From MQLs to Buying Groups: How Palo Alto Transformed its Funnel & Drove 15x Pipeline Impact
A conversation with Lauren Daley, Director of Marketing Operations at Palo Alto Networks.
“We all knew MQLs weren’t working. But we were still being measured by them. Something had to change.”
— Lauren Daley, Director of Marketing Operations, Palo Alto Networks
In an era where enterprise B2B buying is driven by committees, not individuals, most marketers still operate in a lead-centric, MQL-obsessed model. But at Palo Alto Networks — one of the world’s largest cybersecurity companies — a transformative shift has been quietly reshaping how demand generation connects to pipeline.
Lauren Daley, Director of Marketing Operations, alongside Jeremy Schwartz, spearheaded one of the most impactful GTM transitions in recent memory: abandoning individual MQLs in favor of a buying group-driven strategy. This shift didn’t just improve pipeline metrics — it won Palo Alto Networks Forrester’s 2025 Demand and ABM Program of the Year and led to double- and triple-digit improvements in pipeline performance.
Let’s walk through the detailed steps of this transformation, the cultural and technical pivots it required, and how you can apply Palo Alto’s approach to your organization.
Why MQLs Failed to Deliver — And Why Buying Groups Matter
For years, marketing has been measured by how many MQLs it can generate. But most B2B enterprise purchases aren’t made by individuals — they’re made by buying committees. At Palo Alto Networks, this was especially evident: they were selling multi-product, high-stakes cybersecurity solutions to government, healthcare, and large enterprises — all of which involve multiple stakeholders in the buying process.
“We weren’t doing a good job of connecting all those signals, those buying group members, and packaging it in a way sellers could take action on. That was the disconnect.”
— Lauren Daley
Marketing teams were doing the hard work of engaging the right personas, but those efforts weren’t translating into revenue. Why? Because individual leads weren’t enough. A shift to buying groups was long overdue.
The Journey Begins: From Pilot to Playbook
The transformation started not with tech, but with people. Lauren and her team began small — launching a pilot focused on Business Development Representatives (BDRs) and enabling them to associate more stakeholders with each opportunity.
“We didn’t boil the ocean. We started with the friendlies — people who immediately bought into the vision.”
— Lauren Daley
The early results were compelling enough to draw interest from other teams across the company, and that’s when momentum truly started to build.
Buying Group Impact at Palo Alto Networks
The results were staggering when buying groups were present in an opportunity:
“I call it compound lift. More deals in forecast. Bigger deals. Higher win rates. That’s a lot of incremental bookings.”
— Lauren Daley
With buying groups:
Opportunities moved into forecast at 15x the rate compared to solo leads.
Deal sizes increased by 2.4x.
Win rates improved by 1.4x — a 40% increase.
This wasn’t just a better marketing model — it was a business growth engine.
Changing Mindsets: Enabling the Shift in Marketing Thinking
One of the most difficult aspects of this transition wasn’t technology — it was mindset. Marketing teams had been conditioned to focus on MQLs for years, and those targets still drove behavior.
“If you put a top-line MQL target in front of a marketer, that’s what they’ll chase — whether it converts or not.”
— Lauren Daley
To combat this, Lauren and Jeremy went on a company-wide roadshow. They didn’t just explain the new approach — they showed teams how to take action. Campaign and field marketing teams were coached on identifying gaps in buying group coverage and targeting missing personas instead of over-focusing on one highly engaged individual.
“Three lightly engaged personas in the right roles are more valuable than one highly engaged individual.”
— Lauren Daley
Creating the Buying Group Score: A Gartner-Inspired Framework
To make the shift operational and actionable, the team developed a Buying Group Score — a clear and simple framework inspired by the Gartner Magic Quadrant.
This model categorized buying group engagement into four quadrants based on:
Intent
Engagement
Completeness (presence of key personas)
Propensity (likelihood to buy)
Buying Group Score Matrix
| Quadrant | Intent | Engagement | Completeness | Propensity | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | High | High | High | High | Prioritize immediately |
| B | High | Low | High | Medium | Campaigns: drive engagement |
| C | High | High | Low | Medium | Paid: identify missing personas |
| D | Low | Low | Low | Low | Brand nurture |
“We wanted to help marketers prioritize accounts with high potential and make decisions based on data, not guesses.”
