Episode Summary

Alexander DeMoulin joins the OnBase Podcast to share his candid and inspiring journey from a failed salesperson to a respected RevOps leader. In this episode, he offers a behind-the-scenes look at how trust is built between sales and marketing teams—and why “bad data” is often the first and biggest barrier to collaboration.

From his apartment (formerly his basement), Alexander details how he used scrappy problem-solving and tools like Clay and Clearbit to rebuild trust with sales by cleaning up data, operationalizing lists, and turning feedback into action. His story is not just about tools and processes, but about earning buy-in and enabling cross-functional teams to take confident action.

Key Takeaways

• Failure Fuels Clarity
  Alexander’s early struggles in sales revealed his strengths in operations, eventually guiding him into GTM Ops.
• Trust Is Everything
  Years of failed outbound efforts eroded sales trust. Only deep collaboration and transparency could repair it.
• "Bad Data" Isn’t Just a Problem—It’s the Problem
  No enrichment tool fixes poor internal hygiene. Alexander tackled duplicates, rogue opportunities, and data mismatches at scale.
• Operational Alignment Enables Strategic Feedback
  Once trust was restored, sales, marketing, and ops could collaboratively address messaging, strategy, and execution with accountability in all directions.

Quotes

“There’s never perfect data in Salesforce. What matters is if your team can trust it enough to act.”

Best Moments 

(01:11) From Fired Salesperson to Ops Leader
 Alexander recounts the painful but transformative early career journey that shaped his specialization in ops.

(06:11) Where Outbound Lists Fail
 The unsexy truth behind bad data, duplicate accounts, and trust breakdowns between marketing and sales.

(11:44) The Turning Point
 A Slack message on a weekend sparks a rethinking of the entire outbound engine—led by Alexander.

(14:06) Peanut Butter and Clay
 How Alexander turned wild sales criteria (“they need peanut butter on their site”) into scalable enrichment using Clay.

(21:03) The 6-Column Salesforce Truth Test
 His most impactful solution: a system that ensured every account passed a rigorous check before reaching sales.

(26:19) From Bad Data to Collaborative Gold
 With trust rebuilt, feedback loops expanded across ops, sales, and marketing, unlocking real collaboration.

Tech Recommendations

• Clay – A web scraping and enrichment platform that empowered solo operators to iterate quickly, prototype creatively, and scale list building.
• Clearbit – The foundational enrichment layer that Alexander used for domain normalization and duplicate detection in Salesforce.

Resource Recommendations

Newsletter:

• Growth Unhinged by Kyle Poyar – Offers practical go-to-market and pricing insights, especially relevant in the AI era.

About the Guest

Alexander DeMoulin is the Director of Go-To-Market Operations at Intercom. With a career that started in university fundraising and took a winding journey through failed sales roles and marketing operations, Alexander brings a grounded, hands-on perspective to operational strategy. He’s led transformative work in sales and marketing alignment and is especially known for operationalizing outbound programs through innovative use of enrichment tools like Clay and Clearbit.

Connect with Alexander.

Episode Summary

Chris Savage joins the OnBase Podcast to share actionable insights on leveraging AI for brand building while staying true to authenticity. From his early days as a filmmaker to leading Wistia, Chris provides an engaging look into the evolution of brand strategies, the importance of creativity, and how leaders can guide their teams through this AI-driven transformation.

This episode explores everything from the risks of AI overhype to the timeless need for human connections in marketing. Whether you're a marketer, a leader, or AI-curious, this conversation will leave you equipped to build a stronger brand.

Key Takeaways

• Creativity Is a Numbers Game

Shipping quickly and iterating often fosters original connections, driving stronger, standout brand strategies.

• Why Brand Matters More Now

AI is increasing competition by lowering entry barriers; strong, authentic brands will be key differentiators in the long term.

• Authenticity Will Always Win

Consumers value honest, transparent engagement. AI tools are helpful, but real human interaction will always carry unmatched trust.

