Presenting Your Case: A Guide to Persuading Your Boss to Invest in Your Marketing Future

business women at her computer talking with co-worker

As marketing continues to evolve, the need for effective and strategic marketing strategies has never been greater. As a marketing leader, you need the skills and mindset to drive growth and success for your organization.  

How You Benefit

The Chief Marketing Officer Leadership Program (CMO Leadership Program) will help you expand your thinking beyond traditional marketing boundaries to lead business transformation and growth. Here are just some ways you will gain value from the program: 

  • Apply a critical lens to data and consumer insights to ensure sound decision making.  
  • Gain practical approaches for building and maintaining a customer-centric organization. 
  • Learn the process of making strategy choices, defining mission, and prioritizing capabilities using a growth framework. 
  • Train AI tools to help you in audience research, brainstorming, writing, editing, and more. 
  • Propel yourself ahead of the curve while avoiding common marketing mistakes. 

How Your Organization Benefits

When your organization invests in your marketing skills development in the CMO Leadership program, it will see a return on investment with a multitude of positive benefits. 

  • You and your marketing team will be better equipped to respond quickly to changing market needs and customer demands.  
  • Reduced turnover and improved retention. 
  • Improved alignment between the organization’s and marketing department’s goals. Leaders like you are clear on what you need to do to drive the organization’s objectives.  
  • A more customer-centric organization and marketing strategy. 
  • The ability to think strategically and critically about new tools such as AI.

What CMO Graduates Say 

“Having the resource from a program like this allows me as a marketer to more strategically and more holistically evaluate where we are as an organization and identify the right opportunities and strategies for us to use.” Alex Sheridan, Director of Enrollment, Marketing and Financial Aid, Lake Forest Country Day School. 

“I considered other programs in the same circle of top universities. One of the things that really stood out to me about this particular program is that the instructors are actually the ones who did the research and they wrote and published the papers. I’m learning directly from those that studied the information.” Krenda Frushour, Blistex International Marketing Director.  

“I most enjoyed the diverse thought that goes into all of these discussions. People working on different business challenges than me but in so many ways they’re parallel. It helps me reframe my own business challenges and think about new ways to solve them.” Greg Bostrom, Head of Content, Carolina Panthers.  

“Many of the things I’ve taken away from this program aren’t brand new thoughts rather they’re ways to reposition some of the fundamentals that I already have.” Sally Scarbrough, Director Brand Partner Marketing, ULTA.  

Common Objections and Responses

1. Financial investment.  

Response: Investing in your professional development shows you want to succeed at your organization, and higher employee satisfaction and engagement typically results in higher productivity. In fact, your organization may see cost savings. Your improved decision-making skills will reduce the likelihood of making costly mistakes. It can also help reduce turnover, ultimately saving money in the long run. 

2. Time investment. 

Response: The program is structured in a way to minimize work disruption. Balancing time between the program and work responsibilities can help you improve your time management skills, which carries over into the office to improve your efficiency and productivity during and post program. Also, taking the time to step away from everyday work will allow you to return to the organization with a fresh perspective, new ideas, and improved skills – all benefits to the organization. 

3. The program content isn’t developed for our organization’s specific needs. 

Response: The CMO Leadership Program is designed to help you develop a broader understanding of business and marketing. All sessions in are built on a foundation of relevant research and then applied to real-world business challenges. You’ll deepen your understanding in critical business areas including strategic thinking, leadership, innovation, artificial intelligence, and brand purpose – all of which are relevant to your organization. 

4. You don’t need professional development. You can learn what you need on the job. 

Response: On-the-job learning can be limited by the specific tasks and responsibilities of your role. The CMO Leadership Program can provide a broader perspective and expose you to new ideas and strategies. Plus, you’ll connect with industry experts and thought leaders outside of your organization, which can help you stay current with marketing trends and best practices. 

5. There will be a loss of productivity while you attend the program. 

Response: The short-term loss of productivity during the program will be outweighed by the long-term benefits brought back to the organization. You’ll come back with new ideas and strategies that can improve efficiency and productivity not only for your team but for the entire organization. Plus, the CMO Leadership Program is designed to minimize time out of the office. Stepping away from the day-to-day responsibilities also allows you to practice delegation and provide stretch projects for other future leaders.  

Investing in your professional development through the Chief Marketing Officer Leadership Program results in positive ROI for your organization. It improves your engagement and performance, reduces turnover, enhances creativity, and develops you into a more effective marketing leader.  

Looking for a little extra help? Use our Convince Your Boss Letter template to prepare a letter or an email to your boss. Copy and paste and fill in the additional details unique to your situation and organization.   

Download the CMO Leadership Program Convince Your Boss Letter Template