Pipeline Visionaries Make Sales Easier: The Blueprints of a Marketing Titan with Dave Kellogg, fmr 3x CMO and SVP/GM at Salesforce
Key Takeaways
- Most boards don’t have marketing leaders, but all boards have operators (GMs, CEOs, etc.) and successful ones have an understanding of marketing.
- If trends continue, more and more CMOs will become CEOs
- CMOs and CROs should be locked at the elbows
Quotes
“I believe what separates the sales leaders from those who stay as CROs, to those who go on to become general managers or CEOs is actually an understanding of marketing.”
“A key skill for any CMO is the ability to say no. Just don't say it too often. I believe both parts of that. You have to be able to say no, but you don’t want to become Dr. No, that doesn't work. So, you should have yes, no, and let's do an experiment.
“The CMO should be locked at the elbow with the CRO. They should answer each other's phones on the first ring. They should have a good personal relationship. They should be aligned in meetings. One should take a bullet for the other. If one's getting shot at in the board meeting, the CMO should dive in front of the VP of sales or vice versa.”
“Market vision while selling product. We market a vision to the customer that gets them excited about where we're going. Because when [customers] buy these apps, [they’re] not just buying what's on the truck today. We sell what's on the truck, but they buy into this broader vision.”
“My credo has been ‘make sales easier’… I’ve built my career on it. And ironically, some of the biggest arguments I've had about that little phrase have been with sales leaders. They’ll say, ‘No, that's not what marketing's about,’ and I'm like, ‘Yeah, it is. That's why we're here.’ That's my philosophy and I’ve practiced it to the extent that it even surprises people sometimes.”
“Marketing is the entire business scene from the point of view of the customer.” — Theodore Levitt, Former HBS Marketing professor
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