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The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

Exit Five

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com

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  • 24 episodes
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  • Avg 47 min
  • English

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  • #385
    Thursday · 46 min

    How to Win with Webinars: 5 B2B Marketing Pros Share Revenue-Driving Plays

    #385 | Five B2B marketers share their single best-performing webinar play - with the real numbers to back it up. This Exit Five Live session breaks down the exact tactics behind a signup flow that 5x'd conversions, a post-webinar follow-up system that closed $1M in pipeline in a week, and a series format built to compound results instead of resetting with every session. You'll also get a look at running a webinar program like an in-person conference, and how to borrow an influencer's audience to solve the cold-start problem. Real plays, receipts, and step-by-step mechanics you can steal for your own program. Timestamps (00:00) - - Why Exit Five Live exists, and today's webinar bracket format (06:01) - - Turning the thank-you page into a qualifying survey to 5x conversions (13:06) - - Building a webinar series that compounds instead of resetting each time (20:01) - - The post-webinar follow-up system that closed $1M in pipeline in a week (23:14) - - Building AI agents to personalize that follow-up at scale (27:31) - - Structuring a webinar series like an in-person conference (33:09) - - Borrowing an influencer's audience to solve the cold-start problem (35:55) - - Automating content repurposing from one webinar transcript (40:09) - - Why first-party research is the real lead magnet (40:49) - - Live vote, the winning play, and closing announcements Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #384
    August 24 · 46 min

    Marketing to B2B buyers who aren't on LinkedIn (with Clare Corriveau, VP Marketing, Tekmetric)

    #384 | A lot of people say B2B marketing is boring - those people couldn't possibly be in B2B. Take Clare Corriveau, VP of Marketing at Tekmetric: her buyer is an auto repair shop owner who isn't on LinkedIn, doesn't check email, and isn't downloading anything. Clare walks through how Tekmetric built its messaging around a founder who ran a shop for a decade, why every new hire visits an actual shop before touching a campaign, and how peer groups and an unmanaged 6,000-member Facebook community became a real lever in the company's growth engine. This episode focuses on marketing to an overlooked B2B category, and the huge upside that comes with it. The opportunity is anything but boring. Timestamps (00:00) - - Why "boring" B2B categories are actually the biggest opportunity (06:00) - - Why a founder who ran a shop for 10 years shapes every messaging decision (11:00) - - Events at scale: 100+ a year, plus a 1,000-person first-time conference (17:00) - - What the VP of Marketing job really is (21:00) - - Hiring humans when everyone is saying AI will replace them (24:00) - - Betting on channels the team almost skipped: Bing and Facebook (26:00) - - Peer groups and a 6,000 member Facebook community (30:00) - - How to get customers to love, support, and defend your brand (37:00) - - The real competitor is status quo (38:00) - - Why new hires visit a real shop before they touch a campaign (45:00) - - The opportunity: 5% market share in a category growing 50% a year Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #383
    August 20 · 47 min

    YouTube for B2B Marketing (with Samu Kovács)

    #383 | YouTube is the second-largest search engine on the planet, yet few B2B marketers know how to use it optimally. Dasha Shakov, the newest Exit Five podcast host, sits down with Samu Kovács, founder of the B2B YouTube agency KS Media, to unpack why he calls YouTube the hedge against AI slop. Samu breaks down the research process his team runs before writing a script, what belongs in a hook that keeps people watching, and how clients repurpose high-performing LinkedIn posts into YouTube videos instead of starting from zero. They also cover the realistic 90-day timeline for results, how to tell if YouTube is lifting your other channels, and the exact AI stack his team uses for scripting and thumbnails. Timestamps (00:00) - - Why YouTube is B2B marketing's hedge against AI slop (02:19) - - Who hires a B2B YouTube agency, and why YouTube still scares most marketers (06:26) - - The direct and indirect ROI of nailing YouTube (08:33) - - Where YouTube fits in the funnel, and when a niche is too small for it (13:33) - - Mapping ICP pain points, then reverse-engineering proven video formats (19:54) - - Doing the research yourself, and diagnosing a failed YouTube strategy (22:39) - - The hook, the structure, and repurposing LinkedIn content into scripts (33:09) - - Publishing cadence and the realistic 90-day timeline (35:44) - - Shortening sales cycles and proving YouTube's impact across channels (39:42) - - Where AI fits in the process, from research to scripting to editing (44:22) - - Samu's exact AI model stack Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #382
    August 17 · 51 min

