The CMO’s Playbook for Fundraising and M&A

Some marketing leaders drop the ball when the stakes are the highest. Here's how to keep performance strong, lead with strategy, and prove you're the leader who can scale post-transaction

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Six exits. More fundraises than I can count. And in most cases, what started as a capital raise ended in an acquisition. The first time I went through the process, I was nervous. Not because I didn’t know the business, but because I didn’t know what to expect. I worried I’d say the wrong thing in a meeting (and then relive that moment forever in my head), or somehow jeopardize the investment we were counting on. But like anything, the more at-bats you get, the more you learn, and in this case, that meant what investors want to hear, what they don’t, and how to clearly articulate the ways marketing drives real, repeatable business results. Eventually, I grew from nervous participant to confident, prepared executive, someone who understood the assignment and knew how to deliver under pressure.

Then I switched sides. In my most recent role, I had the privilege of sitting across the table, listening to founders and executive teams as they pitched their vision, their momentum, and their future to potential investors. I watched closely as marketing leaders stepped into their role in those conversations. Some showed up strong. Others struggled to connect the dots between what they were doing and where the business was going.

These high-stakes moments reveal everything. They expose how tight your strategy is, how aligned your messaging is, and how well your GTM engine actually runs. And while finance and sales often get the spotlight, marketing plays a critical role, if you know how to step up and lead.

Keep the Engine Running

It sounds obvious. But I’ve seen it happen more times than I can count: a company enters a fundraise or M&A process, and the marketing leader gets swept into a swirl of pitch prep, investor meetings, and “quick asks” from the CEO, CFO, or investment bank partner. Suddenly, the campaign calendar stalls. Product launches slip. Pipeline slows. The engine that was firing on all cylinders sputters.

I’ve been there, lived that moment, and get it. It’s super easy to lose sight of the day-to-day, but you can’t pause execution just because the spotlight has shifted. That’s the moment the marketing performance matters the most.

Companies where marketing has been outperforming consistently suddenly miss their goals, simply because the marketing team took their eye off the ball. The CEO might nod along in the pitch meeting when you talk about momentum, but if that momentum stalls in real time? That becomes a problem.

When marketing underdelivers during a process, it raises questions:

1. Is the growth story real?

2. Is the GTM strategy scalable?

3. Is this the leader who can scale marketing post-transaction?

Because make no mistake: you’re not just helping to get new funding for the business. You’re being evaluated as a potential long-term leader. How you operate during a fundraise/M&A process says a lot about how you’ll lead under pressure, how you prioritize, and how well you understand the connection between strategy and results.

And don’t underestimate what’s happening with your team either. They are watching, and when you suddenly aren’t as available, the rumor mill starts spinning. This is the moment your team needs clarity and confidence from you. You won’t be able to tell them everything. But keep them engaged, continue to set clear priorities, and remind them that the work they are doing right now is what keeps the company moving forward. And that’s what makes an investment possible in the first place.

You have two critical jobs during a fundraising or M&A process:

1. Keep marketing moving forward. Deliver on your goal.

2. Keep your team focused.

I’ve included more on what to do with your team later in the article.

Showcase Your Strategic Role

Keeping the engine running is table stakes, but if you stop there, you’ll be seen as tactical support, not strategic leadership. This is your opportunity to showcase your strategic role: owner of the go-to-market strategy, shaping the narrative, connecting the dots across the GTM functions, and proving that marketing isn’t just executing, it’s driving the business forward.

Here is what this looks like:

Lead the GTM story.

You don’t want to just wait to be handed slides. Instead, you want to help shape the story that goes into the room. This doesn’t mean that you are creating the slides (let the investment bankers do that). Instead, this includes positioning, market opportunity, proof points, competitive differentiation, and what’s working across acquisition, retention, and expansion (all part of the GTM strategy). If sales is talking about bookings and finance is showing CAC, you should be the one connecting those numbers into a clear, repeatable GTM engine.

Translate, not decorate.

Your job isn’t to make the deck look pretty. Let the investment bankers do that. It’s to make the GTM strategy clear. This means aligning with your CEO, CRO, and CFO to ensure that what you present externally is internally consistent, credible, and backed by results. It’s also your job to flag where the story needs support or where future growth assumptions might not align with current performance. Potential investors will see through the spin. They respect transparency and a well-thought-out plan to close any gaps.

You drive cross-functional fluency.

Investors are buying into a growth plan, not just a product. They need to believe that growth can happen and that the funding they are providing can accelerate that growth. That means they want to see that your teams are aligned and accountable. Show that marketing is tightly integrated with sales, product, customer success, and your CFO. That you are not just generating pipeline (please don’t mention leads or MQLs). You’re contributing to conversion, expansion, and retention. Honestly, this is one of the places I see marketing leaders fall. They can speak to brand and campaigns, but not revenue mechanics.

You act like an owner.

What’s the market opportunity? Where’s the whitespace? What’s blocking growth? What would you do to scale marketing? You should have a point of view and a plan. Strategic marketers don’t just follow. They help shape the investment thesis. If you want to be seen as a long-term executive, show that you understand where the business needs to go and how marketing helps it get there.

Know Your Data. Speak It With Confidence.

This is where many leaders get exposed. When the questions start coming about CAC, pipeline velocity, conversion rates, attribution models, brand awareness, retention levers, and more, you can’t wing it or defer to RevOps. You need to own the story behind the numbers and speak to them with clarity, confidence, and context.

