Building your lead analytics team

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You are doing all analytics yourself. You are drowning. Lead generation is full-time job. Analytics is part-time job. Both are not working. Time to hire.

Building team is hard but necessary

Building team is hard. Start with one person. Hire for right skills. Train them. Then grow.

Skills you need

Data literacy matters most

Data literacy. Can they read a spreadsheet. Can they understand metrics. Can they ask good questions.

Curiosity drives improvement

Curiosity. Do they wonder why. Do they dig into problems. Do they propose improvements.

Communication is critical

Communication. Can they explain findings to non-technical people. Can they present to leadership. Can they influence decisions.

Technical skills are secondary

Technical skills are less important. Data literacy beats technical expertise. You can teach SQL. Can not teach curiosity.

Hire for learning mindset

Change is constant in analytics

Hire people who like learning. Analytics changes. Tools change. Regulations change. If person is not willing to learn, they will be obsolete in two years.

Ask in interviews

Ask in interviews. Tell me about something you learned recently. If answer is vague, they do not learn. If answer is specific, they do.

Hiring sequence

First hire: analyst

First hire. Analyst. Interprets data. Answers questions. Finds insights. Analyst comes first.

Second hire: engineer

Second hire. Developer or engineer. Builds infrastructure. Maintains data pipeline. Tracks events. Engineer comes second.

Third hire: builder

Third hire. Dashboard builder or visualization person. Creates reports. Makes data accessible. Builder comes third.

Why analyst first

Most businesses hire wrong order. Hire engineer first. Build infrastructure. No analyst to interpret data. Backward.

Hire analyst first. They will complain about bad data. They will push for tracking. Engineer fixes the infrastructure.

Team structure

Who owns what

Analyst owns lead generation analytics. Knows metrics. Owns dashboard. Reports to leadership.

Engineer owns tracking. Implements tracking code. Maintains data pipeline. Reports to analyst.

Dashboard builder makes analytics accessible. Creates dashboards. Updates reports. Supports analyst.

By company size

Small companies. One person does all three. That is fine. They will be stretched but it works.

Medium companies. Analyst and engineer. Dashboard is part of analyst's job.

Large companies. Three separate roles. Analyst, engineer, builder.

Training and development

Invest in learning

Invest in team learning. Online courses. Certifications. Conferences. People learn and feel invested. Retention improves.

Google Analytics certification

Google Analytics certification is free. Encourage team to get it. Validates knowledge.

Create learning culture

Monthly training sessions. Team presents learnings. Shares insights. Continuous learning culture.

Manager and culture

Lead analytics needs manager

Lead analytics needs manager. Usually reports to CMO or CFO. Manager should understand analytics but does not need to be expert.

Manager's job

Manager's job is to create environment. Set clear goals. Remove blockers. Celebrate wins. Build culture.

Avoid direct CEO reporting

If analyst reports directly to CEO, they will be pulled in too many directions. Manager buffer helps.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I pay a lead analyst?

Should analyst report to marketing or to finance?

When should I hire first employee?

What if I cannot afford full-time analyst yet?

How do I know if my analyst is good?

Should I hire generalist analyst or specialist in lead analytics?