The Get: Finding And Keeping The Best Marketing Leaders in B2B SaaS

How are PE-backed environments unique for SaaS CMOs? And what's the difference between the CMOs who flourish in PE-backed companies and those who flounder? This episode is required listening for any current or prospective CMO in a PE-backed company.

This week on The Get, Erica Seidel dives into the nuances of marketing leadership in PE-backed B2B SaaS orgs with guest Julie Zadow, Growth Marketing Leader at The Riverside Company. They explore Julie's role in private equity as a marketing operating partner, insights into aligning marketing strategies with investment firm goals, and the impact of AI on marketing roles and operations. 

You will learn about:

• What it's like to be a marketing operating partner in a PE shop: As Julie describes it, she offers "battle scars for hire" and brings a mix of empathy, speed, and practicality
• How to speak marketing in a way that aligns with the investor's lens
• How to talk about brand in a way that doesn't make your investors run screaming
• How the different phases of the hold period matter for marketing – and how conversations with investors should evolve as the end of the hold period approaches
• Coaching junior employees in an AI+ environment, and a shortcut for contextualizing things for your most junior employees so they don't just 'do' with AI but 'learn' as well: Julie asks her interns: "Where did you feel you were parroting AI without understanding what it was saying?" and "What do you recommend that AI didn't think of?"
• The role that is hardest to disintermediate with AI
• The line of questioning CEOs are likely to pose to CMO candidates about their AI fluency
• Advice to CEOs who have failed at hiring marketing leaders

00:00 Welcome to The Get: Introduction and Overview

00:58 Introducing Julie Zadow: A Marketing Leader's Journey

02:10 The Role of a Marketing Operating Partner in Private Equity

03:58 Aligning Marketing Strategies with Investor Expectations

14:30 The Impact of AI on SaaS Marketing Organizations

26:18 Advice for CMOs in Private Equity-Backed Companies

34:21 Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is how SaaS marketing organizations are changing — in both seismic and subtle ways. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety, rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel explores the changing landscape of SaaS marketing organizations with guest Jay Roxe, CMO at Inriver. You'll learn about:

• "Firing your tech stack" in order to re-imagine the marketing org and how marketing gets done
• Leveraging AI for everything from last-mile content customization to product marketing to building authority in situations where prospects say, 'ChatGPT told me I should talk to you"
• The evolving structure of marketing ops
• Why content is no longer king, but context is king: "Customers have done 80% of their research by the time they reach you. That number is actually going up. It's so easy for people to understand your organization."
• What a full-stack customer marketing org looks like
• Building a culture of gratitude on the marketing team
• Advice for rising CMOs: You have to love the process, not just want to HAVE DONE the CMO role. Intellectual curiosity about the job is not enough.
• Advice to CEOs on how to identify the CMOs who are the best problem solvers
• Hiring, and how to find people who are "curious, smart, and unexpected"

Quotes:

• "You're AI first or you're unemployed."
• "Adoption is the new MQL… As you put more stuff into the product, are people actually adopting and using it?"
• " From an org design point of view, you want to think of where you need person-to-person face-off. Your partners don't want to talk to your AI chatbot. They want to talk to a person who can help them, brainstorm with them, and give them context."
• "One of the things I like talking about with candidates: what have they changed over the past year? How have they changed how they work based on everything that's going on?"

00:00 Welcome to The Get

00:16 Introducing Jay Roxe

00:40 Jay's Marketing Journey

02:32 Inriver's Global Marketing Org

06:24 Future of SaaS Marketing Orgs

11:15 The Role of AI in Marketing

14:54 Hiring for the Future

19:30 Human-Centric Leadership

21:53 Customer Marketing Insights

24:32 Final Thoughts and Advice

29:21 Closing Remarks

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is how SaaS marketing organizations are changing — in both seismic and subtle ways. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety, rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel and guest Ashley Deibert, CMO of Marigold, candidly discuss the realities of leading marketing in today's SaaS landscape.

Ashley shares how she's navigated seismic shifts in marketing org structures, budget realities, and the CMO role itself, all while keeping alignment at the center of her approach. You'll learn from her perspective on:

• How to build alignment, not on Day 1 in the job, but during the interview process
• Deciding what to stop, start, and continue when taking on a new role
• Handling drastic budget reductions by providing scenario-based options
• Hiring fast, hiring micro-experts, and spotting 'moldable' talent through situational questions
• How to be open to others' feedback without getting mired in it
• Advice to CEOs on avoiding CMO mis-hires 
• Why 'touch more, do more, be exposed to more' should be every rising CMO's mantra
• Structuring product marketing and customer marketing together for impact 
• How AI is augmenting marketing without replacing talent
• Why the best GTM teams blur the lines among sales, marketing, product, and customer success into one revenue team

If you're a marketing leader, a CEO hiring a CMO, or otherwise navigating the changing currents of SaaS go-to-market, you'll learn new insights and frameworks from this episode. 

