The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)

#217: Marketing Leadership | Why Product Marketing is the Foundation of Great Marketing Leadership with Jessica Andrews, VP of Marketing at Copper


Listen Later

In this episode, Matt Carnevale sits down with Jessica Andrews, VP of Marketing at Copper, a CRM built specifically for agencies, consultancies, and media companies, designed to help relationship-driven businesses find ideal clients, win new business, manage projects, and nurture customer relationships. The two discuss Jessica’s journey from Senior Product Marketing Manager to VP of Marketing, how she’s navigated imposter syndrome, and her strategies for leading a successful marketing team.

Matt and Jessica cover:

  • Strategies for shifting from IC to a marketing leadership role
  • Why product marketing is the foundation of great marketing
  • How product marketers can position themselves for leadership

Timestamps

  • (00:00) - - Introduction to Jessica
  • (02:32) - - Transitioning from product marketing to VP of marketing
  • (06:29) - - Dealing with imposter syndrome and learning to trust your instincts
  • (09:12) - - The shift from execution to strategy in a leadership role
  • (10:54) - - Why taking time to think is crucial for marketing leaders
  • (12:17) - - The power of networking and learning from other marketing leaders
  • (14:18) - - How talking to agencies helped shape Copper’s marketing strategy
  • (15:37) - - Why product marketing is the foundation of great marketing
  • (17:16) - - The importance of cross-functional alignment in marketing leadership
  • (19:54) - - Understanding the mindset of sales teams and how to collaborate effectively
  • (22:48) - - The challenge of getting buy-in for product marketing initiatives
  • (27:49) - - Balancing being a strategic partner vs. an order taker
  • (30:29) - - How to respond to last-minute requests and set expectations
  • (32:51) - - Strategies for building strong relationships with sales and product teams
  • (36:03) - - How to become T-shaped and prepare for marketing leadership
  • (38:21) - - Learning demand gen and paid ads
  • (40:31) - - Why marketing leaders need to understand revenue and business impact
  • (42:39) - - Advice for product marketers who want to grow into leadership
  • (43:25) - - Closing thoughts and final takeaways

  • Send guest pitches and ideas to [email protected]
    Join the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
    Check out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/
    Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership

    ***

    Today’s episode is brought to you by Walnut.

    Why are we pouring all this effort into marketing just to push buyers to a “request a demo” or “contact sales” button?

    Come on, today’s buyers don’t want to talk to sales right away. They want to explore your product themselves, see how it works, and understand its value before booking a meeting.

    That’s where Walnut comes in.

    Walnut empowers marketers and GTM teams to create interactive, self-guided product experiences in minutes. Embed these experiences on your site, in emails, or anywhere in your funnel to let buyers engage on their terms, from awareness to close and beyond.

    That's the beauty of Walnut - you're getting a platform that your sales and CS colleagues can use to showcase the product too.

    And the best part? You get real intent data—see which features prospects love, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline. Demo Qualified Leads are the new MQL.

    Over 500 companies, like Adobe and NetApp, use Walnut to drive 2-3x higher website conversion rates and 7 figures in pipeline on a yearly basis. So do you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product instead of hiding it behind another typical B2B CTA?

    Go check out Walnut.io. And if you tell them Dave from Exit 5 sent you, they'll build out your first demo for free!

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)By Dave Gerhardt

    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7

    4.7

    43 ratings


    More shows like The Exit Five CMO Podcast (Hosted by Dave Gerhardt)

    View all
    This Week in Startups by Jason Calacanis

    This Week in Startups

    1,272 Listeners

    The Digital Marketing Podcast by Ciaran Rogers, Daniel Rowles and Louise Crossley

    The Digital Marketing Podcast

    114 Listeners

    Social Media Marketing Podcast by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner

    Social Media Marketing Podcast

    1,441 Listeners

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors by SaaStr

    The Official SaaStr Podcast: SaaS | Founders | Investors

    174 Listeners

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips by Eric Siu and Neil Patel

    Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips

    1,256 Listeners

    Social Media Marketing Talk Show by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner

    Social Media Marketing Talk Show

    83 Listeners

    Uncensored CMO by Jon Evans

    Uncensored CMO

    35 Listeners

    GTM Live by Passetto

    GTM Live

    201 Listeners

    The Marketing Millennials by Daniel Murray

    The Marketing Millennials

    149 Listeners

    The Artificial Intelligence Show by Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput

    The Artificial Intelligence Show

    184 Listeners

    Marketing Made Simple by Powered by StoryBrand

    Marketing Made Simple

    291 Listeners

    The Startup Ideas Podcast by Greg Isenberg

    The Startup Ideas Podcast

    197 Listeners

    Marketing Against The Grain by Hubspot Media

    Marketing Against The Grain

    356 Listeners

    Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders by Chris Daigle

    Using AI at Work: AI in the Workplace & Generative AI for Business Leaders

    18 Listeners

    AI Explored by Michael Stelzner, Social Media Examiner—AI marketing

    AI Explored

    83 Listeners