Marketing ROI for Boardroom Presentations

I've sat through hundreds of board meetings. They don't care about your marketing metrics. They care about whether marketing makes money. That means knowing what to measure, and how to present it. So what do the best CMOs actually report on? → Revenue: new vs returning, not just total → Returning customer revenue: cohort view, not monthly snapshot → New customers: tracked against investment, not in isolation → Investment: fully loaded, not just media spend → LTV:CAC: with time horizons, not a single ratio → CAC: trend over time, not a point-in-time number → CAC breakdown: paid vs organic, with risk profile → LTV: on a margin basis, not revenue basis → LTV drivers: retention, frequency, AOV decomposed This is the operating system. Full breakdown in the PDF → * * * I spent 25 years learning how boards actually think about growth. Now I'm sharing the slides that get marketing a seat at the table. Get them here: https://bit.ly/4qkLEuE

"$4M budget rejected." I stared at my 47-slide deck. Perfect metrics. Glowing testimonials. Wrong language: Next quarter later, I cut it to 3 numbers: - $2.1M saved - $800K accelerated - $1.2M expanded Budget approved in 90 seconds. Here's the $4M lesson I learned about speaking executive: They don't buy results. They buy return. Your "customer love" is their "so what?" Your "engagement spike" is their "show me money." Your "product magic" is their "prove the math." Last week, a founder showed me his board deck: "Our NPS hit 87!" "Time in app up 47%!" "Viral coefficient at 1.3!" His funding got cut. Here's the brutal truth about metrics: Happiness doesn't get funded. Revenue does. The translation guide that saved my career: Instead of "Customer satisfaction?" Say "Churn prevention: $1.7M" Instead of "Product adoption?" Say "Expansion revenue: $800K" Instead of "Market buzz?" Say "Pipeline acceleration: $2.1M" The data didn't change. The story did. Because in the boardroom, there are no feelings. Only figures. Stop sending love letters to the CFO. Send profit warnings instead. That's how you get their attention.

Your influence in the board room and executive team is 90% communication with measurable examples. The words you use can make or break you. Naturally, I've been compiling a list of "instead of saying this, say this" with measurable results. Many are based on my gotcha moments where I've failed miserably at explaining what marketing does. I've said things like: “We’re increasing brand awareness.” “Our demand generation efforts are working.” “We’re improving our SEO strategy.” Every marketing leader has said some version of these. The problem? Nobody in the boardroom or executive team cares about (or understands) marketing buzzwords. They care about revenue, efficiency, and business impact. Let's flip the script. I've compiled a list of marketing-speak and translated these statements into terminology a room full of non-marketers would understand. And bonus, I've included the right metrics to back them up. Example: 🚫 Don’t say: “We’re generating a lot of leads.” ✅ Say this instead: “We’re bringing in people who are actually interested in buying.” 📊 Measure it with: Organic Traffic, Demo Requests, MQL-to-SQL Conversion Rate I put together a full table of these translations and a template so you can ensure your marketing efforts land in the boardroom. I'll share the list and other communication tips this weekend in my newsletter, but if you just want the table. Let me know. Drop a “TABLE” in the comments, and I’ll send it over.

