In the most recent episode of Taking The Lead, Go Nimbly’s Vice President of Marketing, Lorena Morales sat down with Christina Brady to discuss a number of topics, including a discussion on empowering women through leadership. A few of the quick highlights in this article:
- Immigrating to another country and becoming extremely successful in business are two very difficult tasks that can only be accomplished by those willing to make the sacrifices, especially when they are done together
- Lorena Morales, Go Nimbly’s Vice President of Marketing, immigrated from Mexico and has been establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with ever since
- Lorena shares valuable insights on her path to success, marketing pitfalls, and proper preparation for tool investments
Being a woman in a foreign country would be a struggle for anyone. Lorena Morales has managed to tackle any of those doubts and fears, while also breaking glass ceilings for women and immigrants alike through becoming the Vice President of Marketing at the first revenue operations consultancy, Go Nimbly.
She was able to share some of her story and what she has learned throughout her journey during her conversation with Christina.
Lorena Morales: A Story About Bravery and Heart
Lorena discussed her life story with Christina and especially emphasized the internal transformation that she had while learning to live in a new country. “I am an immigrant. I am Mexican. I’ve been in the Bay area for over ten years now. I had to work in a lot of companies, all sizes, all industries. And that’s what makes me what I call now a master generalist.” Her scrappiness and willingness to do anything and everything is what got her to her current position as Vice President. However, it also shaped the way that she assimilated into the American way of life.
“I think the idea of coming to a country that is not mine, where I needed to change everything, from the way I eat to the way I laugh to the way I understand business, shaped me quite a bit. But, I took the opportunity of a lot of ‘NOs’ and a lot of rejection that I heard. And, that’s how I am here.”
Right decisions are tough sometimes. Lorena’s personal and professional life has been made of tough yet right choices. “Every single thing was a decision because I could have been in Mexico and I could have had an easy job, a normal relationship, in a normal country with my car and a nice apartment. But I decided to come without anything, no friends, nothing. I think what makes me proud is that I know every single thing was a conscious decision.”
The Biggest Marketing Pitfall is The Lack of Openness
As the Vice President of Marketing for Go Nimbly, Lorena is more than familiar with all of the problems that naturally arise within marketing. The biggest pitfall that Lorena sees is from “focusing on everything, and you end up focusing on nothing.”
In her 11 years of marketing experience, she has seen the role of the marketing department shift from supportive to strategic. “Marketing is going to own a revenue number, and we were not trained to do that. I think one of the main pitfalls is the lack of openness from the marketer to say, ‘Okay, you have to start transitioning to almost be an AE in order to understand your funnel.’ Because there’s no other way, even if you meet with sales every single day, if you don’t go with them, if you don’t take a couple of prospecting calls, if you don’t listen to the calls after that, there’s no other way to have the information to be effective.”
Unlike sales roles, marketing has numerous functions that are almost impossible to be performed exclusively by one person. To ensure that everything is done to the best it can be, prioritize a culture of openness within the marketing department. Doing so will allow you to slowly shrink your list of to-dos, facilitating a more stable foundation for prioritizing marketing tasks.
Before You Invest in a Tool, Take a Minute to See If You Have Everything Prepared
With the rapid growth of technology paired with the rising demands for the newest and best tech tools, it is easy to forget the work that needs to be done beforehand. Lorena believes that one of the biggest issues obtaining new tools is the lack of preparation that goes into the ongoing process of using and managing the documentation and tools.
Lorena says, “A lot of people don’t even talk about documentation. But if you don’t do it, and it is almost as a need, and it becomes a part of the culture, then there’s no way that you can bring an administrator. Take a minute or two, step back, and see if you have the processes in place and all the documentation ready. […]
So, before you invest in the tool, per se, please take a minute and see if you have the processes in place that are repeatable, understandable, and digestible. Otherwise, you are not ready to get something as sophisticated as that.“
As an example, Lorena mentions CRM as one of the most beneficial yet most massive platforms that help organizations. “CRM is so massive that at the end, you keep thinking that it’s a tool problem, when, in reality, it’s a user problem. Most organizations go into a tool, pay the money, and they don’t have the right person to manage it, or they don’t know how to manage it as the company grows.” In order to get the most value out of investments in tools and technology, ensure that there is a working understanding from those who will be using said tool.
This article is based on an episode of Sales Assembly’s podcast, Taking The Lead, which features top female B2B Tech Revenue Leaders, VCs, Advisors, and Icons. Bi-weekly episodes dive into a tactical topic to help listeners (regardless of gender or seniority level) learn how to be better, faster, and smarter as they navigate the craziness of the Revenue world within B2B Tech.