    From Startup to IPO: How the CMO of Varonis Has Kept the Same Job for 15 Years, ft. Rob Sobers

    #382 | Rob Sobers has been CMO of Varonis for 15 years - through its growth from startup to public company doing over $700 million in revenue. Dave talks with Rob about how he's stayed sharp enough to keep the job this long, starting with the fact that as an engineer, he still writes JavaScript and even fixes bugs on the Varonis website from time to time. Rob explains why no manager on his team oversees work they don't do themselves, why he'd rather keep marketing simple than layer on complexity as the company scales, and his "reasonableness test" for deciding which programs don't need to be forced into a pipeline number. They also cover his approach to saying no to his own team, and why longevity gives him a wider lens on the business. Ever listen to our podcast and think: "Exit Five should feature me"? This is your opportunity to get in front of 40k+ B2B marketers, including CMOs, VPs, and marketing leaders, who are looking for talent, inspiration, and ideas to improve their marketing. Apply to the Experts Network for a chance to be our next podcast guest. Timestamps (00:00) - - Meet Rob Sobers, CMO of Varonis for 15 years (01:18) - - Why Rob still writes JavaScript and fixes bugs on the website (05:06) - - Learning a new marketing discipline every time he was out of his depth (05:55) - - Why there are no career middle managers on the Varonis marketing team (07:24) - - The communication tax of overstaffing a team (09:59) - - Keeping goals dead simple: opportunity creation as the north star metric (14:28) - - Getting good at saying no to his own team, but not too good (18:02) - - The reasonableness test: why not everything needs a pipeline number (20:49) - - Reverse-engineering the marketing budget from the revenue number (23:04) - - What separates a CMO from a VP of Marketing (26:26) - - The ClickUp $1M "one-person marketing team" debate (35:26) - - Marketing to skeptical CISOs, acquisitions, and why B2B brands need a mascot Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #381
    August 13 · 48 min

    The Strategy Behind Canva’s B2B Growth with Emma Robinson and Kristine Segrist

    #381 | Dave sits down with Emma Robinson, Head of B2B Marketing at Canva, and Christine Siegrist, VP of Consumer Marketing at Canva, to talk about how the two teams operate as one org instead of fighting over lead credit. They get into Canva's matrixed structure across consumer, B2B, and international, how signals from free users turn into team and enterprise upgrades, and why Canva built a dedicated data science team so marketers can make bigger creative bets instead of smaller, "provable" ones. They also unpack the Love Your Work campaign, why out-of-home ads make a consumer brand feel legitimate to enterprise buyers, and the lessons Emma and Christine carried over from their time at Google and Meta. Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #380
    August 10 · 52 min

    60-Minute B2B Blitz Part 2: 8 Marketers Share Their Best Plays from 2026 (So Far)

    #380 | Eight B2B marketers get two minutes each to pitch the single best marketing play they ran this year - and the crowd votes on who moves forward. Dave Gerhardt and Dasha Shakov hosts the second round of the Exit Five B2B Marketing Blitz, and this episode covers a lot of ground: updating old blog content to win AI search citations, turning product into research that got a company's CEO in front of Congress, an AI agent that rewrites website copy for different buyer personas, why LinkedIn articles are quietly dominating AI search results, scaling influencer marketing from a tiny four-creator pilot, a multi-channel brand campaign built around customer wins, and how one team turned a physical book into a 65x return on target accounts closed. Tune in to find out who makes it through to the second round, and who was ultimately crowned the Blitz MVP. Timestamps (00:00) - - The B2B marketing Blitz kicks off (03:56) - - Turning sales, success, and support calls into content gold (06:48) - - Updating old blog content to win AI search citations (08:58) - - Using your own product to get your CEO in front of Congress (11:09) - - An AI agent that rewrites content for different buyer personas (15:38) - - Why LinkedIn articles are winning AI search citations (17:49) - - Scaling influencer marketing from a tiny pilot to a full program (20:18) - - A multi-channel brand campaign built around customer wins (22:39) - - Turning a physical book into a 65x return on target accounts (26:43) - - The exact AI workflow behind the content optimization play (35:40) - - The specific questions to ask sales, success, and support teams (42:53) - - Following up a book launch with an account-based magazine Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #379
    August 6 · 41 min

