Career Advice: How to Be a Great Marketer

Career Advice: How to Be a Great Marketer

So, with that as a backdrop, think about the key disciplines that you need to prepare yourself for to become a great marketer.

The following is the career advice that I would have given my 25-year-old self. (Indeed, I have a daughter in her twenties who is a marketer, and we spend a lot of time together talking about the approaches she should consider to solve problems and the skills she needs to be most effective.)

Passion for your job trumps all else. Passion is infectious. I've always been curious about those who mope around complaining about their jobs. If you don't love what you are doing, find something that you do love—and pursue it with passion!

Deep knowledge is crucial. You'll never be the best if you never hone your craft beyond a surface understanding of your field. Learn all you can from all the sources you can muster. So many resources are at your fingertips today. Find them, and use them.

Confidence, tempered with humility, will help you advance. While you are exploiting all those resources and becoming a master in your field, remember that no one likes a know-it-all.

Learn to write well. So many young professionals struggle putting cogent sentences together. You must be able to articulate your point of view via the written word, and you must learn to tell stories. Don't be boring. Resist the urge to follow conventional wisdom. Rise above the crowd—be compelling, be bold! Write what you would enjoy reading.

Learn to sell—not only your product but also yourself and your ideas.

Ask for help. All the great leaders I've met have never been shy to admit what they don't know, and they seek knowledge from many places—peers, subordinates, superiors, customers... Don't be timid; ask for what you need to succeed.

Find a mentor—or two. You need someone you can trust, someone you can say anything to, someone who will listen to you without causing you to shut down—and who will also guide and encourage.

Build your allies—your peer group, your direct reports, your boss, the executive team, your network. Aligning with only one or a few will only get you so far; use a "be pushed and be pulled" career-growth strategy.

Take criticism with grace and elegance. Assimilate it. Learn from it.

Understand the math. There is science in being a good marketer. Make sure the numbers make sense; understand how the math ties to the P+L, the revenue, the marketing KPIs.

Stay ahead of technology. It is changing all the time, so stay current; don't allow yourself to become obsolete.

Meet with customers. Nothing is more effective—and often sobering—than listening to what the person who is paying your salary has to say about your company.

Cliches matter. You really do need to work hard to get ahead. Don't believe advice to the contrary.

Become the expert in your specific discipline—and move on. Don't get too comfortable being the resident expert. It is fun being the "go to" person, but not at the risk of stagnating. The great marketers have a deep understanding of all the spokes.

Step out of marketing for a while and learn another part of the business. We learn best by doing. Consider carrying a quota, or a turn in product management, or finance. Diversity gives you better perspective of how the business works. And you will gain a sincere appreciation for what others are doing to contribute to the end goal, making you ultimately a more effective marketer.

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Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2013/12320/marketing-career-advice-and-how-great-cmos-are-destined-to-be-the-next-ceos#ixzz3XTpI95Vi