Back on T-R-A-C-K

In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K, host Kerry Guard sits down with Caitlin Zigthor, CEO of Zigthor Marketing, for an insightful dive into what happens when a marketing generalist gets "under the hood" of a client's business. From untangling broken email flows and fragmented CRMs to aligning front-line sales data with marketing messaging, Caitlin breaks down the reality of fixing a company's foundational marketing ecosystem. The conversation explores the hidden gold in post-purchase automations, the power of referral networks, and why building alignment between sales and marketing is crucial for sustainable growth. Rather than falling for quick-fix silver bullets, this episode uncovers why sustainable revenue gains require realistic timelines, clean operations, and a willing partner to connect the disconnected wires.

In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K, host Kerry Guard speaks with Bowe Hoy, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of EdgeFi (formerly Edge Networks), as part of her ongoing CRO interview series. Hoy discusses his 20-plus years in cybersecurity and outlines EdgeFi's fresh rebrand from a broader IT service provider into a specialized cybersecurity firm focused on the financial services sector, detailing how he helped guide the three-month transition. The core discussion centers on strategic alignment, where Hoy highlights the importance of setting granular, transparent financial metrics (revenue, expenses, and profit) and defining clear, measurable destinations for growth. He also emphasizes a people-first leadership model, explaining how he aligns marketing with sales downstream by offering the marketing team performance-based bonuses tied to revenue outcomes—giving them a direct sense of ownership and shared purpose in the company’s success.

In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K, host Kerry Guard (CEO of MKG Marketing) sits down with Shannon Curley, Director of Marketing and Growth at Tactical Logistic Solutions, to explore the evolving landscape of modern marketing, AI, and authentic relationship-building. Curley details her approach to using AI as an "entry-level intern" to augment expertise rather than replace it, advocating for active engagement, debate, and hyper-personalized outreach over generic automated spam. Drawing from her experience scaling marketing teams at Carbon 6 and navigating post-acquisition transitions, she emphasizes breaking down traditional sales-marketing tension through shared goals and constant communication. Finally, Curley breaks down her framework for meaningful co-marketing and partnerships, explaining how she qualifies partners through organic video interviews, leverages community-specific social proof, and tracks qualitative and quantitative ROI across complex sales cycles.

In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K hosted by Kerry Guard, guest Sar Ruddenklau—a fractional marketing strategist for early-stage startups—discusses how B2B companies can build sustainable brand authority and navigate the shifting landscape of search and AI. Ruddenklau emphasizes that brand is more than logos; it represents the overarching thread of trust and credibility that runs through every customer touchpoint. The conversation covers pitching brand investments to skeptical C-suite executives, using customer research to fuel a long-term content strategy, and driving brand visibility in AI search using earned media in industry trade publications. Additionally, Ruddenklau outlines practical workflows for executive thought leadership—such as using weekly "buckets" of links, qualitative transcripts, and carefully targeted AI tools to streamline content creation—while stressing the unique, objective value that fractional leaders bring to high-growth startups.

In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K, host Kerry Guard sits down with Aakash Desai, Chief Revenue Officer at LumenData, to break down how B2B organizations can tear down traditional departmental silos and build a truly cohesive, interconnected revenue ecosystem. Aakash digs into the evolving mechanics of the CRO role alongside the CMO and CFO, emphasizing why tightening market conditions demand tight alignment across sales operations, financial sign-offs, and marketing initiatives. He unpacks the essential balance between growth marketing—focused on direct conversions through the revenue channel—and brand marketing, which builds the long-term authority and trust required to support buyers across their entire journey. Rather than viewing sales, marketing, product, and finance as isolated units, the conversation highlights the "Cyclone" ecosystem, where these functions act as sub-currents feeding a single, continuous revenue flywheel. Ultimately, Aakash shares how teams can stay unified through simple North Star metrics, qualitative measures like client value perception, and a culture of cross-functional responsibility—where sales actively contributes to partner marketing and content, and marketing adapts by listening closely to ground-level buyer feedback.

In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K, host Kerry Guard sits down with Adamma Ihemeson, founder and CEO of The Automated CMO, to discuss shifting from surface-level AI use (like prompt generation) to building truly autonomous, agentic AI workflows. Following a 10-day silent meditation retreat reset, Adamma shares her practical, step-by-step approach to systematizing AI within marketing, how to overcome overwhelm, and the importance of ethics and human oversight in an AI-driven future.

Key Topics Covered:

• Agentic AI vs. Standard LLMs: Moving past basic back-and-forth prompts to autonomous, knowledge-base-driven systems that can think, plan, and execute tasks based on specific triggers.
• Overcoming AI Overwhelm & Burnout: Strategies for auditing your current workflows, setting global context rules, breaking projects into phases, and using AI as a co-builder or assistant rather than a blind replacement.
• No-Code / Low-Code AI App Building: Adamma breaks down her process for building apps quickly—including how she shipped 8 apps in 6 weeks—using Product Requirement Documents (PRDs), verification checklists, and tools like Claude.
• Practical Marketing Use Cases: High-value applications like lead generation and qualification, competitor market research, and process automation, while avoiding over-reliance on AI for creative writing or sensitive financial data.
• Ethics, Governance, and Nuance: Addressing concerns around AI safety, regulation, environmental impacts, and the necessity of keeping a human decision-maker in the loop.

