Erika Barbosa

The best demand generation candidates have curiosity in common. The demand gen space is constantly evolving. If you are not curious, it’s difficult to keep up. How do you stay curious and motivate curiosity? Keep reading, learning and exploring topics of interest. Embody a testing mentality. Develop new skills. If you pair curiosity with trainability, you have gold. It’s not a requirement to have an advanced degree to have a demand gen career. Many of the skills can be developed through free res ...Read More

I recommend viewing this question from the perspective of a demand generation toolbox. From strategy to strategy and based on the goal at hand, you will use a variety of tools. This is the nature of demand generation. If you factor in seasonality, product offerings, and just pure human nature, the channels and tactics will need to be tested. This does not mean that some tactics and channels aren't consistent. You will have trusted channels that are more mature and better measured. This essential ...Read More

In order to prioritize needs/deliverables you first have to understand the associated goal(s). Based on this, you can work backwards to better understand what will drive the desired outcome. It’s easy to quickly become overwhelmed as the one demand generation manager. Prioritization is key. Ask questions about deadlines. Be sure to have a solid understanding of scope while also managing scope creep. Lastly, it’s important to clearly articulate blockers, dependencies, and set realistic expectatio ...Read More

Both virtual and live events have their own advantages and disadvantages. While I believe that live events will always be favored due to the level of connection and engagement they provide, there is still a place for virtual events as well. That being said, virtual events can offer better ROI due to their accessibility, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. Ultimately, the goals of the event should guide the decision-making process regarding the event format. Depending on those goals, a hybrid ev ...Read More

I am of the perspective that website optimization should be incorporated as a priority (at least to some capacity) with all digital marketing strategies. I believe having a testing mindset is critical for growth. I do not recommend thinking about it as it relates to indicators for whether or not you should. Furthermore, I recommend including a CRO program as part of your digital marketing strategy. Be mindful of what you test and how you gauge success, but the practice is critical for maximizing ...Read More

I recommend structuring a 30-60-90 day plan with clear timelines and goals. This will look different at an established org versus a start-up. This may also look different depending on the full scope of the role. That being said, let’s dive in: 30 days: The first 30 days are about getting to know your customers, colleagues, and processes. “Drink from the firehose” as they say and so do with curiosity. This time is all about deeply understanding the mission, business, and customers. You don’t know ...Read More

You can improve your interviewing skills in what I group as five different but complementary categories. Preparation: This is first and foremost. The more prepared you are the more confidence you’ll have. Regardless of what level you are at in your career, I’m an advocate for preparation. It will just take different shapes depending on the stage you are at. Get your reps in: The more experience you have interviewing for demand generation roles, the more improvement will become evident. This just ...Read More

The one channel I would say is fundamental is SEO. Aside from SEO, there are too many variables to classify a channel as fundamental (e.g., business objectives, budgets, etc.). From my experience, it's imperative to have a testing mindset for demand generation. If you view demand gen from that lens, you too would agree that it is more impactful to test channels based on your goals and the problems you are solving for your customers. This will then illustrate what channels are more impactful for ...Read More

You present the success of the email strategies you are managing by focusing on metrics that matter. Tie your efforts back to revenue when you can. Open rates are interesting, but this metric does not truly speak to the success of your email strategy. With the progression of privacy and lack of cookie tracking, we have to rethink how we gauge success for email. I recommend thinking about addressing these types of questions for your stakeholders: What messaging is resonating with our audience? Wh ...Read More

It’s critical to understand what autonomy looks like for you before the interview. Once you have clarity on your definition of autonomy, consider the following types of questions. Questions for your potential manager: What does leadership look like to you? How do you typically manage workflows, reviews/approvals, and other processes that I would have in this role? How do you like your direct reports to communicate with you? Depending on the role, your skill set, and who you are interviewing with ...Read More