A one-day workshop for marketers to win the heart and mind of the boardroom

Did you know?

The average lifespan of a company in S&P500 has dropped from 65 years recorded in the 1920s to only 15 years today.

Of the 22 companies that performed most strongly each year between 1980 and 2001 only five still profitably exist today. It’s estimated that, by 2030, over 75% of the companies in the S&P 500 will be ones that we don’t know today.

Many chief executives believe that their marketers are not stepping up to the challenge as they lack the discipline and capabilities to drive profitable growth. Marketing Society

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The brutal reality

Let’s face it - the current business climate has made it difficult and complex for companies to expand.

To grow and survive, companies will need to be increasingly innovative, whilst simultaneously protecting their core business. Marketing is pivotal to delivering this.

But there is an inherent problem in the way that CEOs and other Board members perceive marketing.

Death in the boardroom

An unfortunate, but familiar scenario frequently plays out in the marketing profession. A team comes up with a breakthrough idea that could not only drive short term growth but also ensure long-term financial stability for the future. But once in the boardroom, it all falls apart, with members exposing cracks in the investment strategy where outcomes have not been clearly outlined or supported with adequate financial projections or relevant data. Defeat hangs heavy in the room, offset with blank stares and the demand to re-write plans again.

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Board games

It’s obvious when you think about it. The Board is charged with the responsibility to protect and manage the company successfully. So they tend to be analytical – they are focusing on shareholder value. Optimising the NPV of new initiatives, whilst minimising risk of projects failing leads to them being averse to risk. Pressure to grow the business here and now, as well as over time, means a short to medium term mindset. Marketers often enter into the boardroom with a naïve appreciation of this mindset, presenting and behaving in ways that reflect their own mindset. They believe a more creative approach is needed to build strong brands, drive through successful innovation and create effective marketing campaigns. Risk taking is important to them – in fiercely competitive markets they believe that risks have to be taken in order to reap rewards. And brands need time to deliver breakthrough innovation and to deliver step change growth. In the boardroom this attitude can cost them dearly. Who’s right and who’s wrong? No one is either right or wrong. But the marketer must recognise that the boardroom is not their territory. So within the boardroom you need to think like the Board in order to convince the Board.

“On Point” with the Board

The Board members of any company are invariably time starved. So to be commercially credible in the boardroom, marketers need to succinctly show how their marketing strategies will build shareholder value, by creating clear, compelling business cases that the Board can buy into. To achieve this marketers need to be “On Point” by being:

→ Commercial, in how their recommendations will drive business growth.

→ Credible, in how their financials will deliver a strong, sustainable return.

→ Concise, in their presentation writing and delivery.

→ Clear-cut, in their proposed requests and next steps.

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A one-day workshop for marketers to win the heart and mind of the boardroom.

Introducing a one-day workshop that will show marketers how to prepare and present their marketing strategies to the Board, in a way that will demonstrate shareholder value, by creating compelling business cases that the Board can buy into.

This means clear compelling business cases that are:

→ Commercial: delivering business growth.

→ Credible: with financials that will deliver a strong, sustainable return.

→ Concise: in preparation and presentation.

→ Clear-cut: with well-defined expectations of next steps

Who’s it for?

→ Senior marketers who present to the Board as part of their job.

→ Middle level marketers who create Board presentations for more senior marketers.

→ Board members who would like to understand the marketer’s perspective.

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What is the content of the workshop?

Time is money. When you have highly paid executives in a coaching session or training workshop there’s a lot of expensive overhead in the room. This means that high quality training and coaching that maximises the commercial success of the company is essential.

Hence our workshop content is designed to maximise every minute of the available time to the benefit of the delegates and the Company – our military instincts. Content is also designed to engage from the first utterance – our creative instincts.

Before the workshop

On Point involve delegates pre-workshop. Not only with administrative details but also with any necessary pre-work. So, when they walk in the door, they are ready to engage. A personalised pack is sent out, which contains:

→ All relevant administrative details.

→ The workshop rationale and personal relevance. Including a pre-agreed questionnaire on their current Board level presentation experience and what they need to achieve from the workshop.

→ A case study. Working on a case study will be a core part of the day. It will allow “live action” practice, presentation and feedback. The case study can be based on an existing case or a separate one not related to the company.

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On the day

We design all of our workshops to ensure engagement from the very start, training and coaching important skills across 4 interrelated areas.

The Board Mindset

Understanding the Board mindset, and the mind set that marketers need to have when in the boardroom.

The Board Recommendation

Constructing a concise Board recommendation that the Board can buy into, including a clear storyline outlining the recommendations, a compelling business case on why it’s important and clearly articulated next steps.

Selling to the Board

Getting Board buy-in before the Board meeting and on the day itself.

Keeping the Board on-board

Maintaining Board confidence once implementation has started by tracking in-market performance and, where necessary, course correcting quickly.

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The Board Mindset

Understanding the Board mindset, and the mindset that marketers need to have when in the boardroom.

→ The Board related issues that marketers face day to day (based on their pre-workshop questionnaire).

→ The differing mind sets of the Board and marketers – a facilitated session that defines the behaviours and outputs that the Board expects from marketers in the boardroom.

The Board Recommendation

How to construct a concise Board recommendation that the Board can buy into, including a clear storyline outlining the recommendations, a compelling business case on why it’s important and clearly articulated next steps.

→ How to write a succinct one-page storyline outlining the key recommendations and next steps.

→ How to build a compelling business case, backed up with robust data.

→ How to set out pragmatic recommendations and next steps.

Module 1

Module 2

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Selling to the Board

→ How to pre-sell the proposal into the Board prior to the Board meeting

→ How to present to the Board on the day.

Keeping the Board on-board

→ How to track in-market performance from day one.

→ How to present the results back to the Board.

→ If necessary, how to course correct quickly.

Module 3

Module 4

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After the workshop

Each delegate will be sent personalised follow-up material that will help to embed the workshop outputs into their working lives, as well as a follow-up questionnaire for them to let us know what they thought of the day.

Who runs the workshop?

The founding partners of On Point

Ruth Saunders

Ruth has many years of experience preparing and presenting marketing recommendations to the Board, gained from her unique background within management consultancies (McKinsey & Company and Prophet), marketing (Mars and Procter & Gamble) and marketing communications (Saatchi & Saatchi).

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“On Point” with On Point

We also offer one-on-one coaching to help individuals become more impactful in the boardroom or help them prepare a specific presentation that they need to make.

As well as run workshops across a range of other marketing topics, most with chosen specialists in a particular area to be On Point. These include:

→ Profitable marketing strategies

→ Actionable brand plans

→ Cross-channel communications

→ Marketing spend effectiveness

→ Customer experience

→ Marketing team performance

→ Agency relationships

To find out more please contact:Ruth Saunders 07768 600906 rsaunders@galleonblue.com