10 steps to get to the top in B2B marketing – Info B2B

How do you make it to the top in B2B marketing? Ruth Connor, head of marketing at Earnest, provides us with 10 top tips from her experience.

At last week’s B2B Ignite I was chuffed to be part of a panel discussion hosted by Shane Redding. We talked about how you can make it to the top in B2B marketing. 

The interesting thing for me was not how you get to the top, but where the top is. What does it feels like and how do you know you’ve arrived? 

For many years, my top was marketing director. After 20 years of hard work, I finally made it. I got to sit in more meetings than ever before. I spent long hours in boardrooms trying to persuade people about of the value of marketing.

I felt like I’d stopped doing real work. I felt like I’d stopped adding real value. I felt like I’d stopped learning. 

Surely this isn’t really the top, I thought. There must be another top?

Then it hit me. 

There’s no such thing as top. Or in fact, there are lots of tops. 

For me, it wasn’t about a long, vertical trek to a well-paid job, a huge budget or a seat on the board. It was about having an interesting, fulfilling and happy career, with lots of side hustles and frequent squiggles into other sectors. It was about meeting new people, seeing different perspectives and continuing to grow.

For the Ignite discussion panel, Shane asked us to offer 10 tips marketers could take on their journey to the ‘top’. So, once you’ve decided what top means for you, here are my tips:

10 tips for making it to the top of B2B marketing 

1.Volunteer for extra stuff

Put your hand up for side projects, anything that’s different from your day job. Help organise charity events, fun-runs, away-days, Christmas parties. Stuff that stretches you is good for you because you get to learn new things.

2. Have a work best mate

Someone who’ll listen to you rant, moan, whinge, share your gripes, help you let off steam and not judge you. Marketing can be stressful and a buddy can really help keep you sane. 

3. Get a hobby

I didn’t for years. Work was the biggest thing in my life and god I must have been boring! Then I learned to play tennis and now I’m boring in a slightly different tennis-obsessed way, but at least I can switch off at the end of a busy day. Plus being a tennis team captain has helped me a better manager. 

4. Get yourself a mentor

Good mentors push you outside your comfort zone and help you see what you’re capable of. My mentor is an awesome woman who never fails to inspire me and she is quick to help me silence the anxiety queen who can sometimes take up residence in my head.

5. Know your numbers 

Understand how your business makes money and how marketing impacts that. If you don’t, your budget will be forever seen as discretionary and you’ll be forever known as part of the colouring-in department.

6. Keep on learning

Schedule time each week to keep up to date on what’s happening in the world of marketing. Being a lifelong learner is a mindset; every event, every training course, identify a take away you can try when you get back to your desk.

7. Be a cheerleader for your team

Stretch your team to be the best they can, help them flourish, celebrate their successes and give them time out to recharge. 

8. Understand what’s important to your boss 

And prioritise it. In one of my roles, I didn’t do this enough, and I ended up feeling adrift. And if you really want to go places quickly, understand what’s important to your boss’ boss, and work on that too.

9. Ask for help

Only once in my career have I asked for help and been turned down. Asking for help shows you are open to learning and receptive to feedback. 

10. Make mistakes, they make you better at your job

Once I put the wrong telephone number on a national press ad and sent 200 calls to a competitor. When I went to see my MD to apologise, he said, “Ruth, there are two types of people in this world. Some people never try anything different and as a result never make any mistakes. Then there are some people that do stuff, experiment and sometimes they make mistakes along the way. It’s much better be the latter kind of person.” It’s ok to make mistakes, they make you better at your job. If you repeatedly make the same mistake, now that’s a different matter. 

What does the top look like for me now?

Back in April, after more than two decades treading the client-side career path, I decided it was time for a bigger squiggle. I headed agency-side and I joined Earnest, a specialist B2B marketing agency as head of marketing. And once again, I find myself at the bottom of a steep learning curve.  But I’m not just looking up, because I also have a side hustle as a marketing tutor too, and am redefining what making it to the top means to me. 

So, before you set off on your journey to the top, take some time to think about what the top really means for you and don’t forget to pack your tennis racket and enjoy yourself along the way.