Banter with Billy

How to Get a Non-Believing CEO to Understand Marketing Attribution with Rand Fishkin

Envy Season 1 Episode 23

Convincing a CEO that marketing matters (without perfect attribution data) can feel impossible. In this conversation, I asked Rand Fishkin, co-founder of SparkToro, why most attribution models mislead, what to measure instead, and how to reframe the conversation so leadership actually listens.

You’ll learn:
Why “proving” marketing through attribution is often a trap
How to shift from attribution to lift-based measurement
The one conversation to have before investing in brand, PR, or events
How competitor actions can be your secret weapon in budget discussions
Practical metrics for showing impact in long B2B sales cycles

If your CEO only trusts Google and Facebook dashboards, this is your playbook for changing their mind.