— Lauren Daley
This framework is now being integrated into Salesforce using a custom Buying Group Object, designed to house members of a buying group before an opportunity is even created.
Using the Existing Tech Stack to Drive Change
Contrary to what many assume, this transformation didn’t require a major investment in new tools.
“This transformation is free. We didn’t ask for extra budget.”
— Lauren Daley
Key adjustments included:
Turning on Lead-to-Opportunity matching in LeanData
Using Demandbase to monitor engagement and intent signals
Building a custom object in Salesforce to house buying group data
Automating engagement scoring over time
“The tech wasn’t the bottleneck — mindset and enablement were.”
— Lauren Daley
Evolving the Metrics: From MQLs to Coverage & Contribution
The move to buying groups demanded a rethink of what marketing success looks like.
Metrics that Became Obsolete:
Raw MQL volume
Individual engagement scores
Metrics That Matter Now:
Buying Group Coverage: % of opportunities with complete persona representation
Campaign → Opportunity Contribution: Are campaigns driving opportunity creation or expansion?
Engagement by Role: Are we nurturing decision-makers, influencers, and champions?
Pipeline Conversion & Win Rate by Buying Group Status
Overcoming Resistance and Driving Adoption
“People immediately said: this makes sense. But changing how they work day-to-day? That takes effort.”
— Lauren Daley
To make adoption easier:
Lauren’s team developed dashboards to visualize persona gaps
Created activation playbooks tailored by channel and segment
Invested in continuous enablement and real-time coaching
Demonstrated the “before and after” revenue impact to stakeholders
Related Blog: How Palo Alto Modernized Its Revenue Engine
Starter Template: How to Launch a Buying Group Pilot
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Identify internal advocates (“friendlies”) and run a focused pilot |
| 2 | Define baseline metrics: buying group coverage, conversion rates |
| 3 | Use existing tech (LeanData, Demandbase) to enrich opportunities |
| 4 | Develop a simple buying group score model |
| 5 | Align BDRs and Campaigns to expand buying group coverage |
| 6 | Track pilot results — and extrapolate to show full-scale impact |
| 7 | Present results to leadership with revenue implications |
| 8 | Build enablement resources: playbooks, dashboards, scorecards |
| 9 | Launch phased rollout with ongoing coaching |
| 10 | Revisit compensation models to align with opportunity creation |
Final Advice: Start Small, Show Impact, Scale Fast
“This is not some mythical transformation. It’s simple. It’s free. And it works.”
— Lauren Daley
One of the biggest takeaways from Palo Alto’s journey is that perfection isn’t a prerequisite. The team didn’t wait for full tech enablement. They used manual workarounds, partnered with friendlies, and iterated. They let results do the convincing.
“Don’t show pilot results alone. Extrapolate. Show what happens when the impact scales. That’s what makes leadership lean in.”
— Lauren Daley
Ready to Leave MQLs Behind?
Buying groups aren’t a buzzword. They’re how real enterprise buyers buy. Companies that shift now — like Palo Alto Networks — will have a huge advantage in building more efficient, scalable, and revenue-focused marketing teams.
This is your blueprint. Start the pilot. Track the metrics. Prove the model.
The future of B2B marketing isn’t in leads. It’s in groups.