Selling to leadership is tough. Learn to speak finance, and everything changes. (This works for both B2B sales and internal pitches.) Speak the language of financial metrics and business impact, and you’ll earn buy-in. Whether you’re pitching a product, service, or internal idea, this skill makes you a trusted partner to decision-makers. Want to dive deeper? Download my free guide “10 Levels of Profitability” here: https://bit.ly/40pY3CQ Here’s why: Executives don’t want fluff. They need to know *how* your solution or proposal will impact their business financially. Here’s how to make your pitch resonate: 1️⃣ Talk Margins, Not Just Savings ↳ Show how your solution improves gross, operating, or net profit margins. Make it clear how it improves topline or streamlines processes to ultimately add value to the bottom line. 2️⃣ Connect to Cash Flow ↳ Highlight how your solution will boost cash flow, not just the bottom-line. Smart executives prioritize cash flow over simple revenue increases or cost savings because it keeps the business stable and flexible. 3️⃣ Show ROI and Payback Period ↳ Present clear numbers on return on investment (ROI) and how quickly they’ll see a payback. Executives need to know when their investment will yield results. 4️⃣ Impact Key Financial Ratios ↳ Explain how your proposal enhances key metrics like ROE (Return on Equity), ROA (Return on Assets), or EBITDA. This demonstrates that you understand their financial framework and how your solution strengthens it. 5️⃣ Talk Risk Management ↳ Show that you’ve considered potential downsides. Demonstrate how your proposal mitigates financial risk and supports long-term stability—not just quick gains. Why this matters: 1️⃣ You Stand Out ↳ Most sales pitches and internal proposals focus on benefits. When you speak in terms of financial strategy and impact, you differentiate yourself. 2️⃣ You Build Trust ↳ Speaking their language shows you understand their challenges, priorities, and goals. 3️⃣ You Become Indispensable ↳ When you can prove your solution impacts key business metrics, you shift from being just another vendor or team member to a trusted advisor. If you want to learn finance strategy to elevate your pitch and proposals, join 3,000 learning with me here: https://bit.ly/famcol Remember: Learn to speak finance, and you’ll open doors that most can’t. ♻️ 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 to help someone else. And follow Oana Labes, MBA, CPA for more  

Marketing shows up in board meetings but often not in the way investors understand. Picture this youre there with dashboards, the lovely creative and all the metrics and they’re staring blankly. The double funnel for enterprise, the impressive traffic increases… great but what does it mean? Other times, we’re missing from the room altogether because we’ve failed to connect our work to commercial outcomes. If your CEO or PE partner is asking “What’s marketing doing?”… you’ve already lost the room. So if you want to be in the ‘room where it happens’ here’s what works instead: ✔ CAC/LTV (blended and by segment) ✔ Pipeline quality and efficiency(not just quantity) ✔ Brand lift / unaided awareness where measurable ✔ Journey and handoff diagnostics We don’t need to overcomplicate. But we do need to connect the dots to revenue, opportunity and retention in terms they understand. It’s not about simplifying things but about telling the right story and connecting to outcomes. If you want advice on your board presentation or driving growth I’d be happy to help. Good luck for this quarter everyone! #marketing #boardreporting #metrics #saas

Selling to the C-Suite? Here’s what they actually care about. Most reps blow the meeting before it even starts. Not because their product sucks... but because they show up sounding like a feature brochure with a pulse. When you’re in front of a C-level exec, you’ve got 30 seconds to prove: ✅ You understand their world ✅ You’re not here to waste time ✅ You can move the needle on what matters to them What that looks like, by title: 🧠 CEO – Growth + Risk ✖ Don’t pitch features. ✔ Show how you help them scale faster, cut risk, or hit strategic goals. 💬 “This helps teams like yours enter [X market] 3x faster - with fewer moving parts.” 💰 CFO – Cost + ROI ✖ “This will improve productivity” = fluff. ✔ Quantify ROI. Speak in margins, efficiency, risk reduction. 💬 “We reduced vendor cost 18% and freed 22 hours/month for [role].” 🛠 COO – Efficiency + Execution ✖ Don’t say “streamline.” Prove it. ✔ Show how you simplify ops, reduce friction, and speed up delivery. 💬 “We eliminate 4 handoffs in your process, cutting fulfillment time in half.” 📈 CRO – Pipeline + Predictability ✖ Don’t pitch dashboards. ✔ Show how you help them hit number faster - with fewer surprises. 💬 “We help reps close 12% more deals without changing your CRM.” 📣 CMO – Leads + Attribution ✖ Don’t promise “awareness.” ✔ Show how you help convert demand into real pipeline. 💬 “We cut cost per qualified lead by 38%... and proved it with revenue impact.” 👥 CHRO – Retention + Culture ✖ Don’t pitch “engagement.” ✔ Tie your solution to retention, onboarding, or team performance. 💬 “Your reps ramp 30% faster...and stay longer because the system supports them.” CIO/CTO – Security + Scalability ✖ Don’t ignore technical friction. ✔ Preempt risk and show how your tool fits their stack. 💬 “No extra infrastructure, fully SOC 2 compliant, and deployed in 48 hours.” CPO – Velocity + Adoption ✖ Don’t talk features to a feature owner. ✔ Show how you drive product adoption and roadmap execution. 💬 “Adoption jumped 44% in 3 months - because we removed friction at the edge.” You’re not selling your product. You’re selling outcomes to people with power, pressure, and no patience. 👇 Which C-level convo are you prepping for next? — 📬 Want access to practical sales resources and advice from top sellers every day? Subscribe here: SalesDaily.co

