A CMO's First 90 Days: Best Practices, & Cautionary Tales

Our first CMO Coffee Talk session of 2024 focused on the first 90 days of a marketing leader's new job. We covered a lot of ground - from expectation setting, building relationships horizontally and vertically, evaluation best practices, setting boundaries and much more.

Special thanks to ??Manny Ataebi Alexandra Gobbi and Chas Larios for leading a brilliant panel and conversation. Chat highlights from attendees at both sessions are below.

If you are in the CMO Coffee Talk community, don't miss Manny's slide deck as well as a Marketing Alignment Diagnostic template in the #Swipe-File channel in Slack.

If you are a B2B CMO or head of marketing and want to join a community of 2,800+ of your peers, let me know or click here to learn more and sign up.

I had to reread “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F-K” to prepare for the return to work.

Welcome everyone to what will quickly become your favorite community - great group, great content, great support.

“repurposing content” - great marketing best practice! :-)

“I cannot control what the crazy founder requests.”

No hates jargon-y nonsense like a cyber audience lol

A good cmo preserves resources. :)

Start a new role next Monday so very timely.? I usually try to knock out the team assessment and recommendations in the first 30 days.? The longer you wait the harder it is to make team changes and hire any incremental roles.

Agree, also dipping back into the emotional triggers that drive the purchase decisions.?? I’ve often found jumping to benefits skips the reasons to purchasing

to be a bit of a contrarian, I thought marketing was solutions and customer needs based? vs. leading w/product?

we welcome contrarians!

Explain SIMPLY what you do and what your unique value proposition is to your ICP target audience

Lots of filthy data around and need to make data cleanup “a thing” and resource it seriously...

the different definitions of the same things is SUCH a huge thing to manage and def worth digging into to get and keep everyone on the same page

And also ensuring that marketing and sales are speaking the same data language and using the same data sources

Data driven Buying committee? analysis - who are the actual buyers?? Vs users

Also critical to get a clear baseline of current state

Random acts of marketing...

TAM > TRM (Total relevant market based on ICP) > Accounts In Market (Intent data)

The data can also help with #1 in terms of messaging and content strategy

“Value-led approach to your ICP” >> I see this missed so often, especially in early stage B2B software

I always assume the Pipeline Growth is a problem during the interview.? I try to understand how big the gap is and whether the CEO/CRO are realistic in how much time and resource it takes to close

During interview ask this question: What would I most like to know now that I wouldn’t know unless I worked here for 6 months????? (See how honest and forthcoming the CEO is) [Favorite interview question]

Good question. Might even ask them “I will dig into this in the first 30 days. Are you ready to hear if it’s not what you think it is?”

I have run into CEOs - usually Cybersecurity Series A/B who think revenue can just double every year for several years with no Growth/Demand infrastructure.

LOL- not limited to cyber as it turns out

my favorite is the “sales led growth” mindset - if we double our salesforce and assign double the quota, sales will double!

What I ask that question they always say hmmmmm… good question… then I listen carefully to their answer to see if I want to work for that person…

Sources for benchmarks: Insight Partners for growth stage (It’s in the coffee talk slack), otherwise Gartner and IDC do annual benchmarks but its a blend of all company sizes with a bend toward large

100% - things I wish I had known - in my last gig the decision was made a year before I got there to scale up Sales (# of AEs) 3X over 18 months.? And Sales thought most of the Pipeline should come from Marketing.

Totally agree on not outsourcing content in a technical sale. Too much oversight that makes it not worth outsourcing.

I’m astounded by this. Also by sales reps/leaders who keep their jobs for years without hitting goals, while marketing is out in a year, even if marketing has built pipeline successfully.

A good question to ask the CRO - “what do you and your leadership count on for Pipeline source %s?”

Something I wish I had known was the board’s perspective on the Marketing budget.? I assumed that they would want savings, but I didn’t realize that they expected it to be HALF of what it is...

I’m with him on Benchmarks - if you’re forced to use those it’s already time to update the resume.? Never had a CEO say - “you’re right - let’s increase the budget"

We leverage our PE firms as well for benchmarks

I like baselining vs. benchmarking - based on actual results over some period of time at the company and then aim for 10-15% improvement over that baseline

Recency of benchmarks definitely matters

Not disagreeing - shouldn’t have started with a “but” - it happens everywhere - but something about

Strategy precedes structure

I regorged my marketing team within 3 months. Did it by role and needs, then by specialities.

I broke it down by role, then KPI, then percentage of time spent and where they spend it

Yes on Strengthsfinder approach when coming in as a new leader!

My company created an SLA between marketing, sales and pre-sales teams to define the marketing and sales funnel and follow-up process. It is a 20+ page document that gets updated every 3-6 months

The word ‘alignment’ has come up a lot in this call.? I have a theory — that I’ve been working on fleshing out.? Marketers succeed or fail based on four areas of alignment:? with the ceo & board, with the CRO and sales leadership, with the market, and with the available resources.? I’m working on a diagnostic for each of these four areas.? I can share later in slack if anyone is interested.

