What are one or two pieces of advice you would give to others who are hoping to become demand gen leaders?

This one is going to be simple. Focus on being close to the numbers and be ready to be creative! I do think there are some foundational pieces to building a demand generation engine. The first is having a balanced program mix, make sure are bringing names in a consistent and steady flow. Being close to the numbers helps understanding what channels are working, which channels to invest more time & money in, and making sure these are the programs that convert to meetings and closed won.  Once ...Read More

In order to become a demand gen leader, you need to understand how to empower your team to execute to the best of their ability, and also forge a professional development path for every team member. Sure, there are skills like effective budgeting, managing cost efficiencies of channels, and typical manager-level skills such as performance management and coaching. But ultimately, a demand gen leader has many similarities to a CMO: the people that are on a demand gen team have many disparate disci ...Read More

This is a great question as Demand Gen has so many unique skills, responsibilities, paths, roles, etc. - one could easily go crazy trying to become an expert in every field, or feel inadequately prepared to be a leader if they don't feel qualified across the broad spectrum of DG responsibilities.  I have good news for you - being a Demand Gen leader isn't easy, but it's not as hard as you may think. I belive if you focus on the following two things you will significantly improve your chances of ...Read More

Always move forward - What I mean by this is don't think that what you're doing today will necessarily get you to where you want to go. Stay on top of what competitors are doing, what the most agile startups are doing, the ever-evolving martech space, and never stop testing, iterating (and at times, failing). This next one isn't specific to demand gen but leadership in general - Be a high-agency optimist. As a leader, and as ICs, you set the tone with those around you. That is a big responsibili ...Read More

First, master the fundamentals; understand your funnel, your data, and your buyer inside out. Great Demand Gen leaders balance creativity with analytical rigor, so build both muscles early. Second, think beyond campaigns. Learn how to connect marketing to the broader business: pipeline, revenue, and customer experience. The best Demand Gen leaders act like business owners, not just marketers. And finally, invest in relationships. Success in Demand Gen depends on strong alignment with sales, prod ...Read More

I've basically been answering this question all AMA long, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. But if I had to distill it down to two things: The first is to build a point of view that is distinctly and unapologetically yours. Not a borrowed framework or the playbook everyone else is running. Yours. That means investing in yourself outside of work: your taste, your creative experiences, your curiosity about the world. The marketers who stand out right now aren't the ones who read all the s ...Read More

Focus on delivering business impact, not just lead volume. Use metrics like pipeline attribution/influence, cost per opportunity and conversion rates to show ROI, and develop the strategic mindset to set vision and align programs with company goals. Master analytics so you can justify budgets and make data‑driven decisions.For personal growth, clarify the promotion path with your manager, seek regular feedback and implement that feedback. Volunteer for cross‑functional projects, mentor peers and ...Read More

Giving 3 pieces of advice instead of 1 or 2 :) Own a number early - Do not only own activities like webinar count or email volume. Own business outcomes like pipeline, opportunity creation, or CAC efficiency by segment. Leaders are trusted when they own outcomes. Build a repeatable operating cadence - Create a weekly system for funnel reviews, channel performance, experimentation decisions, and cross-functional actions. A strong cadence beats one-off heroic work. Invest in communication - You ca ...Read More

Aside from mastering the skills in your discipline, two pieces of advice I would give to others who are looking to become demand gen leaders include: Be curious and learn. In this space, you have to be curious and constantly learning. Without this, your knowledge will quickly become outdated due to the velocity of demand gen. Be a leader not just a manager. What is the difference? Leaders inspire, they help elevate others, they lead with empathy. People often (although not always) leave bad mana ...Read More