• Leadership in the AI Era

Leaders should immerse themselves in front-line experiences to better understand and guide AI's integration into their brand strategy.

• AI Enhancing Brand Strategy

AI doesn’t replace humans; it amplifies their ability to ideate, streamline processes, and drive focus on high-value tasks.

Quotes

“Authenticity will never go out of style. Consumers crave real interactions over AI-polished facades.”

Best Moments 

[00:48] The Story Behind Wistia

Chris shares the origin of Wistia and how YouTube inspired his vision to create a better platform for businesses.

[06:04] Why Brand Is King

Chris explains how a strong brand is non-negotiable to survive in a competitive, AI-driven world where differentiation is key.

[08:53] Secrets of Team Creativity

Structured risks, frequent attempts, and clear constraints help teams become more creative.

[19:43] The Power of AI-Driven Prototyping

Leaders, like Chris, are now using AI to create product prototypes, drastically shortening decision-making timelines.

[26:19] Guidance for AI Integration

Chris dives into the dangers of over-promising AI capabilities and offers strategies for incorporating innovation while managing customer expectations.

Tech Recommendations

Superhuman Email – Described as “luxury email,” Superhuman excels with AI-supported workflows like auto-replies and enhanced filtering, helping users streamline interactions.

Wistia – Wistia’s video platform empowers authentic video production and management, a critical tool for building resilient brands.

Resource Recommendations

Books:

• Masters of Doom by David Kushner - How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture

Podcast:

• Acquired: A deep-dive podcast analyzing the histories of companies like Microsoft and Starbucks.
• Stratechery: Ben Thompson’s insight-driven take on big tech trends and their implications.

Shout-Outs

• Rand Fishkin - Co-founder of SparkToro & Snackbar Studio. Author of Lost & Founder.
• Chris Nolan - CEO, Chief Creative Officer, 90,000 FEET.

About the Guest

Chris Savage is the CEO and co-founder of Wistia, a platform dedicated to helping businesses leverage video for effective brand building. With a background in film and over a decade at the forefront of B2B technology and marketing, Chris is a visionary leader reimagining how brands can amplify their impact in a rapidly evolving world.

Website: www.wistia.com

Connect with Chris.

Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody sits down with Mark Boothe to explore how AI agents are reshaping the future of marketing. Mark brings candid insights from his tenure at Domo, diving into the transformative potential of agentic workflows, the necessity of AI readiness, and how marketers can navigate both disruption and opportunity.

Mark shares practical advice on leveraging agents as "tireless teammates" for joyless, repetitive tasks, enhancing competitive intelligence, scaling content creation, and making smarter, faster decisions across go-to-market functions. He also reflects on challenges CMOs face today—from attribution complexity to shifting SEO dynamics—and explains why waiting to adopt AI is the riskiest move of all.

This conversation is a must-listen for B2B marketers, CMOs, and business leaders looking to scale with purpose and intelligence in the age of autonomous agents.

Key Takeaways

• AI Agents Are Here—and You're Already Late  Mark emphasizes that CMOs can no longer afford to delay AI adoption. Organizations that do not actively experiment with agents risk falling irreparably behind in terms of go-to-market maturity and innovation.
• Tireless Teammates, Not Job Takers  AI agents are best positioned to automate the joyless, manual tasks humans hate. With proper training and data, they can deliver superhuman memory, adaptability, and task execution across industries.
• Data Readiness Is Make or Break  The phrase "garbage in, garbage out" rings true—Mark stresses that AI without structured, contextualized, and governed data is not just ineffective, but dangerous.
• Align AI with Enterprise Goals  AI efforts must be anchored in clear business priorities, not shiny objects. Mark warns against focusing solely on vanity metrics and stresses the importance of tying every initiative back to pipeline, revenue, and customer value.
• Don't Just Automate—Adapt  Traditional automation is static. AI agents enable adaptability—responding to market shifts, customer signals, and business changes in real-time with minimal human input.

