What are the most important skills (both tactical and intangible) that are must-have for Demand Generation managers?

Tactical:

- Be close to the metrics

- Strong writer

- Problem solver

- Solid speaker (this helps when you are presenting to sales all hands or even internally to your own marketing team)

Intangible:

- Think about campaigns/programs with an integrated lense

- Strong cross-communication skills with different teams

- Understanding the strengths from others and your team

The most important skills for a Demand Generation manager, in my opinion, are:

• Organizational. There are always a lot of projects and moving pieces going on at the same time in this role. You'll be launching new ad campaigns, then need to review a test email, then have an invoice come in that needs to be sent over to finance. Being able to remain organized, manage your time well, and not drop any pieces is critical.
• Detail-oriented. The campaigns you launch are meant to be seen by people and represent your brand and your company. A typo, a bad graphic, or messed up formatting bring down the market's impressions of your brand. DG managers have to notice when things don't look right - and not be afraid to say something about it to get it fixed.
• Analytical. Understanding why a campaign is or is not working is important. Being able to look at data - click rates, leads generated, pipeline created, sales cycle duration - are all metrics that you can affect with your campaigns. Understand which metrics are important when and how you can impact them and monitor those impacts.

The most important skills for demand generation managers consist of:

• A constant curiosity to learn and grow.
• The ability to communicate clearly.
• The ability to deeply understand your customers.
• A solid understanding of your business objectives; what tactics do you need to support these goals?

I recommend that you essentially know a little bit of all disciplines while also doubling down on your specialty.