Preparing for my first board meeting as Gusto's Head of Marketing was painful. I felt lost, scared and self-conscious. I wish I had a playbook for navigating the board. So I put one together. Here's my 3C framework—everything CMOs need to nail the board meeting: The biggest mistakes I made when I first started presenting to the board: - Going too high level or too tactical - Not connecting marketing actions to company impact - Not being able to go deep on the numbers - Not showing innovation and vision In a nutshell your goal is to position marketing as a strategic growth lever. This is hard. Most board members come from finance, product or sales. Meaning few actually understand marketing. The 3C framework—Communication, Content and Context—bridges the gap: COMMUNICATION 1. Speak English, not Marketing. Maintain simple, clear language. No jargon. Marketing is complex. You have to simplify to get through. Limit yourself to ~5 slides. 2. Be consistent & repetitive across meetings Restate your goals every time. Use the same slide format and dashboards. Constantly changing how you talk about marketing is a sign you don't have a handle on things. 3. Elicit their help Board members want to help. You don't need to have all the answers. Think in advance: where do you want their input? What can they help you with? CONTENT 1. Define clear objectives upfront I recommend 3 evergreen ones for CMOs: - Pipeline | To hit current revenue targets - Awareness | To hit next year's revenue targets - Conversion | To drive overall efficiency and faster growth 2. Set metrics/initiatives for each objective - Pipeline | [$XX] in marketing-sourced ARR with self-serve and outbound. - Awareness | Engaged TAM = 25% with content academy. - Conversion | Lower CAC to 12 mo by increasing website conversion 3. Have a highlights and lowlights slide This helps you get credit for your wins and get ahead of problems. Being honest about what's not working gives the board a chance to help. It also shows you're a straight shooter, which builds trust. 4. Know your numbers These are smart people who care about the numbers. Know your program levers. Be prepared to go 3-4 layers deeper. Why is conversion down by 25%? Why can't you grow inbound faster? CONTEXT 1. Meet board members quarterly This helps you get on the same page ahead of the meeting. Share your strategy and educate if needed. But most importantly, ask for feedback! e.g. what do you want to see in the board meeting? What can I do better? 2. Ask your CEO for input The CEO often has a better understanding of the board and what's important to them right now. Align on where you should focus in this meeting. _ The best part of nailing this playbook? It earns you the right to invest in longer term initiatives that are hard to measure. Ahem, brand. By showing that you know how to connect your work to revenue, the board will trust you to take bigger bets with a longer revenue payback.