Quotes

“AI agents should make you way smarter, faster, and more adaptable—if you're aligned with the right goals.”

Resource recommendations

• ⁠Jasper⁠ – For scalable content generation.
• ⁠Domo⁠ – For real-time marketing analytics and agent orchestration.

Resource recommendations

Books:

• ⁠How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie⁠ – Timeless lessons in people-first leadership.
• ⁠Dare to Lead by Brené Brown⁠ – Currently being read by Mark’s team book club for fostering courageous leadership.
• ⁠Patrick Lencioni’s books⁠ – Especially on team dynamics and healthy conflict.

B2B Leaders to follow

• ⁠Denise Persson⁠, CMO of Snowflake, for leading high-impact B2B marketing.

About the Guest

Mark brings over 15 years of diverse marketing experience and is passionate about driving Domo’s business growth through marketing initiatives. His mission is to empower all Domo customers and prospects with the insights and tools they need to make better business decisions and achieve their goals. In his previous role as VP of Community, Partner, and Field Marketing, Mark and his teams established new and strengthened existing programs to address customer pain points and create a greater sense of community. They also executed campaigns, programs and events that showcase the value of the Domo platform.

Before joining Domo, Mark spent more than 10 years working in customer relations and marketing at Adobe and worked at Instructure as its senior director of customer marketing. He received his MBA from Utah State University and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. Outside of work, Mark enjoys spending time with his family and traveling.

⁠Connect with Mark.⁠

Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody talks with Angela (Bruns) Herlihy about crafting and scaling an account-based strategy that aligns teams and delivers results. From her early days in gymnastics to leading marketing ops in a public company, Angela shares a compelling story of grit and growth.

She walks through the operational realities of building ABM frameworks in resource-constrained environments, redefines what ABM really means across sales and marketing, and explains how to make strategic decisions with imperfect data. Angela’s hands-on experience and pragmatic mindset offer a roadmap for anyone navigating the messy middle of ABM adoption.

If you’re looking to operationalize strategy, influence pipeline, and align GTM teams—this episode delivers both inspiration and actionable advice.

Key Takeaways

• ABM Surfaces Everything:
   Account-based strategies expose every operational weakness—data silos, unclear accountability, or misaligned teams. But if addressed early, they lead to better GTM alignment and faster deal velocity.
• Reframe ABM as a Strategy:
   ABM isn’t a campaign or a tech tool—it’s a company-wide approach to relationship building. Angie’s team embraced a tiered model (1:1, 1:few, 1:many) and shifted toward lifecycle-based engagement.
• Get Scrappy with Data:
   With limited resources, Angela built centralized dashboards using Google Sheets and manual inputs—creating a shared source of truth across sales and marketing.
• Co-Ownership with Sales:
   Alignment means co-creating everything from account selection to success metrics. Dashboards, engagement trackers, and real-time sales alerts made collaboration a practice, not a one-time effort.
• Lead with Progress, Not Just Revenue:
   Revenue is a lagging indicator. Angela focuses on buying group engagement, deal progression, and pipeline influence to maintain momentum and build trust.
• ABM ≠ Just Marketing:
   Angela avoids jargon and explains ABM through real-world examples that resonate with sales, leadership, and marketing alike. Her redefinition of ABM makes it feel like a growth strategy for the entire business.

Quotes

“ABM doesn’t just require operational alignment—it forces it.”

Best moments 

• 00:30 – From South Dakota gymnast to GTM leader: Angie’s journey.
• 04:00 – How ABM surfaces internal misalignments and drives cross-functional clarity.
• 07:00 – Evolving ABM from campaign-based to lifecycle-based strategy.
• 08:40 – Scrappy ABM: Centralizing fragmented data without overhauling tech.
• 11:00 – Aligning marketing and sales through shared metrics and processes.
• 13:30 – Redefining ABM and earning internal buy-in with relatable use cases.
• 15:30 – Balancing speed with long-term data discipline.

