Straight To Voicemail

Sales follow-ups are not about sending more messages. They are about creating conversations that give prospects a reason to engage.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Chris Cicconi, Director of Sales and Business Development at KnowledgeNow eLearning Solutions, about why effective follow-ups require a deeper understanding of your audience, your offering, and the value you bring to the conversation. Chris explains why generic outreach has become easier than ever to ignore, how sales teams can create more relevant messages by understanding the industries and people they serve, and why every follow-up should add a new chapter to the story instead of repeating the same message.

You’ll learn:

• Why understanding your offering is the foundation of effective sales follow-ups
• How to tailor outreach based on your audience, industry, and buyer needs
• Why valuable follow-ups need to provide context instead of adding more noise
• How creating a consistent story across follow-ups can help prospects engage

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Chris Cicconi

(01:13) Why sales follow-ups are harder now

(01:55) Start with a clear value proposition

(02:22) Personalizing follow-ups by prospect

(02:50) Scaling personalization across accounts

(03:14) Using industry-specific pain points

(03:39) Adding value without getting a reply

(03:57) Choosing the right follow-up channel

(04:15) How to leave a better voicemail

(04:46) Meeting prospects where they respond

(05:09) Make every follow-up tell a story

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

Go-to-market alignment does not happen because everyone agrees in a meeting. It happens when teams have the infrastructure to stay aligned as strategies move into the market.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Sapphire Reels, Senior Product Marketing Leader at Atlassian, about why companies need to think about alignment as an ongoing system rather than a one-time event. Sapphire explains why GTM strategy naturally drifts as sales, customer success, product, and marketing optimize for different goals, how that inconsistency shows up across the buyer and customer journey, and why creating a shared source of truth is becoming even more important as AI influences more of what customers see.

You’ll learn:

• Why go-to-market alignment needs to be treated as infrastructure
• How GTM strategy naturally drifts as different teams optimize for their own goals
• Why pricing, positioning, launches, and the buyer journey need to stay connected
• How a shared source of truth can keep teams and AI aligned with your GTM strategy

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Sapphire Reels

(01:34) Alignment as infrastructure

(02:26) Why GTM strategy naturally drifts

(02:41) Creating one customer experience

(03:19) Planning for inevitable GTM drift

(03:47) Building consistency into your strategy

(04:10) Creating a shared source of truth

(04:30) Why AI makes alignment harder

(05:21) How customers actually experience strategy

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

SEO is not becoming less relevant because of AI. It is becoming more important. Instead of optimizing for a single search engine, marketers now have to think about visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, and other AI-powered discovery platforms.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Darren Shaw, Founder of Whitespark, about why traditional SEO remains foundational in an AI search world. Darren explains how AI platforms rely on websites, traditional search results, and retrieval processes to generate answers, and why businesses still need strong technical SEO, content, Google Business Profiles, brand building, and digital PR if they want to show up when customers search.

You’ll learn:

• Why SEO is becoming more important as search expands across AI platforms
• Why ranking in traditional search can directly influence whether your business appears in AI-generated results
• How your website and Google Business Profile act as key sources of information for search and AI platforms
• Why brand building and digital PR are becoming even more important for visibility in an AI search world

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Darren Shaw

(01:21) Why SEO matters more than ever

(01:36) Optimizing across AI search platforms

(02:41) Your website remains the source

(03:02) How AI uses search results

(03:53) Google Business Profile and AI

(04:37) Brand building matters even more

(05:29) Why SEO is foundational for 2026

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

Marketing teams often jump to visible solutions: a new website, better messaging, more leads, or another campaign. But the biggest marketing challenges are rarely the ones companies think they have. The real issue is often hidden beneath the surface, whether it is a lack of customer understanding, poor sales alignment, or a product experience that is not meeting expectations.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Maylee Jacob, a fractional marketer who helps teams identify the problems they actually need to solve. Maylee explains why companies need to question the initial marketing request before jumping into execution and how the right customer insights can reveal what is really holding growth back. 

