Marketing as a Non-Linear Revenue Multiplier: A Framework Worth Sharing

Why Marketing's True Impact on Revenue Can't Be Measured in Leads Alone

Ever launch a brand campaign only to get a text from your CEO asking about leads and revenue the next day? Yeah, me too.

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I recently revisited this brilliant post by Dale W. Harrison, which caught my attention almost a year ago. It puts into words what many of us marketing leaders feel but struggle to explain to our executive teams.

Today, I'm breaking down Dale's framework for understanding how marketing generates revenue and sharing some thoughts on how B2B startups and agencies can apply these insights to their GTM strategy.

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The Marketing Attribution Challenge

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This joke nails the dynamic in most B2B companies: everyone contributes, but sales gets the revenue credit.

While this hasn’t always been my experience (having worked with some great leaders), when leadership asks how marketing creates revenue, they often want simple answers about lead gen. But Dale Harrison cuts through this misconception:

"The answer is NOT 'to get leads,' or to 'create demand,' or even 'make people aware of our brand.' Those are superficial explanations of what you hope might happen, not the machinery of how marketing actually grows revenue."

Marketing attribution isn't about first touch or last touch. It's about understanding marketing as a multiplier that makes your entire revenue engine more effective.

Harrison's Revenue Model Example

Dale breaks down how a B2B company's revenue generation evolves through a straightforward model:

Stage 0: Product Only (No Revenue)

You've built something great, but nobody knows it exists. Revenue = $0.

Stage 1: Adding a Sales Team

Your first sales reps handle everything - prospecting and closing deals.

As Dale puts it:

"Revenue = 4 × [Sales Costs]"

His example shows a sales team costing $250,000 generating $1M in revenue (4:1 return). Want to double revenue? Double your sales team. It's completely linear.

Stage 2: Adding Performance Marketing

You put $50,000 into lead generation through SEO, paid search, etc.

The result? Your sales reps shift from hunting to closing. The same team closes 50% more deals, pushing revenue to $1.5M.

Harrison's formula evolves:

"Revenue = 4×[Sales Costs] + 10×[Performance Marketing]"

That $50,000 marketing investment generated $500,000 in additional revenue—a 10:1 return.

Stage 3: Adding Brand Marketing

Now, you invest in brand marketing to reach future customers who aren't actively buying today.

Dale shows how brand marketing drives revenue in four ways:

1. More qualified leads from increased brand awareness

2. Higher close rates because buyers already trust you

3. Shorter sales cycles with pre-educated prospects

4. Better pricing with less discounting needed

His example shows this pushing revenue to $3M with the same sales team:

"Revenue = 4×[Sales Costs] + 10×[Performance Marketing] + 30×[Brand Marketing]"

The Key Insight: Marketing as a Multiplier

The most powerful takeaway from Dale's framework:

"Marketing is a non-linear driver of those linear business functions like Sales."

This is gold. Marketing isn't just adding leads to the pipeline. It's making your entire revenue machine more efficient.

In Harrison's example, adding $100,000 in marketing to a $250,000 sales investment generated $2M in new revenue (a 20:1 return on marketing spend) and tripled the return on the sales investment from 4:1 to 12:1.

Putting This Framework to Work in Your Startup

Working with early-stage B2B startups, here's how I suggest applying these insights:

1. Start with sales fundamentals. You need a solid sales process before you can multiply its effectiveness. Get the basics right first.

2. Add performance marketing where it helps sales. Focus initial marketing on things that directly support sales. Create content that answers common objections, case studies that show your value, or guides that help prospects understand your solution.

3. Don't delay brand investment. Even modest brand spending can create outsized returns if targeted at your specific niche. You don't need Super Bowl ads - just a consistent presence where your buyers spend time.

4. Look beyond lead metrics. Track these metrics to see marketing's multiplier effect:

   • Sales cycle length

   • Win rates

   • Discount frequency

   • Time sales spend on prospecting vs. closing

5. Get your executives on board. Share frameworks like Dale's to reset conversations about marketing's revenue impact.

Changing the Conversation

Next time someone asks "Any revenue yet?" right after your brand campaign launches, you'll have a better answer.

My favorite line from Dale's post perfectly sums it up:

"The impacts of ALL those marketing investments are reflected in the increased efficiency and effectiveness of the Sales Team. Marketing produces ZERO direct revenue but facilitates Sales to produce revenue far more effectively and efficiently!"

Marketing might not flip the switch (like in Anthony Pierri's lightbulb joke), but sales would be working in the dark without it. They'd be trying to sell to people who don't know you exist and don't understand your value. (Okay, bad analogy.)

What multiplier effects have you seen in your own marketing? Send me a quick reply. I'd love to hear from you.

P.S. Need help optimizing your marketing for maximum revenue impact? I help B2B startups strengthen their go-to-market foundations through consulting and workshops. Just reply to this email to learn more.