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.

Great question! I get asked this all the time. It really all depends on your background, but I would urge you to familiarize yourself with marketing terminology like funnel stages, mqls, lead scoring, conversion rates, etc. I would also review your existing skills to see what would be transferable. Perhaps you are a strong writer, or tech savvy, or someone that is very organized and can project manage. These are all transferable skills. Sign up for free online courses through Hubspot or get certified in the latest automation tools. Find out who in your network has a demand gen role that you can interview. Lastly, whenever you are transitioning from one field to another, it's perfectly acceptable to apply for an entry-level position. Companies don't expect you to know everything, they will train you as long as you have a desire to learn.

Depending on your organization’s goals bringing in sales, CS, and operations can be key to running successful Demand Generation campaigns. I have more experience working in the B2B Enterprise space and the relationship with Sales and CS has been important to success. * In large-scale Enterprise sales (where deal lengths can extend beyond a year), the Field (sales, sales engineers, etc.) is critical to moving a deal from TOFU opportunities to POC and closed-won opportunities. Sales can help you understand the core influencers and buyers in the sales cycles and the problems customers are trying to solve. It’s important to align on the top accounts and how you are best positioned in the market. * Customer Success becomes more important in B2B buying cycles because customers who churn are very costly to the business. In addition, happy customers will buy more over time. If you have a large product portfolio, CS can be another seller for you, helping drive additional upsells and cross-sell opportunities in the buying cycle. Both of these teams help accelerate opportunities and can provide a unique perspective you may not have considered in past Demand Generation campaigns. 

* Start With Company Goals: Align OKRs with overarching business objectives (e.g., pipeline targets, new market penetration). * Set Cascading OKRs: Break down the company’s goals into actionable demand gen objectives. For instance: * Objective: Generate $2M in pipeline this quarter. * Key Results: Launch 3 campaigns, achieve $500k pipeline per campaign, drive 100 SQLs. * Project Mapping: Each OKR ties to specific initiatives. For example, a webinar might target pipeline generation for a specific segment.

It’s crucial for Demand Generation professionals to see how their contributions align with larger company goals and strategy. This fosters a sense of purpose and keeps them invested in the organization’s success. Given the cross-functional nature of the role, offer senior team members the opportunity to lead strategic workstreams rather than being limited to tactical execution. This not only increases their impact but also enhances their leadership skills and long-term career prospects. To retain top Demand Generation talent, provide a clear career path with opportunities for growth. Ensure they are continuously challenged with stretch projects that expand their skill set and keep them engaged. While empowerment is key, leadership must also offer necessary support and “air cover” to help them navigate obstacles effectively. By fostering growth, empowerment, and strategic involvement, you create an environment where top talent feels valued and motivated to stay.

It depends on the duration of your customer life cycle. Since I've been in mostly B2B where the sales cycle is 6 plus months, I would focus on one and then the other.

Demand generation and content marketing are truly a match made in heaven 🌟. Together, they create a powerful blend of long-term brand building and short-term pipeline generation—a partnership that strengthens your marketing strategy from every angle. Here’s how I would measure their combined impact: 1. Content Marketing Metrics 📝: * Audience Growth: Track how much your database is growing 📈. How many people are you bringing into your funnel through content? * Long-Term Conversions: Measure the lifecycle of leads generated through content. For example, someone downloading a white paper today might convert to an opportunity or closed-won deal years later ⏳. * Engagement Metrics: Identify which content pieces are resonating (e.g., time on page, bounce rate, social shares) to refine your strategy. 2. Demand Generation Metrics 🚀: * Pipeline Contribution: How much of the pipeline originates from demand gen efforts? * Revenue Impact: Tie leads and opportunities from content marketing to closed-won deals 💰. * Channel Effectiveness: Evaluate how content marketing enhances other demand gen activities, such as email marketing, paid social, and retargeting. 3. The Combined Impact 🔗: * Customer Journey Tracking: Use tools to follow leads from their first content interaction through to pipeline creation and revenue. This showcases how content influences and supports the entire funnel. * Cross-Channel Amplification: Recognize how content marketing boosts other efforts: * Email Marketing: A strong database built through content drives higher engagement 📬. * Paid Social: Retargeting thrives when fueled by a robust audience familiar with your brand 🎯. * Website Traffic: Consistently valuable content makes your website a trusted destination for prospects 🏡. 4. Consistency Is Key 📆: * Content marketing is a long-term play. You need to act like a consistent publisher 📰—the industry “watering hole” where prospects return for trusted information. The more consistent and strategic you are, the stronger your demand gen and content synergy will become. By pairing the audience-building power of content marketing with the revenue-focused metrics of demand generation, you’ll create a holistic view of success and set your strategy up for sustained growth 🚀.

