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Preparing For Board Meetings

Not long ago, there was a helpful exchange in the community about presenting to the board for the first time. This marketing leader was relatively new to the company, and they were asked to share their marketing plan with the board and investors.

Here’s some of the advice that came up:

Don’t give too much detail 

At this stage, giving too much information can actually be a negative - especially if it isn’t relevant to the *most important things.* A strong strategy and a strong story that share just the essentials will inspire more confidence than cramming all of your data and ideas in.

Think: 

• What are you going to achieve
• How are you going to get there
• What will it mean to the business
• Why you are doing it this way, and 
• What failsafes are in place if the strategy doesn't work.

Keep your section brief

One tactical tip related to the ^above: use an appendix. Your core story can be contained in the deck, but any supporting information or “just in case they ask” slides should go in the appendix.

Work from business level goals back into your marketing tactics 

Leading with revenue makes it clear that you’re aligned with the company, other leaders, and the board. Only once you’ve shared the high level goals, back into the tactics/channels you’ll be running to hit those goals. 

You might be tempted to share activity metrics/inputs - only do so if they’re already helping you pace toward the goals you’re setting out to hit. 

Prep work 

This is one of those times when advance preparation can make you seem a lot more experienced than you actually are. A leadership coach of mine once shared this secret with me...good preparation is a fast track to seeming "senior." It takes time but it's worth it.

1. Talk to the CEO. They should have the closest relationship with the board. They own that relationship. What do they want you to share? They might give you a rough outline or a prompt like “here's what we're going to do in marketing this year." 
2. Make sure you’re very well versed in the classic acronyms – NRR, CAC, LTV, GRR, ARR, etc etc etc. You won’t need to speak to all of them as a marketer but you’ll feel more comfortable if you know what they all mean.
3. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS. This is not a time when it’s ok to say - let me follow up via email with how many leads we’re getting each month. You need to know it, cold. If it’s related to marketing, it’s your job to know. (This includes - what is working and not working today in marketing, and why).
4. Make sure you know the business and its position in the market - ICP, alternatives, pain points, value props etc. 

As you’re researching - for every piece of information that you uncover - go a layer or two deeper. For instance - if your ICP is XYZ, figure out what % of your customer base actually fits perfectly into that definition. Once you know sales close rate, form an opinion on what could be done to improve it.

Review the last few board decks or minutes

If you can - try to look back through your company’s previous board decks or meeting minutes. It will give you a sense of what the board is familiar with so far and any historical issues.

What to do if you’re not in the room 

I’ve been in situations where I’m not in the board meeting, but I am supporting the team that is getting ready for the board meeting. Whether you’re in the room or not, there is a TON that you can do to support the team in preparing. 

If you’re a designer - offer up your skills to clean up the deck. If your manager is in demand gen, ask if you can pull any reports for them in advance. 

Or even, “Hi CMO, I see that there is a board meeting coming up - I’m not sure how I can help, but a long term goal of mine is to one day present to a board. How can I assist you and the team in getting ready for the meeting?” 

The key here, is that when they say YES PLEASE HELP - this is now your extracurricular activity. It’s the work you’re doing outside of your existing role that should not interfere with your full time job (unless otherwise specified). 

This is an investment in your future self, and will be well worth the effort, but it’s also a gift from those above - there may not be others at your level supporting, so it's a privilege and an honor to be trusted with the work. 

Hope you're having a productive week - home stretch before the New Year.

Shauntle and Zula

PS. Are you reading? Reply back and let me know, I love getting replies... 

PPS. Lopsided ear day

Looking for a new job? Read this.

B2B Marketing Job Alert -- 4 Open Roles Now at Motion

The last couple years have been rough in B2B tech. But there’s one company that has been growing despite these headwinds and I’ve been seeing them come up everywhere—Motion. 

Motion is growing fast (3x YoY), the product is sticky (120%+ Net Revenue Retention) and they recently raised $6M in seed funding. 

Motion is a creative analytics platform used by ecom and DTC brands like Vuori, True Classic, The Farmer’s Dog, HexClad, and hundreds more. 

Motion helps teams bridge the gap between media buyers and creative teams with fast, visual reporting for Meta, TikTok, and YouTube ads. 

They’ve got four open roles on their marketing team right now. 

Head of Growth Marketing—You’ll need to build a plan to hit pipeline targets, report core metrics to leadership, and launch bold new tactics. You’ll need to execute and be in the trenches. 

Content Marketing Manager—You’ll be given lots of responsibility for things like virtual events, always-on content tactics, and helping with product feature launches. You enjoy project management and obsess over small details. 

Senior Copywriter—You’ll create exceptional organic content including long-form email newsletters, research reports filled with unique insights, landing pages, video scripts, and the occasional ad campaign concept. 

Social Media Producer—You’ll take ownership of our social media content calendar and then work with in-house product experts, our CEO, and external creators. Plus, you’ll create content yourself including short-form videos. 

Motion has already built early success with inbound content, incredible virtual events, and rock-solid product-market fit. 

This is a chance to help to build a new category of software and work with the best performance teams in eCommerce. 

You can view and apply for these roles here.

🎧 Podcast #106: Why I Hired a COO for Exit Five, Welcome Dan Murphy, Stories from Working Together in B2B Marketing

In this episode - Dave is joined by Dan Murphy, the newly minted COO of Exit Five. They discuss:

• Why Dan was excited to join Exit Five
• Where the business is going in 2024
• The story of how Dan and Dave met, and their time together at Drift and Privy
• Culture of speed, and how "marketable moments" can drive the business
• The job of VP over IC work
• Being hired over (and why it hurts so good)

Listen To The Episode Now on Spotify

Or find it everywhere you listen by searching "Exit Five" podcast

Join the Exit Five Community

Please join us in the new home for Exit Five (and our dedicated iOS + Android app). We have officially moved our community to Circle - our own private community on the web, with a dedicated mobile app for iOS and Android. It's bumping over there already and we've been loving the feedback from members so far.

Here's a video overview from Dave breaking down the new Exit Five community. You can join the community right now for free with a 7 day free trial and then choose monthly or annual billing (or to not join) after your trial. Hope to see you in there.

Thanks to the 2023 Exit Five presenting sponsors Demandwell (SEO) and Zapier (Automation).

Want to sponsor a future newsletter or learn more about other sponsorship opportunities with Exit Five? We're now planning sponsorships for 2024 - fill this form here.

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