How do I get my marketing leader on board if automation is key to my strategy?

Marketing Operations should fall under the scope of Revenue Operations and that is where a lot of automation decisions are made. If that is not the case at your organization you need to drill into the concerns your marketing leader has for why automation is not their path of choice. Often times this is an issue of control and nerves around where the data sits and how it will be consumed. If you can position the automation as a net positive to their ROMI (return on marketing investment) they will likely be bought in. In the environment we are currently in automation reduces a lot of overhead costs which the company will benefit from in the long run.

Similar to another question (see "I am in the first phase..."), in my view the main issue is your marketing leader seeing your proposed path more as your (singular) strategy, than as your (plural) strategy, even if she helped you craft it earlier. As these are process redesigns, more discrete in nature, you should consider a more step-wise implementation sequence, A/B testing or piloting as alternative routes to regain sponsorship. 

Also remember that as tricky as data overhauls, process redesigns and systems and tools migrations can be, behaviour change is always the toughest chapter in the RevOps book. It requires true openness - from both vantage points - to the possibility that whatever made one successful in the past will not work now, at least not optimally.

Because of that, do your best to assure them you are committed to a joint learning curve and to mitigating any incoming disruption to existing processes that this change may cause. This signals credible investment in their success and hopefully course-corrects your collaboration, a key ingredient for your strategy to fly as-is.

Simple as it seems, I think what really matter is that you present what's in it for them first and foremost. The marketing team will have a very specific POV for what really matters to them, generally some form of attribution of up funnel activities to sales outcomes that helps them to measure ROI. Automation, especially lead routing, is a huge benefit to the Marketing team.

Around the ownership factor, I find it best to create clear lines around pieces of the data or tooling architecture that each team should own. For example, the Marketing Ops team owns all data and routing tools as they related to Leads and lead routing, while the Sales Ops team owns everything related to Accounts and account data integrity. They are related so collaboration is key, but it's also very helpful to have clear lines when it comes to final decision making and support for troubleshooting.

Getting any senior leader on board is critical for any change, whether marketing automation or anything else we do in RevOps. Whenever we are dealing with larger initiatives, I like to use a decision-making framework (I prefer RAPID but RACI/DACI and others work as well).

In most cases, for the big picture things RevOps teams are going to play the role of the R (and probably the P) whereas the sales or marketing exec will be the D. Within that program, you can be the D on specific implementation decisions. So one suggestion for you is to revisit the approach to the project with your marketing leader and introduce a decision framework for the major components. At the highest level, they get to decide (D) the strategy which has already happened. Below that, you can align on which elements they need to be the D vs. an I, A, or maybe nothing. For something like selecting a MAP product, you can probably be the D, as one example. You could then work through these various changes and see which ones you can own and which they want to be involved in.

It will also be helpful to understand why they want to own some of these decisions. Are there things they are nervous about? Do they have context from something else you don't have which might influence them? I would seek to understand as much as possible so you can work through an approach. They might also not understand the challenges of these changes from an operational perspective which you can clear up and then set expectations around how and when decisions have to be made.

I would also have a path to escalate any places you cannot reach a decision. There's no point in spinning over and over on the same issue. Depending on your org structure and who you report to, you can go together to escalate the decisions, explain your respective views, and get a decision from higher up. They key to this is doing it together so it's a collaborative way to break the impasse rather than you going around them.

This is classic in any company and a very common situation any RevOps leader would need to face regularly, not only with marketing but with every other stakeholder in the company.

In this particular case, and to ensure that your marketing leader (or any other stakeholder) will support and help advance your automation strategy, with regard to ownership and timing of process changes, an approach that is not only shared but also collaborative should be considered, and I would always start but recognising their professionalism and position within marketing; affirm that they are in control of process changes within their domain, so you set the boundaries while give them a role within the process.

• Common Goals: Remind them of the shared objectives established when the strategy was formulated; then stress how automation corresponds to these and benefits their departments in enhancing efficiency and effect.

• Planned Together: Suggest regular planning meetings to discuss and develop any change of procedures or automation with them. This ensures both parties have a say in the process changes and their time of realization.

• Show Value: Use data or case studies to illustrate how similar automation efforts have produced results. Emphasize potential ROI and how it could release their team from more routine tasks for better deployments.

• Pilots: Urge them to start with a pilot project first, in which the automation is tried in a controlled setting. By demonstrating its effect on a small scale, at least some of their worries may be allayed before it is implemented across the whole organisation.

• Balanced Feedback Loops: Ensure that your stakeholder and his/her staff have straightforward routes for voicing objections while suggesting improvements, to make constant optimisation and alignment inevitable.

I think it is important to understand the perspective of the marketing leader as to why they feel that they should control the workflow/automation. Is it because of the system that it is being executed in, or is it because of what actions they own in the process?

My advice is first to seek to understand why they believe they should own the automation -- making sure to look at the big picture of the entire experience you are working to create, not just the sub-set automation of a point of the process.

Any time you are implementing automation - especially that is external to your customers - it is important to have full alignment as to how this impacts the experience and awareness of when and why it launches. At the end of the day, it should be less about control and ownership and more about what provides the best experience and outcomes for your customers.

I will tweak my answer to make it more generic “How do get buy-in on automation strategy from a business leader”. It is very important to help stakeholders understand that automation does not mean elimination , automation could also mean augmentation or in many cases, give back time to do higher value work. Ensuring that your business leader understands this is your first win. So how do we do it? 

1. Speak their language: Every business leader in the current market wants results. So, focus on results. Show how automation helps achieve their goals, like boosting sales, nurturing leads, or retaining customers.

   For Example:  Is your leader concerned about low conversion rates? Show how automating personalized email sequences based on website behavior can improve lead quality and conversions 

   Worried about customer churn? Highlight how automating product usage tutorials and proactive outreach can improve customers understanding of the product, drive usage and thereby retention.
   

2. Highlight the wins: Everyone wants to know "What's in it for me?" Focus on benefits like:

   Increased Efficiency: Automation frees up employees for strategic work.

   Fewer Errors: Automated tasks lead to more accurate data and consistent execution.

   Improved Customer Experience: Faster response times and personalized interactions.

   For example,  Automated social media scheduling saves time and ensures consistent brand messaging. Automatic lead scoring prioritizes the hottest prospects for sales reps. Automated billing alerts prevent service interruptions and improve customer satisfaction.

3. Address their fears: Lets face it. Automation immediately makes one think about job loss. Emphasize that automation empowers employees by freeing them for higher-value tasks, enabling them to focus on building relationships. 

   For example: A typical CSM spends 2 -4 hours every day on call prep. By leveraging AI and automation, you are able to give them summarized customer health reports and this helps them connect with 4 customers daily instead of 2 as you have reduced their prep time! 

4. Show, don't tell. Start small with a pilot project to showcase automation's power.

   For example: Automate a welcome email series for new website signups measure the impact on engagement. Automate follow-up emails after sales demos and track response rates. Or for Customer success , Automate triggered in-app messages based on user behavior and measure customer satisfaction.
   

5. Work together: Get everyone on board: Involve key stakeholders from the get go.  Keep everyone informed with a clear communication plan. Hold workshops to brainstorm tasks to align on  automation scope collaboratively.

By focusing on the benefits, addressing concerns, and using clear examples, you can bring your business leader along on the automation strategy and help them understand automation is the key to a more efficient, successful organization, it can help accelerate success and drive growth!