When you secure your position as chief marketing officer, no-one hands you an instruction manual. You take your seat and it’s up to you. It’s a lonely place to be, even more so when it’s a new company, a new team and you have new superiors to impress.
At the recent Adobe Summit in London this month, Marketo CMO Sarah Kennedy shared of what she described as “10 moments of truth” – insights gleaned from the first 12 months of her first CMO role. She was keen to pass these nuggets of advice on to newly-hired and future marketing leaders, sharing her experience of leading a team at a fast-growing enterprise business while being acquired by Adobe.
Here’s Sarah’s 10 things every first-time CMO needs to know:
1. There are days when you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing
Every marketer wants to believe they’re the perfect fit for the role and are up to the challenges in front of them. However, there will be days when there’s ambiguity in your new responsibilities and when you feel you don’t have enough experience.
“This happens often, and it should because marketing as a discipline is changing at a faster rate than arguably any other part of the organisation,” Sarah says. “That means we’re constantly reinventing ourselves, teams, talent, skillset, capabilities. This is scary because we know turning around a very large ship inside an organisation can be very challenging.”
Advice: It’s natural to feel this way, so don’t feel like an imposter. Lean on those above you, and your team beneath you. Ask for support and advice, and be honest with them about the challenges you face.
2. You don’t become BFFs with sales on day one
Having enjoyed a great relationship with sales in her previous organisation, and given the importance of sales and marketing alignment, Sarah was enthusiastic to foster the same bond when she joined Marketo.
“I came in and thought this would be easy, but it was much slower than I had optimistically anticipated. I had to get to know all the sales leaders and their challenges and needs from marketing,” she says.
As a new CMO you shoulder the blame and burden from every other marketing leader they’ve worked with, good or bad. They’ll have preconceptions and past experiences that might not have gone so well.
Advice: Don’t expect instant results. Invest the time and hire people who understand the critical nature of the relationship. You need people willing to sit in a meeting and be told they’re not doing enough and need to do more to support sales more effectively, and then use that as motivation to support them more effectively, says Sarah.
3. The marketing-finance alliance is the most critical to a CMO’s early success
The relationship with the CFO or finance director is the single most important one any new CMO can have, says Sarah. But just as with sales, they’ll have preconceptions of what marketing is, and can do within the organisation. Change won’t be instant.
Advice: Build trust with the CFO through constant communication. Sarah used to spend a lot of time in her CFO’s office. “He didn’t fully appreciate, nor did he want to get into, the level of detail reagarding what I was spending every day. He wanted to know that I know that detail, and how much ROI I got, so he can make decisions to fund us incrementally and trust that if I don’t deliver value I would report on why.”
“You’re certainly not going to get a trophy for saving a few bucks”
4. No CMO is ever fired for justifiably going over budget
If marketing is valued in your business and you don’t spend every dollar you’re given, you’re doing the business a disservice. If you’re a fast growing business, tyou’re more likely to be questioned if you underspend.
While Sarah admits this isn’t likely to be a popular opinion with the finance director, “you’re certainly not going to get a trophy for saving a few bucks.”
Advice: Sarah says: “For companies focused on marketing accountability and direct contribution to the sales pipeline, the most critical thing is to make sure your team is equipped to spend every single dollar they’re given to drive that contribution.”
Again the CFO relationship is crucial, having the open communication and trust that the decisions you’re making will support the company’s growth.
5. Customers make everything better
Leaders can quickly become mired and so focused on tactical day-to-day execution, that they go weeks without talking to a customer.
Being disconnected from your customers is the single quickest way to kill your passion, Sarah warns. They’re the north star that reminds you why you do what you do.
Advice: Make sure you keep an open line to your customers, and be selfish about how often you talk to them. Sarah is always out there speaking with Marketo’s top customers: “It inspires me. You often need that when you’re dealing with so many complex internal relationship, which can distract you from your real purpose.”