Some quotes of note:

• "I don't believe in doing more with less. I believe in focus…. When you're a CMO, it's about alignment because you're servicing the organization's growth."
• " Don't just be selfish in a hiring cycle. Also, think about, is this person going to get what they need from you? Because if they don't, guess what? They leave."
• "The CEO needs to really think about the relationship that the organization and the culture around marketing that they desire….  I've seen and lived through many situations where it's, "we gotta have marketing", but "gotta have" versus "we need to embrace and make this core to our go-to-market" are different. Marketing is part of go-to-market. It's literally in the title."

00:00 Welcome to The Get: Meet Your Host Erica Seidel

00:16 Introducing Ashley Deibert: CMO at Marigold

01:19 Ashley Deibert's Career Journey and Insights

03:51 Mentorship Moments: Lessons Learned

07:43 Marketing Org Structure at Marigold

14:58 Advice for Aspiring CMOs

20:13 Navigating Budget Cuts in Marketing

21:08 Presenting Scenarios and Aligning with Leadership

23:13 The Importance of Networking in Hiring

25:24 Evaluating Candidates for Culture Fit

29:18 Hiring Freelancers vs. Full-Time Employees

31:40 Advice for CEOs on Hiring CMOs

36:38 The Role of AI in Marketing

38:21 The Future of SaaS Marketing Teams

39:27 Conclusion and Podcast Information

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is how SaaS marketing organizations are changing — in both seismic and subtle ways.

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety, rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

This episode kicks off the 7th season of The Get podcast. Host Erica Seidel introduces this season's theme, which is about how SaaS marketing orgs are changing, in both seismic and subtle ways.

We share a deep dive with guest Claudia Lee. Claudia is a CMO with a unique background in both partner marketing and product marketing. She spoke at a rare moment of reflection while transitioning from a CMO role at CertifID to a new CMO role at Celigo.

You'll hear perspectives and practical advice about:

• How to use the theme of "enabling conversations" to frame marketing's contribution both internally and externally
• How to combine strategic intent with hyper-experimentation for smart execution
• Building a team from scratch, especially in a partner-led GTM model
• The critical soft skills that are making the difference today for SaaS marketing teams
• What a contextually aligned marketing team is, and how it provides the best results
• Navigating the tension between short-term results and long-term impact
• Approaching AI as a tool, not a threat
• Questions to anticipate from the CEO when exploring a new CMO role

00:00 Welcome to The Get: Season 7 Kickoff

00:16 Understanding Our Audience

01:17 Introducing Claudia Lee

02:14 Claudia's Marketing Journey

04:52 The Role of Marketing in Business Growth

08:07 Enabling Conversations: A Marketing Philosophy

12:30 The Evolution of SaaS Marketing

15:28 Partner Marketing Insights

22:22 The Impact of AI on Marketing

25:04 Hiring and Developing Marketing Leaders

31:05 Final Thoughts and Farewell

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, the executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety, rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at www.theconnectivegood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

In this episode of The Get, we highlight key insights from this season of The Get, which is all about the race to reduce risk in CMO recruiting. Host Erica Seidel and her guests delve into the intricacies of how CEOs and CMOs at B2B SaaS companies can make more-informed decisions before saying yes to each other.

Whether you’re hiring a CMO or looking to step into a new CMO role, you will learn a lot from these takeaways, which range from the practical to the provocative.

We discuss the challenges, fears, and risks that CEOs and investors faces when recruiting a CMO. For instance, they often worry about hiring CMOs who either misalign with the company’s growth stage or struggle to get to the right blend of short-term wins and longer-term impact. We discuss how to mitigate those risks, such as by co-creating the roles and managing expectations about timelines for marketing results.

Then we turn to the candidate side: What risks and red flags do CMO candidates perceive when evaluating CMO roles, and how can candidates reduce these risks? We discuss red flags such as unclear product-market fit, inadequate resources, and misaligned leadership dynamics. We cover several practical strategies for ensuring a good match and getting off to a successful start in a new CMO role.

