Is your team throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping the board buys it? Host Jim Gilkey sits down with Michael Letendre — a recovering IT guy turned marketing ops pro — to tackle the ABM issue no one wants to admit: sales and marketing don’t speak the same language. Michael shares a battle-tested fix that starts with getting in the same room and ends with clear, agreed-on definitions for every acronym and gate. Because when sales and marketing report different numbers to leadership, no one knows what’s real — or who to trust. If your ABM playbook includes terms no one can define, this one’s for you.

👤 Guest Bio
Michael Letendre is a marketing operations leader and former IT pro who brings clarity to chaos. Known for building processes and growing teams, he’s passionate about aligning sales and marketing around shared definitions and clean reporting.
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn

📌 What We Cover

• Why sales and marketing often report “two very different things”
• How misaligned acronyms erode trust at the executive level
• The one meeting that can prevent ABM chaos
• Why you need clear criteria to enter and exit each stage
• A simple rule: always ask, “What does that mean?”
• Michael’s favorite twist on a Manhattan — with cherry wood smoke

🔗 Resources Mentioned

• Scrappy ABM – Build repeatable ABM plays and bring them in-house
• Rebel smoking gun (used to add smoky flavor to Michael’s Manhattan)