Tech recommendations

• Perplexity
  
• Claude
  
• HubSpot (for its rapid evolution and product breadth)

Resource recommendations

Podcasts:

• Talking Shop by Kelly Hopping – GTM alignment and real-world marketing challenges
  
• Prof G Pod by Scott Galloway – Sharp insights on business, tech, and leadership

Newsletter:

• Marketoonist by Tom Fishburne – Humorous yet insightful takes on marketing absurdities

About the guest

Angela (Bruns) Herlihy is a seasoned B2B marketing leader with a rare blend of technical expertise and strategic insight. Currently at DoubleVerify, Angela has built and scaled a full-stack marketing operations function covering everything from campaign management and analytics to website strategy and ABM.

Her career spans roles in market research, database marketing, and marketing operations at companies including Gartner Digital Markets and LaserSpine Institute. Angela’s work has influenced demand gen, reviewer acquisition, and full-funnel ABM strategy. She’s known for her ability to scale marketing functions from scratch, align cross-functional teams, and drive operational efficiency with measurable impact.

Angela brings a unique mix of grit, precision, and vision to her work—skills rooted in her background as a competitive gymnast.

Connect with Angie.

Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody talks with Vincent DeCastro about the intersection of AI and ABM, revealing how advanced tools are improving the scalability of one-to-one and one-to-few account-based strategies. From real-world success stories to actionable insights, Vincent dives deep into the challenges of hyper-personalization and how business teams can leverage AI to streamline efforts while enhancing relationships.

Key Takeaways

• AI’s Role in ABM

AI bridges the gap between manual efforts and scalable success, allowing marketers to hyper-personalize their outreach with greater efficiency.

• Scaling Hyper-Personalization

AI-powered tools like Humantic AI and Manus help marketers deliver deeply personalized messaging, from emails to team cards.

• The Foundation of Great ABM

Vincent emphasizes the importance of relationships over vanity metrics in ABM strategies.

• AI for Targeting

AI tools remove biases in selecting target accounts and deliver data-backed choices for better ABM campaigns.

• Real-World Success Story

Through AI-based automation, Vincent’s team reduced team card customization efforts from three weeks to two days, enabling global ABM scalability.

Quotes

“AI isn’t just eliminating inefficiencies; it’s creating ways for marketers to aspire higher and achieve more.”

Best Moments 

• 01:20 Vincent’s Journey - Vincent talks about his early days in B2B marketing and his pivot toward ABM nearly nine years ago.

• 07:04 The One-to-One Impact - Vincent shares an inspiring success story about building a CEO relationship that culminated at the Super Bowl.

• 09:52 Scaling ABM with AI - “Without AI, scaling hyper-personalized ABM campaigns globally would take massive resources.”

• 17:46 Hyper-Personalization at Its Best - Vincent reveals how tools like Manus assign tasks to AI agents, creating efficiencies across marketing processes.

• 27:08 - AI’s Transformational Role - “AI isn’t replacing humans; it’s making us better by streamlining the process and letting us focus on strategy.”

Tech Recommendations

• Manus – A dynamic AI tool that automates marketing tasks by delegating them to specific agents, significantly reducing manual effort.
• Humantic – Great for understanding individual buyer personalities at scale. Provides insights like DISC profiles and how to effectively approach communications.

Shout-Outs

• Jason Lewis - Global Business Communications Lead, The Chemours Company — Titanium Technologies

About the Guest

Vincent DeCastro is the President and Owner/Senior SEO Consultant at The Advanced Business Metrics Agency. With a background in Internet Sales Management at BellSouth/AT&T and Account Executive experience at Thomas Industrial Network, Vincent specializes in SEO, PPC, and web-based content solutions for small and mid-sized companies. Vincent is also knowledgeable in strategy development and training, constantly updating best practices based on algorithm and AdWords updates.

Website: abmagency.com

Connect with Vincent.

Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody sits down with Bryan Bowles to discuss how marketers can drive sustainable customer growth through tighter alignment with commercial teams, smarter segmentation, and role clarity across go-to-market functions.

