Marketing reporting to sales may seem beneficial on paper due to sales being a top leader and the alignment between sales and marketing, but it often does not work well in practice.
The main issues with having marketing report to sales include budget concerns, where sales prioritize hitting numbers over costs, and lack of patience for longer-term marketing initiatives.
In tech companies, the CEO often serves as the primary marketer, making marketing's alignment with the CEO crucial. Trying to have marketing report to sales can be expensive and short-term focused, rarely yielding successful outcomes.
In conclusion, it is advised to avoid having marketing report to sales unless there is unlimited capital and strong reasons for such an organizational structure.