CMOs seem terrified of boards. Here are some tips on how to handle board meetings as a CMO, from a former VC now current founder + board member (my own and portfolio companies) I get it! Until I served on boards myself, they seemed scary. “Important” and impressive people who seemed to know everything and have zero tolerance for subpar performance. Before even getting into the specifics, a few things to remember: 1️⃣ They are just people! Treat them like people, not a screen to present to. 2️⃣ Many of them have never been on the operating side. They have seen a lot of companies at numerous stages but at this moment, you know more about your role and your company than they do. 3️⃣ They are hearing from tons of companies all the time so unless you are exceptionally good or exceptionally bad, what you say/do is likely to be unmemorable (it's just the truth) Now for some practical tips… 📈 Boards care about results not activity. That’s lovely that you launched 4 campaigns and sequenced 37,000 prospects this quarter. What did it produce? TIP: Here’s how to frame this - "This quarter the GTM team generated 72 new opportunities. Fully loaded CAC was $3200 which is 10% less than last quarter. The primary sources that influenced net new pipeline were events and content. We've seen a 40% decrease in ad conversion so we cut that budget 50% and deployed it into content which helped increase conversion and decrease CAC." 🧪 Experiments are great but frame them as such and back them up with the "why" and data if you have it TIP: Here's how to frame this - "We are experimenting with influencer marketing. Our hypothesis is that we can increase awareness among 3 specific ICP cohorts and then convert via our events and content channels that are already working. We tested with 5 influencers and got 1.2m organic impressions, 1234 engagements, and have 14 open opportunities attributed." 🤓 Investors are really interested to hear what you're seeing on the ground level so share what you're seeing that is interesting, potentially non-intuitive, or timely. TIP: Here's how to frame this - "In the past 6 months we and other similar marketing teams are seeing on average a 50%+ reduction in organic traffic and team dollars and time is being shifted to AEO efforts to counteract and be early to a new channel. We have been able to increase traffic from LLMs 4x by re-writing our top performing content in more Q&A format." ❓ Anticipate their questions and come prepared with strong answers. It makes it look like you're on top of your sh$t and gives them confidence in you and the team. TIP: Here's how to do this - You know where the weak pieces or potential holes are, for each anticipated question come up with an appendix slide that directly addresses it. When the question comes up, jump to that slide and run through your explanations. It's a pro move. Lots more but will do part 2 later :) Share any of your pro tips for dealing with boards too!

Real life conversation between the CFO and the marketing team, happening in every company today…💬 CFO: “We need to be more efficient with our marketing spend. Times are tough. Show me what’s working, what’s not, and what we can cut.” Head of Marketing: “Define working. Are we talking last-click attribution, pipeline acceleration, brand lift, or the time our CEO wanted to copy everything our competitor did?” CFO: “Enough with your smoke & mirrors. I’m talking cash. Dollars in. Dollars out. Revenue, like the good ol’ days.” Head of Marketing: “Ah yes, the mythical straight-line ROI. Right next to unicorns, ‘the nurture sequence’, and the frictionless funnel.” CFO: “Cute. But seriously. There’s a reason why marketers are the first to feel the squeeze when times are tough. If we’re spending $50K on paid social and $50K on trade shows, I want to know what performs better. Is that too much to ask?” Head of Marketing: “Then let’s build a comparison table. Apples to apples. Each marketing activity, its expected ROI, ramp time, risk level, and how fast we can pull the plug if it flops.” CFO: “I like tables. And apples. And plugs that can be pulled.” Head of Marketing: “Perfect. Let’s treat marketing like what it actually is, a portfolio of investments. Some are low-risk bonds (hello, branded search). Others are high-risk, high-reward bets (looking at you, Liquid Death wanna-be B2B companies).” CFO: “So you’re saying... we diversify? We optimize? And we monitor the portfolio like grown-ups?” Head of Marketing: “Jokes aside. I can’t believe we didn’t have this conversation sooner. Appreciate you reaching out.” Marketing shouldn’t be treated as one big, uniform function where every tactic or channel is expected to perform the same way, be measured the same way, or deliver the same results. It’s a diversified portfolio of bets, each with its own return profile, ramp time, and risk. Before it’s too late, get aligned with your finance team. Build the comparison chart and make smarter, sharper investments that everyone has more confidence in 🤘🏻

If you want execs to take product marketing seriously… Stop talking in open rates. Start talking in revenue 💰 The best PMMs don’t just ship assets. They surface leverage. You want to earn a seat at the table? Start showing up with insights like: 📈 “Our closed-won rate is 3x higher in this segment - why aren’t we focusing more here?” 🆚 “We’re losing to [Competitor X] in 60% of head-to-head deals - here’s what we can do about it.” 📉 “This drop in [Product Y] usage signals NRR risk, these accounts are likely to churn within 90 days.” PMM isn’t just about go-to-market execution. It’s about influencing the bets the business makes. The language of PMM should be the language of growth, retention, and competitive advantage. That’s when execs start listening...and thinking "Oh sh*t, this person is actually thinking strategically about the business" That’s when PMM becomes indispensable.