When we first featured Heidi Hattendorf, she was already known in IAW circles as a results-driven Fractional CMO and GTM advisor — someone who didn’t just offer high-level marketing direction but rolled up her sleeves and helped clients activate it. Now, a year later, Heidi’s story has grown in exactly the direction you’d expect from someone who helps other women to stop waiting to feel “fully ready”: she’s now an Amazon bestselling author, a two-time award winner, and one of IAW’s most active thought leaders.

“I’m honored to share that I’ve been named USA Coach of the Year 2026 by Business Coach Academy, for the second year in a row,” Heidi said. “This recognition was a wonderful surprise, but what makes it especially meaningful is the opportunity I’ve had to work alongside so many incredible founders, executives, and business owners who trust me to help them navigate growth. Many people know me for my work as a Fractional CMO and Go-to-Market Strategist, but coaching has always been at the heart of what I do. The biggest growth challenges are rarely just about marketing or sales. More often, they come down to leadership, decision-making, accountability, and having the clarity to know what comes next.”

As founder of Transformation Insights LLC, Heidi has spent more than 25 years helping organizations, from Fortune 100 companies to startups, solve a problem she saw repeating itself everywhere: businesses investing heavily in marketing, technology, and talent without ever addressing the root issue holding growth back. “The real issue was lack of alignment or a GTM strategy,” she explained. “There was often a disconnect between business goals, customer needs, operational systems, brand positioning, messaging, and execution. Companies were scaling activity without scaling strategy.” 

That insight became the foundation for her Amazon bestselling book, The Marketing Growth Formula, a practical framework, she says, rather than “another marketing book full of trends or theory.”

“The pivotal moment for me came from recognizing how many businesses were stuck in constant activity without creating sustainable growth,” Heidi said. “I wanted to create a framework that helped business leaders stop reacting to growth challenges and start building intentional systems that align strategy, marketing, sales, operations, customer experience, and execution.”

The work still has its challenges. “Leaders often think they need better ads, more social media, or another campaign when the deeper issue is unclear positioning, inconsistent messaging, operational inefficiencies, or reactive decision-making,” she said. “The challenge is helping organizations step back long enough to create intentional strategy instead of constantly operating in reaction mode.” But the payoff, she says, is real: “The most rewarding part of my work is helping companies invest and see the ROI on marketing and sales. When a business leader realizes marketing can drive predictable growth instead of a cost center, that transformation changes not only revenue outcomes, but also leadership confidence, team alignment, customer trust, and operational effectiveness.”

Heidi’s advice to other women echoes the thesis of her book: don’t undersell what you know. 

“Women often spend years building incredible experience, strategic insight, leadership skills, and problem-solving abilities, yet many still hesitate to position themselves publicly as authorities in their field,” she said. “One of the reasons I wrote The Marketing Growth Formula was because I realized that expertise becomes exponentially more impactful when it’s documented, shared, and visible. I also encourage women to stop thinking of marketing as ‘promotion.’ Strategic visibility matters because people cannot hire you, trust you, learn from you, or partner with you if they don’t understand the value you bring. The women who create the greatest long-term impact are often the ones willing to step into thought leadership before they feel fully ready.”

For women newer to IAW, her advice hasn’t changed all that much since her first feature, if anything, it’s deepened. “Give yourself permission to take up space and recognize that your experience, perspective, and voice already have value,” she said. “You do not need to have everything perfectly mapped out before you begin building visibility, relationships, or thought leadership. Growth happens through participation, connection, and being willing to share what you’ve learned along the way. IAW is filled with women who genuinely want to support one another’s growth, and there is so much power in surrounding yourself with people who challenge you, encourage you, and remind you that you do not have to navigate your journey alone.”

Looking ahead, Heidi is expanding the reach of The Marketing Growth Formula through workshops and a companion workbook, while continuing to speak, consult, and partner with growing organizations and tech startups seeking strategic growth leadership. She’s also committed to positioning marketing as a measurable driver of revenue and long-term value, not a support function, while building more intentional balance into her own life. 

“Success should create more space for life, family, relationships, travel, purpose, and fulfillment, not just more work.”

On what IAW continues to mean to her: “IAW has provided a strong environment for visibility, relationship-building, collaboration, and thought leadership among ambitious women who are building businesses and leading organizations. For me, IAW represents intentional community and women helping elevate one another’s voices, expertise, and influence in meaningful ways.”

Connect with Heidi:

Website: https://heidihattendorf.com/ | https://themarketinggrowthformula.com/

IAW Inner Circle: https://innercircle.iawomen.com/u/e0c5961c

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidihattendorf/

Read Heidi’s original IAW feature: https://blog.iawomen.com/marketing-with-meaning-heidi-hattendorfs-formula-for-purposeful-growth/

Want to build a community like Heidi’s? IAW is open and waiting for women from all around the globe to join our community of professional women who want to expand their horizons just like you.