    How to Talk to Finance About Marketing Budget with Patrick Shea (Global Head of Marketing at BlueVoyant)

    #379 | Dave sits down with Patrick Shea, SVP of Global Marketing at BlueVoyant, to discuss how enterprise marketing really works inside a $175 million cybersecurity company built heavily on partnerships. Patrick breaks down the difference between hyperscaler tech alliances and reseller partnerships, how BlueVoyant defines and qualifies leads by account rather than volume, and why he treats partnership stakeholders like a market of their own. They also get into the cost-per-opportunity formula Patrick uses to win budget back from finance, why he's trying to kill long-term planning in favor of annual focus areas and the wild HubSpot coincidence that made him responsible for Dave's success. Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #378
    August 3 · 49 min

    The Viral Marketing Bets Behind High-Growth Voice AI Company Bland.ai, with Ethan Clouser (Head of Marketing)

    #378 | Dave sits down with Ethan Clouser, Head of Marketing at Bland AI, to talk about running marketing at a 22-year-old-founded, enterprise voice AI company that just raised $100 million - at 22 years old himself. Ethan breaks down Bland's early viral bets like the "Still Hiring Humans?" billboard, why they bought Soulja Boy's voice rights for an AI phone campaign, and how a giant red telephone car became one of their best marketing investments. Not to mention, Bland AI's marketing team built its entire website with Claude Code - coded by a guy who'd never written a line of code before. They also get into Bland's daily stand-up and KPI system, why "Voice AI for regulated industries" works as a homepage headline, and how to stand out when 200 competitors are all saying the same thing. Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro to Ethan Clouser, Head of Marketing at Bland AI (02:26) - - The failed no-code startup that accidentally turned Ethan into a marketer (06:14) - - Cold LinkedIn outreach and how Ethan landed the head of marketing job (09:09) - - The "Still Hiring Humans?" billboard bet that built Bland's early brand (13:46) - - Filling the marketing gaps Bland was missing: SEO, AEO, and reputation (17:56) - - Why "Voice AI for regulated industries" works as a homepage headline (20:34) - - Vibe-coding Bland's entire website with Claude Code (23:42) - - Bland's daily marketing stand-up and how KPIs decide which bets get made (31:29) - - Buying Soulja Boy's voice rights for an AI phone campaign (40:05) - - Standing out in a market crowded with 200 voice AI competitors (43:34) - - Why marketing, sales, and product alignment matters more than sales-marketing alignment Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #377
    July 30 · 42 min

    High-Value Brand Assets Most B2B Companies Haven't Tapped Yet (with Louis Grenier, Founder of Stand The F*ck Out)

    #377 | 80% of B2B brands are completely forgettable - and it's not because their product is weak. Dave sits down with Louis Grenier, founder of Stand The F*ck Out and author of the book by the same name, to unpack a study he ran scoring 100 B2B companies on how distinctive their brands actually are. Louis breaks down the real difference between "distinctive" and "different," why almost no B2B SaaS company has a mascot (and why that's a missed opportunity), what Wiz and Mutiny are doing that most brands aren't, and why sound might be the most underused brand asset in marketing. They also get into how Louis built the entire 100-company study himself using Claude Code and parallel AI agents, and why picking a lane and committing to it beats chasing the "perfect" idea. Timestamps (00:00) - - What makes a brand distinctive vs. differentiated (03:35) - - Why brand distinctiveness matters more in the age of AI (05:54) - - Inside the study: scoring 100 B2B brands on 8 assets (07:49) - - Wiz and Mutiny: two brands that stood out (12:12) - - Why almost no B2B SaaS company has a mascot (15:39) - - How to get buy-in for a risky brand idea internally (17:29) - - The research behind how brand memories are actually built (20:35) - - Linear: picking a lane and going all in (24:01) - - Why sound is a brand asset most companies ignore (30:58) - - How Louis built the study using Claude Code and AI agents Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #376
    July 27 · 55 min