Content marketing can be under product, but all content is not just about product. It’s about SEO, topics your personas and ICP care about, etc

Love that - I wonder how perceived alignment fits in there. I can’t say how many times there were broad “we’re aligned” statements when we were clearly not

+1 on the "exponential" change on people in role.? I think you also have the greatest credibility to make people changes fast (first 90 days).

u r absolutely onto something there. I’d add investors depending on company size and status, and a few others as you get more to enterprise land

So many ways to organize/structure marketing.? One of the things that make it a fun and dynamic function!

I'm @ 150 days in, can't believe how fast it's gone by! I told my boss (CRO) I would suggest org changes by day 30 and I knew what needed to be done on day 5. I validated what I already knew from the interview process and made the changes we needed and we've been better for it.

Or they have lost the energy because they haven’t been managed to their strength

I have it as part of product marketing.. more of a solution marketing role.. 50% product, 25% icp positioning across all products, 25% content dev: case study, blog, etc

When you let someone go in the few couple of weeks, everyone else on the team will wonder if they are next.

At my last role, I saved someone who had a bad rep when I came in but he really needed a good manager and he became a star performer.

Best not to sit too long on required changes

I approach it as “Are the right people on the bus, and are those people in the right seats on the bus/"

I've experienced that too once? and waited too long where they undermined things

There’s also the situation where the CEO asks you to consider keeping the former CMO as part of the new team.

Also if someone wanted your job but didn’t get it they may try to undermine in the shadows…

Communication to the “keepers” is critical before you start moving people out.

Also, you may have great performers who are not leaders.? I took too long to move a strong performer out of a leader role to an individual contributor role, and once I did it unlocked a lot for those who had been reporting to her and how the broader team collaborates with that function.? Seeing clearly the skills/talents you have and actioning that with urgency is critical

It took me almost a year to do my reorg, but I needed to rebuild the entire operating model and upskill the team.? Had I moved faster, we would likely have seen a pipeline dip and a retrenchment in old ways of working.? Unfortunately, I don’t think that our board has appreciated my deliberate approach, so I would probably move faster next time.

Esp people who have been with them a long time, even if they aren’t right person for next level

don’t enjoy it - but it’s part of my job and I do it in cases where people either can’t learn or don’t want to learn.? If they’re able and willing I will keep working with them.

there is no right answer. I moved aggressively fast at my last gig and in retrospect it was too fast, but truth is you make the call and manage the risks. All approaches carry risk.

And yep - CEOs often don’t like firing people.? Something to look for - is Accountability part of the culture or do folks get to slide b/c they’re super nice?

I’ve rarely regretted moving quickly on people. I’ve often regretted waiting too long.

It’s really never too early to let under performers go…

I hear ya, but we all know even CEOs who just can’t make the hard calls.

So difficult to get to know the team when everyone is distributed and works from home

Twice when new CROs came in they waited 6 months to let me go; I wish they’d done it immediately since it was clearly part of the plan to replace “marketing” with one of their own.

not a bad idea to have a weekly in-person offsite to bond with the new team

We haven’t talked about another situation - the we’re $100M in ARR and want to grow 30%+ YoY - the Marketing Team is 8 people….

Accountability of exec team and your leaders and teams is critical. That’s often one of the things that are broken when you come in new

sometimes too it's not an underperformer as much as it is you're taking the team in a different direction and a person just doesn't have the skillset to fit that direction

hire slow, fire fast - some of my fav advice received

Thoughts on how to handle a perceived superstar (and reasonable competent) but is not onboard with you or your style, and could potentially undermine you.

When interviewing CEO, good to probe on hard decisions they have made to see if they make it. Probe on accountability to see if they and the exec team has it.

Need to respect the past before changing for the future? (builds bridges with the team in place)

I love that advice but honestly not every culture will allow that and you have to adapt to the company culture in these issues

I would handle them according to their personality

Had this happen w/outgoing CMO - over communication I found helpful in that situation - it shows respect.

I’d definitely hear them out on why they aren’t on the bus

And decide on whether there’s an opportunity to enlist them as my ‘challenger’ or if I should help them find a new role elsewhere.

Lots of folks say they are in the new bus but are clearly stuck at the bus stop

My experience is that people think they understand what you are trying to do, but they don’t

“You didn’t get the gig, let;s talk about what you are missing help you grow those skills so you can win my job or CMO in another company in the future"

Exactly though I wouldn’t say You didn’t get the gig ??

They may not give you an honest answer to that question

Be a business executive and cross functional alignment!

Peer relationships are the most critical

i always interview customers when i start - that is where you learn what is really going on

and i interview sales reps too

I also start to look at SOV if they are spending a ton on PR already

I thought we solved attribution forever in 2021, no??

Definitely understanding definitions right away is critical - I always have a document built that incudes definitions, alas, flows, etc - pipeline playbook

critical to get sales buy in on the model, the data, the analysis and the terminology

Working on that now with a client! Educating that that ICP is based on firma/demo/psycho/etc factors. It is NOT a list of “Companies I wish I could sell to.” Gotta have rigor.