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More Resources
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5 Steps to Navigate Buying Groups in 2025: A RevOps Guide
5 Steps to Navigate Buying Groups in 2025: A RevOps Guide RevOps 10 min In today’s business environment, B2B buying is never just one person. According to Forrester Research, more than half of global business buyers purchase in complex buying scenarios that include more people, more departments, and generally higher price points. And this buying group can be made up of 7 to 20 people!Unlocking the power of buying groups is a crucial aspect of the B2B landscape.This blog is a synopsis of our conversation with revenue operations leader, Nandini Karkare. She is currently the SVP of RevOps at Zywave. Nandini suggests strategic steps to navigate through the realms of Revenue Operations and helps uncover the strategies, insights, and best practices that constitute a comprehensive guide to mastering the dynamics of buying groups.Read on to get actionable tips on how you can navigate buying groups in 2025 (and beyond). And implement the learnings to create a winning GTM motion.Here are the 5 steps Nandini recommends: 1. Decode Your Buying Groups The buying groups typically consist of members from departments and they all contribute different aspects. It is critical to understand the scope of decision-making including the people who play the most significant roles in making the call. Gartner’s report on B2B Buying highlights that 77% of B2B purchases involve a buying group of four or more people. PS: The key stakeholder can turn out someone altogether different from who you had building a relationship with all along. a. Capturing Buying Group Members Effective buying group management means considering not just decision-makers but influential stakeholders across departments. Misidentifying key players or focusing solely on the main contact risks derailing the sale. (i) How can you map the entire buying group efficiently? Leverage internal and external data to identify the key players Segment the Group by Role and Influence (ii) Not everyone in the buying group holds equal power or influence. Segment them into categories: Decision-makers (who give the final heads-up) Influencers (who sway the decision) Users (who use the product and provide feedback) Budget owners b. The Role Transition Within a Buying Group Moving the focus from a buying group to a renewal or expansion committee includes knowing precisely who remains in the relationship, as well as who becomes more active as an account grows. (i) New roles may emerge in a Buying Group Technical or operational leaders may become more influential post sale, since they are now using the product. (ii) The focus shifts from buying to renewal The interaction should be more about the return on investment (ROI) of the product placed on the market, ongoing value delivery, and ongoing needs. (iii) Alignment between the buying groups and renewal committee Leveraging the same enthusiasm and relationships generated at the first-buying stage helps in anchoring the transitions and preventing any drop-offs in engagement. Related Resource: Navigate Enterprise Buying Committees: Strategies for Driving Alignment c. Understand the Personal and Collective Priorities of a Buying Group As per McKinsey & Company, B2B buying decisions increasingly require engagement across departments, with 60% of purchasing committees including members from outside traditional procurement, like IT and HR. (i)Alignment Between C-Suite and Technical Teams Decisions aren’t Made in a Vacuum Collaboration between C-suite and technical teams ensures a holistic approach to solving customer problems, creating stronger, more sustainable relationships Their cross departmental collaboration can help with: (ii) Alignment on Strategic Goals C suite executives need technical assistance to translate their strategic vision to reality that also aligns with company-wide objectives. (iii) Technical Validation These insights guide the C-suite in making informed decisions that fit technical infrastructure and future-proofing. (iv) Cross-functional Communication Bridging the gap between these two groups involves continuous, open communication, ensuring that technical evaluations don’t delay business goals but instead support them cohesively. iii. Understand the ProductTake product demos, listen to sales calls, and use tools that show how the product is sold. This helps in understanding the customer needs better.iv. Dive into Your CRMUnderstand your CRM (whether Salesforce or HubSpot) to assess how the data is organized. This is to check whether it’s easy to use, and identify immediate improvements. The CRM should be the central source of truth, with other tools supporting it. The data should be unified with easier adoption for the teams.v. Build Trust InternallyEstablish trust within your teams by listening carefully, asking questions about how RevOps can help, and addressing quick fixes to show you’re there to help. Having this trust shows them that you’re here to support their success. Quick wins, such as small fixes that make people’s jobs easier, helps in establishing credibility early.2. Establish Clear KPIs i. Understanding Team KPIsIt is important to ask you stakeholders about the KPIs that matter to understand their goals and what their expectations are.ii. Aligning KPIs Across TeamsDifferent departments oftentimes work in silos. RevOps should strive to align these departments and check if these KPIs match the overall business objectives. Gaps must be closed if their KPIs don’t align.iii. Setting RevOps KPIsAs you approach the end of the first 30 days, start establishing RevOps-specific KPIs that match company goals, which may involve metrics like revenue increase, conversion rates, or improvements in overall efficiency.3. Tech Stack AuditDeep dive into the existing tools that your company is using. Identify all redundancies, and find opportunities to streamline the entire tech stack.i. Map Out ToolsCompile a list of all tools used by teams, noting their purpose and how they work with the CRM.ii. Evaluate Use and CostDetermine if tools are actively used or if there are duplicates. Look for cost-saving opportunities by consolidating tools when possible.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVDJ9KI1tGw&t=869s Next 30 days – Alignment and Control The next 30 days marks a shift from discovery to alignment. The goals should be to create cohesion between departments (e.g., Sales, Marketing) and laying down effective controls.The improvements need to be implemented without overwhelming the teams. This phase combines further exploration with actionable improvements with the primary task being bringing the teams into sync. 1. Ways to bring your teams togetheri. Encouraging cross-team collaboration