Navigating Summer Slowdowns in B2B Marketing

#255 Leadership | In this episode, Dave is joined by Kelly Hopping, CMO of Demandbase, a B2B company known for pioneering account-based marketing. Kelly leads a 70+ person marketing org that spans brand, demand gen, product marketing, events, and SDRs, and she shares exactly how she structures and operates that team to drive results.

Dave and Kelly cover:

• How to design and run a full-funnel marketing team that includes SDRs, content, field, and brand, and keep them aligned on pipeline
• The annual planning strategy Kelly uses to balance short-term targets with long-term positioning (including what changes quarter to quarter)
• How her team is using AI right now and what she’s doing personally to stay sharp as the pace of change accelerates

Whether you're a first-time CMO or just trying to scale your B2B marketing engine, this one is packed with insights from someone who’s operating at a high level.

Timestamps

• (00:00) - – Intro
• (03:34) - – What Demandbase actually does
• (05:34) - – How the Demandbase marketing team is structured
• (08:04) - – Who owns what: brand, content, demand, SDRs
• (10:34) - – Account-based marketing + broad demand gen
• (13:04) - – What a CMO actually does at this stage
• (15:34) - – Kelly’s early CMO learning curve
• (18:34) - – Planning your first 90 days as a CMO
• (20:34) - – Balancing pipeline today vs. positioning for tomorrow
• (23:04) - – What changed between a bad Q4 and strong Q1
• (28:50) - – How Kelly thinks about yearly pipeline pacing
• (31:50) - – Staying relevant in a fast-moving MarTech world
• (34:20) - – Why marketers need to work like product teams
• (37:50) - – “I am the ICP”: Why product marketing works better
• (39:20) - – Kelly’s #1 job as CMO: Make sales love marketing
• (41:50) - – Becoming a peer to product and revenue leaders
• (44:20) - – Best-performing channel right now: in-person events
• (45:50) - – Brand, attribution, and pipeline are all connected
• (47:20) - – How Kelly’s team is using AI today
• (48:50) - – The future of marketing roles in an AI-powered world
• (51:20) - – Why she’s still learning new AI tools herself
• (53:50) - – Why AI is fun again for marketers
• (54:50) - – Closing thoughts

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