Bryan shares his unconventional career path and the insights he’s gained by working across technical, product, and sales roles. He explains why marketers must understand both the buyer and the seller journeys, and how misaligned activities can waste resources and erode trust.

From building campaigns that matter to structuring internal marketing roles with precision, Bryan offers a blueprint for modern B2B teams seeking to make a meaningful impact—especially when budgets are tight and expectations are high.

Key Takeaways

• Start with Seller Empathy:
   Great marketing doesn’t just mirror the buyer’s journey—it walks in the seller’s shoes. Understanding how commercial teams use marketing materials is crucial to building relevant, timely campaigns.
• Segmentation is the Game-Changer:
   Trying to market to all customers equally leads to diluted efforts. Instead, narrow focus, precise segmentation, and account intelligence lead to higher conversion and deeper engagement.
• Align on Roles, Not Just Goals:
   Marketing success hinges on clearly defined roles. Bryan emphasizes letting product marketers focus on the “what” and “why,” while campaign teams drive the “how” with discipline and expertise.
• Activity ≠ Outcomes:
   Webinars and flashy tactics might feel good, but without a cohesive playbook and long-term view, they won’t move the needle. Sustainable growth comes from planned, multi-touch, multi-channel programs.
• Operational Simplicity Drives Speed:
   Bringing content and campaign teams into one unit at GHX reduced handoffs and improved execution speed—creating what Bryan calls “one less handoff,” a powerful operational mantra.
• Outspend or Outsmart:
   When you can’t outspend competitors, get surgical. Tight focus, clear audience segmentation, and close collaboration with the commercial team allow you to win smarter—not louder.

Quotes

“You don’t need to spam the world. You need to be relevant to the right segment and convert.”

Best moments 

02:00 – Bryan’s journey from rural hospital analyst to marketing leader.

05:30 – Where companies fail in connecting commercial goals to marketing actions.

09:00 – The secret to scaling customer growth through tight segmentation.

13:00 – Turning field events into actionable intelligence for frontline teams.

16:00 – Role definition and the art of avoiding activity-based marketing.

20:00 – How merging content and campaign teams accelerated execution.

23:30 – Why winning market share requires precision, not volume.

Resource recommendations

Books:

• Smart Brevity – A guide to simplifying communication and getting to the point faster.

Podcasts:

• Outcomes Rocket – A healthcare-focused podcast Bryan recommends for insight into industry trends.

Shout-outs

• Kaycee Kalpin, CMO, Premier Inc.

About the guest

Bryan Bowles is a seasoned marketing executive with over two decades of experience leading growth and innovation across the healthcare industry. He currently serves as Vice President of Corporate Marketing at GHX, where he oversees global marketing strategy, brand development, and the alignment of marketing initiatives with enterprise-wide business goals.

Prior to GHX, Bryan held senior leadership roles at Everside Health and Premier Inc., where he was known for launching innovative healthcare solutions and driving measurable marketing impact. With a background spanning product management, sales, and marketing, Bryan brings a unique, cross-functional perspective that fuels customer-centric growth strategies.
Connect with Bryan.

Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, host Paul Gibson sits down with Bee Patel for a deep dive into what it really means to “own the brand” in 2025. Bee challenges the legacy idea that branding lives solely within marketing and shares how today’s most effective brands are shaped by collaborative ownership across HR, product, comms, and sales.

Bee discusses the evolution of branding as a business outcome driver—supporting everything from lead generation to sales conversion—and shares actionable strategies for unifying internal teams to create stronger external brand impact. The conversation also tackles AI's current challenges, the importance of simplification in brand governance, and how fostering creative freedom can help teams cut through the noise.

