5 Key skills of a marketing manager

Summary

In this video, Hugh McFarlane, a passionate B2B marketing expert, challenges the conventional skills listed for marketing managers and presents his own top five: skill development, talent selection, buyer's perspective, understanding the selling process, and planning with measurement. He emphasizes the importance of managers not just having these skills themselves but being exceptional at fostering them within their team, providing a buyer-centric approach, and deeply understanding the sales process to drive effective marketing strategies.

Takeaways

• 🔍 **Analysis**: A marketing manager should be skilled in analysis, which is often a key component of marketing strategy.
• 📈 **Selling Skills**: The ability to sell is crucial; managers don't need to be the best marketers but should understand the selling process deeply.
• 📋 **Prioritization**: Managers need to prioritize tasks and skills effectively to guide their team towards success.
• 📖 **Storytelling**: Storytelling is a vital skill in marketing, and managers should foster this ability within their team.
• 💻 **Technical Skills**: Technical proficiency, including marketing automation and social media, is important for executing marketing tactics.
• 👥 **Skill Development**: Managers should focus on developing the key skills within their team, even if they don't possess all the skills themselves.
• 🎯 **Talent Selection**: Hiring and firing decisions should be made with the team's skills in mind, ensuring the right people are in place to meet objectives.
• 🛍️ **Buyer's Perspective**: Managers must help their team adopt a buyer's perspective to effectively move buyers through the sales funnel.
• 📊 **Planning and Measurement**: A marketing manager should excel at planning and measuring outcomes to understand what should be done and what's actually happening.
• 📝 **Documentation**: The importance of written communication is highlighted, as it's a skill that contributes to effective marketing.
• 🤝 **Collaboration**: Managers need to foster a collaborative environment to enhance the team's ability to work together towards common goals.

Q & A

What are the five key skills of a marketing manager according to the video?

The five key skills of a marketing manager mentioned in the video are skill development, selecting and deselecting talent, having a buyer's perspective, understanding the selling process, and planning and measurement.

What does the term 'funnel vision' refer to in the context of the video?

Funnel vision is brought to the viewer by Mass Marketing, the creators of the Funnel Plan. It represents the perspective that a marketing manager should have, focusing on the buyer's journey through the sales funnel.

What is Hugh McFarlane's passion and goal in the field of marketing?

Hugh McFarlane is passionate about B2B marketing and aims to make B2B marketing a respected management science around the world.

What does the video suggest about the skills of individual marketers versus the skills needed by a marketing manager?

The video differentiates between the skills needed by individual marketers, which include analysis, selling, prioritization, storytelling, and technical skills, and the skills needed by a marketing manager, which are more focused on managing and developing these skills in a team.

What does the video suggest about the importance of technical skills for a marketing manager?

The video suggests that technical skills are important but should be considered under one broad heading. A marketing manager needs to be able to execute marketing tactics and may require skills in marketing automation and other technical areas.

What is the role of a marketing manager in developing the skills of their team according to the video?

According to the video, a marketing manager should be amazing at building the skills of their team, which may involve providing training, hiring mentors, or sourcing talent with the necessary skills.

How does the video define the process of selecting and deselecting talent for a marketing manager?

The video defines the process of selecting talent as being excellent at identifying individuals with the capacity to acquire or already possessing the necessary skills through interviews or testing. Deselecting talent involves having the courage to move people out of the business if they do not meet the skill requirements.

What is the significance of having a buyer's perspective for a marketing manager?

Having a buyer's perspective is crucial for a marketing manager because it helps them guide their team to create marketing strategies that effectively move buyers from one stage to another in the sales process.

Why is understanding the selling process important for a marketing manager?

Understanding the selling process is important for a marketing manager because it allows them to be deeply involved in the entire process, from marketing to sales, ensuring that the strategies they implement are aligned with the overall sales objectives.

What does the video suggest about the role of planning and measurement in the skillset of a marketing manager?

The video suggests that a marketing manager needs to be excellent at planning what should be done and measuring what is actually happening to ensure that marketing efforts are effective and aligned with business goals.

What action does the video ask the viewers to take if they find the content helpful?

The video asks viewers who find the content helpful to share it with others and to subscribe to the blog at massmarketing.com/blog or their YouTube channel for weekly updates.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Key Skills of a B2B Marketing Manager

In this paragraph, Hugh McFarlane discusses the five key skills necessary for a B2B marketing manager. He clarifies that the video is aimed at managers and not individual contributors. Hugh is passionate about B2B marketing and aims to elevate its status as a management science. He critiques various sources he found on Google regarding the skills of a marketing manager, including lists from SAS, the University of Florida, and Marketo. He argues that these lists focus too much on the skills of individual marketers rather than what a marketing manager needs. Hugh then introduces his own take on the five key skills a marketing manager should have, which he will elaborate on in the video.

