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.

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.

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.

I answered this more comprehensively in another question, but to summarize: 1. Vanity Metrics: Anything that can be gamed or doesn't directly reflect impact with your target audience (e.g., raw traffic, followers, engagement metrics, etc.) 2. "Leads" Without Context: There are lots of low-value, scam-y ways you can incentivize someone to fill out a form on the internet. For that reason, "lead" volumes without context (qualification criteria) tell you very little about whether demand gen efforts are working.

Marketing can be a black box to people outside of it, which is why transparency and education are so important. The last thing you want is for the rest of the company to think Demand Gen is just running ads and sending emails. The reality is, Demand Gen is highly strategic and directly tied to revenue, and it’s our job to make sure that’s clear. One of the ways we have started to do this is through Monthly Business Reviews (MBRs). These meetings focus on key areas: What’s in the market right now? How is it performing? What’s not working and why? What’s coming next? We make sure we’re looking at actual business metrics—pipeline contribution, conversion rates, and revenue impact—not just vanity metrics like clicks or impressions. Another key piece is real-time dashboards. Everyone should be able to see how Demand Gen is performing at any time. No hidden reports, no mystery numbers—just clear, accessible data that shows the impact of our efforts. But beyond the numbers, I think one of the most important things we do is educate the company on how Demand Gen actually works. A lot of people think marketing is just about ads and messaging, but in reality, it’s a highly sophisticated system that involves experimentation, optimization, and a deep understanding of customer behavior. Attribution is a great example. People outside of marketing often assume it’s easy to track the exact path a customer took to conversion. The reality is that it’s messy and tracking is even more so—last touch, multi-touch, incrementality—it’s all complex. But people will assume we're guessing if we don’t communicate that complexity and show how we measure success. As a marketing leader, one of the best things you can do is build strong relationships with Finance. If Finance understands the value of Demand Gen and sees that we’re disciplined in allocating budget, it’s a lot easier to secure resources and make the case for growth. At the end of the day, if you’re not actively communicating Demand Gen’s impact, people will make their own (often incorrect) assumptions about it. Regular updates, clear reporting, and ongoing education are the best ways to make sure the business understands how marketing is driving revenue.

AI will complement Demand Generation. AI is only as bright as you train it to be, so smart marketers need to choose the right dimensions and factors for AI to leverage. Tools will only get you so far, but ultimately, without humans to spot-check efforts, you will see AI learn and optimize for the wrong things and then provide a poor customer experience. I’m excited about AI’s future in Demand Generation. I believe that if you create strong foundational elements like taxonomy, reporting infrastructure, CDPs, content management systems etc., and then you feed all your data into a single place, you can use AI models to serve the right offer to the right person in the right place across their buyer’s journey. But you must have the right people with the technology prowess and the creativity to alter offers to improve your results and truly create an omnichannel journey.

You could just rename MQL to PQL (product qualified lead) and, voilà! Just kidding. Many teams treat sales-led and self-serve as entirely separate models, but in my view, the KPIs don’t need to change much. In most companies, it’s actually helpful to keep KPI names consistent so that new hires familiar with a sales-led funnel can easily understand the different stages. You’ll still track Leads/MELs, PQLs/MQLs, paid users/SQLs, and ARR/revenue. Of course, in self-serve, you won’t have stages like "Sales Accepted Leads", "meetings", "Proof of concept", or "Sales Qualified", but you’ll have equivalents that allow you to effectively track ARR.

Given the complexity of the B2B buying cycle, this is not an easy question to answer. Each lead source has a role to play in the buyer's journey and it is important to track the lead source with the right lens. Below is a five-step process that has worked well for me. 1. Define a baseline, track and monitor channel metrics, funnel metrics, and ROI of your paid media channels. * Paid Search and Paid Social * Channel metrics: * Ad CTR * Landing page conversion rate * CPL * Funnel metrics: * MQLs * MQL conversion rate * SQLs * SQL conversion rate * Pipeline sourced and influenced * Channel ROI: Pipe to spend ratio or ARR to spend ratio * Direct Mail * Channel metrics: Items delivered, engagement * Funnel metrics: Pipeline influenced * Channel ROI: Pipe to spend ratio * Trade shows and industry events * Channel metrics Registrations, attendance, and meetings booked * Funnel metrics: MQLs, SQLs, pipeline sourced and influenced * Channel ROI: Pipe to spend ratio * User conferences * Channel metrics Registrations, attendance, and meetings booked * Funnel metrics: MQLs, pipeline sourced and influenced * Channel ROI: Pipe to spend ratio 2. Continuously experiment and optimize every channel to improve efficiency 3. Keep the business objective in mind. Some channels, such as paid social, work well in driving top-of-funnel MQLs, whereas other channels, such as paid search, lean more towards bottom-funnel demo/pricing MQLs that are more ready to buy. Webinars and email nurture help with converting MQLs to SQLs 4. Rank the sources based on business objectives and ROI and adjust as needed 5. Keep an eye out for new sources and experiment to see if they work out!

It depends on the stage of the company and your goals. If you have huge brand recognition and can rely on organic (web or social) or word of mouth, you may not need ads to amplify your programs. Otherways, advertising is a great way to get in front of an audience. Another amazing (and often forgotten) application is that ads are a fantastic place to test and learn and then apply to other channels. In ads, you can control the audience, the test, and the message.

Being the first demand generation hire is incredibly exciting. You’re in a position with endless opportunities 🌊, but that also means you’ll need to balance owning many KPIs with focusing on the ones that truly matter. Here’s how I would approach it: 1. Own All KPIs, But Prioritize What You Report 🎯: * As the first hire, you’ll naturally be responsible for tracking a wide range of metrics. You’ll care about things like blog performance (e.g., low bounce rates 📉 or high engagement 📊) because these help you understand what’s driving traffic and conversions. However, not every KPI needs to be reported to stakeholders. * Your job is to filter the noise. Stakeholders like the CEO or leadership team will only care about KPIs that directly move the needle 📈. 2. Track These Key Metrics for Stakeholders 🔑: * Opportunities Generated * Demo Requests * MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) * Total Leads * Closed-Won Opportunities from Marketing Efforts 💼 3. Stay Informed on Supporting Metrics 🧩: * While stakeholders may not care about metrics like blog bounce rates or webinar attendance on a granular level, these are crucial for your strategy. Use them to inform decisions about content creation, conversion paths, and campaign optimization. 4. Be Patient With Big Wins ⏳: * Early on, wins might feel small and less frequent. That’s normal. Over time, as you refine your processes and track your progress, those wins will compound, creating a powerful growth story 🚀. By focusing on KPIs that matter to leadership while using supporting metrics to refine your strategy, you’ll build a strong foundation for demand generation success—and create impressive results to showcase on your resume 🌟.