Best moments 

• (0:47) Bee discusses her journey and focus on converting reputation into measurable business outcomes.
• (1:33) Paul introduces the importance of reimagining brand ownership.
• (3:33) Bee explains the shift of the brand from an awareness tool to supporting lead generation and close rates.
• (5:46) Bee shares an example of collaboration with HR and product teams during a brand transformation at Insight.
• (12:55) Bee states her personal opinion that AI is currently more of a challenge than an enabler.
• (16:25) Bee emphasizes the importance of communication and early stakeholder involvement to remove silos in brand collaboration.
• (19:09) Bee advises comms leaders to simplify and empower teams to own the brand rather than policing it.

Key Takeaways

• Brand Is Everyone’s Job:
   Gone are the days of brand as a “marketing deliverable.” Today’s successful organizations embed brand values into every function—HR, product, sales, and beyond—to maintain a consistent and authentic experience.
• From Gatekeepers to Facilitators:
   Comms and brand leaders must move from enforcing rules to enabling ownership. This cultural shift empowers teams to internalize and live the brand, not just follow guidelines.
• Trust Is the New Currency:
   Bee underscores that in a market where trust drives conversion, brand consistency and credibility aren’t nice-to-haves—they’re game-changers.
• AI as a Work-in-Progress:
   While AI has potential, Bee cautions against jumping on every tool. Strategic, contextual deployment—especially for operational efficiency—matters more than trend-chasing.
• Measure What Matters:
   Bee shares real-world impact metrics, including a 33% increase in content engagement and a surge in solution-based RFPs following brand transformation efforts.

Tech recommendations

• ChatGPT

Resource recommendations
Books:

• The Speed of Trust by Stephen Covey - A must-read on how trust drives business results.
  
• The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins - Bee’s current read on navigating boundaries and letting go.

Blogs:

• Farnam Street - A weekly newsletter that helps to demystify and simplify complex mental models.

Shout-outs

• Nerea Gandarias, a Senior Marketing Executive at 8x8 - Bee recommends her as an inspirational leader with unmatched strategic rigor and humanity in leadership.

About the Guest
Bee Patel, Global Marketing & Communications Director at AlphaSights is a razor-sharp marketing leader, bringing over 15 years of expertise and knowledge across marketing and communications. With experience in internal and external communications, she is passionate about crafting user-centric content and messaging that cuts through the noise and is delivered through an integrated communications mix. She currently leads the global Brand and Communications Team at AlphaSights, focused on brand building strategies and connecting with their key stakeholders through compelling storytelling and engaging digital experiences.

Prior to joining AlphaSights, she led the European content and communications team for Fortune 500 technology solutions provider, Insight, overseeing their PR, social, and content strategy across nine European regions.

Connect with Bee.

Episode Summary

On this episode of the OnBase Podcast, Gabe Rogol dives into how AI agents are reshaping go-to-market strategies and reveals what Demandbase 4.0 brings to the table. Gabe outlines the evolution of account-based marketing, the need for open and flexible platforms, and where automation meets human creativity in redefining the modern sales and marketing landscape. Whether you're a sales leader, marketer, or just curious about AI's role in B2B, this episode delivers thought-provoking clarity and actionable takeaways.

Key Takeaways

• Demandbase 4.0 marks a shift from closed platforms to open, flexible, AI-assisted go-to-market systems.
• AgentBase enables faster, smarter GTM through assisted automation built on unified first- and third-party data.
• AI won’t replace SDRs, but will augment them—human creativity and relationships still matter most.
• Over-automation risks fragmentation and spam if agents aren’t aligned across functions.
• Leads and last-touch attribution are outdated; pipeline creation is the new GTM North Star.
• Data quality is critical—bad CRM data can sabotage AI-driven decisions.
• Sales and marketing must act as one team, aligned around outcomes, not functions.
• Trust and transparency are foundational to a successful, scalable GTM model.
• Personalization still matters, but only when targeting the right ICP.
• Marketing deserves more investment, not just for efficiency, but to unlock real growth.

Quotes

“Trust is foundational to alignment. Without trust, the entire go-to-market process breaks down.”

