The Revenue-Driven CMO

Welcome back to 3-Minute Marketing, where we talk with & explore the minds of some of the world's leading growth marketers & condense their knowledge into snackable micro-segments.

Today, I catch up with Auseh Britt, who's currently VP of Growth Marketing at Terminus. Prior to Terminus, Auseh's had a successful career leading growth initiatives at brands like Bloomberg Industry Group, Business.com & Logi Analytics.

My question for Auseh is, "What should marketers do tactically with intent data to successfully drive pipeline? What are the keys you're seeing success with at Terminus?" Show Notes:

• Intent data is useful to find right-fit accounts that are in an active buying cycle. You can also glean where those accounts are in the buying cycle so you can tailor your messaging to them.
• Terminus uses both first-party & third-party data signals to glean insights about account intent. First-party data = data that your company owns. Examples are website visits & campaign responses (e.g. attended your webinar on a specific topic)
• Third-party data = data found across the web, aggregated by other providers. Terminus uses Bombora to find what keywords & topics their accounts are searching. They also use G2 data to find what categories & competitors their key accounts are researching.
• Terminus segments its account-based marketing (ABM) into prioritized tiers. For their smaller "strategic segment" of their top-tier global & multinational accounts, they one-to-one bespoke campaigns. For the larger SMB segment, Terminus runs more of a "one-to-many" approach. If your ABM list is in the 1,000s, you're probably doing it wrong. Focus your ABM on the best fit accounts in your target addressable market.
• Three full time people at Terminus are focused on account-based marketing. One supports the one-to-one "big bet" strategic accounts, the second does more the programmatic "one-to-many" SMB marketing.
• The third ABM marketer on Auseh's team supports customer retention & expansion marketing. This is a huge gap that many companies miss when building their ABM / go-to-market strategy!
• The strategic account marketer works closely with the AEs to provide feedback & guidance on how they're messaging to & marketing to their 20 key accounts. For the SMB segment, marketing will provide "air cover" & write an outreach sequence that Terminus's sales teams can utilize, along with the basic building blocks of the positioning & content offer.
• Terminus uses HighSpot to house sales enablement assets like decks that BDRs can access.
• ABM metrics you should evaluate include account engagement (e.g. companies visited the website in the last 30 days), opportunities generated, Closed Won pipeline & deal velocity/win rate of open opps.
• For pipeline acceleration, Terminus hooks up to CRM to automatically switch up ad tactics based on the company's opportunity stage.
• For net new logos, Terminus shoots for 60% engagement rates & a 10% opportunity creation rate.
• Another good target account list to add to the mix is a "win back" list of Closed Lost deals.
• Terminus uses multi-touch attribution to weigh the different touchpoints in the lead-to-sale journey.

Welcome back to 3-Minute Marketing, where we interview today’s marketing rockstars & help them share their best ideas for the benefit of the greater marketing community.

Today, I got to chat with Patrick Edmonds, CMO at Proposify. Patrick is the kind of unicorn marketer I love — before his “rocket ship” ascent at Proposify, he came from an agency where he bought every type of media you can think of (Search, Social, Display, Programmatic… you name it.) The thing that’s unique about Patrick is he’s a CMO at a sales-driven company. And like many of the successful CMOs I’ve interviewed, he’s got some “Sales” in his DNA & is working hip-to-hip with his sales team to drive the business forward.

My question for Patrick is, “How can marketers help sales close more deals?”

Show Notes:

Patrick is optimistic about the “divide” between marketing & sales going away, with the demand gen function as the glue that’s bringing them together.

Tip #1: Provide cover fire. Make sure you’re advertising as close to the bottom of the funnel as possible, prioritizing deals that are in your sales team’s hands right now.

Tip #2: Templatize branded sales documents for your sales team. Make them look awesome to their prospects by having stellar assets (pitch decks, proposals, etc.) at-hand & ready to send, ideally on their sales call.

Tip #3: Jump on calls with your sales team or use a tool like Gong to listen in to your customers. Understand the language of your customers & use it in your marketing.

Want to get the right language for your marketing message? Ask your sales team to write the first draft. Then your marketing team can be the editors / curators to your brand & strategic positioning.

Sell your prospects on the problem & pain for 90% of your pitch, then use the remaining 10% to offer your solution as the cure.

To make proposals easier/faster, create a “Master” template with everything in there & then delete what you don’t need. Use a tool like Proposify to add variables like “First Name.”

Patrick describes his journey to earning his way into the C-Suite at Proposify.

Chris & Patrick talk about “training the algorithms” and leveraging your first party data (e.g. building a retargeting audience off people that viewed a proposal but were Closed Lost)

Metrics are just metrics, they’re not revenue. They’re tools to help you make a judgment call.

Freeing thought exercise: “If you had to do if all over, what would you do differently in building your sales & marketing process?”

Welcome back to 3-Minute Marketing, where we interview today's marketing rockstars & help them share their best ideas for the benefit of the greater marketing community.

