Helana Zhang

Many marketers I hire immediately want to prove impact by crafting campaigns and executing on them, but I always remind my teams that the first months you join a company are the perfect times to focus on learning about the product(s) so don't forget that while early wins are important, learning the products, the ICPs, and establishing relationships with your closest stakeholders are equally important as you get started. You won't have the opportunity to play the "newbie" card a few months later ...Read More

These are the 3 things I would consider doing, in parallel with each other: (1) listening tour with all key stakeholders on marketing, sales, customer success, and product (2) learn the product(s) in and out, understanding the key features, why customers buy, and how they buy (3) get a clear view on the state of marketing today -what has been done to date across the lead cycle, content, events, messaging, etc. From there, I'd begin looking at customer, opportunity, closed won data to inform dema ...Read More

This is a similar question to another that was asked so same answer applies. These are the 3 things I do, in parallel with each other: (1) listening tour with all key stakeholders on marketing, sales, customer success, and product (2) learn the product(s) in and out, understanding the key features, why customers buy, and how they buy (3) get a clear view on the state of marketing today -what has been done to date across the lead cycle, content, events, messaging, etc. From there, I'd begin looki ...Read More

Yes, Sharebird will be sharing out a template used for all new hires on my team - coming soon! Generally speaking, what you will see on the template includes: (1) who the new hire's buddy is - this isn't the manager, but someone else on the team who can help address common questions, show the new hire the ropes, and help make intros to other team members (2) a list of the most helpful resources (dashboards, goals, etc.), pages (all in Confluence here at Atlassian of course), and presentations (3 ...Read More

The success metric will differ based on what the ask or proposal for the agency is. Are they helping to execute paid media? Are they driving net new contact acquisition? Based on your desired outcome, make it extremely clear to the agency how you will determine success, whether that be net new leads, butts in seat for an event, VP+ engagement, etc. Also, set up milestones to check-in so you and the agency can work on optimizations together, whether that be on the copy, the content, or the target ...Read More

There are a few different lens to think about this organizationally so the answer is nuanced. On one hand, you may want to align DG with products or personas, but on the other hand, you may want to align DG to marketing capabilities. First and foremost, I'd spend some time thinking critically about the current DG Manager in place - what are the capabilities he/she/they have that are very strong, where is he/she/they lacking in? What do you believe will add the most value and drive the most pipel ...Read More

I'm not sure if this question is directed towards an onboarding template or onboarding resources, or perhaps even getting started as a DG marketer so some clarification would be helpful. Coming from the first lens, every organization is going to have a slightly different operating model, a different guidebook for new hires, and for onboarding new employees, so I'd tap into your co-workers and other marketing counterparts first if you're not already provided with a starting point. Chances are man ...Read More

This is a good question but I'm going to give a nuanced answer. The reason being the 'Campaign Manager' role may be defined differently at different companies. Here at Atlassian, our Campaign Managers typically have 3+ years of marketing experience and are more focused on campaign and channel execution and measurement as they get started. This means they are taking the strategic plan from a DG Strategist or ABM Strategist, making channel and/or vendor recommendations, working with PMMs on the co ...Read More

Well, firstly, if this is the case, congratulations - what an exciting (and I'm sure daunting) role to be in but recognize the potential and opportunities ahead! In my first 30 days, I'd read as many of the existing artifacts as possible, discover what marketing (if any) has been done to date & the results of those programs or tactics, and go on an extensive listening tour. Be intentional of what you're hoping to get out of each person's time and set that intention upfront. This will make th ...Read More

Great question! I have some former Sales team members on my ABM and Demand Gen team today, and at former companies as well. The immediate traits I would work to exhibit are (1) being coachable (2) being curious. There are so many resources out there today, whether structured, digital, or even through AI tools, to learn about demand generation strategy, channels and tactics, as well as measurement. Take advantage of these learning sources and get familiar with how DG teams speak and work, and the ...Read More