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If your growth plan still relies on lead math, you’re running on outdated assumptions.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

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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.

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