1. Creating Executive Support
for Marketing Initiatives
JOHN DOHERTY

2. John Doherty
Senior Consultant, Distilled NYC
John.doherty@distilled.net
@dohertyjf

3. Today we’re talking about
Boss or Client Management

4. Proving ROI is our #1 challenge
@dohertyjfSource: http://dis.tl/1124N0v

5. Procuring Budget is #2
@dohertyjfSource: http://dis.tl/1124N0v

6. Your job is not to deliver
reports.

7. Your job is to effect change.

8. SEO is easy, but causing
change is hard.
Most SEOs
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty

9. A Few Words About Your
Boss/Client

10. They’re not idiots.

11. This is my boss. He’s actually quite
smart.

12. They’re human too.

13. I said human.

14. You need to understand

15. Who makes the budget decisions?

16. What are their motivators?

17. What are the key company metrics?

18. What are the company’s goals?

19. Your Responsibilities

20. “[See] your offering as your
market sees it - not as you
see it.”
Matt Gratt
http://www.quora.com/Marketing/What-is-the-
hardest-part-about-being-a-marketer/answer/Matt-
Gratt?srid=5pX&share=1

21. Help Execs Prioritize
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
At any point in time,
you have many
initiatives. Which
ones will have the
biggest impact on the
metrics your bosses
care about?

22. Present Hard Data
@dohertyjfAnd what that means.

23. Compelling Business Case
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty

24. If we increase traffic X%,
we can make $X,XXX per
month.
This is music to a Director’s ears.
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty

25. If we increase traffic X%,
we can make $X,XXX per
month.
This is music to a Director’s ears.
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
The “Why”

26. Think Big, Start Small
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty

27. Think Big, Start Small
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
Big Dreams
Highest Impact
Initiative

28. Speak Their Language
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
If you walk into a room
talking about linking root
domains and
infographics, you will
fail. If you talk the
metrics they care about
and your high level
plans, you’ll most likely
succeed.

29. How do we make a case for
what we need?

30. Psychology
@dohertyjfhttps://twitter.com/neyne/status/335443057749159936

31. The Right Metrics
@dohertyjfAll valid metrics, depending on who you’re reporting to.

32. Hard Comparison Data
@dohertyjfThe Price of Technical SEO Debt
Them
Us

33. Hard and Honest Projections
@dohertyjfThe Price of Technical SEO Debt

34. Psychology

35. Goal: Make It Easy To Say Yes
@dohertyjfhttp://okdork.com/2012/10/09/make-it-easy-to-say-yes/l

36. “What Are *Your* Goals?”
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
The best way to learn what your boss/client wants to hear is to ask them
their goals.
Then you can pitch for what you want using the metrics they will resonate
with.
“What can I show you that will make you say yes?”
“Can you show me examples of reports you like?”

37. High Risk/Low Risk
@dohertyjfGet Executive Management Approval
Low risk are either proven as “fundamentals”
and best practices, or have proven valuable for
your company in the past.
High risk are tasks that are either expensive up
front, or have no quantifiable ROI before you
complete them.

38. High Risk/Low Risk 80/20 Rule
@dohertyjfPareto Principle
You can ask for about 20% of your resources for high risk initiatives. 80%
of your resources are dedicated towards the activities that you know
work.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could dedicate 80% of our efforts towards
new initiatives?

39. High Risk/Low Risk
@dohertyjf
Low Risk/Low Impact is easy to
pitch and get approval for, but
will not move the needle
significantly.
High Risk/High Impact is
harder to say yes to, and
should be pitched after
success is shown
Impact
Risk
Low Risk/High Impact is the
sweet spot, as it’s easy to say
YES and will move the needle.
High Risk/Low Impact is
not a good case to pitch.
John Doherty

40. Data

41. “Every good argument
begins with data.”
Abraham Lincoln
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty

42. Revenue Tracking in Analytics
provides important numbers
@dohertyjfEcommerce Tracking for Google in GA
CRO

43. Revenue Tracking in Analytics
provides important numbers
@dohertyjfEcommerce Tracking for Google in GA
CRO
SEO

44. Direct vs Influenced
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty

45. Direct vs Influenced
@dohertyjf
Show this to your execs to get buy-in for more
work, but have exact numbers prepared as well.

