Observations
How to “Sell” the Idea of Systemic Marketing to Your CEO: A Step-by-Step Guide
You have studied different approaches and have a solid understanding of systemic marketing. You know exactly how to transform a chaotic set of activities into a predictable growth engine. Now, however, you face the most difficult challenge—one that cannot be solved with A/B tests or ad optimization.
How do you “sell” this idea to your CEO, who is accustomed to quick but random results? How do you convince the CFO, for whom marketing is a cost, not an investment? This internal sale is perhaps the most important deal in a marketer’s career.
The key to success is to stop selling “marketing.” Leadership doesn’t buy “processes,” “systems,” or “brand.” They buy predictable revenue growth and risk reduction. Your task is to repackage your brilliant marketing strategy as an irresistible, data-driven investment proposal.
This article provides a step-by-step guide for preparing and executing this “deal of the century.” We will examine how to gather evidence, structure your business case, and respond to common leadership objections. You will stop being a petitioner. You will become a partner.
Preparing the “Evidence” (Switching to the Language of Numbers)
You can’t approach the CEO and CFO with an idea based on faith. Investment discussions are conducted in the language of numbers. Therefore, your first task is to gather irrefutable evidence and do your “homework.” This work consists of three parts.
First, quantify the cost of the current chaos. Show that the status quo is not “free,” but expensive. Collect data and articulate the problem in monetary terms.
- Wrong: “Our leads are poor.”
- Correct: “Our MQL-to-SQL conversion rate is only 2%. Last quarter, we spent three million rubles acquiring low-quality MQLs. We are literally burning money.”
Second, build a financial model for your initiative. Use funnel decomposition to show exactly how your proposed actions, such as implementing lead scoring, will impact conversion and ultimately revenue. Come prepared with a table that clearly demonstrates the forecasted ROMI (return on marketing investment).
Third, formulate a low-risk proposal. Don’t immediately ask for a budget for a year-long “transformation.” That is intimidating. Instead, propose a concrete 90-day pilot project aimed at solving one primary quantified problem. This shows your pragmatic approach and allows leadership to agree to a small, controlled experiment rather than a large, risky initiative.
Assembling the “Investment Proposal” (Business Case Structure)
Now that you have all the data, it needs to be packaged in a simple, clear, and persuasive format. Forget long presentations. The essence of your proposal should fit on a single slide. This shows respect for the time of the leadership team. We use a four-block architecture.
Block 1: Problem (in business language). Don’t start with what you want to do. Begin with the business “pain” you are addressing. Example: “Our growth in the enterprise segment has slowed to 5% per quarter. The main reason is that 60% of deals are lost due to an inability to reach the full buying committee. According to our estimates, this represents X million rubles in lost revenue per year.”
Block 2: Solution and Investment. A brief description of the pilot project and its cost. Example: “I propose a 90-day pilot project implementing an ABM approach for 20 target accounts. Required investment: Y rubles for tools and content.”
Block 3: Forecasted ROMI (return on marketing investment). Summarize your financial model in one sentence. Example: “Forecast: The pilot will allow us to engage five to six new decision-makers and generate Z million in new pipeline. Expected ROMI over six months: 250%.”
Block 4: Risks and Plan B demonstrates your managerial maturity. You show that you have considered negative scenarios. Example: “Main risk: low response to outreach. Plan B: If, after 45 days, we have not received responses from 50% of the accounts, we will stop the campaign and reinvest the remaining budget into…”
Executing the “Sale”: Handling Objections
Even with a perfect business case, you will encounter objections. This is normal. Your task is to prepare for them. Let’s consider the two most common ones.
CEO objection: “This will take too long. I need results now!” This objection is not about speed, but rather, predictability. Your response should be: “I understand. The current approach gives us quick, but random and costly, results. This pilot is the fastest way to build a predictable growth engine. In 90 days, we won’t just have a few random leads—we’ll have a working system that can be scaled.”
CFO objection: “This is expensive. Our policy is to cut costs.” This objection is not about expense, but about value. Your response should be: “That’s exactly why I’m presenting this proposal. It’s an investment in reducing wasted spending. Right now, we are spending X million rubles on low-quality leads. This pilot is designed to stop those losses and improve the ROI of the entire marketing budget.”
The transition from Marketing Director to Business Partner
Preparing based on numbers, presenting in a business-case format, and proactively handling objections will fundamentally change your role in the company. You transition from being the head of a costly, service-oriented function that “asks” for a budget to being a business partner who brings calculated, clear, and attractive investment opportunities for company growth to the table.
Instead, you become a business partner who brings clear, attractive, and calculated investment opportunities for company growth to the table.
This guide is your personal script for the most important sale of your career: convincing your leadership of the value of systemic marketing. Keep it and use it as the foundation for your next budget presentation.
