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If your growth plan still relies on lead math, you’re running on outdated assumptions.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 https://www.passetto.com/events/pipeline-visibility-workshop

Follow GTM Live on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1AJwHPDw2RuybeMnn7CnNP?si=9eefda6174fb465c

Subscribe to the GTM Live YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@GTMLivePodcast

Connect with Carolyn on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-dilks/

Connect with Ashley on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleylewin/

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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.