    Paid Ads Playoff: Proven B2B Plays That Turn Spend Into Pipeline

    #376 | Eight marketers. Two minutes each. One live bracket to crown the best-performing paid ad play. We brought back the Blitz Exit Five Live session format - this time for the Paid Ads Playoff: a head-to-head paid ads showdown, where marketers pitch their single best ad from 2026 in real time to our live voting audience. The plays cover a lot of ground: scroll-stopping creative for an unfamiliar category, testing TV as a full-funnel channel, measuring out-of-home, a 9-minute LinkedIn video that beat every short clip, incentivized demo offers, ChatGPT ads, fighting Google's AI Overviews in paid search, and the most creative ad creative you've ever seen. Presenters include Alexander Goodwin (Fingerprint), Stefanie Wlotzki (SurveyMonkey), Jake Newby (Lendio), Anthony Blatner (Speedwork), Dylan Wingrove (Pacvue), Kenna Rooney (EasyLlama), and Shlomo Genchin (Unbored.com), co-hosted by Jess Cook of Vector. Timestamps (00:00) - - Welcome to the Paid Ads Playoff format (05:32) - - Making an unfamiliar B2B category scroll-stopping on paid social (08:04) - - Testing TV as an always-on demand channel (10:23) - - Measuring out-of-home ads with control markets (13:03) - - Why a 9-minute LinkedIn video beat every short clip (15:48) - - Q&A: targeting, TV attribution, and matching creative to the platform (25:49) - - Incentivized demos and gift-card offers that convert (28:32) - - Testing ChatGPT ads and shifting budget out of Google (32:40) - - Fighting back against Google's AI Overviews in paid search (34:50) - - The soap opera ad and turning boring software into a story (48:13) - - Tracking signals and structuring content for a long-form ad (55:05) - - The analogy framework behind the year's best-performing ad Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #375
    July 23 · 37 min

    How to use Claude Code to Scale LinkedIn Ads with Anthony Blatner (Founder, Speedwork)

    #375 | If you can double your ad's click-through rate, you can usually cut your cost-per-click in half. Anthony Blatner, founder of Speedwork, sat down with Matt Carnevale to walk through how he's using AI to run LinkedIn ads at scale for clients right now. The conversation covers connecting Claude Code directly to the LinkedIn Ads API to automate bid management and reporting, building personalized ad campaigns, landing pages, and lead magnets for dozens of segments at once, and using account-based marketing principles to get LinkedIn's algorithm to reward you with lower costs. It also gets into avoiding content that reads as obviously AI-generated, running competitor conquest campaigns, and building target account lists for niches LinkedIn doesn't have a clean filter for. Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #374
    July 20 · 43 min

    How to Build a Brand in B2B with Ryan Narod (VP of Marketing at Rippling)

    #374 | Most B2B marketers think brand means bigger budgets. This episode shows otherwise. Dave sits down with Ryan Narod, VP of Marketing at Rippling, to talk about what it actually takes to build a brand people recognize in B2B. Ryan walks through the real campaigns behind that shift - from scrappy iPhone videos and webinar promos to high-production customer films and their Super Bowl commercial. Ryan breaks down how he built a content flywheel, why injecting real humans into every piece of content matters, and how they measure brand impact without losing accountability to pipeline. It's a practical look at going from growth-only marketing to a brand with real personality, with examples you can steal no matter your budget. Timestamps (00:00) - - Today's guest: Ryan Narod, VP of Marketing at Rippling (02:44) - - What Rippling actually does and why HR, finance, and IT live under one roof (07:00) - - Why brand building starts with content and story, not billboards and TV ads (09:00) - - Building a content flywheel out of interviews, written pieces, and video (13:10) - - Getting the brand story straight across personas and the C-suite (18:30) - - Marketing plays in action: from scrappy iPhone videos to big-budget customer films (27:09) - - How to build a brand on a startup budget without Rippling's resources (29:33) - - Comparing production value head to head: a big-budget campaign vs a lo-fi one (32:29) - - How Rippling measures brand marketing with mixed media modeling and incrementally testing (39:49) - - Inside the Super Bowl ad and the reverse timeline it took to pull off Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #373
    July 16 · 44 min