Have you upset anyone today? It could be a way to build your personal brand and raise your profileWhen B2B Marketing gathered marketing leaders for a roundtable on personal brandearlier this year, the confidence to challenge stakeholders was top of the most admired qualities.“I used to have a boss who said ‘have you upset anyone today?’,” said one marketing leader. When she appeared confused the boss said “I hope so, because then you’re pushing the boundaries”.A common mistake made by CMOs is selling a vision for transformation to a select group, and not taking the rest of the business on that journey. To be able to challenge, you first need to help them understand why.If you’re a first-time CMO you need to set the tone from the second you walk in the door, and set perceptions of who you want to be as those are your personal brand. This may require you to push yourself out of your comfort zone, but you’ll need to embrace this.If you’re struggling to think about your personal brand, try this advice from another of our marketing leaders:What three words do you want to represent you? For this leader, it was 'confident', 'commercial' and 'dependable'. Framing it this way allowed him to view everything he was doing through that lens. Take the time to think about your choices, and then review if your actions match the words you’ve selected.
6. Work ethic and trust trump IQ
Hiring people with a strong work ethic that you can trust is more important than those with a high IQ. That’s not to say you don’t need experts, or that you can’t have all three (they’re the unicorns, says Sarah).
“If you’re trying to build a team to take on a massive transformation journey, you need trustworthiness and work ethic from the start,” Sarah says.
Advice: Hiring the right head of operations or chief of staff – the person who will keep the wheels turning – is the earliest and more important position you’ll recruit as they can guide and project manage the complex strategic initiatives you’ll need to employ.
7. The right leadership team is everything
You should think about talent management in the same way you think about digital or marketing transformation.
“In my past three roles I’ve had to rebuild leadership teams and the moment you get it right and think you’ve got it, it will change,” Sarah says.
Advice: You need to “build up your bench strength”, so you’re not just reliant on the people directly below you, but also you can turn to those two or three layers below. “Knowing who you can trust to take a risk on, to step-up and be expandable is always something you have to be constantly assessing,” is Sarah’s tip.
"People are not disposable in my eyes. It’s our job to evolve and develop their careers with the same thoughtfulness they gave when they made the decision to trust us and join us on our journey"
8. Don’t be fickle about a leader’s capability
Your top performing member of staff can become one who struggles given the evolving needs of the business or the nature of your transformation journey. The right leaders for one projects won’t necessarily suit other problems.
“We take on a really important responsibility when we hire people and recruit them as leaders,” says Sarah. “People are not disposable in my eyes, it’s our job to evolve and develop their careers with the same thoughtfulness they gave when they made the decision to trust us and join us on our journey.”
Advice: The work ethic and trustworthiness mentioned previously are vital, as those two qualities also tend to provide resilience. Sarah operates a three strikes rule. If someone isn’t right in a certain role, give them the chance to flourish in another role as they could find a new opportunity they’re suited to.
9. Marketing transformation is a never-ending journey
“Don’t let anyone in the organisation – especially those funding it – think it’s a one hit wonder,” Sarah cautions. “As soon as you think you’re about to wrap it up, a new phase will emerge because the market and its needs are constantly changing, and the needs from marketing are changing. You must set yourself up for success by making sure you never sell it as a one-off project.”
The CMO’s number one job is change management, and your ability to lead and manage change – and hire a group of people who can do the same – is just as important as the marketing skills they bring to the table.
Advice: Sarah says she screwed up by taking on too much, too soon. Focus on what you’ve been hired to do. Don’t take on the extra project, just because it’s in your comfort zone. “Do the job you were hired to do. Build that foundation; it’s usually almost a year before you have that reputation and flexibility to take on even more.”
10. Don’t just win, run up the score
In the early days of your role, there are limited opportunities to make a big statement on your capable and what makes you different. So when you have the chance to demonstrate you’ve done something really well, make the most of it. “I don’t mean being arrogant or annoying, but run it up a little more,” Sarah advises.
Advice: If you don’t think you’re being successful, lean into honesty. “When you don’t know what the next step is, get even more honest about why and what you’re missing. Getting even more raw and honest with your team is often the best path to success and the right answer.”
