We use a centralized dashboard that aggregates data from all our tools (e.g., CRM, marketing automation, analytics platforms). Each channel has its own set of KPIs that align with its role in the funnel. For example: * Top-of-Funnel Channels (paid social, SEO): Impressions, clicks, and conversions to MQLs. * Mid-Funnel Channels (email, nurture campaigns): Engagement rates, MQL to SQL conversion. * Bottom-of-Funnel Channels (ABM, sales assist): SQL to opportunity and pipeline generated. Weekly syncs help us identify trends and recalibrate if needed. Transparency is key—everyone on the team knows the KPIs we're tracking and their impact on the broader goals.

As a DG leader, you play a critical role in supporting Sales by driving the acquisition and conversion of prospects into leads and converting them into customers. Here are some hard and nice-to-have skills (the list isn't extensive) Hard skills: Vision and experience building a multi-channel demand gen strategy - Having a good understanding of the levers that are available to you is necessary to build out your plan. This includes understanding your target persona so you can address their pain points, behaviors, and the channels they like to consume content. Data driven decision-making - This skill has become very important as finance and executives are interested in ROI and the results of your programs, so being comfortable around metrics/numbers and the ability to have deep inspection of funnel conversions will help you diagnosis and evolve your strategies. Strong cross functional collaboration - In this role, you are often the go between with Sales, Product Marketing, and Content teams. Strong communicator - Getting buy-in and alignment are important, so if you are able to provide the strategy, successes, and challenges to executives, they will more likely support your requests for resources. Nice-to-haves: Deep technical proficiency with marketing tools - basic knowledge is adequate Advanced graphic design skills In-depth product knowledge Sales-specific skills as you won't be negotiating or closing deals.

Different organizations have various criteria and promotion processes. Depending on your company culture, different leaders will review promotions and sign off on these changes. What I’ll say is these are the typical questions managers and leaders consider before someone is put up for promotion: 1. What are the current business needs? For example, if someone is promoted, what work would they do differently to fill a business gap? People managers usually only open up when the business has a need for an additional people manager. 2. What are the technical competencies someone needs to have at the next level? 3. What brief of work can you point to showcase that this person is already operating at the next level? 4. What peers and leaders can speak to the level of work this person owns? If you are looking for someone to help advocate for you in your promotional journey, it’s essential to have a transparent conversation around the expectations of the next level, and if you are meeting those, provide them clear examples and metrics about how you’ve exceeded in these specific areas. 

I personally started my career as an entry level contractor at Salesforce, where I worked for 17 years and had 12 different roles. By the time I left, I was a Senior Vice President overseeing a large department that consisted of multiple functions and business units. My high level advice for anyone is to stay curious and slightly uncomfortable – because that will keep you learning and engaged. For recent graduates looking to start a career in Demand Generation, the key is to embrace continuous learning and adaptability. Demand Generation is a multifaceted field that touches many areas of marketing—paid media, content, email, field marketing, and analytics—offering exposure to a wide range of skills. This variety makes it an excellent starting point for those eager to develop a well-rounded marketing foundation. Early in your career, be open to taking on tasks beyond your immediate job description. In an entry-level role, saying yes to new challenges—whether it’s campaign execution, data analysis, or content development—can accelerate your growth. The more you immerse yourself in different aspects of Demand Generation, the more career pathways you create for the future. Since Demand Generation is both strategic and executional, building both soft and hard skills is crucial. Develop analytical skills to understand campaign performance, but also refine communication and collaboration skills to work cross-functionally. Being proactive, resourceful, and willing to experiment will set you apart. Finally, seek mentorship and stay curious. Follow industry trends, ask questions, and leverage every opportunity to learn from experienced marketers. Over time, this broad experience will help you identify your strengths and areas of interest, positioning you for long-term success in marketing. By staying open-minded, taking initiative, and continuously learning, you’ll set yourself up for a thriving career in Demand Generation and beyond.