    Why AEO in 2026 Is Just the Evolution of SEO with Rebecca Busk (CEO, Kvalifik)

    #373 | Dave sits down with Rebecca Busk, CEO and Partner at Kvalifik, to talk about what it actually takes to show up in AI search. Rebecca breaks down the three types of prompts you need to rank for - foundational, core, and must-win - and why most AEO content fails because it's too generic to ever get cited. They get into the technical side of AEO like crawlability and schema markup, why Reddit and community platforms carry more weight than LinkedIn in AI citations, and a ten-point checklist for content quality you can run against your own site today. Check out Webflow's free AEO assessment here. Timestamps (00:00) - - Thank you to Webflow (01:59) - - Why AI search is quietly rewriting how B2B buyers find vendors (02:42) - - From agency employee to owner: buying an agency (05:19) - - How to build marketing expertise without a marketing degree (09:56) - - What AEO actually means, and a real example of how it narrows buying decisions (13:38) - - Why you shouldn't write AEO content with AI (17:04) - - Rethinking content strategy: what buyers actually ask before they buy (22:05) - - Crawlability, schema markup, and a technical checklist for showing up in AI search (31:12) - - Ten things to check for content quality right now (38:18) - - What builds real authority in AI search, and whether PR still matters

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  • #372
    July 13 · 37 min

    How to Upgrade Your Webinar and Email Strategy for 2026 with Jay Schwedelson (Founder, SubjectLine.com)

    #372 | Dave sits down with Jay Schwedelson, founder of subjectline.com and Guru Media Hub, one of the sharpest tactical minds in email, webinars, and live content. Jay explains why so many B2B marketers get live content wrong from the very first step, and how small shifts in packaging can completely change who shows up and who doesn't. They dig into the psychology behind when people actually open and engage with email, why shorter almost always wins, and the habits that quietly keep you out of the spam folder. Jay also shares the specific email and send-day habits he swears by, a few of his go-to tricks for getting people to actually reply, and how he thinks about testing your way to what works for your own audience. Timestamps (00:00) - – Why "webinar" might be costing you registrations (01:12) - – Meet Jay Schwedelson and the virtual event he built to 30,000 people (06:26) - – A simple trick to get more people to actually show up live (08:44) - – Why giving everything away on-demand might be a mistake (10:23) - – The case for live, human connection in an AI-saturated world (13:00) - – The send times most B2B marketers are sleeping on (15:18) - – How to package and name your content so people actually want it (22:02) - – The newsletter habit that makes people stick around (26:09) - – Small email tweaks that quietly boost open rates and deliverability Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #371
    July 9 · 46 min

    From $3M to $50M ARR Without Paid Ads with Alex Howe (SVP Marketing & Growth at Funnel Leasing)

    #371 | Most B2B companies gate everything and hide their pricing. Funnel Leasing does neither, and grew from $3 million to $50 million in revenue anyway. Dave sits down with Alex Howe, SVP of Marketing and Growth at Funnel Leasing, to talk about how he built that growth engine with no marketing background, no paid ads, and no sales team pressure. They get into why his whole philosophy is built around being different rather than better, why ungating everything (including pricing) builds more trust than gating ever could, and how to prove marketing is working without hard metrics like a two-week sales cycle. Plus: how a background in political PR shaped his approach to getting attention, the event marketing stunts that actually got prospects talking, and why messaging should keep evolving without ever losing its core story. Timestamps (00:00) - - Introduction (05:32) - - Be Different, Not Just Better (09:13) - - Why You Should Ungate Everything, Including Pricing (13:34) - - How to Prove Marketing Is Working Without Hard Metrics (18:38) - - A Great Product Makes Marketing Easier (24:54) - - Build a Point of View by Staying Close to Your Customers (27:10) - - Creative Event Marketing Beats a Boring Booth (31:00) - - What a PR Background Teaches You About Getting Attention (35:59) - - Hire Specialists and Give Them Ownership (39:00) - - Why Differentiation Matters More Than Ever in the AI Era Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #370
    July 6 · 44 min