To manage pipeline forecasting differences between sales and demand generation, I'd focus on building a system where sales, demand gen, RevOps, and MarOps work together, combining sales' insights with campaign data for one solid forecast and identifying any root causes. Below are the typical steps that I go through: * Create joint processes, like unified dashboards, to quickly spot and troubleshoot discrepancies. * Ensure a common understanding of key metrics - lead volume, conversion rates, etc. - and the assumptions behind them, such as product launches, P&P changes, or marketing campaign launches, so both teams are aligned. * Troubleshoot data pipeline, which often causes forecasting discrepancies and gaps. Addressing this first saves time before digging deeper. * Review individual metrics alongside historical performance to identify shifts in trends or dynamics, ensuring forecasts reflect current realities. * Set up weekly or bi-weekly check-ins to keep communication going, adjust forecasts as needed, and build trust across teams.

I hesitate to use the word "worst" because, in most cases, KPIs aren’t inherently bad—they’re often just "less optimal" depending on the context, goals, and how they’re used. That said, there are definitely KPIs that can lead you astray if you're not thoughtful about their relevance to your objectives or the limitations of your organization. Here's some KPIs I would be wary of: 1. "Big Swing" KPIs These are ambitious, high-reaching goals that aim to inspire teams and generate excitement—think "double our pipeline in one quarter" or "grow MQLs by 200%." While pushing boundaries is essential for growth, these KPIs my not always be grounded in the reality of your current resources, processes, or market conditions. t's good to stretch strategically, but don't goals that might derail morale if they’re unattainable. 2. Vanity Metrics Vanity metrics, like website traffic or raw follower counts, can look great in a report, but their value diminishes if they aren't tied to business outcomes like revenue, pipeline, or customer retention. For example, having thousands of monthly website visitors means little if those visitors don’t convert into meaningful leads or qualified opportunities. 3. Email Deliverability and Open Rates At face value, email deliverability and open rates seem critical, but they’re becoming less reliable due to external factors. For instance, IT teams at large enterprises often auto-open emails for security scanning purposes, inflating open rate numbers. Additionally, modern privacy features, like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, further muddy the waters. Instead, focus on downstream email metrics like click-through rates (CTR) or conversions that better reflect actual engagement and interest. 4. Social Media Engagement Without Pipeline Attribution Social metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and even follower growth can boost your visibility and brand perception, but they don’t always translate into relevant demand generation indicators. Without tying social activity to pipeline contribution or conversion rates, you risk investing heavily in social platforms and campaigns that drive awareness but fail to generate demand. In general, avoid KPIs that prioritize activity over impact. Focus on KPIs that align with your organization’s broader revenue and growth objectives, and always maintain a clear line of sight to the business outcomes they support. And if you have to commit to the "worst" KPIs, know that delivering great results are table stakes, though they may not necessarily bring actual value.

I think most teams have got themselves to the point where the answer is pipeline and bookings. If you think about bookings and pipe as level one KPIs, then creating level two KPIs for your team to be held accountable for would be for programs and tactics that lead to pipe for your business. Some examples might be source meetings (pre pipe), quality leads. I'll use this one as an excuse to also mention spending your budget! % of planned budget spent.