Remember the <strong>in</strong>terview scene from Wolf of Wall Street, <strong>in</strong> which Leonardo Dicaprio asks candidates <strong>to</strong> sell him a pen? Now, what does that scene stand for? <strong>The</strong> forty-five seconds scene perfectly portrays the key attribute a marketer requires; an ability <strong>to</strong> <strong>in</strong>trigue. In the field of market<strong>in</strong>g, evok<strong>in</strong>g the buy<strong>in</strong>g emotion of a cus<strong>to</strong>mer by <strong>in</strong>trigu<strong>in</strong>g is the absolute purpose. Whether you are sell<strong>in</strong>g a pen or a billion-dollar cruise, you must know how <strong>to</strong> make the process of sell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g. However, impress<strong>in</strong>g personnel of different ages, <strong>in</strong>terests, and emotions <strong>in</strong> a s<strong>in</strong>gle product is quite a challenge, isn’t it? Comprehend<strong>in</strong>g the potential cus<strong>to</strong>mer and need of the hour paves its way here. Someone with these capabilities can be a successful marketer. But becom<strong>in</strong>g a world’s lead<strong>in</strong>g marketer demands an unwaver<strong>in</strong>g and evolv<strong>in</strong>g vision beyond all. With the idea <strong>to</strong> exhibit the <strong>in</strong>spir<strong>in</strong>g journey and <strong>in</strong>sights of some of the world’s most <strong>in</strong>fluential CMO’s, Insights Success proudly presents an exclusive edition of ‘<strong>The</strong> <strong>10</strong> <strong>Influential</strong> <strong>Market<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong>Leaders</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>watch</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>2019</strong>’ Driven with the perception, ‘In market<strong>in</strong>g, there aren’t markets - there are only buyers’, and embedded with the perfect blend of above mentioned abilities, a marketer for life, Chandar Pattabhiram, CMO of Coupa Software, is the cover feature of our special issue. In his extensive career, he has held market<strong>in</strong>g leadership roles at startups like Cast Iron and Badgeville, fast-growth public companies like Coupa and Marke<strong>to</strong>, and some of the largest and most successful global companies like IBM. <strong>The</strong> remarkable contribution he brought <strong>to</strong> the market<strong>in</strong>g table at all of these companies is recognized by prom<strong>in</strong>ent social platforms across the world <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g L<strong>in</strong>kedIn. In June 2017, Chandar was recognized by L<strong>in</strong>kedIn as one of the <strong>to</strong>p 5 CMOs <strong>in</strong> the world <strong>to</strong> follow for thought-leadership <strong>in</strong> the digital market<strong>in</strong>g doma<strong>in</strong>. First Little Steps As Chandar co<strong>in</strong>s it, an <strong>in</strong>fluential leader is a comb<strong>in</strong>ation of tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g and DNA -- it requires a natural gene for their function, and a passion for it. Some people are born want<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> be doc<strong>to</strong>rs, some lawyers, others eng<strong>in</strong>eers. For Chandar, it was his <strong>in</strong>terest <strong>in</strong> a range of activities, from advertis<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>to</strong> public speak<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>to</strong> theater, that helped forge his path <strong>in</strong> market<strong>in</strong>g. Early <strong>in</strong> his life, a family member shared an important piece of advice that shaped his career <strong>in</strong> market<strong>in</strong>g: “perception is reality.” He learned early <strong>in</strong> his career that a CMO doesn’t have <strong>to</strong> - and probably shouldn’t - be the best at everyth<strong>in</strong>g but needs <strong>to</strong> be know how <strong>to</strong> br<strong>in</strong>g everyth<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong>gether. <strong>The</strong> job is like a conduc<strong>to</strong>r and his orchestra. It is about br<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong>gether the best <strong>in</strong>strumentalists that are masters at their craft and empower<strong>in</strong>g them <strong>to</strong> excel and produce a harmonized hymn that ultimately achieves your objectives <strong>to</strong>gether. Hence, as a market<strong>in</strong>g leader he strives <strong>to</strong> spot and cultivate <strong>to</strong>morrow’s leaders by identify<strong>in</strong>g the candidates that reflect the core values and attributes that make up <strong>to</strong> the team’s culture. Be<strong>in</strong>g a team player, Chandar claims, “As a marketer, you have <strong>to</strong> market your company and the product, of course, but you also have <strong>to</strong> market your team’s work effectively. You can do a lot of market<strong>in</strong>g activities and look busy, but ultimately you want <strong>to</strong> focus on the ones that move the needle and then market those w<strong>in</strong>s effectively.” Enrich<strong>in</strong>g Experiences Beneath the surface of almost every great success s<strong>to</strong>ry are s<strong>to</strong>ries of failures that have laid the foundation. Chandar recalls an experience at Cast Iron Systems where he learned about the challenges of not crystaliz<strong>in</strong>g product market fit. Despite hav<strong>in</strong>g a groundbreak<strong>in</strong>g product (the first appliance offer<strong>in</strong>g for <strong>in</strong>tegration), the team of marketers did not f<strong>in</strong>d early traction because of product market fit: the differentiat<strong>in</strong>g attribute for market<strong>in</strong>g was simplicity, but the cus<strong>to</strong>mer was Fortune <strong>10</strong>0 companies look<strong>in</strong>g for comprehensiveness, not simplicity. It turned out they were try<strong>in</strong>g <strong>to</strong> sell an iPod <strong>to</strong> a buyer look<strong>in</strong>g for large professional-grade stereo systems <strong>to</strong> run concerts. Upon the <strong>in</strong>ception of SaaS and Cloud markets dur<strong>in</strong>g this timeframe, the team quickly discerned that it is not the Fortune 500 but the “Unfortunate 5000”- the
“ Never confuse effort with results.