Dave is joined by Ross Simmonds. Ross is the Founder & CEO of Foundation, a content marketing agency that strategizes, distributes, and optimizes content for some of the most successful SaaS companies in the world and works as partners for multiple publicly traded cloud companies that have redefined entire industries. 

They share lessons they both learned on their content journeys and discuss things like:

• Prioritizing search as a distribution channel
• Why social followers are not a vanity metric
• Using and enabling the sales team for content distribution
• How to repurpose your most popular content

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Dan Cmejla, B2B Community Expert and former VP of Community at Apollo and Chili Piper, shared actionable frameworks and three phases for building impactful B2B communities that drive brand growth and customer engagement.

Dan covers:

• How community marketing transforms brands by turning customers into primary distribution points for your story.
• Why it’s important to map influence spaces and leverage customer relationships.
• Strategies to build a scalable advocacy journey that turns customer love into measurable business outcomes.

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro to Dan

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

Dave is joined by Jason Lemkin. Jason is the founder of SaaStr, the world’s largest community of SaaS executives, founders, and entrepreneurs. Before SaaStr, Jason founded EchoSign, which was sold to Adobe in 2011.

They discuss:

• Why Jason started SaaStr
• What makes a great VP of Marketing in SaaS and how to hire one
• How tech and SaaS have changed since 2020
• CROs vs CMOs
• Importance of alignment between the CEO and marketing team

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Kyle Coleman, CMO at Copy AI and former SVP of Marketing at Clari, hosted a session on leveraging AI to create a $0 CAC strategy that drives demand generation. With a career spanning leadership roles in B2B SaaS, Kyle brings a wealth of experience in building high-performing teams and transforming go-to-market strategies.

Kyle covers:

• Why developing a provocative point of view is critical to differentiate your brand
• How to build a content flywheel that aligns operations, drives consistency, and improves velocity.
• Strategies to reduce “go-to-market bloat” and streamline processes for sustainable growth.

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro to Kyle

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

Amanda Natividad is VP of Marketing at SparkToro. She's also a contributor for Adweek, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and a former journalist. Dave and Amanda catch up after Amanda's return to work after having her second child, talk about trends they are seeing in B2B marketing today and what Amanda's seen work at SparkToro (including email strategy and LinkedIn). Plus they talk about the path to CMO - and why Amanda enjoys being a team of one.

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Webinar Promotion Without Links and Returning to Work After Maternity Leave.

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

In this episode, Dave and the Exit Five team celebrate the end of the year with a holiday party for the Exit Five community. They share insights, lessons, and highlights from their growth and events in 2024, play a game show with Ding Zheng, sales rapper and co-founder of EventShark, and provide a sneak preview of what's in store for 2025.

Dave and the team cover:

• 2024 stats: How treating community as a product drove nearly 80% growth this year
• The hottest content topics in B2B marketing in 2024
• What's ahead for the Exit Five community in 2025

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro to the Exit Five Team

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

In this episode, Dave is joined by Gurdeep Dhillon, CMO of Contentstack. Gurdeep has built an impressive career leading marketing at some of the biggest names in enterprise software, from SAP to Adobe, Marketo to Zoura. Now at Content Stack, he's challenging conventional B2B marketing wisdom in rethinking how enterprise companies should approach demand generation and brand building. In this conversation, Dave and Gurdeep dive deep into why marketing is ultimately a game of memory and reputation, not just lead generation.

Dave and Gurdeep cover:

• The role of Demand Gen in 2025 (and what's changed)
• Why Brand and Reputation should be prioritized over Lead Generation
• Proven strategies to create urgency and close sales deals in enterprise markets
• A glimpse into ContentStack’s team structure and how they plan for growth

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro to Gurdeep

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

In this episode, we’re delivering another B2B marketing lesson in under 10 minutes—no fluff, just practical insights.

Matthew Carnevale, Marketing Manager at Exit Five, shares a game-changing mental model for marketers: the GM vs. Player mindset. Inspired by a sports analogy, Matthew explains why thinking like a General Manager—hiring resources and creating leverage—will help you tackle big opportunities without waiting for bandwidth.

Learn how shifting your mindset from “doing the work” to “making the plays happen” can unlock faster results, level up your career, and drive impact for your business.

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Peter Mahoney, Chief Commercial Officer at GoTo, and author of The Next CMO, shared strategies for building and leading high-performing marketing organizations.

Peter covers:

• 10 Guidelines for building (or re-building) a marketing organization
• Running marketing: how to build your CMO operating system
• 5 strategies for effectively leading an organization

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro to Peter

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!). 

When done right, paid spend is like throwing gasoline on the flames of what’s working in your marketing. Done wrong – it’s just a huge waste of time and money.

In this episode, Dave Gerhardt hosts an live session with John Short, CEO of Compound Growth Marketing (CGM), and Kym Parker, SVP of Media Strategy at CGM, who walk through tried and true strategies they’ve built from managing over $50 million in paid spend.

They also cover:

• How to choose which strategy is best for you and exactly how to target the right ICP
• The three keys to successful paid media, like setting up actionable reporting
• How to identify how much you can spend for leads/account at each stage of the sales and marketing funnel

Timestamps

• (00:00) - - Intro to John and Kym

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 spending all this time on marketing… just to push buyers to a “Request a Demo” button? Even if they’re interested, no one wants to click that. No one wants to “talk to sales.” They just want to try the product for themselves!

Good news: now they can - with Walnut.

Walnut is the interactive demo platform for marketers who are done hiding their product and want to put it front and center.

You can build guided, self-serve demos in minutes. No engineers. No developers. No waiting. Embed them on your site. Drop them in emails. Let buyers explore your product on their terms - at any stage of the funnel.

And the best part? You get the data. See what features prospects are engaging with, where they drop off, and what’s actually driving pipeline.

500+ companies use Walnut - including Adobe and NetApp. Their teams save 400+ hours a year building demos… and have prevented over 1.5 million minutes of bad ones.

So if you want to drive more leads, shorten sales cycles, and actually show your product, go check out Walnut.io (and tell their team you heard about it on the Exit Five podcast!).