So who do you need for lead generation success? It varies, based on your company size and how large your marketing team is. And in fact, you may already have many of these people employed already. But for the sake of being thorough, what follows is a list of all of the different potential hires you could make for a very robust lead generation team. And even if you decide you only want to hire one or two additional people, at least make sure that they have some of the skillsets outlined below.
You might not find people out-of-the-box with all of these skillsets. Disciplines such as content marketing or marketing automation are fairly new, so be prepared to look for those with potential and be open to training them.
Marketing programs manager
The marketing programs manager is a key function for lead generation. This person manages all elements of your marketing programs including program selection, program deployment, budgeting, planning, and reporting. He should also be a jack-of-all-trades and understand many aspects of marketing such as events, webinars, email, online ads, and so on. Ideally, this hire should also be comfortable with technology, particularly marketing automation or email marketing, or you should be willing to train her.
If you decide to make only one additional hire, this should be the one, as the marketing programs manager typically runs many of your lead generation programs and is measured on program success.
Here is an example of the required skills or experience you might want to look for in your marketing programs manager:
Bachelor's degree or MBA
Experience with demand generation or lead generation
Established record of managing events, email, online ads, sponsorships, and other lead generation campaigns
Great communication skills, including writing and speaking
Experience with customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation (or a desire to learn)
A natural organizer who can demonstrate masterful handling of multiple projects at once
Knowledge of Microsoft Office — Excel and PowerPoint especially
Social media manager
Your social media manager is another very important hire because social media has a key role in lead generation. This person should have a passion for creating programs on social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and others. He runs all your social programs and knows how to leverage social networks to enhance lead generation campaign performance and measure results. Ideally, this person should be extremely high-energy and enjoy interacting with prospects, customers, and influencers on social channels. You want to look for born networkers.
Here is an example of the required skills or experience you want to look for:
Bachelor's degree
Experience in or desire to learn how to manage social channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and so on
Track record of establishing relationships with bloggers and the social press
Knowledge of how to leverage social media for lead generation using paid ad programs
Experience in (or a desire to learn) content development
A highly creative nature with an understanding of what works for lead generation on social channels
Experience with social monitoring tools
Strong communication and writing skills
Knowledge of Microsoft Office
Content marketing manager
Your content marketing manager is your dedicated headcount for content creation. She is instrumental in creating ebooks, infographics, videos, and other content assets that you will use in all your lead generation campaigns. The content manager also is instrumental in your lead generation campaign's core messaging and how that maps back to business priorities. This person must be highly creative, a thought leader, and an excellent communicator.
Here are required skills or experience you might seek out for this role:
Bachelor's degree or MBA
Passion for writing and excellent communication skills
Project management experience for all content creation, including ebooks, infographics, slide decks, videos, and more
Blog and webinar management
Ability to ensure all content promotion is coordinated across multiple channels including social promotion, email, website, and events
Ability to accurately report on all content marketing activities
Knowledge of your industry and desire to be a thought leader
Knowledge of Word, PowerPoint and Excel
Marketing operations manager
The marketing operations manager role is particularly important if you decide to invest in multiple technologies such as marketing automation and CRM. The marketing operations manager generates reports and conducts an analysis of your lead generation return on investment. This role also ensures activities are aligned between sales and marketing — like watching to make sure service-level agreements (SLAs) are being followed and that definitions remain consistent. The marketing operations manager also helps guide strategy iteration by knowing what works and what doesn't.
Here is what to look for in a marketing operations manager:
Bachelor's degree or MBA a plus
Experience as a business analyst or in sales or marketing operations
An extremely analytical nature and a love of numbers — this person will be running a lot of reports and reviewing data to measure marketing program return on investment
Ability to identify opportunities for program improvement and iteration based on collected data
Experience with configuring CRM platforms, or at least running complex reports out of them
Very strong quantitative skills and the know-how to create and translate data sets into business recommendations
Marketing automation power user or shows a desire to learn a new technology
Excellent project manager with proven success in driving initiatives forward
Online marketing manager
The online marketing manager can also be a key hire as his specialty is search engine optimization (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC), display advertising, and other paid program management — which is a large part of any lead generation strategy. The online marketing manager executes all online marketing plans to drive leads and company goals. She has strong analytical skills to create metrics-driven reporting and is a great project manager who can run many programs concurrently.
Here is what to look for in an online marketing manager:
Bachelor's degree
Ability to develop and implement strategy for SEO, PPC, display ads, social media advertising, and other paid programs — you want someone who can both think and do
Ability to manage vendor relationships and evaluate effectiveness of each channel
Ability to analyze website activity resulting from programs and make recommendations for improvements
Ability to produce monthly reporting for each channel and identify and interpret trends
Strong experience in media planning and familiarity with web-based lead generation activities
Track record of success achieving and exceeding ambitious online marketing goals
Strong communication skills, including excellent written skills
Knowledge of Microsoft Office — Excel and PowerPoint especially
Creative design manager
The creative design manager is the person who creates the visual graphics for all of your lead generation campaigns. Whether it is design for an ebook, a banner for an email, or a brochure for an event, you need a graphic designer on staff, or you need to vet design agencies.
Here are some qualifications for this role:
Experience designing in a corporate environment
Experience using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign
HTML/CSS, Flash, and video experience
Desire to tie creative visuals for campaigns to overall business objectives
Flexibility to work under tight deadlines when needed
A diverse portfolio of creative designs for different mediums using different platforms
Event marketing manager
Events are a large part of your lead generation strategy, and your event marketing manager is creates and executes your event programs. He focuses on program and agenda planning, creative execution, speaker management, sponsor management, and onsite execution — all with the goal of generating qualified leads for your business, which justifies the costs of putting on or attending that event.
Here is what to seek out in an event marketing manager:
Bachelor's degree
Great event-planning skills with an emphasis on strategic deal-making
Passion for events and drive for creative planning
Excellent communication and networking skills
Negotiation skills
Ability to problem-solve issues and quickly find solutions, often at the last minute (the show must go on!)
Desire to interface with customers, partners, and employees
Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office — PowerPoint and Excel in particular