A huge thank you to the guests this season:

• Andrea Kayal, CRO at Help Scout
• Tracy Eiler, CMO of OpenSesame
• James Lamberti, Head of Go-to-Market for Georgian
• Melissa Sargeant, CMO at Lumaverse
• Norman Guadagno, former CMO at Mimecast
• Peter Mahoney, Chief Commercial Officer at GoTo
• Gary Survis, Operating Partner with Insight Partners

00:00 Introduction to The Get

00:52 Understanding the High Stakes of the CMO Role

03:37 De-risking CMO Recruiting

07:53 Red Flags for CMO Candidates

10:16 Mitigating Risks as a CMO Candidate

18:53 Maximizing Success in a New CMO Role

23:26 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is The Race to Reduce Risk in CMO Recruiting. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety - rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

On today’s episode, Erica talks with Gary Survis, an Operating Partner with Insight Partners. Erica and Gary discuss how the strongest CMOs limit risk when transitioning into new marketing leadership roles:

• They stand out by demonstrating credibility, collaboration, and curiosity. They're aware that what you don't say in an interview is just as important as what you do say.
• When interviewing, they communicate their experience with this structure: strategy + example + numbers. 
• Once in the new CMO role, they realize that no matter what their background is, they have to deliver on their demand gen goals or risk losing their job.
• They have a perspective on AI and know how they will organize their teams and define roles differently for AI-supported marketing. 
• They create a "flywheel of credibility."
• They take the time they need to form an assessment – "it'll be the only time in your tenure when you are afforded the luxury of time."
• They follow the "Diagnose, Don't Delude" approach – identifying and surfacing problems rather than sweeping problems under the rug.
• They swiftly make the org changes they need to make: "If you are not successful because the people below you are not strong, you have no one to blame but yourself for not making the changes you know you need to make."

00:00 Welcome to The Get: Season Overview

00:47 Introducing Gary Survis: Insights from an Operating Partner

01:37 De-risking the CMO Hiring Process

02:10 Common Pitfalls in Recruiting Marketing Leaders

05:01 Balancing Strategy and Execution in Marketing

11:00 Key Traits of Successful Marketing Leaders

13:19 The Importance of Curiosity in Leadership

17:15 AI in Marketing: What to Look for in a CMO

19:36 Early Steps for a New CMO

21:41 The Role of AI in Organizational Structure

22:34 Setting and Achieving Goals

24:25 Challenges in Coaching CMOs

26:53 Reflections on Past Marketing Roles

28:56 Marketing Under the CRO: A Controversial Trend

31:13 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is The Race to Reduce Risk in CMO Recruiting. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety - rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel discusses the intricacies and challenges of hiring CMOs in B2B SaaS companies. She highlights why the CMO role is particularly tough to fill, the high stakes involved, and the common concerns among CEOs and investors. 

Erica is joined by Peter Mahoney, Chief Commercial Officer at GoTo and author of The Next CMO. Peter has been a GM, CMO, CEO, and now at GoTo has recently transitioned from CMO to Chief Commercial Officer. He offers practical advice on organizational structure, fostering CEO-CMO trust, and managing expectations.

You’ll learn about:

• The complexities and fears that CEOs face when hiring CMOs
• Distinctions between roles such as Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Revenue Officer
• How "everyone at the C-level thinks they understand marketing but at the same time fears that they don't understand it"
• The skills required to succeed in a small versus a big company as a CMO
• The wisdom of spending some of your career outside of marketing…. even if it is a sideways move  
• Strategies for candidates to effectively communicate their impact during the hiring process
• Advice for rising CMOs

00:00 Introduction: The Hardest C-Level Role to Hire

00:41 Welcome to The Get: Reducing Risk in CMO Recruitment

01:14 Meet Peter Mahoney: A Journey from CMO to CCO

01:59 Understanding the Chief Commercial Officer Role

06:20 The Fears and Risks in Hiring a CMO

10:01 The Perfect Fit: Balancing Experience and Potential

13:19 Stage Experience: Scaling Up and Complexity

16:33 Embracing Flexibility and Depth in Marketing Roles

17:10 Navigating Revenue and Complexity in Marketing

17:57 Understanding Marketing Maturity and Budget Constraints

19:15 The Evolving Technical Landscape of Marketing

20:03 Effective Leadership and Strategy Alignment

23:17 Addressing CMO Candidate Concerns

24:41 Key Interview Insights for CMO Candidates

27:34 Advice for Aspiring CMOs

30:01 Career Growth and Risk Management

32:24 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is The Race to Reduce Risk in CMO Recruiting. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety - rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel explores the theme of managing risk in CMO recruitment, specifically cautioning against over-relying on a candidate's experience with a particular scale journey. Erica discusses the potential misconceptions and pitfalls when hiring marketing leaders based on their previous successes in scaling companies. 

