You can't suggest dressing your CEO as a magician on day one. Build credibility with consistent, insightful content first. Once leadership sees anecdotal success, they become more open to creative risks that often perform best.
When pitching new marketing initiatives, supplement ROI projections with research demonstrating a clear audience need for the content. Framing the project as a valuable service to the customer, rather than just another marketing tactic, is a more powerful way to gain internal support.
Don't pitch big ideas by going straight to the CEO for a mandate; this alienates the teams who must execute. Instead, introduce ideas casually to find a small group of collaborative "yes, and" thinkers. Build momentum with this core coalition before presenting the developed concept more broadly.
To rapidly build influence and trust, commit to creating valuable content daily for a year with zero sales pitches. Focus solely on educating or entertaining. This counterintuitive approach bypasses the audience's natural aversion to ads and positions you as a genuine authority, leading to faster growth.
Technologists often fail to get project approval by focusing on specs and data. A successful pitch requires a "narrative algorithm" that addresses five key drivers: empathy, engagement, alignment, evidence, and impact. This framework translates technical achievements into a compelling business story for leadership.
When asked how marketers can drive storytelling in reluctant organizations, the speaker revealed his successful ads for Ramp weren't from a brief. He created the concepts, wrote the copy, and texted them directly to the founder. This proactive approach bypasses committees and demonstrates value, forcing a conversation about better marketing.
Use comments on others' LinkedIn posts as a low-risk testing ground for new content formats or edgier ideas. If a comment flops, the impact is minimal. If it succeeds, it validates the idea for a future post on your company's page, bypassing initial brand guardrails.
To get leadership buy-in for a new media project, use a two-step pitch. First, show a best-in-class example from another company to paint a clear vision of the desired outcome. Second, explicitly anchor your project to a core strategic narrative or go-to-market message for that quarter.
Bypass C-suite gatekeepers by interviewing lower-level employees who experience the problem daily. Gather their stories and pain points. Then, use this internal "insight" to craft a highly relevant pitch for executives, showing them a problem their own team is facing that they are unaware of.
Don't just hand your champion a perfectly polished soundbite or business case. The act of creating it together—getting their feedback, edits, and "red lines"—is what builds their ownership and conviction. This process ensures they internalize the message and can confidently sell it on your behalf.
PMs at founder-led startups often fail to gain influence by jumping straight to strategy. The key is to first earn deep credibility by mastering the product, its customers, and the business. Only after you've demonstrated this command will a founder trust your strategic instincts. Don't skip the tactical work of earning your seat at the table.