Marketing Profs

Who is in charge of revenue at your company? In most B2B companies, the sales department owns the revenue pipeline. As a result, Sales holds the most political power of any function.

In contrast, Marketing too often gets left out of the revenue process. There are companies where Sales holds weekly revenue calls, and nobody from marketing is on the call. The executive leaders of these companies think of Marketing as a cost center, not a strategic asset that drives growth.

As one marketer lamented in a recent CMO Council report, "My group is perceived by upper management as the people who do color brochures."

Marketing is suffering from a crisis of credibility. So what can marketers do so they are seen as part of a machine that drives revenue and profits, not just the people who throw parties and buy swag?

1. Forecast results, not spending

Marketers must forecast and predict leads, pipeline, and revenue with confidence. Sales and Marketing must sit together at the revenue table to contribute to next quarter's and next year's forecast.

Marketing's role is to predict how many new qualified leads will enter the marketing funnel, how those leads will move through the funnel, and how many of them will become "sales-ready" in any given quarter.

2. Make hard business cases for spending

Marketing also must make a hard business case for the resources it needs to deliver on those forecasts. This requires knowing what it takes—in money, time, and effort—to acquire qualified leads and nurture those leads until they are ready to talk with Sales.

Marketers who use such rigorous methodology to determine marketing spending are also able to make justify and defend their budgets. If the CEO wants to cut marketing spending by 10%, the CMO can specify exactly what impact that will have on next quarter's revenue.