    Why B2B Marketers Should Be Running CTV Ads with Amit Sharan (SVP Marketing at Tatari)

    #370 | Most B2B marketers have no idea you can run TV ads for $50 a day. Dave sits down with TV advertising veteran Amit Sharan, SVP of Marketing at Tatari, to talk about this, and how to think about CTV as a B2B channel. They get into the difference between linear and streaming, why programmatic buying only reaches 15% of total TV inventory, and the case for retargeting your website visitors on TV instead of just running more ads on LinkedIn. They also get into what makes TV creative actually work, where AI fits into that process, how to measure performance without relying on last-click, and why it's worth testing a channel you've never touched before. Timestamps (00:00) - - Why B2B marketers are sleeping on TV ads (01:17) - - Getting into ad tech: video advertising, Facebook, and a $450M acquisition (07:03) - - How to cold-apply your way into a company you want to join (09:05) - - What scale looks like for a modern TV ad platform (11:02) - - The three buckets of marketing: demand gen, product, and corporate (13:59) - - How to actually measure whether your brand is working (16:12) - - Why marketers respect good marketing more than any celebrity spokesperson (20:04) - - CTV 101: linear vs streaming, and why programmatic only touches 15% of inventory (25:03) - - The $50-a-day move: retargeting website visitors on CTV (28:07) - - What actually makes TV creative work (33:42) - - Should you use AI-generated video for your ads? (37:21) - - Measuring TV without relying on last-click (38:19) - - Testing new channels: the case for trying something you've never done Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #369
    July 2 · 51 min

    60-Minute B2B Blitz: 9 Marketers Share Their Best Plays from 2026 (So Far)

    #369 | It's hard to know what works and what doesn't, what's real and what's not right now. So we tapped 9 B2B marketing pros, all specialists in their area, to share one thing that's produced real results so far this year. Here's how it works: 9 speakers, one play each, two minutes on the clock. When host Dave Gerhardt hits the buzzer, it's on to the next play. The audience votes on their favorites, and the top plays come back for a second round with more detail. 60 minutes of back-to-back insights across demand gen, content, brand, social, product marketing, strategy, and more, featuring plays from senior marketing leaders at companies like Snowflake, Sprout Social, Tekmetric, Lendio, and many more. Timestamps (02:23) - - Nine marketers, two minutes each, one play — welcome to the B2B Blitz (07:23) - - 6x podcast engagement with comic-style clips, Jess Cook (Vector) (09:41) - - Adapting core messaging across different segments, Diane Wiredu (Lion Words) (11:43) - - Turning win-loss research into pipeline recovery, Drew Giovannoli (BuriedWins) (13:28) - - An AI-powered voice-of-customer system built from sales calls, Jonathan Rosenfeld (Hologram) (16:09) - - Treating your internal team like a demand gen channel, Hunter Talpas (Tekmetric) (19:23) - - A revenue-first framework for campaign planning, Hailey McDonald (Sprout Social) (21:27) - - AI messaging tests that delivered an 8x CTR lift, Casey Patterson (Snowflake) (23:23) - - Putting AEs in the ad to build familiarity before outreach, Spencer Rule (Lendio) (25:30) - - Automating LinkedIn ads with Claude Code, Anthony Blatner (Speedwork) (40:51) - - The winning play, round two: AE-led video ads in depth, Spencer Rule (Lendio) Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #368
    June 29 · 49 min

    Running a Media Company Inside HubSpot with Jonathan Hunt (VP, Media and Content)

