Observations
“How to Stop Fighting for Resources and Start Proving Value”: A Guide for the CMO
It’s time for annual planning. Top management gathers at the negotiation table. The Chief Commercial Officer presents the revenue forecast. The production director presents the capacity plan. Then it’s your turn as the Chief Marketing Officer. Your speech should begin with the words: “We need…”
At that moment, you transform from a growth engine into a “cost center.” You become a petitioner. You must defend every line item, fight for every dollar, and prove that social media marketing (SMM) and content are important work, not “toys.” It is an exhausting and often humiliating battle.
Why does this happen? It’s not because your CEO or CFO doesn’t understand the importance of marketing. The problem is that you speak different languages. You speak the language of activities: “We need a budget for 1,000 leads,” or “We want to run five webinars.” Businesses think in terms of results: “What return on investment will we get?” “How will this impact the P&L?”
This article provides a step-by-step algorithm for “translating” any marketing initiative, no matter how complex, into a language your leadership team will understand. We will show you how to transform budget defense from an annual battle into a constructive dialogue about investment opportunities. You will stop asking. You will start proposing.
From Marketing Metrics to Business Results
Imagine you go to the chief financial officer and say: “I need one million rubles to develop our blog and SEO promotion.” What does the CFO hear? “Marketing wants to spend one million on articles.” It sounds like an expense. Your request will likely be met with resistance.
For the dialogue to become constructive, you need to build a “bridge” yourself—one that connects marketing activity to cash in the register. This bridge is a simple mathematical breakdown of your funnel.
Let’s build it using a hypothetical example.
- Step 1: Marketing activity. You forecast that X USD investment in content and SEO will result in 100,000 targeted views of your articles over the course of a year.
- Step 2: Conversion to leads. On average, 2% of readers of your expert articles submit a form, such as downloading a lead magnet. Thus, 100,000 views will generate 2,000 leads (MQLs).
- Step 3: Lead Qualification: The sales department informs you that approximately 10% of the MQLs are qualified and accepted for further processing. This leaves us with 200 qualified leads (SQLs).
- Step 4: Business outcome. Your average conversion rate from SQL to deal is 20%, and the average deal size is 500,000 rubles. Do the math: 200 SQLs x 20% = 40 deals. Multiply that by the average deal size of 500,000 rubles to find the revenue: 20 million rubles.
Now, your conversation with the CFO or CEO will sound very different. Instead of saying, “Give me a million for articles,” you can say: “I propose investing one million to generate twenty million in new revenue. Here is the breakdown showing how we will achieve this based on our current metrics.”
This data-driven approach transforms you from a petitioner into a partner who offers a clear and transparent investment opportunity. Before asking for a budget, you must complete this “homework.” It is the foundation of any successful business case.
Business Case Architecture: Four Blocks for the Decision Maker
Decomposition is your internal calculation. Now, it needs to be packaged in a format that leadership can understand. Any strong business case you present to a CFO or CEO should consist of four logical blocks.
Block 1: The problem in business language. Don’t start with what you want to do. Start with the business “pain” you are solving.
- Poor example: “We need a budget for ABM.”
- Better: “Our growth in the enterprise segment has slowed because 60% of deals are lost due to an inability to reach all members of the buying committee.”
Block 2: Solution and Investment. Here, briefly describe your initiative as a remedy for this problem and state the required investment. Example: “We propose launching a pilot ABM program for 20 key accounts to address this issue. The required investment for the quarter is X USD.”
Block 3: Forecasted ROMI (return on marketing investment). This is the most important block. Here, you will use the decomposition from the previous chapter. Example: “Based on our average conversion rates and deal size, we forecast that this investment will generate 7 million USD in new pipeline and approximately 1.5 million in revenue over six months. Forecasted ROMI: 100% in six months.”
Block 4: Risks and Plan B demonstrates your maturity as a leader. You will outline possible challenges honestly. Example: “The main risk is that the conversion hypothesis may not be confirmed. Plan B: If, after two months, we do not see an expected response from 50% of the accounts, we will reallocate the remaining budget to strengthen the nurture program for the existing database.”
The Psychology of the Dialogue: From “Petitioner” to “Partner”
When you present a four-block business case to leadership, the psychology of the conversation changes. You are no longer a “petitioner” asking for money for marketing. Instead, you take the position of a business partner.
Your message now sounds like this: “Dear Colleagues, I have identified an investment opportunity for the company with a forecasted return of 100% in six months. We have a clear plan, measurable metrics, and a risk assessment. Are we ready as a company to invest in this growth opportunity?”
This is a conversation between two equal partners seeking the most effective way to allocate the company’s capital. You stop being a “cost center” and become a center for generating profit.
You Are a Fund Manager
Your marketing budget is not an expense to defend or minimize. Rather, it is an investment fund that you manage. As a leader, your main task is not to “be creative” or “spend the budget.” Your task is to ensure its maximum return.
When you start treating your work as investment management, your leadership team will see you not as the “head of visuals,” but as a key financial partner. You will stop fighting for resources. Instead, you will compete for the right to implement the most profitable investment opportunity for the company.
Take one of your major initiatives for which you plan to request a budget. Try describing it using the four-block structure from this article. This exercise will permanently change your approach to planning. Keep this article as a template for future business cases.