You’ll learn:

• Why the marketing problem companies identify is often not the actual problem they need to solve
• Why building better messaging, websites, or campaigns cannot fix deeper issues like trust, positioning, or customer alignment
• How customer conversations, sales calls, and support insights can uncover the real barriers to growth
• Why marketers need to get comfortable questioning the assignment before moving quickly in the wrong direction

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Maylee Jacob

(01:24) Why the obvious marketing problem is often wrong

(02:16) What marketing cannot fix

(02:50) Why positioning should start with the customer

(03:05) Why more leads may not solve growth

(03:45) How companies lose sight of customer reality

(04:07) How to find the real problem

(04:55) Why marketing is not always the fix

(05:18) Why marketers should question the assignment

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

In a world filled with AI-generated content, AI agents, and watermarking, buyers are moving faster than ever, yet trust remains the hardest piece of the puzzle to solve. While AI tools can generate shortlists in seconds, real human proof is what ultimately drives buying decisions. Without authentic verification, brand trust easily breaks down.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Alex London, Chief Marketing Officer at G2. Alex breaks down why a watermark only tells you where content came from and not whether you should believe it. She also reveals how buyer behavior is shifting as AI agents take on more of the sales funnel. 

You’ll learn:

• Why watermarks don't equal trust, and why verified human proof is what buyers actually demand
• Why 82% of sourced recommendations come from AI chatbots, yet real user reviews remain the top shortlist driver
• How AI speeds up early shortlist creation while making the final evaluation stage longer
• Why buyers comfortably use AI agents for research but refuse to hand over final purchasing power

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Alex London

(02:22) Why watermarks show origin, not credibility

(02:40) Unpacking the buyer behavior report: Chatbots vs. human reviews

(03:15) Why evaluation is taking longer in the AI era

(03:32) How buyers are actually using AI agents

(03:52) The power of verified buyers and true proof

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

Capturing the attention of B2B buyers has never been harder, especially in an environment where traditional corporate ads are routinely ignored. But as consumer attention shifts toward short-form, vertical video, B2B marketers are discovering a powerful new way to engage decision-makers where they already spend their time.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Richard Ormsby, Founder and CEO of Lavendr. Richard breaks down how the explosive growth of B2C microdramas offers a blueprint for B2B video marketing. He shares why corporate buyers don't stop being human when they clock in, the power of hooking an audience in the first three seconds through storytelling, and how vertical video formats can directly drive pipeline and revenue.

You’ll learn:

• Why the explosive growth of B2C microdramas offers a new blueprint for B2B video strategy
• Why B2B buyers don't stop being human consumers when they clock in at work
• How combining storytelling with vertical formatting hooks decision-makers in the first three seconds
• How short-form video can move past traditional ad resistance to drive millions in revenue

Jump into the conversation:

(00:01) Why we wanted to hear from Richard Ormsby

(01:10) The downstream impact of B2C microdramas on B2B video

(01:38) The rise of short-form video and proving its economic model

(02:31) Storytelling plus format: Adapting to modern attention spans

(03:15) Hooking corporate buyers in the first three seconds

(04:03) Turning short-form video into millions in B2B revenue

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

In a B2B landscape driven by constant momentum, it's easy to get caught up in the rush for the next big campaign while overlooking the power of reflecting on past performance. Without a clear framework to measure what actually worked, teams risk relying on isolated data, emotional reactions, or disjointed strategies that fail to move the needle.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Colt Steingraber, Senior Team Lead for Marketing at RevPartners. Colt breaks down how organizations can transform quarterly performance reviews from empty exercises into actionable growth engines. Drawing on RevPartners' Revenue Performance Model (RPM), he outlines how mature CRM data, clear primary and secondary KPIs, and trend analysis replace ambiguity with cross-team alignment across sales, marketing, and leadership. He shares how combining reliable data with gut instinct empowers teams to make confident mid-quarter pivots, double down on high-converting channels, and make strategic shifts that directly impact revenue outcomes.