ICP + Buyer Personas - need to define both

My lesson learned over the years at start ups — revisit the ICP not just when you join, but checkin on it every quarter

fun lesson learned = making sure sales in each region/geography are defining enterprise vs. SMB the same. It turned out different geographies for sales had defined it at different levels.

100%? - assessing the org is critical - the plan and execution has to be supported by the right org

it varies. Sometimes we look at new deals from non ICP accounts to see if we have any blind spots in who we are including.

Other times we may look at areas where we want to expand ICP for future expansion

When do you target to deliver your marketing plan to the internal leadership for buy-in? I have a rule about delivering it within my first 30 days and that has served me well. But I was wondering how other CMOs approach this self-imposed deadline to get alignment with the CEO, the board, etc.

?depends on when the first BOD meeting is. Either that or the first 30-60 whichever comes first

?I aim for 30 days too.. any longer and they start to get impatient

confession - i moved way to fast at a company and it backfired - you are right, to advise to take time

I think the other consideration is are ‘you’ the marketer/audience for the intellectual and strategic alignment or do you have willing/receptive partners within your org. whom would benefit from these insights

One team member type that never works out is a relative of the CEO

Strengthfinder has been a HUGE plus for us

my advice here is to go look deeply at the startup's best customers. Work with sales and interview the customers to break down their specific journeys to becoming a customer. Who was involved, what pain points were they looking to address and what are the roles who are using the product today. Then you can get to a starting baseline.

Seen that too often. Or friends that are moonlighting.

or a close friend the cmo brings in from another company because they like them ...we have to be careful of our own bias too

I would advise de-caf coffee the first 90 days? ??

Been there, left that company. Wife and daughter of CEO were on my team which they conveniently left out during the interview process.

+1 on meeting with customers early

In assessing teams, there are many frameworks. But in addition to understanding what people currently do, understanding what they CAN do and what they WANT to do is important. More than once I’ve inherited the right people in the wrong place.

need to get buy in on org changes - there are always relationships that need to be vetted and politics too

yes - org changes can impact other depts/ relationships. worth feeling out with peers

+ 1 on that. I have been burned by WAITING a little too long.? As difficult as it is, don’t wait

I think Traction got the people assessment right: 1) right people in the right seats? 2) do they get it, want it AND have the capability to do it.

+1 clean it up before you start. That’s ideal and has worked for me before I started a new role.

I used to work at a company where the CEO made me rank my team in order, even though each of them had different specialities

i'd love to hear steps for determining team needed --- i find it difficult to separate this from the team, people in place (ppl first mindset)

my last role was a clean up situation - the CEO waited for me to come on board to do it.? It was not a great way to have to start and build trust.

I've been burned by being "encouraged" by the CEO to let go the people that were there before me

Understanding how your team and individual performance is impacted by/dependent on other departments is important. Seen the real issue actually being elsewhere a few times.

Let’s remember that sometimes the individuals ‘not down with the new direction’ may know what they are doing but have not been heard before. Don’t make changes for the sake of ‘my way or the highway’.? I think that may need 90 days to assess before just blowing the place up

that goes a long way when you can correct pay in their favor too

Re inherited teams, I also do the communication/help me get to know you exercises/doc so I have a baseline of boundaries and communication styles.

Talking to customers is also key to do, especially if you are not from that industry

if we are asked to come in as a new CMO there was something not working - typically.? so bringing in new staff can help infuse new thinking and perspectives and energy to a team that is not performing

Agreed. I also look at ratios in first 30 days — e.g SDR to AE, Field marketing to AE, etc and then use those as talking points with CFO, CEO, CRO, etc

I sooo love that! I do that with my teams, too. I ask the about the types of opportunities they’d like and when I find them, I toss those opportunities over to them. Often times they squirm trying to get through it (which I find quite comical because I know they can do it), but when they come out with renewed confidence in themselves and a new skill under their belts its so awesome!

Also love Lominger Competencies for the intangibles for scorecard

I like to bring the “inherited” team into the interview process if I’m considering bringing in one of “my people”. I solicit feedback, ask them to flag issues, and listen intently in 1:1 debriefs. Builds trust and removes concerns around favoritism.

I found it helpful to come with customer feedback and pipeline data to the first review with the CEO on my assessment

So true - when you have your first CMO role, that's the biggest challenge - your company hat is the first one you wear, CMO leader is second hat

Exec team is your First Team — this is a concept you can introduce at your companies. It is amazing how many start ups, in particular, haven’t yet figured this out.

All about building TRUST

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

That's a great question to ask in the interview process!? To see if the CEO will block you from the board (ask me how I know)

You need to vet whether you can access the board freely before taking the role. Because that’s a huge red flag otherwise.

80 days in I meet monthly 1:1 with the board to get marketing topics out of the way before board meetings and also send the rest leadership a weekly marketing update. Both have been helpful in addressing and surfacing items early on