How to become a successful and fulfilled modern marketer by Abigail Dixon

The purpose of this book is to be a practical, reflective and thought-provoking guide for marketers, to provide them with a holistic view of the technical skills, soft skills and personal understanding a marketer needs to have a successful and (more importantly) fulfilled career in today’s rewarding yet challenging industry.

In line with this holistic view, from me as a marketer to you as marketers, I make use of some models, but in the main this book contains practical advice on what good marketing looks like and advice and tips on how to implement it. The book also contains thoughts, reflections and advice from other marketers and marketing leaders in the industry.

The goal of this book is to empower and inspire you – the marketer – to feel able and inspired to lead your own career, your team, your business and your brand, and the commercial agenda and growth of your organization.

The concept of the ‘whole marketer’ is broken down into three key elements, which are reflected in the three units within the book.

Unit 1: Technical Skills is about the key competencies required to be at the forefront of today’s industry and profession. It reflects the role marketing should be playing as the function or team that is leading and delivering the commercial agenda of the organization. It provides a holistic view of all technical skills and the latest tools and approaches.

Unit 2: Soft Skills and Leadership Skills looks at other skills required by marketers and those who lead organizations and marketing functions. The soft skills covered are marketer focused – those that I witness in marketers who have a deep-rooted understanding of their customers, and those that can help to bring plans to life and to the market. This unit also examines the behaviours and traits desired of marketing leaders. It gives practical advice on how to lead, develop and motivate a team, from providing clarity through vision and setting a capability framework to developing plans and providing support.

Unit 3: Personal Understanding focuses on you as a human, a person and an individual. It encourages you to understand who you are and what you live for, but also what you value and need on a deep-rooted level to feel motivated and fulfilled. It explores how you can gain clarity on what you want and your goals, but also what may be holding you back, any negative beliefs you carry and how to overcome them. We will also look at the mindset required to make these goals a reality and some daily principles you can use.