There are so many relationships you’ll need to build as a marketing leader. But the most important one by far is the relationship between you and your CEO.
And given that most marketing leaders’ tenure is 18 months, it’s clear that those relationships are strained. And that’s what Jason Widup, VP of Marketing, and Gil Allouche, CEO at Metadata, discuss on this episode of Demand Gen U.
Check out the full episode for tips, advice, and real-life situations that’ll help bridge the gap between marketers and CEOs.
Watch the full episode
Three top takeaways:
Takeaway 1: Trust is the gateway to a solid marketer-CEO relationship
First things first, your CEO needs to trust that their VP of Marketing is on top of helping the sales team to close leads so the company can grow.
But in some cases, marketers hide behind half-truths and vanity metrics to keep CEOs happy. The downside to that is that it doesn’t make for an honest and transparent relationship.
If there’s no solid foundation of trust, everything else within the relationship crumbles.
Bottom line, raw honesty is the best policy.
Takeaway 2: Strike a balance between being confident, humble and not minimizing yourself
Lots of people think that being humble is the same thing as making yourself smaller. But that mentality will get you nowhere with your CEO. You need to create a balanced blend of confidence and humility.
Little things like speaking up when you know you’re right or letting the right people take credit for their work go a long way.
As a marketing leader, it’s important to have a confident voice. But it’s just as important to avoid letting that voice sound overly pompous. Find the sweet spot that gets you in the boss’ good books but also helps you cement a healthy relationship with your CEO.
Takeaway 3: Explain your decision-making process as a CEO
Building that solid relationship is a two-way street, and it’s safe to say the marketer can’t do it all by themselves.
Gil advises fellow CEOs to let their lead marketers in on the decision-making process.
If you’re going to be working quite closely together, there needs to be a good level of understanding from the get-go. So, explain how your world works, how you make decisions, and the factors that affect those decisions.
