If you could give your younger self advice on influencing C-Suite as a demand generation manager; what would it be?

If I could give my younger self advice on influencing the C-Suite, I would recommend the following:

• Speak their language (not yours). Their time is very limited.

• Speak to their priorities (not yours). Don't get into details that they don't care about.

• Know your numbers inside and out, and be confident. Show that you are an expert in your field.

• Build relationships. Establish a rapport and be open to feedback.

Ultimately, it comes down to what will drive the business outcomes that they care about. Go to them with solutions, not problems.

Here is a related question that you may also find helpful:

What do demand generation managers get wrong when trying to influence the C-Suite?

If I could give my younger self advice on influencing the C-Suite, I would recommend the following:

• Speak their language (not yours). Their time is very limited.

• Speak to their priorities (not yours). Don't get into details that they don't care about.

• Know your numbers inside and out, and be confident. Show that you are an expert in your field.

• Build relationships. Establish a rapport and be open to feedback.

Ultimately, it comes down to what will drive the business outcomes that they care about. Go to them with solutions, not problems.

Here is a related question that you may also find helpful:

What do demand generation managers get wrong when trying to influence the C-Suite?

This is an important question. Do it right, and you can accelerate your career, secure more exciting projects, and earn the trust of your leadership. Here are a couple of things I would tell my younger self:

Speak Their Language:

Your head of marketing and head of finance have a point of view on how to evaluate return on investment. Do you know what it is? Every person and every company does it differently: ROI, LTV/CAC, payback period, etc. What framework you use – and how it's calculated – does matter. But the first and most important thing you need to do is show that you understand their perspective.

Demonstrate ROI:

The next step is to get good at showcasing the return on investment of your demand generation efforts. Use data to illustrate how your marketing initiatives directly contribute to the company's bottom line (yes, MQLs matter, but more important is pipeline $ and closed won revenue). This tangible connection between your activities and financial outcomes is likely to capture the attention and support of senior leaders around the organization. If you can't show direct revenue attribution to revenue, can you create some proxy calculations based on established conversion rates?

Build productive relationships (Eh... mostly with Sales):

Highlighting the alignment between marketing and sales efforts is essential. Ensure you are targeting the same ICP, persona, geo, segment, and vertical. Emphasize how your demand generation activities contribute to pipeline and closed won. A united front between marketing and sales, especially in a B2B context, is likely to be a top priority for the C-Suite, making this alignment a powerful point of influence. Bonus points: go and EARN political capital by being selflessly helpful before you stomp in and SPEND political capital by demanding something.

There's no end of good answers to this question, but personally I'd tell my younger self to learn what matters most to the business and then figure out how to provide it.