A typical career path for a Demand Generation manager that I have seen involves starting within marketing operations or digital marketing. This is not all-inclusive, but I feel is common. Having a background in marketing operations makes for a strong demand generation marketer due to understanding how the business all connects between departments, between the tech stack and important processes like lead scoring, lead routing and more. Digital marketing is also a natural path because these individuals own channels that feed into the demand generation world and drive awareness or revenue for the business. Ultimately though, demand generation requires a person who is hungry, numbers driven and can problem solve quickly. So no matter your current focus, try to learn from the demand gen team at your org and find a community of likeminded marketer - like exitfive! When it comes to moving forward after you have built a solid career within demand generation, natural moves are to continue in this path which could also be named Growth Marketing, Revenue Marketing or Integrated Marketing. From my experience it's just so important to understand that our job is to drive revenue for the business.

Soft skills are more critical when joining a new team, especially in Demand Generation, where collaboration is key. This role requires working cross-functionally with product marketing, creative teams, operations, sales, and paid media, making the ability to lead through influence essential. Strong candidates can build alignment, negotiate effectively, and rally teams behind a shared vision. Emotional intelligence plays a major role in success. Reading the room, understanding team dynamics, and adapting communication styles help drive initiatives forward. Executive presence is equally important—engaging confidently with marketing leaders and sales stakeholders fosters credibility and ensures buy-in on strategic initiatives. While technical skills are valuable, they can be taught. Core Demand Generation competencies, such as campaign execution, analytics, and optimization, can be learned over time. However, soft skills like leadership, collaboration, and adaptability take longer to develop. A candidate with strong interpersonal skills can quickly gain the necessary technical expertise, but even the most technically skilled professional may struggle without the ability to navigate team dynamics and stakeholder relationships.

A demand gen team is extremely focused on revenue growth and all functions within demand gen should be lock in step to drive that growth. A basic structure to start would look like this: * Demand gen leader: Set the GTM strategy and direction * Content Creators: Build content across different platforms * Product Marketing: Create the ideal customer profile, messaging and value prop * Digital/Social marketing: Run SEO, social channels, content syndication If you are a mature and established org, and have the luxury, you can add the following: * Marketing ops: Track campaign progress and ROI * Sales Enablement: Help sales leverage the assets created and align with the messaging

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.

Having transferrable skills and being able to show examples that tie into the specific job requirements will help convince the hiring manager that you are the right candidate. If you have an extensive marketing background, you already have a leg up on your fellow peers. Demand generation encompasses a lot of different skills (analytics, project management, communication, understanding of marketing principles and channels, etc). If you look back on your experience, I'm certain that you can find some connections.

Start by aligning Demand Generation’s OKRs with the company’s main pillars so that every internal stakeholder can understand your goals. For each theme, define 2-3 highly measurable KRs (key results), then tie each KR to specific activities, campaigns, or initiatives to achieve those results. For example: * Company Goal: Become the leader in the Enterprise segment. * DG Matching Goal: Drive demand for the Enterprise segment. * DG OKRs: Increase Enterprise ARR by X%; acquire X% more new Enterprise logos. * DG Activities: Invest in Enterprise trade shows and field events, launch an ABM campaign, consider some Enterprise content syndication...

Demand Gen and Product Marketing need to work in lockstep, but their responsibilities should be clearly defined so there are no gaps. I see Product Marketing as the strategic foundation. They own positioning, messaging, and audience segmentation. They’re the ones gathering customer insights, developing solution narratives, and ensuring that we have a compelling story to tell. They also drive product go-to-market (GTM) strategies, which include things like product launch plans, competitive analysis, and sales enablement. If Sales needs a deck, a battle card, or a better way to pitch our platform, Product Marketing owns that. Demand Gen, on the other hand, takes that foundation and activates it. They’re the ones turning messaging into high-converting campaigns across paid media, email, SEO, ABM, and whatever other channels make sense. If Product Marketing defines the "why" and "what," Demand Gen figures out the "how" and "where”, and the campaign narratives to deliver. KPIs reflect those differences. Product Marketing is measured on positioning effectiveness, sales enablement adoption, product health (adoption and usage), and market impact. That might mean looking at things like win/loss rates, messaging resonance, product attach, and how well Sales uses the materials they create, or in some cases, how well self-serve/product-led cross-sell motions convert. Demand Gen, on the other hand, is held accountable for lead generation, pipeline growth, and campaign performance. That means things like MQL/SQL volume, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition (CPA). The key is that these teams need to be deeply connected. If Product Marketing isn’t aligned with Demand Gen, then you end up with campaigns that don’t resonate. And if Demand Gen isn’t leveraging the insights from Product Marketing, you’re just running ads and hoping for the best. They’re two sides of the same coin, and when they work together, they drive real business impact.

Although I’ll provide a framework here, you must consider your top non-negotiables when considering moving to a new company. Where you work, the culture, company size, and solutions likely differ from those around you. When I review a company, I look at the following areas and questions: 1. The Technology / Solution 1. In today’s volatile market, I look for a technology or solution that solves real-world customer problems and is future-proof against a market downturn (e.g., people will still buy this solution in a recession). 2. The company’s TAM today and future potential. Does this solution have the ability to grow, and at what rate does the market expect it to grow? 2. Leadership Team - What does their track record for success look like? For example, if they are pre-IPO, has this leadership team ever led a company to a successful IPO? Do they have a clear future vision for the company? 3. The Direct Team Culture: The direct team you work for can heavily impact your day-to-day. I am looking for a team that is: 1. Collaborative and inclusive, they enjoy working as a team. 2. Willingness to change and take on new ideas. 3. Strong leadership can help us prioritize where we focus our efforts. 4. The Opportunity: The value I believe I’ll get from taking on this role: 1. Will I learn more or something I’ve never done? 2. Is there room for me to make an impact? 3. Will the work be challenging and something different or the same every day?

I once wrote a blog post called "When did MQL become a 4-letter word." And this remains such a hot-button topic. Are MQLs dead? Should we be focused on accounts? Qualified accounts? ABM? Engagement? The list goes on and on. There is no one-size fits all response to whether you should be using MQLs. But I would contend whatever your approach the intent (pun intended) of an MQL is to create meaningful engagement within your target accounts, which in turn will demonstrate intent to buy. To specifically answer your question though, go back to the intent of an MQL - which is that if done correctly, that lead should be (based on data) ready to talk to sales. Good lead scoring models should be reviewed and refreshed at least every 6 months. Don't wait any longer. And if possible, build a unique model based on your different ICPs. For example, what qualifies as an MQL for your enterprise accounts likely looks different than for your SMB accounts. To stay relevant and meet the needs, rely on your data. Set a baseline acceptable conversion rate (or success metric) and then continually optimize against that.

Here are some ways to get started 1. Align on goals and how success will be measured for you 2. Input tour from your partners and stakeholders to inform your plan 3. Create your vision/strategy for how to deliver on your goals/targets to align and socialize with your manager and stakeholders (your marketing team and sales as focus points) 4. Be open to feedback and incorporate the feedback as you socialize your plan. 5. Spend time is developing and setting up my measurement frameworks. This is how you're going to point to value and impact from #1