The Attribution Mirage & Why Chasing MQLs Keeps You Stuck

Sep 12, 2025

The discussion unveils the pitfalls of traditional B2B metrics like MQLs, showcasing how they misrepresent the customer journey. It critiques the myth of attribution as a solution, emphasizing that it only reflects a small conversion slice while hiding larger inefficiencies. The hosts propose a shift towards measuring quality over volume, advocating for cohesive sales and marketing alignment. They also dive into the importance of solid pipeline management and the benefits of modular changes over sweeping transformations, ensuring sustainable growth.

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INSIGHT

Pipeline Black Box Hides The Messy Middle

The “pipeline black box” hides the messy middle between leads and opportunities, blocking insight into where value leaks.
Measuring only MQL→opps surfaces the 2% that convert and ignores the 98% wasted effort.

ADVICE

Instrument Person-Level Steps

Track the next person-level steps after an MQL (SDR attempts, responses, disqualifications) to find drop-off points.
Instrument reasons for non-response or DQ so you can stop wasting budget on futile leads.

ADVICE

Don’t Treat Volume As A Strategy

Avoid 'do more dials' as a default fix; volume without patterning wastes cash.
Engineer repeatable prospect patterns instead of increasing raw activity.

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Most GTM teamstoday are missing targets because they're simply measuring the wrong things. In this episode, Carolyn and Amber unpack why attribution is a mirage (it only shows the lucky 2% that become opportunities) and why the MQL hamster wheel keeps smart teams stuck optimizing a tiny slice of reality. We dig into the pre-pipeline “factory floor,” show how to expose the messy middle, and explain why “more volume” isn’t a strategy—it’s a cash leak.

You’ll hear concrete ways to replace vanity conversion stats with a causal view of attempts → connects → meetings → opps → DQs (with reasons), what to do about pipeline shock when you tighten scoring, and why pipeline needs a single owner (hint: not “marketing-sourced”).

We also talk about modular change vs. big-bang transformations, and where attribution actually belongs (as seasoning, not the main ingredient), dig into where attribution actually belongs in GTM measurement (spoiler: it’s seasoning, not the protein), and explain why modular change beats waiting for a full-scale transformation.

What You’ll Learn:

Attribution ≠ answers: It validates the 2-5% that convert and hides the waste in the 98%.
Kill the MQL hamster wheel: Measure the journey, not just MQL→SQL%.
Instrument the factory floor: Person-level steps that predict pipeline (and the drop-offs to fix).
Volume lies: “Do more dials” is a 2012 play—engineer repeatable patterns instead.
Pipeline shock is healthy: Fewer junk opps → higher win rate and better CAC.
One owner for pipeline: Align Sales + Marketing on quality pipeline, not credit.
When to use attribution: After you fix data hygiene and pre-pipeline tracking.

If your dashboards keep telling you to “get more leads” or “add more dials,” you’re staring at the pipeline mirage. Break free from the hamster wheel, shine a light on the messy middle, and finally see what’s really driving, or draining, your revenue.

This episode is powered by Passetto, a GTM advisory and software company 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.

🔗 LINKS & CTAs

Follow Carolyn on LinkedIn
Follow Amber on LinkedIn
Start your 14-Day Pipeline Optimization Sprint to uncover where your pipeline is leaking and to surface the KPIs needed to start engineering predictable pipeline growth.