You’ll learn:

• Why looking back at performance with a structured framework is essential for driving future revenue outcomes
• How analyzing long-term trends instead of isolated numbers removes emotional reactions and ambiguity across teams
• How uniting sales, marketing, and leadership around reliable CRM data builds cross-team alignment on what to do next
• How combining objective data with gut instinct empowers organizations to make confident, mid-quarter strategic pivots

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to connect with Colt Steingraber

(01:35) Revenue attribution challenges and the Revenue Performance Model

(02:22) Setting up primary and secondary KPIs across the customer journey

(03:24) Trends over numbers: Building cross-team alignment

(04:12) Balancing data with gut instinct for mid-quarter pivots

(04:45) Turning QBR insights into actionable commitments

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

Navigating a brand identity shift can feel like uncharted territory, especially when new products, changing markets, or company growth start pulling your message in different directions. Without a clear anchor, it is easy for a brand to lose sight of what made it successful in the first place.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Joseph Ray, Director of Marketing Services at Lighthouse Technology Services. Joseph discusses how organizations can manage identity shifts without compromising their foundation. Drawing a unique parallel between expanding a business and welcoming a second child, he breaks down how to balance new brand ventures while staying rooted in your core principles. He shares how leaning into unshakeable core values can guide your marketing strategy, maintain customer trust, and even spark creative content initiatives like launching a podcast.  

You’ll learn:

• Why welcoming a second child offers a fresh perspective on managing multiple product lines and distinct brand identities under one roof
• Why mission and foundational principles should never change, even when your business or market shifts
• How living out a principle like "be a lighthouse" can inspire authentic initiatives like launching a community-focused podcast
• How taking control of your visual, verbal, and content identity defines how your company shows up in the market

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Joseph Ray

(00:52) Juggling distinct product lines and multiple brand identities

(02:00) Core values as your brand anchor

(02:41) Bringing values to life through marketing

(03:50) Using core principles to launch and elevate a podcast

(04:45) Why marketers are the ultimate stewards of brand identity

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

Every marketer is under pressure to produce results, but when you're working with limited time and budget, the line between B2B and B2C strategies can get blurry. The urge to be everywhere at once often leads to burnout instead of breakthroughs.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel hears from Monica Stockbridge, Content Marketing Strategist at Dutch Vet, on how to navigate marketing strategy on a tight budget. Monica’s advice cuts through the complexity: whether you're selling to a single consumer or an enterprise committee, you're still marketing to humans. She shares practical ways to focus your limited resources, from leveraging subject matter experts to choosing the right content formats, so even small teams can drive real impact.

You'll learn:

• Why remembering there is always a human on the receiving end is the ultimate key to effective content marketing
• How B2B and B2C buying cycles differ, and why picking the right content format saves limited resources
• How to leverage subject matter expert interviews to quickly multiply your content output across channels

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Monica Stockbridge

(01:27) The underlying core of B2B vs. B2C marketing

(02:14) Choosing the right formats for your audience

(02:50) Leveraging SMEs to build trust and multiply content

(03:15) Writing helpful human content on a tight budget

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights. 

In a world where digital feeds are overwhelmed with constant noise, standing out isn't about shouting the loudest, but about getting people to fall in love with your brand even in places where it doesn't always seem to make sense. When it comes to finding the secret to building unexpected brand obsession and maximizing the influence of your business, there is no one better to turn to than Alan Roll, Head of Brand and Creative at Deel.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Adam Sockel  hears from Alan on how companies can break through the clutter by tapping into amazing storytelling. Alan breaks down the intersection of category, customer, and company, explaining why finding your basic human truth and building an inspirational mythology will always win out over a commoditized conversation.

You'll learn:

• Tapping into a basic human truth is the essential foundation needed to get audiences genuinely excited and jazzed about your brand   
• Building an inspirational myth anchors the brand, helping customers envision a different future tightly aligned with their own belief systems   
• Balancing company authenticity, customer relevance, and category differentiation ensures you avoid a commoditized conversation   
• As AI scales information, being surgical and precise with your brand story becomes critical to ensure it is interpreted correctly

Jump into the conversation:

(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Alan Roll 

(01:30) The core secrets to building an unexpected brand 

(02:42) Tapping into basic human truths to activate an audience 

(03:26) How the intersection of company, customer, and category creates authenticity 

(04:40) Why AI makes precision in storytelling more critical than ever

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who've been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you'll want to play again.

Don't miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore our big little wins newsletter for more B2B content strategy insights.