Today, I got to chat with Patrick Edmonds, CMO of Proposify. Patrick is the kind of unicorn marketer I love — before his "rocket ship" ascent at Proposify, he came from an agency where he bought every type of media you can think of (Search, Social, Display, Programmatic... you name it.) The thing that's unique about Patrick is he's a CMO at a sales-driven company. And like many of the successful CMOs I've interviewed, he's got some "Sales" in his DNA & is working hip-to-hip with his sales team to drive the business forward.

My question for Patrick is, "How can marketers help sales close more deals?"

Welcome back to the latest episode of “3-Minute Marketing”, where we talk to the greatest minds in the marketing game today & share their most actionable insights with you.

Today, I’m speaking with my friend Drew Neisser, CEO at Renegade Marketing & CMO Huddles. For those who don’t know Drew, he’s a well-loved, 40+-year veteran of the B2B brand marketing world. He’s the guy who came up with the name for the Panasonic “Toughbook”, among other famous brand marketing wins.

Drew’s dropping a new book titled Renegade Marketing: 12 Steps to Building Unbeatable B2B Brands on October 5th. In line with the theme of his new book, I ask him,

“What are the top 5 mistakes B2B marketers are making today & what should they be doing instead?”

Show Notes:

Mistake #1: The “peanut butter effect” — trying to do too many personas, channels, messages, etc. Instead, create a simple story (8 words or less) & tell it 18 different ways to customers, prospects & employees.

Mistake #2: The targets are backwards — most marketers prioritize prospects, then customers, then employees. Reverse that, because if employees & customers don’t buy into your brand story, you’re dead in the water. If they do, they’ll be your best advocates.

Mistake #3: Rebranding without changing the product or service — marketers who do this are putting a coat of paint on an old barn. Instead, first make sure the product or service lives up to the new brand promise first.

Mistake #4: Spending too much on Martech — Martech is NOT marketing, it’s just tools. Automate attentively, get Martech spend under 10% of total budgets & figure out what piece of tech you can remove for each one you add.

Mistake #5: Retreating during a crisis — too many CMOs focused on furloughing staff & cutting back during the pandemic. Now they’re scrambling. The winners realized that crisis is an opportunity to shine by reinvesting, leaning into their customer relationships & showing they were essential.

To tell your story effectively, create a purpose-driven story statement — 8 words or less that encapsulate everything about your brand. Then make it real for your employees, customers & prospects.

To measure the effectiveness of your brand, have some basic brand health measures in place. These could include a blend of customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, acquisition & awareness.

Just evaluating marketing on CAC is problematic because the brand drives metrics like speed-to-close, frequency of inclusion in RFPs, etc.

20% of your marketing budget should be in experimentation at all times.

Consider using Pollfish, Propeller Insights,. SurveyMonkey panels or Wynter for B2B surveys & panels.

Your purpose-driven story doesn’t really mean/do anything until you execute against it & fulfill its promise over time. And in doing so, you effectively become a new (better) company.

Welcome back to the latest episode of "3-Minute Marketing", where we talk to the greatest minds in the marketing game today & share their most actionable insights with you.

Today, I'm speaking with my friend Drew Neisser, CEO at Renegade Marketing & CMO Huddles. For those who don't know Drew, he's a well-loved, 40+-year veteran of the B2B brand marketing world. He's the guy who came up with the name for the Panasonic "Toughbook", among other famous brand marketing wins.

Drew's dropping a new book titled, "Renegade Marketing: 12 Steps to Building Unbeatable B2B Brands" on October 5th. In line with the theme of his new book, I ask him,

"What are the top 5 mistakes B2B marketers are making today & what should they be doing instead?"

Welcome back to “3-Minute Marketing”, the podcast where the world’s top growth marketing leaders reveal their most valuable & useful insights for driving acquisition, growing brands & building demand.

On today’s show, I get the chance to interview Adam Goyette, VP Marketing at Help Scout. Adam has an impressive track record of being the “secret weapon” behind winning acquisition & demand programs at brands like G2, Thryv, FieldLens, Booker Software & Cision. He’s a brilliant tactical marketer & a passionate teacher of the craft of digital growth marketing.

My question for Adam is, “What are your secrets to driving hypergrowth online?”

Show Notes:

Secret #1: Be willing to be scrappy. Don’t test one tactic or tool. Test quickly to see what works & then double down on winners

Secret #2: Stand out in a sea of sameness. Don’t be boring. Take the time to create content & messaging that’s both different & high-quality.

Secret #3: Hire amazing people to your team who care more about their end outcomes vs. the individual tactics they’re trying to do.

In interviews, ask your hire for different data points to justify their previous work. Then ask them to tie it all together.

To recruit amazing talent, figure out what makes your culture/company uniquely attractive. That’s where you’re going to win.

Make your career awesome & move up by understanding ALL the numbers — not just the marketing side but on the sales side as well. CEOs & CMOs care about insight, not the nitty gritty of campaigns.

