Last week I wrote about transparency. And the week before, about diversity. Part of following up on both is allowing for other voices to be heard. So, this week’s newsletter isn’t from me. It’s from Drift’s VP of Marketing, Kate Adams. Kate has more than 15 years of experience leading high-growth marketing teams. She is our resident “funnel lover” and responsible for driving demand gen at Drift.
You can connect with Kate on LinkedIn and Twitter.
– DC
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“Innovation is hard because solving problems people didn’t know they had and building something no one needs look identical at first.”
– Aaron Levie
I’m sure you’ve all experienced workplaces where you can coast through some meetings or presentations because the other people in the room hadn’t read the material, or hadn’t been paying attention.
And sure, every once in a while, maybe one or two of the old days where I didn’t have to push so hard might not seem so bad. But then I realize that it’s the sum of all of these days that will make me the best marketer and best leader I have ever been.
So I hope you all have this same experience I do, and you realize it is because of every difficult day you have that you’re the best customer advocate, BDR, CSM, engineer, product manager, salesperson or marketing professional you’ve ever been.
Hi, I’m Kate,
I’m Drift’s friendly Funnel Lover™. I speak to every onboarding class at Drift about marketing at the company and – my true passion – funnels. While Funnel Lover™ has gotten your attention and a good laugh, I thought it might make sense for me to explain a little bit more about why I love funnels.
I love funnels because each and every one is nothing more than a series of complex problems – and I love solving hard problems. And no company’s funnel is exactly alike. Whether it’s the qualification and business rules or go-to-market motions that allow someone to enter and then move from stage to stage, every funnel is unique.
Funnels are never solved. They will never be perfect. And while some might call that job security, I call it “Demand Gen’s Great Adventure.”
So I challenge you to think about your own “Great Adventure.” How can you constantly push yourself to optimize and improve the work you do every day? More importantly, how are you encouraging and cheering on those around you to improve themselves and their work every day?
Thanks for the chance to get in front of you this week
– Kate
P.S. At Drift, we’ve reimagined our entire funnel. Because we think people should be treated like people, not leads. You can learn more about our new funnel here.