While such experience can be beneficial, she warns that it doesn't necessarily guarantee the same outcome in different contexts. Listeners are encouraged to delve deeper into how these candidates contributed to their past successes. The episode underscores the importance of aligning expectations and understanding the nuances of each candidate's experience for a better hiring decision.

00:00 Welcome to The Get

00:16 Listener Feedback and Mid-Season Break

00:34 The Risk of Trusting Scale Journeys

01:25 Benefits of Scale Experience

02:26 Potential Pitfalls of Scale Experience

03:40 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

04:02 About The Get and Erica Seidel

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is The Race to Reduce Risk in CMO Recruiting. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety - rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

A good leader evolves over time. A CMO’s perspective will shift as they go from first-time CMO to repeat CMO, or to CRO or CEO. As they build experience, they are able to sidestep common pitfalls and react more efficiently to new challenges. At the same time, their perception of risk in a role evolves as they get more exposure. There's an 'arc of caution' that CMOs often go through, from being open-minded early on in their careers, to being able to recognize risky situations once they have more marketing leadership experience, to being more risk-averse and attuned to the 'warts' of a role once they have significantly more experience than other marketing leaders.

In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel discusses the complexities of hiring CMOs in B2B SaaS companies. The conversation explores the importance of the right type of marketing leader for different phases of a company's evolution, the vital role of clear communication between CEOs and CMOs, and how CMOs can balance producing value in year 1 with delivering longer-term value beyond year one.

She is joined by Norman Guadagno, a seasoned CMO who has led marketing at Mimecast, Acoustic, and Carbonite, and who shares his experience as a CMO and CEO. Norman illustrates how experience as a marketing leader shapes a CMO's risk awareness and decision-making process.

You'll learn about:

• The 'arc of caution' in career progression
• Interaction between CMOs and CEOs - the role of a CMO can significantly vary depending on the company's stage of growth and the right marketing leader at one stage may not be the right one at a different stage
• How to embrace the duality of delivering on short-term demand capture with longer-term brand building, and how to set expectations for longer-term impacts with the CEO and other C-suite leaders
• How 50% of the CMO role has nothing to do with marketing
• Managing timeframes - first-time CMOs may be overly optimistic about how long it takes to implement change, while seasoned CMOs understand realistic timeframes for results
• Evolving dynamics in the C-Suite - "not every company needs a CMO"
• How sometimes less is more with interview questions - start simple and give the candidate room to expand on what’s important to them

This episode provides valuable insights for both CMOs and CEOs seeking to make informed hiring decisions.

00:00 Introduction to The Get

00:16 The Journey from CMO to CEO

01:14 Introducing Norman Guadagno

02:13 Advice for Aspiring CMOs

04:43 Navigating Company Culture and Change

05:21 The Dynamics of Executive Change

13:51 Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals

22:07 The Role of the CMO in Business Strategy

25:33 Embracing Unique Skills and Roles

26:19 Ego and Humility in Career Progression

27:25 The CEO's Perspective on Hiring a CMO

31:00 Demonstrating Commitment to Marketing

35:25 Navigating Career Trauma and Transparency

40:49 Insights on Interviewing and Hiring

45:51 Final Thoughts and Reflections

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is The Race to Reduce Risk in CMO Recruiting. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety - rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel explores the crucial role of decision-making in CMO recruiting. Erica shares common traps in decision-making, such as over-trusting someone else's due diligence, over-estimating an appetite for transformation, falling in love with someone's former company without looking at their specific contribution to it, and falling prey to confirmation bias, to name a few. She shares tips for making strong, informed hiring and career decisions. 

The episode includes a deep dive with guest Melissa Sargeant, a seasoned CMO, on her experiences and strategies for doing due diligence and reducing risk when hiring and getting hired. This episode is loaded with practical advice for both hiring managers and candidates looking to make better career decisions.

00:00 The Three Pillars of a Successful Career

00:20 Welcome to The Get!

00:44 Understanding Decision-Making in Recruiting

01:48 Common Flaws in Decision-Making

04:44 Introducing Melissa Sargeant: Insights from a Seasoned CMO

05:20 Melissa Sargeant on Reducing Risk in the Recruiting Process

07:11 Maybe the company used to have product market fit, but now it doesn't

9:16 Doing mutual due diligence

12:14 The 2 key questions to ask in an interview to suss out organizational dynamics

19:15 'Your gut is your truth' and other ways to suss out red flags

25:06 Building Trust and Transparency as a New CMO… and avoiding making decisions for 30 days

25:30  'CMO roles are really revenue rescue missions'

33:29 Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is The Race to Reduce Risk in CMO Recruiting. 

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS. 

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety - rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com. 

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.