Selling the Marketing Dream to Non-Marketers

Are You Misselling Marketing Or Are You Building From The Ground Up?

Welcome back to Marketing Unfiltered with newsletter #2.

A big thank thank you for all of the great feedback from Harry’s first article If Marketing dies it’ll be assisted suicide.
Remember if you want to discuss any of these articles you can hit reply.

Diving into this week’s offering: we have Radmila tackling how Marketers need to sell (or resell in many cases) Marketing to non-marketers.

Selling the Marketing Dream to Non-Marketers

Marketing is one of those professions everyone has an opinion on, yet few truly understand. It’s the department expected to juggle everything from driving sales leads to organising the office Christmas party, often without getting a proper seat at the table for crucial business decisions. For B2B marketers, the pressure to deliver measurable outcomes, particularly leads, can make the job feel like a balancing act of impossible demands.

If you’re in marketing, you know the drill. You’re inundated with requests from sales teams, all wanting one thing: leads. Sales targets loom over everyone, and while the sales team is on the front lines, it’s the marketers who must fill the pipeline. “We need more leads!” is the constant refrain. And it’s not just any leads; they have to be high-quality, ready to convert.
CMO Coach Danny Denhard points out,
“There’s a positioning problem for many B2B marketing departments… are you a marketing team or sales enablement team? I’d be surprised if the true answer isn’t sales+ enablement.”

Marketing isn’t just about leads, though many non-marketers assume it is. This oversimplification misses the mark on the broader role of marketing—building relationships, creating value, and fostering trust over time. Occasionally, it’s even reduced to tasks like organising the Christmas party. Yes, the Christmas party. Many of us have found themselves scouting venues for company events, while the strategy work is put on hold.

Explaining this to friends and family can be just as challenging. When you say, “I work in marketing,” they respond with, “Oh, so like advertising?” as if marketing is just about logos and adverts. Founder of Nomi, Lee Woodard paints a bleak picture:
“Marketing departments are going extinct... B2B will go first, as that’s where the execs are least educated about marketing and believe tech can fix everything.” 

So, what are the biggest pain points and challenges when working with non-marketing teams?

These questions sparked a heated debate with my fellow marketers last weekend, as captured in this recent poll. As you can see from the results, the biggest challenges B2B marketers face when working with non-marketing teams include unrealistic expectations for leads and results, a lack of understanding of the marketing process, and constant last-minute requests. Unrealistic demands for immediate outcomes topped the list, which comes as no surprise to anyone who has worked in B2B marketing.

It's clear that these pain points reflect the broader issues of misaligned expectations and the underappreciation of marketing’s long-term value.

Marketing in theory seems simple—promote products, research the market, and create strategies. But in reality, it's much more nuanced. We have to remain customer-focused at all times—the customer needs to be at the core of everything we do as marketers. Often, the business loses sight of this, but it’s essential because putting customers first drives better outcomes and sustainable growth. 

As marketers, we have to wear many hats: strategist, customer expert, copywriter, social media expert, designer, and even psychologist. Yet, we’re often expected to deliver results without the right tools or resources in place.

Take, for example, when the sales team requests an email pitch. You check the CRM, but it’s out of date. Sales haven’t logged customer data, yet when the pitch doesn’t perform, guess who gets the blame? As CMO Joe Bull, summarises,
“It’s the expectation of immediate results when the foundations—processes, people, product, brand—aren’t in place.”

Then there's the product side. Often, marketers are tasked with promoting a new service they weren’t consulted on during development. Decisions are made in boardrooms without marketing's input, leaving you to sell a product you might not believe in. CMO Nicola Anderson observed,
“We talk about sales and marketing alignment, but what’s often a bigger issue is product and marketing alignment.” 

Growth, growth and growth

Marketing teams are also expected to perform miracles on limited budgets. Boards demand quick wins. “Where’s the growth?” they ask, all while chasing the latest trend. Sometimes, the CEO’s teenage children suggest the latest social media platform, adding to the madness. The demand for immediate growth is relentless, but the resources to achieve it often fall short. 
CMO Kate Cox highlights how digital media costs have surged:
“Marketers suspect there will be no return to this era and need to get back to basics and have some tough discussions.”

The rise of digital platforms has added further complexity. New tools seem to appear overnight, and marketers are expected to be experts on all of them. If TikTok is trending, the board wants to know why you’re not on it. It’s relentless, the pressure to stay on top of every new trend while managing a packed workload.