You're right this is hard to do, and I'm sure you'd get different answers from different Demand Gen leaders. When you lack historical data for a given region to inform goal setting, the two most useful inputs are a) business objectives and b) comps from other regions where you are marketing to similar buyers. Business objectives should inform your investment level, mix, and funnel metrics. For example, if you need to generate $1M in incremental bookings from the region by the end of your first year in that market and your typical sales cycle is 90-180 days, you know that you need to set MQL and pipeline targets in the first two quarters that provide sufficient coverage. Comps from other regions can also be useful in forecasting CPL and setting appropriate goals by channel. For example, if you are running SEM campaigns in North America, you likely already have a sense of the average cost per acquisition from paid search. You can then use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, etc. to determine which of your campaigns will translate to the new markets you are entering based on search volume, estimated CPC, etc.

That would definitely make it more difficult, but there are ways I think you can make a path forward. For example if you're in an early growth stage demand gen may lean more on organic channels like SEO and social to drive demand. You can use engagements like webinars or virtual meetings, linkedin live, or free/low cost events to help.

There are three items I would recommend evaluating when joining any small but mighty demand generation team: 1. Reporting & Infrastructure - Identify how leads are flowing from the website and offline programs through to the sales team. Many times there are issues in this process - incorrect scoring, gaps when syncing from marketing automation to CRM, undefined sales follow-up processes, missing tracking on conversion to opportunity. Making sure that you fully understand how this all works is critical and improving pieces here can have an immediate uplift on pipeline. 2. Best Practices - If the team is newer to Demand Generation, help to implement templates, processes, and guidelines for how everyone should be operating. Literally build a process document, a marketing calendar, and a results template. Overview these on team calls and have others speak to their own work in these formats. 3. Optimization - Pick one channel at a time: ads, or emails, or social, or the website. Dig in and find areas to improve these. Perhaps your ads are missing keywords, or your email template is outdated. Work on one channel at a time to improve results.

Similar to the question about worst KPIs, I believe vanity metrics and volume KPIs are often too easy to manipulate and can be used to tell a misleading story. Metrics like email open rates and click-through rates can be artificially inflated by bots. Lead counts and sign-ups can also be influenced by acquisition campaigns that don’t necessarily bring in high-quality prospects. Likewise, a low cost-per-lead (CPL) is often over-hyped; in the end, what matters is quality, bottom-of-funnel conversion. Constantly feeding the top of the funnel with low-quality leads won’t actually move the needle.

Great Question! Here are a few to consider and why: Sales * Why: The sales team has direct insights into customer needs, pain points, and buying behaviors. They can provide valuable input on target accounts and help align sales and marketing efforts. * Role: Identify high-value accounts, provide feedback on messaging, and collaborate on account-specific strategies. Marketing * Why: The marketing team is responsible for developing and executing the ABM strategy. They bring expertise in content creation, campaign management, and analytics. * Role: Develop targeted content, manage campaigns, and measure the success of ABM initiatives. Customer Success * Why: Customer success and support teams have a deep understanding of customer satisfaction and can provide insights into account health and opportunities for upselling or cross-selling. * Role: Offer insights on customer needs, help with account retention strategies, and support customer-focused content. Executive Leadership: * Why: Executive buy-in is crucial for allocating resources, setting strategic goals, and ensuring alignment across the organization. * Role: Provide strategic direction, approve budgets, and support cross-functional collaboration.

If you find that volume is sparse in digital channels like organic and paid, here are a couple suggestions: 1. Conferences Your prospects will always try to be leveling up. If they aren't using the world wide web for this, then they are attending their industry specific conferences. Experiment with trying a few different conferences in a calendar year just to determine if it's worthwhile to fish there. 2. Referrals Spin up a referral program and use the network of your existing customer base to spread the word on your behalf. Make sure you incentivize both the referrer and the referee. 3. Co-marketing webinars This is a very economical way to grow your audience. Find non-competitor companies that are also serving your prospects and ask them to do a co-marketing webinar with you. Set the precedent that you and they will promote the webinar to your own audiences and then share the registration and attendee lists afterwards. 4. Invest in building out your TAM (total addressable market) If they aren't using digital channels, chances are you are going to need to invest in ABM and sales outbound. Prior to doing this, put a lot of effort into identifying your TAM. Not only identifying the companies, but then enriching the accounts with useful information. Your going to need tools and resources like Zoominfo, Clearbit, Clay, and Virtual Assistants to get this done.