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In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K, host Kerry Guard sits down with Larry Long Jr., CEO and "Chief Energy Officer" at Larry Long Jr. Enterprises, to dive into the evolution of B2B sales outreach and examine whether cold calling is truly dead in today's digital landscape. Together, they break down how modern sales professionals can transition away from transactional, high-volume dialing toward intentional, relationship-driven connections.

Key Takeaways

• Evolution of Cold Outreach: High-volume "ice-cold" calling (150+ dials a day) yields diminishing returns; today's successful outreach relies on pre-warmed connections, multi-touch strategies, and personalized research.
• The "Brand of You": Sales professionals must build an active personal brand and online presence—especially on LinkedIn—so prospects recognize and trust them before a call occurs.
• Customization at Scale: Instead of generic mass outreach, target top-tier accounts with deep personalization (e.g., referencing specific past content or local connections) while maintaining structured CRM follow-ups.
• Sales and Marketing Alignment: Modern outreach requires a unified Account-Based Experience (ABX) approach where sales, marketing, and customer success collaborate on hyper-targeted strategies.
• Creative Direct Outreach: Standout tactics like localized gift boxes, personalized physical items, and active community engagement consistently outperform generic sales pitches.

In this episode of Back on T-R-A-C-K, host Kerry Guard sits down with Rachael Woods, founder of Woods MarCom, to explore how a background in science shapes a structured, data-driven approach to marketing strategy. Drawing from her transition from chemistry to corporate marketing and agency ownership, Rachael shares practical ways to build reliable marketing infrastructure, measure true acquisition costs, and avoid common operational traps.

What We Dive Into:

• The Scientific Approach to Marketing: How Rachel’s background in chemistry and pre-med informs her methodology for testing, analyzing, and optimizing marketing systems.
• The Agency Owner’s Balancing Act: Overcoming the "triple product" struggle—balancing client deliverables, back-office operations, and marketing your own business.
• Audience Intelligence Beyond Demographics: Moving past basic age and gender data by using tools like SparkToro to uncover qualitative insights, media habits, and strategic partnership opportunities.
• Campaign Patience & Learning Phases: Why constantly turning marketing channels on and off harms results, and how long platforms like Google Ads actually need to optimize.
• Scrappy, High-Impact Tracking Tactics: How non-tech heavy solutions—like CallRail for trackable phone numbers and vanity URLs—bridge the gap between initial clicks and real conversions.
• Dashboards vs. Data Storytelling: How to use aggregated dashboards to present clear ROI to executives without losing sight of the deeper, trend-level data required for smart decision-making.
• Fixing the Digital Infrastructure First: Why optimizing your core website user experience and conversion funnel is essential before spending budget on paid campaigns.

Product-led growth (PLG) in enterprise cybersecurity rarely follows the traditional B2B playbook. Rather than using self-serve trials to adopt software independently, security practitioners often use frictionless trials simply to validate marketing claims before requesting a guided demo. True growth requires combining a streamlined product validation flow with a bold, distinct brand identity that breaks through industry noise.

What We Dive Into:

• The Reality of PLG in Cybersecurity: Why traditional, unguided self-serve flows fail in high-trust, complex environments—and why trials often act as "claim validation" rather than hands-on adoption.
• The "Guided Trial" Motion: How repositioning the sales role from traditional selling to technical enablement helps buyers save time and navigate complex setup requirements.
• Middle-of-Funnel Conversion Tools: How interactive product tours (using tools like Navattic) bridge the gap between initial brand awareness and trial sign-ups for modern, low-attention buyers.
• Building a Defensible Brand: The strategic process of condensing a company's core value into a simple, defensible message (e.g., "Controlling Complexity").
• Human-Centered Campaign Strategy: How partnering with non-traditional figures like Simone Biles elevated brand recall far beyond standard cybersecurity tropes ("hackers in hoodies").

The traditional B2B marketing funnel is officially broken. Joined by guest Heidi Ramich on Tea Time with Tech Marketing Leaders, host Kerry Guard explores why modern customer journeys look less like a straight line and more like a Jackson Pollock painting—and what smart marketing teams are doing about it.

In a landscape where buying decisions are driven by entire committees rather than solo decision-makers, Heidi outlines the playbook for transitioning from vanity lead counts to true account-centric strategies.

What we dive into:

• Mapping the Non-Linear Path: Ditch outdated funnel models for an account-centric (ABX) approach designed to earn trust across complex buying groups.
• Smart Data & Tech: Use AI and predictive insights to spot accounts ready for change, focusing on buyer engagement clusters rather than isolated MQLs.
• Unified Revenue Teams: Why sales and marketing need to play like a single team, delivering strategic "air cover" during the quiet phases of the sales cycle.
• Metrics That Actually Matter: Shift your focus to long-term brand awareness, short-list placements, and high-intent actions—leaving open rates in the past.