs keep organizations trapped in short-term thinking, and how she’s applying those lessons now as Head of Marketing at Aligned.
We talk through what it takes to stand up a marketing function from scratch at a hybrid PLG + sales-assisted company, why implementing HubSpot’s Lead object was a foundational bet, and how “fail fast” disqualification changed the way BDRs and sales managers manage their pipeline.
Ashley also shares her playbook for winning executive buy-in: showing CEOs a predictable growth equation that replaces lead volume with qualified pipeline and product activation.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why 30+ audits taught Ashley that MQLs create waste, not growth.
- How to split the funnel: PLG activations vs. sales-assisted pipeline.
- The power of clean infrastructure: standing up a true lead object in HubSpot.
- Why “fail fast” leads to better conversion, stronger feedback loops, and less waste.
- How to navigate culture change so sales isn’t afraid to close lost.
- Why exec scorecards (not dashboards) determine whether change sticks.
If your growth plan still relies on lead math, you’re running on outdated assumptions. Ashley shows how to build a system that actually scales revenue, not just reporting.
🔗 LINKS
Register for our Oct 8 Pipeline KPI Workshop
Follow GTM Live on Spotify
Subscribe to the GTM Live YouTube Channel
Connect with Carolyn on LinkedIn
Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn
—
This episode is powered by Passetto, a technology-enabled GTM advisory with a solution that eliminates the Pipeline Black Box™, the critical data hidden inside every GTM engine where leaders are flying blind when it matters most.