Best Moments 

• 00:37 Shifting Into Phase Four
• Gabe outlines the concept and exciting features of Demandbase 4.0, detailing the open and automated future of ABM.
• 03:27 The Soapbox Moment
• "Aligning go-to-market resources with the accounts that have the greatest lifetime value" as the core of success.
• 06:39 What AgentBase Makes Possible
• Gabe discusses how AI agents democratize complex tasks like segmentation, orchestration, and funnel tracking.
• 16:57 The Risks of AI Agents
• Gabe cautions about amplified risks from bad data and the danger of fragmented go-to-market strategies.
• 24:56 The New GTM Playbook
• Roles across sales, marketing, and operations converge around pipeline creation for unified success.
• 30:09 The Power of Personalization
• Gabe advocates for thoughtful personalization to the right audience over shallow attempts at scaling outreach.

Tech Recommendations

Obsidian (Zettelkasten Tool) – A robust digital note-taking system for organizing non-linear ideas and linking essential insights across topics.

Resource Recommendations

• Harvard Business Review (HBR) Compilations: Collections on decision-making, agile processes, and AI insights, offering concise and actionable advice for B2B professionals.

Shoutouts:

• Marc Benioff - Chair & CEO at Salesforce

About the Guest

As the Chief Executive Officer of Demandbase, Gabe is responsible for fulfilling the company’s mission of transforming how B2B companies go-to-market.

Since joining Demandbase in 2012, he has been committed to setting the product and corporate strategy for the company. Throughout his two-plus-decade career, Gabe has held various leadership positions, including managing world-class customer service and sales teams at IDG and other leading publishers. He received his BA in Comparative Literature and Russian Language and Literature from Brown University.

Connect with Gabe.

Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody sits down with Jessica Rhodes to talk about branding, likeability, and how podcasting can transform your sales conversations. Jessica reflects on how she turned a favor for her dad into a thriving business and why bringing your whole personality to the table is key to building buyer trust.

From tactical takeaways on content repurposing to deeper insights on the neuroscience of decision-making, this conversation is equal parts actionable and human. Jessica explains why likability isn’t fluff—it’s foundational—and how being authentic across every marketing touchpoint builds a brand that wins even in a competitive sales process.

If you’re in B2B marketing, sales enablement, or looking to boost your thought leadership through podcasts, this one’s for you.

Key Takeaways

• Likeability is a Sales Strategy:
   Strong brand identity isn’t just about logos and messaging—it’s about trust and connection. Jessica and her team win business because people like them, not just because of features.
• Show, Don’t Tell:
   You can’t just say your team is amazing—your content has to prove it. Brand personality needs to shine across marketing, not just in sales calls.
• Podcasts = Trust Accelerators:
   Podcasts create long-form, unfiltered content that lets buyers hear your voice, beliefs, and expertise—way before they hit the sales funnel.
• Repurpose with Purpose:
   From sending podcast links in pre-sales calls to clipping interviews for social content, podcasts can fuel your entire marketing strategy.
• SEO Goldmine:
   Each podcast appearance builds your online footprint with backlinks, blog posts, and YouTube videos—an underrated SEO boost.
• Decision-Making Requires Gut & Calm:
   Jessica shares how understanding her "sacral authority" through human design and regulating her nervous system has helped her make clearer, less reactive decisions.

Quotes

“Your brand identity is letting your personality come through your marketing. People logically assess vendors—but they choose the one they like most.”

Best moments 

02:00–04:30 – Jessica’s journey from door-to-door canvasser to podcast agency founder.

05:30–07:00 – Likeability and brand identity: why it matters more than features.

08:45–11:00 – The challenge (and power) of bringing your full self to work.

11:30–13:30 – What to do right after you record a podcast: behind-the-scenes content, repurposing, and engagement tips.

14:45–15:30 – Podcasting’s secret SEO advantage.

16:15–18:00 – Using gut instinct and a calm nervous system to make better decisions.

Tech recommendations

• Aloware – for outbound dialing and bulk SMS.
• Opus Clip – for repurposing podcast content.
• HubSpot – for marketing automation and CRM.

