The PeerSignal Podcast

Most CMOs get stuck on "the ings."Reporting. Optimizing. Automating. Emailing. Campaigning. MQL-ing. Tricia Gellman thinks this is backwards.She's led marketing at startups, big tech (Adobe, Salesforce), VCs, and is now the CMO at Box. Her mindset: Be the "Chief Market Officer" instead of Chief Marketing Officer.She walked through what that means on my podcast.Takeaways:1️⃣ Rep quota attainment is the CMO's real metric."The number one place where companies grow is when reps are confident and they like pick up the phone and they have a great conversation. Cause they're like, 'I won yesterday, I'm winning tomorrow.'"Great CMOs focus on making it happen. 2️⃣ Intent without fit is just expensive noise."There's a lot of people that are just researching a category, researching a solution out there in the world, and they have zero intent to buy." Obsessing about intent without ICP understanding will drive your metrics off a cliff. 3️⃣ Focus on market dynamics, not marketing metrics.The CMO should be able to see the bigger picture. "What are we doing for whom and why? Not email open and close rates and website conversion numbers"4️⃣ Pipeline councils can actually work "Don't just show red/yellow/green dashboards. Make it about insights and action." Getting tactical and practical here pays off. The best marketing leaders don't just report and optimize pipeline metrics. They understand the market, the business dynamics, and how to build sales confidence.This conversation changed how I think about the CMO role.Full episode here: https://www.peersignal.org/podcast This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.peersignal.org

Tom Wentworth (CMO @ incident.io) is replacing himself with an AI CMO. It's scary good.He came on my podcast to talk about how he's actually using AI in marketing, and:* Why he moved from 'big company CMO' to a scrappy team of 5. * How they're using AI to drive pipeline right now.* How to build a culture of AI adoption. * His formula: Marketing Output = AI × Taste²* Where the AI puck is going.* And of course, how he's replacing himself with his Claude Code AI CMO.My takeaways from our talk: 1️⃣ Make AI a team sportTom is leading from the front. In the tools daily testing, learning, shipping. He's aproaching AI as a team sport. No one is solely responsilbe for 'AI Adoption'. Everyone is experimenting, and everyone is benefiting. 2️⃣ Marketing Output = AI × Taste²"Taste is an exponential contributor to marketing output and it can't be easily automated". The place most people fail isn't in the ability to write or build *something* it's to write or build the right thing, that they're be proud to ship. 3️⃣ AI Marketing can be wonderfully compoundingClaude Code will keep getting better --> his 'context database' will keep getting better --> his agents will work better --> they'll invest even more. His AI machine is compounding. Everything it makes, makes the next thing easier to do, faster, and better.4️⃣ It's still earlyTom talked about how he'll talk to some marketers who work at companies who aren't explicitly pro-AI usage. His advice to marketers at these companies: leave. It was surprising to me that some companies are still not bought in, but it makes sense. We're still early.Full episode here: https://www.peersignal.org/podcast This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.peersignal.org

Udi Ledergor, former CMO at Gong and now Chief Evangelist, shaped Gong into a SaaS powerhouse and authored 'Courageous Marketing.' He dives into why bold marketing trumps traditional best practices, emphasizing that being different is crucial for standing out. He stresses the importance of 'story-audience fit' over mere storytelling skills and shares insights on leveraging AI while maintaining a courageous approach. Udi also highlights that simple marketing metrics often yield clearer insights than complex ones, empowering marketers to take risks.

Kipp Bodnar, CMO at HubSpot and a key player in scaling the company to a $30B powerhouse, discusses the dramatic shifts in marketing metrics due to AI. He reveals how AI enhances productivity tenfold and emphasizes that success now hinges on being 'better, faster, and cheaper.' Kipp shares his innovative 'Express, Feedback, Tailor, Amplify' framework for AI campaigns. He also highlights the necessity for marketers to combine AI's strengths with creative intuition, as having 'taste' will distinguish the future winners in marketing.

Manny Medina, co-founder and CEO of Paid.ai and former CEO of Outreach, transformed the sales engagement sector. In this conversation, he dives into the agent economy, revealing how AI can enhance rather than just automate tasks. Manny highlights the shift toward outcome-based pricing for market relevance and emphasizes the importance of genuine human connections, even in an AI-driven world. He also discusses the 'one box' revolution and encourages leaders to prioritize emotional engagement over quantifiable metrics to foster loyalty.

Kyle Lacy, CMO at Docebo, leverages 15 years of B2B SaaS expertise to reshape marketing strategies. He delves into why traditional ABM often fails and offers a practical fix: start small and engage sales from the outset. Lacy shares insights on aligning sales and marketing for maximum efficiency and the need for trust-centric communication. He also discusses the challenges of burnout while balancing leadership and family duties, alongside the importance of creativity in B2B marketing. Get ready for innovative insights that could transform your marketing approach!

Josh Allen, CRO at QuickBase and former sales leader at CarGurus, shares invaluable insights from his 20+ years in the field. He introduces his "sales math" framework that emphasizes accountability and clarity in achieving revenue targets. Allen discusses CarGurus’ successful $900M ICP framework, illustrating how a precise ideal customer profile can drive growth. He draws parallels between ultra-marathon training and sales discipline, advocating for structured planning and goal setting. His take on sales enablement and fostering a results-driven culture is both practical and inspiring.

Heidi Bullock, CMO of Tealium and a top figure in SaaS marketing, shares her insights on effective Account-Based Marketing (ABM). She emphasizes the crucial need for 'story-audience fit,' underlining that great stories must resonate with buyers. Heidi discusses why many businesses misalign their Ideal Customer Profiles and how to correct it. She also highlights AI's transformative role in marketing and her strategies for maintaining calm amidst high-pressure situations, revealing that a cohesive team effort is essential for ABM success.

Jeff Wharton, CMO at LogRocket, shares insights from his six-year journey transforming the company from 100% inbound to securing major clients like 7-Eleven and Blue Cross Blue Shield. He discusses overcoming challenges in targeting larger accounts and the importance of viewing the SDR engine as a product. Wharton emphasizes the balance between killing ineffective tactics and optimizing successful ones. He also highlights the surprising role of AI in their go-to-market strategy and how understanding true value delivery can set you apart.

Russel Banzon, CMO at Cresta and former marketing mastermind at TalkDesk and Gong, shares his enterprise marketing secrets. He discusses how winning relationships—like courtside seats and Michelin dinners—can drive enterprise sales. Banzon emphasizes the importance of customer outcomes over mere features, revealing strategies to avoid the 'PLG Trap.' He introduces the 'Bullseye' framework for account selection and showcases how effective leadership parallels hip-hop dance dynamics. This engaging conversation offers a fresh take on building a brand in today's competitive AI landscape.