Are we growth experts or storytellers?

Ultimately, marketing is about more than just pushing products—it’s about building connections. In B2B marketing, it’s about nurturing trust, not just quick sales.
Strategist Eddie Yoon puts it well:
“Marketing isn’t just about filling the pipeline; it’s about creating a brand that speaks to people, connects with them, and adds value.”

At the end of the day, marketing is about crafting stories, building experiences, and making connections. It’s hard work that requires creativity, business acumen, and adaptability. And while non-marketers may not fully appreciate it, marketers know: we’re not just selling the dream; we’re building it from the ground up, brick by brick.

Key Strategies to Bring Non-Marketers on Board

Despite the challenges, there are ways to bring non-marketing teams on board, turning potential friction points into productive collaboration. We can’t force others to fully understand the depths of marketing, but we can create opportunities for alignment, transparency, and even influence. By taking deliberate steps to include non-marketing peers early, communicate openly, and share the reasoning behind our strategies, we’re setting up a better working dynamic and reducing those last-minute demands. 

Here’s a practical approach to make that happen:

Engage Stakeholders Early in the Planning Process
Getting others on board from the outset is critical. By including key stakeholders in the early stages of planning, we can build trust and shared ownership. This not only fosters a sense of partnership but also ensures everyone’s clear on the goals and the direction. Marketing is less likely to feel like an afterthought when non-marketers are part of the journey from the beginning.

Share Key Decisions and Workflow Milestones
Transparency is essential. By keeping non-marketing peers informed about significant decisions and milestones, we help demystify the work and avoid misunderstandings. Sharing these updates can be as simple as a quick email or a project overview meeting, reinforcing that marketing has its own methodical process that supports larger business goals.

Seek Their Opinions on Key Decisions
Collaboration isn’t just about getting others to see things your way. Inviting input from non-marketing peers on pivotal choices shows respect for their expertise and makes them feel invested in the outcomes. This approach can provide fresh perspectives and improve buy-in, leading to smoother, more effective execution.

Conduct Broader Communication Exercises Across the Business
Don’t underestimate the value of keeping the entire organisation informed about your marketing plans. Whether it’s a quarterly briefing, an internal newsletter, or a quick team update, this communication helps colleagues understand marketing’s broader goals and contributions. This approach builds a foundation of trust and understanding, reducing the “quick fix” requests that come up when people are out of the loop.

Add a Rationale Section to Strategic Documents
A “why” section or appendix in strategy documents can go a long way. Including a brief explanation of your strategic thinking helps colleagues see the bigger picture and appreciate the reasoning behind your actions. It reinforces marketing’s role as a strategic driver, not just a tactical executor, and can clarify the long-term value marketing aims to create.

These few steps may seem straightforward, but collectively they create a more collaborative environment, breaking down barriers between marketing and other departments. By fostering open communication, we’re not only promoting marketing’s value but also setting the stage for more effective, sustainable growth across the business.

Marketing might often feel like a solo journey—one where we’re expected to wear countless hats, deliver immediate results, and balance the needs of various departments, all while shaping meaningful stories and building trust. But the reality is that marketing’s impact is strongest when the entire organisation is part of that journey. By proactively engaging our non-marketing peers, sharing our workflows and decisions openly, and inviting their input, we can bridge the gaps and foster real alignment. When we communicate our plans clearly and include the rationale behind our strategies, we move beyond just “filling the pipeline” or being seen as the “sales enablement team.” Instead, we position marketing as a core driver of growth, one that everyone can understand and rally behind. 

The result? A collaborative, informed, and committed team that shares in the vision and amplifies marketing’s influence across the business. In the end, we’re not just marketers—we’re connectors, bringing the company together to build something far more impactful than any of us could achieve alone.

Written by Radmila Blazheska, Chief Marketing Officer

Radmila Blazheska is a seasoned Chief Marketing Officer with extensive experience in scaling B2B businesses globally. As a CMO, she excels in developing data-driven marketing strategies that drive growth and optimise ROI. Radmila’s expertise includes digital marketing, branding, content strategy, and international expansion, particularly for technology and SaaS sectors. She has a track record of building strong marketing teams and executing innovative campaigns that resonate with global audiences. Her passion for using MarTech and digital marketing to enhance performance makes her a dynamic speaker in the marketing world.

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Danny, Harry, today’s writer Mila and upcoming contributors: Sophie, Nicola, Simon, John, Faisal, & Nick

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