For me, the foundation was basic marketing skills. Building funnels. Understanding how people navigate through your funnel. Then, when it became available, I made sure to get better at the technical aspects, to the point of getting certified.

I first learned how to run AdWords, how to create a convincing landing page and write sales copy. Those skills are still very much needed in marketing automation (maybe not AdWords, but it helps if you understand where your traffic is coming from).

When marketing automation platforms swung around, I dove into specific platforms to learn more about them. For Salesforce Pardot, which I’d never used before, I studied for two weeks using the online materials and a training instance provided by an agency I was working with (as a freelancer).

From there on out, clients would hire me based on my experience in marketing automation – that was enough. I learned to work with Eloqua that way. I didn’t that much about it when I started the job, but since I had the principles of marketing automation nailed down, I quickly caught on to the software and was able to help the client take steps forward and train their team.

In short, if you understand the strategies of funnel marketing and customer journey focused content marketing, marketing automation tech is just buttons and features you need to learn.

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Henrik Becker

Marketing Automation Consultant