I’m the first Demand Generation hire in my company. What advice would you give to someone tasked with establishing this function in an existing business structure?

A team of one has the opportunity to lay the foundation for a solid demand generation function. That being said, it's important to ensure a thoughtful and scalable approach. You'll need to choose 1 or 2 main KPIs to impact, you should work with sales and PMM to form a point of view. You might choose traffic and form fills to start depending on the maturity of your business. Or you might choose MQLs and Opportunities. Once you have your KPIs chosen you can begin crafting the right mix of programs to achieve your targets. Generally speaking I recommend an 80/20 split, 80% always on programs, think trial, ebooks, on demand webinars, AR, etc and 20% point in time (PIT) webinars, training, hands on etc. Especially for a team of one you need to prioritize programs that will help you get the most out of your efforts. You’ll never be able to run enough webinars to keep up with growing targets, so it's important to build a solid always on engine.

Congratulations! This is an important moment because you have the unique opportunity to truly define how the Demand Gen team functions at your company. Demand Gen can mean different things to different people, so I recommend creating a clear strategy for what it means for you and your company, and clearly and proactively communicating that across your company, particularly with your key stakeholders in sales, product marketing, content marketing, executive team, etc. DG plays such a powerful role in a company's growth and it is important to frequently share the impact of the work that you are doing, and ensuring that those results get the visibility they deserve. This could mean presenting key results out each week at your company's all-hands, or hosting frequent lunch and learns to share highlights from your work. Doing this early will ensure that your company has a strong understanding of the value that DG can provide from the start. 

Congratulations! Here's my advice: get super clear on your funnel. Usually, the funnel has yet to be defined and/or documented. Align with sales on the definitions (especially at the top), and then get a view for the conversion rates between each. This will give you a ton of visibility into the opportunities that are low hanging fruit and what opportunities might need more time to investigate and define the plan of action. It's easy to dive right into channels, but this foundation will give you the perspective to make the right bets.

First and foremost, this is an amazing opportunity for you! I would argue that while it may potentially feel overwhelming at times, it’s also quite exciting. I too have been in this position and can speak from direct experience.

The advice I would give you is to first be incredibly close to the metrics that matter. Build out the function based on the support you need to achieve your goals. Lean into communication as well. With an existing business structure, there is potential for pushback from a few angles. Try to understand the question behind the question for individuals who aren’t as familiar with demand generation. I’ve found that you have to educate others about demand generation on an ongoing basis. See this as having curiosity about an area you have more expertise in.

Lastly, approach the opportunity with an open mind and curiosity. This could be a huge advantage for you from a career perspective.