I can’t begin to share how many marketing leaders I’ve seen who can’t do this. If you’re going to do one thing, do this. Know your numbers. Backwards. Forwards. This doesn’t mean that you need to rattle off every metric from memory. But you do need to understand what the numbers mean, why they matter, and what levers you can pull to improve them. Because:

• You’re not just selling a story. You’re showcasing your strategy.

• You’re not just reporting on the past. You’re making the case for future investment.

• You’re not just answering questions about performance. You’re demonstrating leadership.

Here’s what this looks like in practice:

1. Be fluent in your funnel or bowtie. Where are the drop-offs? How are you improving conversion? What’s working, what’s not, and why? How do conversions compare against the market? Why are they better or worse? If better, what can be done to accelerate? If worse, how are you addressing the challenge?

2. Know your CAC and where it’s trending. The CFO is a critical GTM business partner. If you’re not confident in your understanding of CAC, sit down with her and get brought up to speed. Investors don’t just want numbers. They want trajectory and control. Can you scale acquisition efficiently, or are you buying growth at a loss?

3. Understand the connection between brand and pipeline. Don’t shy away from the “brand vs demand” debate. Brand is critical. Come prepared to show how TOFU (top-of-funnel) activity ladders up to revenue.

4. Speak to GTM readiness. Can the marketing engine scale with the sales team? Can your current model support the growth goals of the investor deck? If not, what’s needed to close the gap?

If you want to be seen as a commercial leader, you have to demonstrate commercial fluency. This is where marketers with a strategic mindset stand apart because they don’t just know the data, they know what to do with it. When you speak with confidence about the numbers, you don’t just earn credibility, you build trust. And in high-stakes moments like these, trust is everything.

Navigate Internal Uncertainty Like the Leader You Are

This is where the best marketing leaders differentiate themselves. They keep their team aligned, focused, and moving while everything around them may feel a little chaotic.

Deals take time. And during that time, your team will start to wander. Even if they don’t know about an M&A deal, they know something is up. Don’t underestimate your team and what they know. Gossip moves quickly through an organization, and your team may be wondering what an investment/M&A means for them, the budget, leadership, and if they’ll have a job when all is said and done.

If you’re not careful and visible, that uncertainty becomes the default operating mode. And when the team feels uncertain, gossip takes over and execution slips. People start hedging their bets or pulling back instead of pushing forward. And, of course, that can be just as damaging as missing a pipeline goal.

This is where real leadership kicks in. Not in the all-hands with execs and bankers, but in your 1:1s, team standups/meetings, and campaign planning sessions. Here is how I like to show up during this phase:

1. Stay present. It’s so incredibly easy to get consumed by everything else. But if you disappear from your team, even if you’re all virtual, they will know. And they will fill that vacuum with fear. Stay plugged in. Keep regular check-ins. Never reschedule that 1:1 unless absolutely necessary. Ask questions. Show them you are still engaged, working hard, and in it with them.

2. Set priorities and reinforce them often. The team needs to know what matters right now. Be clear about what’s moving forward, what’s on pause, and where they should focus their attention. Just like you would on any other day in any other month. Remember, prioritization is a form of leadership.

3. Control the internal narrative. Do not overshare. You will want to talk to someone. It shouldn’t be someone on your team. It should be a peer. I always went for a drink with my CEO, CFO, CRO, and Product leader following investor/M&A sessions so we could talk through things in real-time with the people I was in the weeds with. A cold iced tea sitting in the sun, talking through the latest round of PE questions, was a much better use of time than walking back to my desk, sharing with the team, and letting them figure out what it means. While you’re not oversharing, you also don’t want to go radio silent. The team needs to feel confident that you know what’s happening and have a plan.

4. Keep the bar high. As I’ve already shared, one of the worst things you can do is let performance slip because you’re in the middle of a deal. That’s not how momentum is built or maintained. Marketing’s job is to keep showing up, keep driving impact, and keep creating value no matter what’s happening in the board room.

This moment will pass, but how your team performs during it and how steady you lead them through it will shape how both your peers and your potential investors view your organization and you.

You are Interviewing for Your Job.

During a fundraise or acquisition, it’s not just the company being evaluated; it’s you. Investors are looking at numbers, yes, but they’re also looking at the people behind them. One of the biggest value creation strategies for private equity investors is people. Are the right people in leadership roles to scale the business? They want to know:

• Is this someone I can trust in the room with my partners?

• Can they scale the company?

• Are they a tactical operator or a strategic growth driver?

• Will they protect the brand and grow the business?

They are watching your behavior more than you might think. If you flinch under pressure, if you retreat into the tactical, or if you can’t speak confidently about what’s working or not, they will notice. If you vanish from your team and let performance slide, they will notice that as well. On the other hand, if you walk into meetings clear-eyed, aligned, and prepared to lead, if you’re calm under fire and candid about what’s working/not and what still needs work, you become an asset. Someone they may want on the leadership team after the deal is done.

You don’t need to be perfect. But you do need to be accountable. You do need to lead. And you do have to show that you understand how to create and sustain momentum through times of change. Because the deal may be about the business. But what happens after? That’s about the people.

Fundraises and acquisitions are pressure tests. They expose weak strategies, fragile teams, and leaders who aren’t ready to scale. But they also spotlight the ones who are. The marketing leaders who can deliver under pressure, who keep the engine running, lead with clarity, and bring a grounded, data-backed perspective to the table play a critical role in shaping the outcome. You may not be the face of the deal, but your ability to execute, influence, and lead through a process will speak volumes about the kind of partner you are for what comes next.

If you’re new here, welcome. Growth, Accelerated is a weekly newsletter on go-to-market strategy, leadership, and the real work behind high-performing teams. If you found this useful, subscribe or forward it to someone who needs this reminder today.

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