46. Direct vs Influenced
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
Don’t just pitch SEO initiatives though. Use this to
get things done internally.

47. A Few More Psychological
Examples

48. Competitor Data Inspires Action
@dohertyjfInbound Marketing Competitor Analysis

49. Negative Numbers Inspire Action
@dohertyjf

50. Negative Numbers Inspire Action
@dohertyjf
Never be accusatory/assign blame to your boss
for inaction. Instead, show your strategy for
moving forward.

51. Previous Success Inspires Action
@dohertyjfInbound Marketing Competitor Analysis

52. Internal Case Studies
@dohertyjfPitch and pitch again

53. Comparisons
@dohertyjfIf we don’t do X, then….

54. Comparisons
@dohertyjfIf we don’t do X, then….

55. Case Study

56. Client Had Been Buying Links
@dohertyjfThe links were extremely low quality
About 50% of their
backlink profile was
links from sites with
a Domain Authority
of under 20. They
were hit repeatedly
by algorithm
changes.

57. Client Had Been Buying Links
@dohertyjf
http://www.johnfdoherty.com/paid-links-backlink-profile-
visualized/
Free-submit-url-seo.biz
http://pub20.bravenet.com/f
reelink
http://www.txtlinks.com
http://allcladdagh.com/newli
nks21.htm

58. Client Had Been Buying Links
@dohertyjf
One of their sites that
brought in ~10% of their
revenue was hit with a
manual link penalty. CEO
was keen to avoid this on
others.
Tip: Negative case studies
can be very powerful when
you want someone to do
something.

59. Client Had Been Buying Links
@dohertyjfThe goal was better links and to prove content works.
I pitched them on doing
a piece of high quality
content. These are the
links we got.

60. Client Had Been Buying Links
@dohertyjfLinks were much better.
I pitched them on doing
a piece of high quality
content. These are the
links we got.
DA90
DA89

61. Client Had Been Buying Links
@dohertyjf
Their backlink profile
has leveled out.
This is old.

62. Client Had Been Buying Links
@dohertyjf
And their organic traffic is up almost 100% in a year and a half. We now
have buy-in to do 4 more big pieces of content.

63. Pitch A Test

64. Metrics

65. Some Metrics Are Standard
@dohertyjf

66. Some Are Not
@dohertyjf
https://twitter.com/randfish/status/33381936123832729
6

67. Metrics Marketers Report On
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
YoY Increase in Traffic
Direct Conversions by Channel
Influenced Conversions by
Channel
Competitor Trends

68. Metrics Marketers Report On
@dohertyjf
YoY Increase in Traffic
Direct Conversions by Channel
Influenced Conversions by
Channel
Competitor Trends
“What metrics does
your boss care
about?”

69. Projections

70. Creating Good Projections
@dohertyjf
((Metric Increase)*(Conversion %)*(Value Per
Visit)) – ((hours)*(hourly rate))

71. SEO Projections
@dohertyjf
((Potential Traffic) *(Value Per Visit)) –
((hours)*(hourly rate))

72. Your best data comes from your own
Analytics.
@dohertyjfEcommerce Tracking for Google in GA

73. Example
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
Client wants to grow their site by $250k in
revenue this year. They convert at 1.71% from
organic traffic at $5.68/visit.
$250,000 = 44,000 new
visitors.

74. Example
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
Client wants to grow their site by $250k in
revenue this year. They convert at 1.71% from
organic traffic at $5.68/visit.
$250,000 = 44,000 new
visitors.
Is this possible?

75. Example
@dohertyjfWhat Channels Convert Best (GA Page)
We need some help.

76. How You Pitch or Deliver
Work Makes A Difference

77. Primary Point of Contact
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
Email – gets things done quickly, builds trust
Spreadsheets with documents for communicating data
Phone calls to answer questions a few days later (also keeps your
recommendations top of mind)

78. Director Level
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
Powerpoint for presenting a business case
Phone calls and meetings for followup
Clear call to action at the end (even if none)

79. Executive Suite
@dohertyjfJohn Doherty
Powerpoint - for presenting a business case
PRESENT IN PERSON
Clear the presentation with your POC/Director first.

80. In Conclusion

81. Thanks.
Any questions?
JOHN DOHERTY
John.doherty@distilled.net
@dohertyjf