05:01

🛠 Developing and Managing Marketing Skills

Hugh McFarlane outlines the five key skills he believes are essential for a marketing manager. The first skill is the ability to develop skills in others, such as analysis, selling, prioritization, storytelling, and technical skills. It's not necessary for a manager to possess all these skills themselves, but they must excel at nurturing them within their team. The second skill is selecting and deselecting talent based on these skills, which involves mastering the hiring and firing process. The third skill is maintaining a buyer's perspective, which is crucial for guiding the team towards strategies that will appeal to buyers. The fourth skill is understanding the selling process, which Hugh emphasizes as vital for B2B marketing managers. Lastly, the fifth skill is planning and measurement, where a marketing manager must excel at setting goals and assessing performance. Hugh concludes by inviting viewers to share the blog and subscribe to his channel for weekly updates.

Keywords

💡Marketing Manager

A marketing manager is a professional responsible for planning, coordinating, and directing a company's marketing efforts. In the video, the role of a marketing manager is central to the discussion, with the focus on the key skills required for effective management in the field of B2B marketing.

💡Individual Contributor

An individual contributor refers to a person who works alone and contributes to a project or team without managing others. The script mentions that the video is intended for those who are not individual contributors but are working under a marketing manager, emphasizing the managerial aspect of the role.

💡Funnel Vision

Funnel Vision is mentioned as being brought to the viewer by 'Mass Marketing,' suggesting it is a program or initiative related to marketing strategies. It is likely a metaphor for the marketing funnel, a concept used to visualize the customer journey from initial awareness to making a purchase.

💡B2B Marketing

B2B, which stands for 'business-to-business,' refers to a type of marketing where a company's products or services are targeted towards other businesses rather than individual consumers. The video specifically addresses the skills needed for a B2B marketing manager, highlighting the unique challenges and strategies involved in this sector.

💡Key Skills

The term 'key skills' is used to describe the essential abilities or competencies required for a role. In the context of the video, it is used to discuss the five critical skills that a marketing manager should possess, as identified by the speaker.

💡Analysis

Analysis refers to the detailed examination of data or information to draw conclusions. In the script, analysis is listed as one of the key skills for a marketing manager, indicating the need to interpret market data to inform marketing strategies.

💡Storytelling

Storytelling is the art of telling stories to engage and persuade an audience. The video emphasizes storytelling as a key skill for a marketing manager, suggesting that the ability to craft compelling narratives is crucial for effective marketing communication.

💡Technical Skills

Technical skills are the abilities required to perform specific tasks or operate certain tools or software. The script mentions technical skills as a broad category that includes marketing automation and social media skills, which are vital for executing marketing tactics.

💡Buyer's Perspective

A buyer's perspective refers to understanding and considering the viewpoint of the customer. The video script stresses the importance of a marketing manager having a buyer's perspective to guide their team in creating marketing strategies that resonate with the target audience.

💡Selling Process

The selling process encompasses the steps involved in moving a product or service from the seller to the buyer. The script indicates that a marketing manager should have a deep understanding of the selling process, including the ability to sell, which is essential for B2B marketing.

💡Planning and Measurement

Planning and measurement are critical components of management, involving the development of strategies and the assessment of their effectiveness. The video identifies planning and measurement as key skills for a marketing manager, who must be adept at setting goals and evaluating outcomes.

Highlights

The video discusses the five key skills of a marketing manager.

The target audience is individuals contributing to marketing teams and their managers.

Funnel Vision is presented by Mass Marketing, creators of the Funnel Plan.

Hugh McFarlane is passionate about making B2B marketing a respected management science.

A search for 'key skills of a marketing manager' yielded various lists from different sources.

The lists included skills like social skills, sales skills, and data analytics.

The video argues that the skills listed are more for individual marketers, not managers.

The five skills identified for marketing managers are skill development, talent selection, buyer's perspective, selling process, and planning and measurement.

Skill development involves training and mentoring to enhance team capabilities.

Talent selection is crucial for hiring and firing based on the required skills.

A manager must have a buyer's perspective to guide the team effectively.

Understanding the selling process is essential for a marketing manager.

Planning and measurement are key for determining what should be done and what is actually happening.

The video encourages sharing the content with others and subscribing to the blog or YouTube channel for weekly updates.

The video concludes with a wish for a full and always flowing funnel.

