GTM 156: Revenue Marketing Unpacked: GTM Lessons, AI, and What’s Really Broken in Attribution | John Fernandez

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Jul 29, 2025

John Fernandez, SVP at Datasite and a seasoned go-to-market leader, shares insightful strategies on aligning marketing with revenue goals. He introduces the "Value Chain" framework and his unique "4 Whats" approach to measuring success. The conversation highlights the shift from SEO to GEO through AI's impact on digital discoverability. John also tackles the complexities of attribution in marketing and discusses the tech stack crisis facing many GTM teams, drawing parallels to chess tactics for making strategic decisions.

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INSIGHT

Revenue Marketing Defined

Revenue marketing integrates product, content, and campaigns to focus on pipeline creation.
Every marketer should embrace revenue marketing to align culture and operations toward revenue goals.

ANECDOTE

Revenue Marketing's Culture Clash

Early in B2B, John's revenue-focused marketing was laughed at by brand-centric marketers.
He shifted the culture by proving marketing's role in pipeline and revenue creation.

ADVICE

Measure With 4WATS Framework

Measure marketing to understand what's working, what's failing, what's new, and what's next.
This disciplined approach builds trust and drives data-informed decisions.

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John Fernandez is SVP at Datasite, with a track record as GTM leader at Glia, ContentWise, and Diligent, having scaled teams through IPOs, acquisitions, and $1.4B in equity events. At Glia, John pioneered revenue marketing’s impact, driving 71% of pipeline and 60% of new business revenue from marketing. Connect with him for real-world GTM lessons, scaling playbooks, and unique frameworks for aligning marketing with revenue.

Discussed in this Episode:

How to architect a B2B marketing org that is truly accountable for pipeline and revenue, not just “influence”
Aligning product, content, and campaign teams to ONE goal: pipeline creation (culture, incentives, and operations)
The “Value Chain” framework for mapping marketing’s full-stack impact across the GTM engine
John’s “4 Whats” Framework for operationalizing measurement: what's working, what's not, what's new, what's next
What’s broken about attribution today and why multi-touch measurement is often a red herring
The shift from SEO to GEO: How generative AI is re-writing digital discoverability and B2B content strategy
AI in marketing without losing authenticity: human-in-the-loop, voice, and trust factors you need to watch
Why more Martech isn’t the answer (and the tech stack crisis facing GTM teams)
Deep problem understanding as a GTM superpower (what chess can teach SaaS leaders about winning)
Key moves for founders and GTM leaders facing today’s attention and signal problem

Guest Speaker Links (John Fernandez):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnfernandez/
Datasite: https://www.datasite.com/

Host Speaker Links (Sophie Buonassisi):

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophiebuonassisi/
Newsletter: https://substack.com/@sophiebuonassisi

Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):

Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: /@gtm_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

The GTMnow Podcast
The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.

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