I'm working at a start-up, and a first demand generation hire; what KPIs should I own and not own?

First, congratulations on your new role! I love this question because it suggests you have already come to the realization that there are significantly more things that you could establish as KPIs than things you should establish as KPIs. A good manager earlier in my career told me once that good goals are those you can a) directly influence and b) easily translate into detailed plans to achieve them. In other words, try to avoid “goals by wishful thinking,” which is often how early-stage compan ...Read More

As a first demand generation hire at a startup, some KPIs that you could own are: Lead generation: This KPI measures the number of leads generated through marketing campaigns, events, or other channels. Depending on your market and industry, you may want to consider measuring results from your target account list. Conversion rates: This KPI measures how many leads are converted into paying customers, or at different stages of the funnel. Cost per lead: This KPI measures the cost of acquiring eac ...Read More

Congrats! This is an exciting role, and it’s definitely an addictive one because you’ll have the chance to build everything from the ground up. I’d start by focusing on MQLs as your north star—quality leads that either support sales or, in a self-serve model, drive free trials. The definition isn’t set in stone; it’s a work in progress. You’ll need to find the right balance, possibly through lead scoring, to determine what qualifies as a perfect MQL. It’s also helpful to consider metrics like Le ...Read More

Great question and I’ll start with a very marketing-y answer - it depends. Because it really does! Depending on industry, sales cycle, product, etc the KPIs for marketing might be different because the GOALS for marketing teams might be different. However, in broad strokes metrics the first DG hire should own are: Pipeline related - depending on business (+ budget and sales motion) DG should own a % of pipeline that’ll be driven by inbound activities Qualified Lead related - no MQLs are not dead ...Read More

This is a great question as marketers can often times fall into the trap of wanting to measure everything or too much, which is not a luxury they can have at a startup. I'd start with what leadership and sales cares the most about. If it's a self-service SaaS offering, measure quality visitors to the website and core product pages, as well as conversions on the offering/trail downloads. If a B2B sales led motion, I recommend measure not just the number of leads you're generating and passing to s ...Read More

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: 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 hel ...Read More

This is going to be dependent on your business objectives and goals, the stage of the start-up and your go-to-market motion. Generally speaking, here are a few examples of KPIs you should and should not own. You should own: MQLs or sign-ups A quality metric to measure MQLs and sign-ups against CPA by source or channel Conversion rate by source or channel You should not own (you should be a partner in this, not an owner): Retention Revenue This list contains a few examples and is not comprehensiv ...Read More

This is going to be dependent on your business objectives and goals, the stage of the start-up and your go-to-market motion. Generally speaking, here are a few examples of KPIs you should and should not own. You should own: MQLs or sign-ups A quality metric to measure MQLs and sign-ups against CPA by source or channel Conversion rate by source or channel You should not own (you should be a partner in this, not an owner): Retention Revenue This list contains a few examples and is not comprehensiv ...Read More