The Marketing Framework That Lets You Innovate Without Sacrificing ROI
LISTEN &
DOWNLOAD ON:
How do you encourage creative marketing campaigns while still hitting your pipeline targets? It's the question every marketing leader wrestles with, especially in field marketing where ROI is constantly under scrutiny.
In this episode of Spotlight on B2B Tech Marketing, host Karen Lloyd welcomes Joe Dotson, Director of EMEA Field Marketing at Infoblox, to explore how field marketing can transform from tactical execution to strategic partnership. With six years at Infoblox, Joe has developed frameworks that allow his team to innovate boldly while maintaining strict accountability to revenue goals.
From the "Patch Plan" strategy that aligns marketing with sales territories to the "Fail Forward" philosophy that dedicates 20% of time to experimentation, Joe shares his thinking and frameworks that have driven significant growth.
LISTEN TO
KAREN & JOE
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✔️ The "Fail Forward" approach: dedicating 20% of time to innovation while hitting 100% of targets
✔️ How to position field marketers as "mini CMOs" rather than just "the events people"
✔️ The follow-up framework that ensures no lead gets left behind after events
✔️ How to create "Patch Plans" that align marketing strategy with individual sales territories
✔️ Why thinking about follow-up BEFORE the event is the key to pipeline generation
✔️ How to break down sales-marketing silos by treating sales as your customer
✔️ Practical tactics for working across diverse regional cultures in EMEA
EPISODE OUTLINE AND HIGHLIGHTS
[00:01:24] - Achieving Growth Through Adaptability & Process
[00:05:05] - The Follow-Up Framework That Converts Events Into Pipeline
[00:08:35] - The "Mini CMO" Approach & Patch Plan Strategy
[00:13:32] - Creative Campaigns: Threat Actor Collectibles Case Study
[00:17:46] - Balancing Innovation with ROI: The 80/20 Rule
[00:22:17] - Breaking Down Sales-Marketing Silos
[00:26:29] - The Future of AI in Field Marketing
[00:29:19] - Final Advice for Marketing Leaders
FAIL FORWARD: THE 80/20 INNOVATION FRAMEWORK
The tension between creativity and accountability is marketing's eternal struggle. Joe's solution? Embrace both simultaneously through what he calls "Fail Forward."
"I encourage my team all the time to what I call fail forward. I want them to understand they have to hit their targets. We can't just be trying everything new left, right, and center. But if 20% of their time is spent trying something different, whether that is doing something creative, it's using a different agency, it's doing something that they've seen in B2C that they really want to try, then I really encourage that. Let's give it a go."
The framework is simple: 80% of activities are proven tactics that will reliably hit pipeline targets. The remaining 20% is dedicated to experimentation, trying new creative approaches, testing different vendors, or adapting B2C tactics to B2B contexts.
To facilitate this creative thinking, Joe runs an "Out of the Blocks Ideas" session at every team offsite. The prompt: If budget and resources weren't a problem, and you could do anything that still aligns with strategy and drives ROI, what would you do?
Examples have included turning threat intelligence research into collectible toys with trading cards, and creating a children's storybook to simplify complex cybersecurity messaging. Some ideas are too ambitious, but others, like the threat actor collectibles become reality and differentiate Infoblox in crowded trade show environments.
"The power, actually the great power of B2B marketing, especially now, is if you lean into the creative, but if you're thinking about ROI from the offset, you have the ability to have marketing not only be creative, fun, and impactful, but also showing tangible ROI from what we do."
This balanced approach prevents stagnation while maintaining the discipline needed to hit targets. It gives team members permission to innovate without sacrificing accountability, the holy grail of marketing leadership.
THE “PATCH PLAN” FRAMEWORK: ALIGNING MARKETING WITH SALES TERRITORIES
Joe's team has developed a systematic approach to ensuring field marketing directly supports sales goals rather than operating in a silo. The "Patch Plan" transforms field marketers from reactive order-takers into proactive strategic partners.
"Each of my field marketing managers sits down with each account manager at the start of the year... And they create what we call a patch plan for each and every account manager. So they look at that and they basically... sit down with the account manager, understand what their targets are from a numbers perspective, who their focus accounts are. We then go back out and analyze how many marketable contacts we have for each of those. And then from that, we then also look at what their vertical focus might be. And then we work with the channel marketing as well to understand where the focus partners might be."
This individualised approach means every account manager receives a customized marketing strategy that includes both digital marketing and events, all designed around their specific territory, target accounts, and vertical focus. The field marketing manager becomes the "mini CMO" for that region, thinking strategically about how to drive pipeline for those specific accounts.
The result? Sales teams see marketing as an essential partner rather than just the people who organize events. Field marketers gain strategic credibility. And marketing investments are directly tied to the accounts and deals that matter most.
KEY ADVICE FOR CEOS AND MARKETING LEADERS
Treat sales as your internal customer.
Marketing exists to provide leads that make sales successful. Just as you invest time understanding external buyers, invest equal energy understanding your sales team's targets, challenges, territories, and culture. When marketing deeply understands the sales business, the relationship transforms from transactional to strategic partnership.
Build systems, not just campaigns.
The unsexy truth: cadences and processes are what enable growth at scale. Implement follow-up frameworks that ensure pipeline thinking happens before activities, not after. Create regular sync rhythms between marketing and sales teams. Establish accountability mechanisms like post-event reviews and two-week follow-up calls. These fundamentals allow you to build innovation on top of a solid foundation.
Give permission to fail forward (with guardrails).
Dedicate 20% of your team's time to experimentation while maintaining 100% accountability to targets. Use exercises like "Out of the Blocks Ideas" to keep creative muscles flexed. The key is balancing innovation with ROI from the outset, not treating them as opposing forces. B2B marketing can be creative, fun, and impactful while still driving measurable business outcomes.
TODAY’S GUEST
Joe is an award-winning marketing leader with extensive experience in driving transformational change and building high-performing teams within the integrated Security & Networking industry. Known for developing and executing innovative, data-driven marketing strategies that deliver measurable growth and ROI.
Adept at aligning marketing initiatives with sales objectives, Joe has consistently achieved record-breaking results across the EMEA region. His background in B2B SaaS marketing equips him with a unique perspective on executing campaigns that generate tangible revenue and business impact. He is passionate about continuous improvement, leading with a focus on collaboration, and fostering a culture of innovation.
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn or find out more about Infoblox
OUR HOST
Karen Lloyd is a passionate marketing head-hunter and recruitment expert specialising in marketing and C-suite in B2B industries. With over 25 years of experience in the recruitment industry, Karen brings a unique depth of expertise that sets her apart from most recruiters.
Over her career, Karen has accumulated a wealth of experience that includes serving as a Board Director and being actively involved in growing a business for 13 years. Karen has been a part of five start-ups, giving her first-hand knowledge of the critical importance of hiring the right people.
Currently, Karen is the founder and Director of Armstrong Lloyd. She leads a very special team that partners with businesses and empowers them to build industry-leading marketing and sales teams for some of the most exciting B2B brands - from small, agile and disruptive start-ups to global giants providing a wealth of product and service offerings.
LATEST EPISODES OF THE SPOTLIGHT ON B2B MARKETING
