7 Mistakes Marketing Leaders Make When Proving ROI to the C-Suite (and How to Avoid Them)

Growth Activated | The B2B Marketing Leadership Podcast

#28 - Few conversations are more high-stakes for a B2B marketing leader than proving ROI to the C-Suite. Nail it, and you win trust, credibility, and budget. Miss the mark, and you risk being seen as a cost center instead of a growth driver.

In this episode of Growth Activated, host Mandy Walker shares seven mistakes marketing leaders make when proving marketing ROI to executives — and exactly how to avoid them. Drawing on her experience leading teams from $1M to $750M in revenue, Mandy reveals the pitfalls that derail even seasoned CMOs and VPs, and how to reframe your ROI conversations to strengthen executive alignment and support.

You’ll learn how to:

• Avoid poor data hygiene that undermines marketing metrics and trust
• Give the right context before showing results to the C-Suite
• Define marketing attribution in a way Sales and Finance will stand behind
• Show ROI without pitting Marketing and Sales against each other
• Calculate ROI the way your CFO expects
• Move beyond vanity metrics to business outcomes
• Prove incrementality — the true lift your marketing delivers

Whether you’re a CMO, VP, or aspiring leader, this episode will help you master boardroom presentations and earn the credibility every marketing leader needs at the highest levels.

If you’re heading into planning season and want to strengthen your executive presence while building a marketing strategy that gets buy-in from the C-Suite, check out Mandy’s Lead Like a CMO program at growthactivated.com.

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1. Welcome to Growth Activated & Episode Overview (00:00:00)

2. Why Marketing ROI Conversations Fail (00:01:47)

3. Marketing ROI Mistake #1: Poor Data Quality & Hygiene (00:02:13)

4. Marketing ROI Mistake #2: Skipping Context Before Numbers (00:04:33)

5. Marketing ROI Mistake #3: Unclear Marketing Attribution (00:05:54)

6. Marketing ROI Mistake #4: Pitting Teams Against Each Other (00:07:11)

7. Marketing ROI Mistake #5: Fuzzy Cost Calculations (00:08:55)

8. Marketing ROI Mistake #6: Leading with Vanity Metrics (00:10:22)

9. Marketing ROI Mistake #7: Ignoring Incrementality (00:11:34)

10. Recap & Key Takeaways (00:14:22)