    #368 | Dave sits down with Jonathan Hunt, VP of Content and Media at HubSpot, to talk about what it means to run a media company inside a software company, and why that framing changes everything about how you build a content team. Jonathan runs a 70-person operation reaching 50 million people a month across 17 YouTube channels and a creator network of 150. They get into how HubSpot thinks about the three jobs of content (demand gen, influence, and earned media value), why gated PDFs are dead and what's replacing them, how Jonathan's team built an AI clipping engine in a six-week sprint, and how to tell the measurement story to a public company's CFO. Plus: what Jonathan looks for when hiring, how creator partnerships actually work at scale, and why "creative freedom" without strategy is just chaos. Timestamps (00:00) - - - Jonathan Hunt, VP of Content and Media at HubSpot (03:17) - - - Running a media company inside a software company (07:47) - - - From the HubSpot blog to a network of 150 creators (11:22) - - - How to find creators (and the tool Jonathan recommends) (12:39) - - - The three jobs of content: demand gen, influence, and earned media value (17:22) - - - How to tell the measurement story to your CFO (20:42) - - - Why gated PDFs are dead and what converts now (24:00) - - - What actually works in creator partnerships (31:21) - - - The AI clipping engine HubSpot built in six weeks (45:38) - - - HubSpot's public code of ethics for AI use Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #367
    June 25 · 59 min

    Influencer Marketing, Podcasting Strategy, and Brand Driving Demand with Jess Cook (VP Marketing at Vector)

    #367 | Dave sits down with Jess Cook, VP of Marketing at Vector, to talk about how she spent $12K on seven micro-influencers with zero UTM tracking and generated $1.1M in pipeline. Jess also breaks down why she started a brand podcast as an awareness play, how a B2C copywriting background at major CPG brands shaped the way she thinks about brand and standing out in B2B, and what it actually takes to make the jump from content leader to VP of Marketing. Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro (07:00) - - Why influencer marketing made sense as a first channel (12:15) - - Tracking pipeline without UTMs: using keyword alerts (13:06) - - The results: 45 demos, 80%+ ICP, $1.1M in pipeline (15:45) - - Why loose briefs outperform tightly controlled campaigns (20:23) - - How to scale an influencer program when you're a team of two (23:01) - - How to make your podcast an awareness magnet (31:49) - - How to know if your podcast is working when you can't track it (37:01) - - LinkedIn: 37K followers in 3 years and how the content strategy works (44:58) - - Why brand and mascots aren't optional anymore in B2B Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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  • #366
    June 22 · 50 min

    Demand Gen Plays for the Antisocial Buyer

    #366 | The B2B buyer has gone antisocial. No form fills, no hand raises, just self-directed research through Google, Reddit, and AI before they ever talk to sales. In this session, you'll hear from three marketing pros about how they built a LinkedIn influencer program that doubled branded search volume, why ungating top-of-funnel content drives more meetings - not fewer, and how to build an LLM visibility page so AI models correctly answer questions about your product. Plus the case for measuring trust in hours of content watched, and much more. Featuring Judy Kimball (Consensus), Hunter Talpas (Tekmetric), and Mason Cosby (Scrappy ABM). Timestamps (00:00) - - How the B2B funnel has flipped (05:52) - - Why brand is the new demand (08:23) - - Running a LinkedIn influencer program that moves pipeline (13:19) - - Why ungating content drives more meetings, not fewer (15:57) - - Building for AI and LLM visibility (19:00) - - What an LLM visibility page looks like (24:48) - - Using async video to build trust at scale (29:14) - - Why seven hours of content watched beats 28 touch points (36:26) - - How to get leadership to ditch the MQL model (42:00) - - Measuring demand gen by stage of the buyer journey Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive. Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive. Vector - A contact-level ads platform that lets you build audiences from actual people on your site, clicking your ads, and checking out your competitors. Learn how to build an ABM program that scales at vector.co/exitfive. Join us in Stowe, Vermont for Drive 2026 - three days away from your desk to learn what's working in B2B marketing from the people who are actually doing it. Grab your ticket at exitfive.com/drive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

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Showing 1–20 of 24 episodes