“Sell the sizzle” of your campaigns to your sales team to show what you’re doing for them & win them to your side.

Get alignment with your C-suite on where you want to be on customer acquisition cost payback while setting the expectation that that campaigns won’t hit that mark in the first few months.

Adam’s latest winning tactic: competitor conquesting campaigns. For example, use a technographic research tool (like BuiltWith or Datanyze) to identify companies that onboarded a competitor recently, but their contract renewal period is coming up.

Welcome back to "3-Minute Marketing", the podcast where the world's top growth marketing leaders reveal their most valuable & useful insights for driving acquisition, growing brands & building demand.

On today's show, I get the chance to interview Adam Goyette, VP Marketing at Help Scout. Adam has an impressive track record of being the "secret weapon" behind winning acquisition & demand programs at brands like G2, Thryv, FieldLens, Booker Software & Cision. He's a brilliant tactical marketer & a passionate teacher of the craft of digital growth marketing.

My question for Adam is, "What are your secrets to driving hypergrowth online?"

Welcome back to the latest edition of “3-Minute Marketing”, where I talk with some of the smartest marketing leaders on the planet & uncover their most actionable tips, tactics & strategies.

On today’s episode, I catch up with Grant Johnson. He’s been a tech CMO since 2009 & is currently leading the charge at Emburse, the global leader in expense management & accounts payable automation solutions.

Grant has always been impressive to me in how he thinks on the cutting edge of marketing strategy. One of the things he is a big proponent of these days is CMOs evolving in their roles to become a “Chief Growth Orchestrator” for their organization. I was curious to unpack what that means & how / why CMOs should be making this transition today.

So my question for Grant is, “How can CMOs evolve from becoming a ‘CMO’ to a Chief Growth Orchestrator as quickly, effectively & efficiently as possible?”

Show Notes:

To become “Chief”, you need to be more than a “seat at the table” — be someone that the rest of your executive team looks to as a true partner & driver of key initiatives for the business.

To drive “Growth”, find & focus on the key levers — pipeline is certainly a big one. But also think more broadly to areas like channels, geographies, products, culture & priorities.

To be an “Orchestrator”, you need to be the “quarterback” that brings people & teams together, fails fast & focuses on making the right strategic moves that make an impact.

You have to earn the trust of your CEO & team. Sometimes that means stepping into conflict & working to build consensus.

If you’re a great at “C”, but don’t have the “G” or “O” yet: focus on improving on those areas. But also get the right talent onboard to plug the gaps & nurture relationships with the right people on your team (e.g. your head of sales.)

A major mindset shift for the CGO role: moving from “expert implementer” to “masterful orchestrator.” Let go of being the “hands on keyboard” expert in everything. Instead, learn to bring the right experts in the room & ask them good questions.

You have to be relevant & distinct in order to be successful in your marketing. Data & creative are two important levers to make this happen. But the key is having good “customer intuition.”

Welcome back to the latest edition of "3-Minute Marketing", where I talk with some of the smartest marketing leaders on the planet & uncover their most actionable tips, tactics & strategies.

On today's episode, I catch up with Grant Johnson. He's been a tech CMO since 2009 & is currently leading the charge at Emburse, the global leader in expense management & accounts payable automation solutions.

Grant has always been impressive to me in how he thinks on the cutting edge of marketing strategy. One of the things he is a big proponent of these days is CMOs evolving in their roles to become a "Chief Growth Orchestrator" for their organization. I was curious to unpack what that means & how / why CMOs should be making this transition today.

So my question for Grant is, "How can CMOs evolve from becoming a 'CMO' to a Chief Growth Orchestrator as quickly, effectively & efficiently as possible?"

Welcome back to our latest episode of “3-Minute Marketing”, where we share actionable ideas & perspectives from the finest minds in growth marketing today.

On today’s episode, I chat with Hunter Montgomery, CMO at ChurnZero. Hunter’s been in the B2B SaaS game for awhile now, driving marketing growth for brands like Verizon Business, Vocus & Higher Logic.

We decided to change up the format a bit for this episode & just riff on various topics. But at the core of our conversation, we talk about the “unsexy” activities that can actually help you make the biggest impact as a marketing leader.

Show Notes:

In a world of shiny objects, focusing on the “block & tackle” work is key to success in marketing.

Don’t reinvent the wheel every time, take the plays that are already working & run with them.

Keep your team doing new things & looking for their next “play” so they don’t get stuck.

So what “shiny object” IS Hunter looking at? Currently, he’s implementing an ABM program with intent data.

In order for ABM to work, sales & marketing both need to be bought in & aligned.

As a marketing leader, getting your systems working the right way is priority #1. Priority #2 is measuring to figure out what’s actually working now so you can do more of that. Neither are sexy, but both are foundational to success.

Marketing is much easier when you have a) a great product & b) visible experts in your company that can educate your market & help your prospects be more successful in their roles.

ChurnZero helps you understand the “health” of your customers so you can reduce churn risk & drive upsells / cross-sells.