Resource recommendations

Books:

• $100M Offers and $100M Leads by Alex Hormozi

Podcasts:

• The Game with Alex Hormozi

Shout-outs

• Margy Feldhuhn, Co-Owner and CEO, Interview Connections
• Melanie Ann Layer, High-Performance Business Mentor, MLI Coaching

About the Guest

Jessica Rhodes is the founder of Interview Connections, the world’s first podcast booking agency, launched in 2013 before podcast guesting was on anyone's radar. As a trailblazer in the podcasting space, Jessica Rhodes has helped more than 800 clients land over 30,000 podcast interviews, establishing herself as a thought leader in how businesses can leverage podcasting to grow. Her mission is simple yet powerful: to help entrepreneurs who feel like the best-kept secret increase visibility and build trust through the human-to-human connection that only long-form podcast interviews can provide.

Connect with Jessica.

Episode Summary

In this episode of OnBase, host Chris Moody reunites with longtime friend and podcast co-creator Amber Naslund for a reflective and forward-thinking conversation. Amber brings a wealth of experience across the marketing-sales spectrum and shares how her background in marketing has become her superpower in sales.

They explore how better collaboration between marketing and sales can unlock massive gains, why product marketing and sales enablement should stop building models and start offering "Legos," and how storytelling in sales is less about fables and more about connecting dots. Amber also gets real about brand vs. demand debates and why marketers need to stop underestimating the power of long-term influence.

Key Takeaways

• Marketing Skills Supercharge Sales:
   Amber’s success in sales stems from her deep understanding of marketers. Being able to “speak the same language” has helped her build trust, credibility, and strategic partnerships with customers.
• Empathy > Silos:
   Sales and marketing still operate too independently. The cure? Cross-functional humility, joint planning, and sitting in on each other's meetings.
• Build Legos, Not Models:
   Product marketers and sales enablers should create modular, adaptable building blocks—not rigid, linear pitch decks. Sellers need the freedom to customize.
• Get Comfortable with Casual:
   Great sellers are simplifying, listening deeply, and having real, unscripted conversations. Over-reliance on pitch decks and sequences is hurting connection.
• Brand is Demand:
   The divide between brand and demand gen is artificial. Brand is what puts you on the buyer’s shortlist on Day 1—it’s measurable, just not always trackable.

Quotes

“Brand is demand. It’s all one thing. The biggest mistake marketing made was thinking brand was separate from measurable success.”

Best moments 

01:20 – Amber’s career journey: from nonprofit fundraising to sales leader at LinkedIn.
05:30 – What marketers misunderstand about sales (and vice versa).
09:15 – The art of “getting comfortable with casual.”
12:30 – Why enablement teams need to provide mix-and-match sales materials.
15:30 – Storytelling in sales: not fluff, but hypothesis.
18:00 – The real power of brand—and why we’re measuring it all wrong.

Resource recommendations

Books:

• The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins
• Babel by R.F. Kuang

Podcasts:

• Hidden Brain Podcast

Shout-outs

• Ashley Faus, Head of Lifecycle Marketing, Portfolio at Atlassian – She is admired for her community leadership and generosity.
• Jenn VandeZande, Digital Engagement Strategy at SAP CX – Amber praised Jenn for her editorial excellence and long-game content strategy.

About the Guest

Amber Naslund is a seasoned marketing and sales executive, currently serving as a Director at LinkedIn within their Marketing Solutions business. With over 25 years of experience across nonprofit fundraising, B2B marketing, tech startups, and enterprise sales, she brings a rare dual-lens perspective from both sides of the revenue table.

From co-founding a podcast with host Chris Moody over a decade ago to transitioning from marketing leader to sales director, Amber has continually embraced growth, reinvention, and empathy as cornerstones of her leadership. She’s passionate about bridging the gap between marketing and sales teams, crafting meaningful stories, and advocating for the value of brand in today’s attribution-obsessed world.

Connect with Amber.