Liz Bernardo

My favorite question to ask during an interview is “If you could spend an extra $100k on demand generation in your current role, what would you spend it on and why?” I really like this question because it helps me understand a variety of things about how the candidate thinks. Dependent on the response, I can learn which type of marketing campaigns they tend to prefer to work with and how they budget and plan. The answer I look for is typically something with a multi-channel approach. Throughout my career I have learned to trust the saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” That has been even more true after the last 2 years of the pandemic. The entire way we do Demand Generation or Field Marketing shifted with the removal of in person events combined with the rising cost of digital marketing. Now as we are shifting back to in person, we face the battle of inflation overall. Multi-channel gives you a lot of at-bats and allows you to shift funding around as needed.

In the Demand Generation world, KPI's are ever-evolving but one always remains consistent - "to drive marketing pipeline for the business." When starting out your career in DG, KPI's will be decided by your MLT team and assigned dependent on the annual, bi-annual or quarterly goals. Some of the most common may be dependent on: - a low performing product line needing a boost - a regional team needing pipeline assistance - or a channel needing support As you grow into DG leadership, additional KPI's come into play around driving better ROIs on campaigns, driving down business costs, while delivering additional pipeline, as well as employee development for your team.

Where do I see Demand Generation heading? That's an interesting question. Like most DG roles I am see them being converted to Field Marketing. In my humble opinion, a traditional Demand Generation role is much more than just Field Marketing. With Demand Generation you basically sit with one foot in marketing and one foot in sales. You not only strategize and run campaigns, but you track the metrics, ROI, leads and conversation rates/success metrics all the way to closed won. Those skills are the reason I LOVE DG. It is all encompassing. This is not to undervalue the importance of the Field Marketing role, my title event recently has shifted to include Field Marketing in it. Maybe the real future of Demand Generation is converting Field Marketing to it?!

Personally, I don't think there is a one single path for Demand Generation. I came into the role by surprise. I was interviewing for a Marketing Manager role at a company, almost 10 years ago and during the interview we were whiteboarding out pipeline funnels. I was talking through waterfall metrics and which type of assets I would place at each stage in the funnel. Then we went on to discuss global digital strategies and then lastly, my favorite, events and the campaigns that surround them. I had lots of experience in SFDC reporting, Pardot and over all dashboarding and my soon to be manager said, "Liz, you're not a Marketing Manager, you're a Demand Generation Manager" (shout out to one of my mentors Allen Johnson) He taught me how to mold all the different parts of marketing I loved into the Demand Generation role. Being a Sales driven marketer, who knows their data, how campaigns work and the best way to create growth quick was the trick. So, my advice as to career path ... Become passionate about all aspects of marketing and sales. Learn the numbers, ask questions to those who are in the roles you strive for. Connect with me on Linkedin (I'm always an open book), research - you've got this.

The prioritization should align with your business objectives. Those overarching goals decided by your sales and marketing leadership team should formulate a foundational layer for you to build from. From there you can prioritize the programs based on the largest gaps that need to be filled. Are you needing Leads? Content? Events? Sales Materials? Digital or ABM programs? You don't have to focus on one thing at a time, so make sure to be able to multitask. Sorting priorities from most critical to least then executing will help you make the quickest impact to fill the business need. 

My biggest tip for gaining influence as a new member of an organization is a two-parter - Work creatively and know your numbers. As cliché as it sounds, thinking on your toes & thinking outside the box will constantly give you a leg up. Failing fast and pivoting to a new program or idea is something I learned quick in my career. Try everything! The second part of this tip recommendation would be to know your numbers. Dig into the details. When you think you know everything, review the numbers through a different lens. Understand your waterfall metrics, your conversion rates, your ROIs. Follow your leads. Partner closely with your Marketing Operations teams and BDR Leadership – understand what data is good vs bad. Never be afraid to ask the questions to see what else you can uncover.

In my personal experience, it was best to expand the team by bringing in a marketing generalist with an interest in Demand Generation. Someone who had a solid base of entry-level marketing skills in multiple departments and that was eager to learn the role of Demand Generation, allowed me to have a starting point to expand and grow upon. A generalist has experience in all of the marketing basics and can be a "pinch hitter" for all aspects of your program. ie. If you need a content writer or editor, someone to assist with social media, events or basic SFDC/Marketing Automation platform skills, you have an asset that can fill the gaps. As time grows, you can teach DG basics and the "why" and how to run successful programs, then eventually the newest team member can branch out to develop and run smaller strategic programs for the business and also grow in their career.

5 things I would consider quick wins within 90 days are: 1. Understanding challenges in the market and what differentiates your product in solving them. 2. A solid grasp of average deal sizes, time to close, and past 3 years of sales metrics and goals. 3. Completing a detailed analysis of past Demand Generation campaigns for successes, failures and most profitable ROI. 4. Received feedback on previous campaigns from cross-functional stakeholders and took a "needs assessment" to help them be more successful. 5. And lastly, and probably the most obvious, begin generating a pipeline with a solid 6-month plan. 

When you are coming in new to a role, your first month should involve getting a lay of the land. Understanding and reviewing past metrics, meeting with stakeholders, learning your team and company's strengths and weaknesses, OKRs, etc. Once you have identified the above, you should then start building a 6-month roadmap. In this roadmap make sure you are kicking off multi-channel programs and campaigns. Start with the easiest to execute and continue to build on it. A great example of this is starting with a solid eBook. From that eBook you can create a blog, design an infographic, create an email/BDR campaign and then run a larger-scale webinar on the topic. Build your hero asset and then launch multiple variations. Make the squeeze worth the juice. 

The first question that immediately comes to mind is: "What is the best way we can work together?" Dependent on the team member's role, you may be working with this person regularly and you will need to align on how you both work, but also how you both can make an impact to the business together. Identifying their OKRs and goals will help you learn how you can support them and become a trusted business advisor.