AMA: Atlassian Former Head of Demand Generation, Tatiana Morozova on Stakeholder Management

Demand generation often serves as a bridge between sales and product, but the way I collaborate with each team can vary significantly. Here’s my high-level approach: * Understand business goals and metrics: Focus on understanding the goals and metrics each team owns. Sales typically tracks revenue-related KPIs like pipeline and bookings, while the product team focuses on adoption metrics - such as activation and retention - and usage, including breadth and depth. In self-serve model, product might also prioritize the growth of paying customers and self-serve revenue. To align demand generation efforts, work to establish shared goals or, at minimum, clarify how marketing supports these objectives. * Use BI reporting for alignment: I eliminate silos with joint dashboards built in Tableau and Looker, tailored to each team’s needs - real-time pipeline for sales, usage trends for product. Understanding how data is captured ensures reporting aligns with their priorities, keeping everyone on the same page. * Create consistent rituals: We review these dashboards in weekly or bi-weekly cadence with respective teams, spotting business trends and adjusting demand gen/ sales/ product strategies. Note: You can also create separate reporting for operational purposes, tailored for the marketing team to use alongside joint dashboards Example of marketing/ sales alignment: * Marketing contributes % into the overall pipeline. * Marketing/ sales meet weekly using Tableau, pulling data from Salesforce and other sources and analyze top-funnel (eg. leads, MQLs, SQLs) and down-funnel metrics (eg. meetings, Stage 1 opps), tracking conversion rates between stages. This reveals issues - like slow MQL-to-SQL progression - prompting discussions and joint solutions. Example of marketing and product alignment: * Marketing plays a crucial role in driving customer acquisition and activation. * Collaborate with the product team to use Tableau or another tool to track and visualize performance metrics end-to-end, from acquisition through to retention and paid conversion.

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.

IMO there are a few key ingredients to influence others: 1. Credibility - show that you've done your homework and back it up with relevant experience and data. 2. Trust - toughest to earn, easiest to lose. It grows when you deliver consistently and respect their priorities, not just yours. 3. Patience - building the right relationships takes time and consistency. You’re playing a long game. The approach to drive influence will vary based on the company's operating principles, size, and the scope of your role. One tactic I love is mapping stakeholders with a power-interest matrix: * High power, high interest → Engage deeply. * High power, low interest → Keep informed and occasionally engage * Low power, high interest → Keep engaged, leverage as advocates. * Low power, low interest →Touch base as needed Take the time to connect with your stakeholders - both personally and professionally. Get to know their world: their experiences, pain points, and challenges. The more you understand, the better you can spot opportunities for win-win outcomes.

Let me unpack this question. #1 Team structure and size There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here. How you structure a demand gen team depends on a few key factors: * Business maturity and goals: Are you in startup mode or scaling a mature operation? * Company growth rate: YoY growth and pace shape resource needs. * Current team and marketing org: What’s the skill set, experience level, and output of your existing team? How do they fit into the broader marketing structure? The key is to align the team with the business strategy. Start by assessing the current state: What’s the growth trajectory? What’s the demand gen team delivering now, and where’s the gap for the next 1-2 years? From there, consider: * Cross-functional partners: Demand gen doesn’t work in a vacuum. Sales and product teams are your starting point - map out who else you need to collaborate with. * External support: Do you need agencies to fill gaps or scale efforts? Two common setups I’ve seen work well: * Channel-focused: Each person owns a channel (eg. paid media, email, events). This suits mid-sized businesses with clear lanes. * Campaign/demand gen orchestration: In larger companies, demand gen acts as a hub, coordinating with stakeholders to build and execute integrated demand gen plans. #2 Measuring success Keep it simple with a streamlined OKR framework. Every individual should know exactly how their work ties back to the team’s objectives and which metric they’re driving or influencing. As you set OKRs, define roles clearly: * Drivers: Who owns the metric and pushes it forward? * Supporters: Who contributes to the effort? Map this out so everyone sees their piece of the puzzle. Clarity here is everything - success metrics only work if they’re specific, measurable, and tied to the bigger picture.

When two senior executives disagree and I’m stuck in the middle, IMO alignment begins with stepping back to pinpoint the root of the disconnect - not picking a side. My goal is to shift friction into buy-in. Here’s how I’d approach it: First, I’d meet each exec separately to dig into their perspective. Spending time here - asking what’s driving their POV and where they see the strategy fitting - clarifies the friction point, whether it’s priorities, data, or assumptions. Next, I’d bring them together for a live discussion, acting as a neutral moderator. I’d lay out the strategy, summarize their views, and guide the conversation with a clear framework: pros and cons, business priorities, and potential trade-offs. Data or examples would help keep the conversation grounded. If consensus is not possible, I’d escalate thoughtfully by summarizing both positions, listing the pros and cons, and offering a recommendation tied to the business’s goals. Escalation is a tool to resolve a stalemate when necessary. Alignment doesn’t mean total consensus. Sometimes, it's just enough to have buy-in to execute and move forward together.