Transcripts

today I want to talk about the five key

skills of a marketing manager now if

you're an individual contributor that is

you're just one person and you're

working for the marketing manager I'm

really making this video for your boss

also if your this is just one of you

again this is not really for you I want

to make really clear I want to talk

about the skills that the manager of

marketing needs funnel vision is brought

to you by mass marketing creators of the

funnel plan mass marketing is the source

of the one to three be to be high if we

have met I'm Hugh McFarlane I'm super

super passionate about b2b marketing and

in particular I want to make better be

marketing a respective management

science around the world this video blog

is a part of what I do towards that end

there are lots of others contributing of

course this is our modest contribution

to it today obviously we're talking

about the five key skills of a b2b

marketing manager so I googled the term

key skills of a marketing manager and

I'm going to share with you some key

conclusions for the four that I found

and then we're going to argue why

they're wrong and what it really needs

to be so again I Google these and the

first that I found was from SAS and it's

called the nine skills every marketing

manager needs to look for good start

right social skills social media skills

sorry outside again sales skills social

media skills journalism storytelling

process design data analytics domain

expertise and the person who put the

blog together who had actually

referenced those from somebody else

added some software skills including

collaboration and exceptional

communication creativity and leadership

second amount of fam was from the

University of Florida five essential

skills for the future marketing manager

again quite promising right critical

thinking project management analytical

skills holistic approach and technical

skills make sense Marketo this is now a

little bit older 2010 I think the top

five skills you need

be a marketable manager good spin I like

it analytics assessment forecasting

sales and communications and buy that

list that's good work written so written

cheated a bit they actually had opinions

of lots of others which they've

assembled that's not really treating

that's a good idea anyhow I'm choosing

just one of their expert views it was

called expert views on top five

marketing skills again just one of the

contributors to that said know your

audience be a good listener be open to

new ideas be accurate but nimble and now

what the competition's doing I couldn't

disagree more I don't care what the

competition's doing focus on your buyer

and that kind of leads to what I think

the top five skills are but I'm going to

first just synthesize what I think the

others have said obviously bit of

editorial license this is my take on it

I think the five that they were

referring to were analysis selling

prioritization storytelling and

technical skills and technical skills of

broad term social media is an example

your skills at executing the tactic I

think is the technical skills synthesis

and it's a very broad thing you need to

be able to do marketing automation you

need to be able to do lots of technical

skills but I've back of them under one

heading now the problem with all of that

is that mostly they were talking about

the skills of the marketing manager

needs but the individual marketer great

contribution thank you valid question I

want answered is what are the five

skills that the marketing manager needs

that's what I'm going to take a look at

right now give you my five key skills of

a marketing manager

all right so here are the five I think

you need as a manager skill development

go back to that list of skills analysis

selling prioritization storytelling and

technical technical skills you need the

ability to develop those skills into

team now it might be that you don't

necessarily have those skills in

abundance yourself and that's perfectly

okay as a manager you don't have to be

the best marketer you've got to be the

best manager but you do need to be

amazing at building those five skills so

what's that really mean maybe you just

have great sources of training

maybe you've hired mentors maybe you've

got people inside the company maybe it

is you I sort of don't care you don't

need to have been the hero market has

become the manager you need to be a

great manager and one way or another you

know the ability to develop those skills

I synthesize them to five but if you

like go back to the list that the other

contributors had offered but you need to

be great at building those skills in

detail that's number one number two

selecting and deselecting talent for

those same skills that is the hiring

firing process but against those skills

getting really really good through the

interview process or the testing process

or both whatever your recruitment

process looks like getting amazing at

picking for the capacity to acquire

those skills or the presence of those

skills and getting really courageous

about moving people out of the business

if they're not going to come up to those

five skill areas that you've identified

that's number two number three having a

buyer's perspective if you're a manager

imagine that your team are going to be

somewhat between amazing and not yet

amazing but on the way to amazing you

are going to have to get great at

helping them to do one thing that

probably they can't do themselves and

that is to take a buyer's perspective

everything that you do as a marketer

needs to be to move a buyer from

somewhere to somewhere so you've got to

be great at reflecting back to the

marketing person who you manage and say

that's right but what effect is

have on the buyer is there another way

to do it so you personally do need to

have a buyer's perspective to overcome

the fact that your staff are likely to

be younger not necessarily but it may

well be likely to be less experienced or

more narrowly experienced than you are

you're going to have to bring the buyers

perspective I know they needed a bit but

you know that is London's number four

selling process I know that that's in

the skills that we need the marketers to

have but you - you know that my audience

is only b2b and so I only care about

your understanding of the entire process

and the entire process involves selling

not just marketing therefore you've got

to be pretty deep in the selling process

frankly I'd prefer that you've actually

sold for a couple of years itself but at

least you need to be really close to the

selling process end to end because again

don't expect the staff to have that at

the same level that they need it for the

business so that's the full thing

finally planning and measurement you

expected me there so that kind of

planning a measurement guy but I

actually think that a marketing manager

needs to be amazing at working at what

should be done and work out what's

actually going on that's it that's my

take on the five key skills of a

marketing manager now if you like this

blog can I ask you to do two things

firstly share it with others tell

anybody else that works for you or a

colleague or a friend let them know

about this so they can enjoy the love as

well secondly if you haven't already

subscribed go to mathmarketing.com/blog

or go to our youtube channel details are

on screen right now go to to one of

those and subscribe we put this this

blog out every week and that's the only

way that you'll get the weekly updates

had that's been helpful bye for now

that's it hope you found that helpful

see you next week until then may your

funnel be full and always flowing

you