C-Suite Sales & Marketing Perspectives

Епизоди

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  Part Fifteen: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 23.09.2026 29мин

  Episode #343:Tim Farrel, Chief Sales Officer at Soleo, explains why customer obsession is the operating logic behind sustainable revenue growth. He shares how companies can replace heroic wins with repeatable systems, build trust before buyers are ready, and align teams around customer needs. Tim also explores how AI can reveal intent within customer conversations. The human relationship remains essential to every outcome.“The revenue problems are not always just a sales problem. We need to be listening to the customer to bring everything we have planned and visioned down into execution.” - Tim FarrelTim Farrel shares a practical view of growth that moves beyond sales targets and isolated wins. He explains how leaders can create repeatable systems, earn executive trust, use customer conversations to uncover intent, and help every team act on what buyers truly need. The conversation shows why human relationships remain the foundation of scalable revenue, even as AI expands access to data and insight.Follow Tim Farrel on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Why Long-Term Growth Requires More Than Demand 22.09.2026 26мин

  Episode #342:Jan Willem Doornbos, Chief Marketing Officer at Nomentia, explains why sustainable B2B growth starts with strong foundations. He shares how customer outcomes can align sales and marketing around a common direction. Jan Willem also outlines why companies must build trust with future buyers and create distinctive marketing before demand becomes visible.“Our job as marketers is to earn a place on that shortlist before a buyer even raises their hand. We are not just capturing demand; we are creating future demand. It’s tempting to focus only on the 5% who are buying today, but ignoring the 95% is one of the fastest ways to limit your long-term growth.” - Jan Willem DoornbosJan Willem explains why B2B leaders must build the foundations for growth before attempting to accelerate. He shares practical perspectives on defining the ICP, connecting sales and marketing around customer outcomes, identifying patterns in customer feedback, and building relevance with future buyers. The conversation also explores why bold ideas and a clear point of view help companies stand out before buyers begin evaluating solutions.Follow Jan Willem Doornbos on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  The Great Sales and Marketing Turnaround Story 21.09.2026 28мин

  Episode #341:Amy Martin, Chief Marketing Officer at TRG, explains why strong sales and marketing alignment cannot be created through shared dashboards alone. She shares how daily relationships, honest discussion, customer understanding, and shared accountability make collaboration real. Her approach positions marketing as an active partner in every important commercial conversation.“The more that you can market authentically, the better you are, and the only way that kind of reality comes true is that you hear both sides and you really listen and you really understand that both sales and marketing are striving for excellence.” - Amy MartinAmy Martin shares a practical model for replacing sales and marketing friction with a shared commercial effort. She explains why marketers need direct exposure to customer and sales conversations, how teams can prepare for fewer and more important buyer interactions, and why trust must be built before a prospect is ready to buy. The conversation reframes marketing as an active contributor to revenue, customer understanding, and sales-cycle acceleration.Follow Amy Martin on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  The Modern CMO: From Chief Marketing Officer to Chief Growth Architect 18.09.2026 35мин

  Episode #340:James Nester, Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Director of Client Advocacy at MCNC, explains why the modern CMO must become a chief growth architect. He shares how deep customer understanding can connect marketing, sales, product, and customer success around shared business outcomes. The conversation explores why customer empathy, trust, and internal alignment are becoming essential competitive advantages. James also outlines how customer intelligence can turn a fragmented organization into a unified revenue engine.“The revenue engine isn’t a piece of technology. It’s what happens when the organization is aligned around the customer and then, more importantly, consistently delivers the value throughout that customer journey.” - James NesterThis conversation explores how CMOs can move beyond campaigns and lead a more connected approach to sustainable growth. James breaks down why customer obsession must become an organizational capability, not simply a marketing message. He also shares how clear communication, shared intelligence, and an understanding of the customer’s real needs can create stronger relationships, faster action, and lasting revenue impact.Follow James Nester on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Part Fourteen: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 17.09.2026 27мин

  Episode #339:Michael Gumiela, Chief Revenue Officer at Rabine, explains why customer obsession is a revenue strategy, not simply a service mindset. He shares how trust, honest conversations, and operational expertise create lasting customer relationships. Michael also outlines how AI can strengthen preparation while sales leaders balance renewals, expansion, and new business.“Without the customer, the revenue doesn’t happen. The obsession part comes from learning your customer and what truly will help them, and then the revenue comes after that.” - Michael GumielaMichael explains why revenue leaders must earn trust long before a buying decision or RFP. He shares practical ways to help customers solve problems, use AI to improve preparation, and organize sales teams around both expansion and new business. The conversation offers a clear model for making customer understanding a measurable driver of lasting growth.Follow Michael Gumiela on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  The ABM Maturity Scale: Why Most Teams Aren’t Ready 14.09.2026 29мин

  Episode #338:Vlad Berson, Chief Marketing Officer at SOLVE, explains why ABM is an enterprise-wide go-to-market motion, not a marketing program. He outlines the alignment, skills, and long-term investment needed to earn executive trust. He also shows why strong segmentation and buyer relevance create the foundation for sustainable enterprise growth.“ABM does not save you money. ABM gives you opportunity for bigger returns. For these types of programs to be successful, you have to over-invest in all of the people that are involved.” - Vlad BersonVlad Berson shares a practical view of ABM maturity for B2B leaders pursuing larger enterprise opportunities. He explains why organizations must align sales, marketing, leadership, and customer-facing teams around shared account outcomes. The conversation covers executive trust, longer sales cycles, better measurement, stronger segmentation, and the investment required to build a sustainable enterprise revenue motion.Follow Vlad Berson on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  The Right Go-to-Market Tension Is a Growth Advantage 11.09.2026 27мин

  Episode #337:Maxime Guirauton, Vice President, Global Head of Marketing and Sales Development at Visa Direct, explains why growth extends beyond the initial sale. He shares how connected marketing, sales development, brand, and customer success teams improve customer value and revenue outcomes. The conversation explores the bow-tie journey, buyer trust, opportunity quality, and healthy commercial tension.“Bringing together marketing and sales development into one department is when you create a healthy tension between sales and marketing. The power of marketing is bringing all of this together to serve your business and act as a business partner.” - Maxime GuirautonMaxime explains why sustainable revenue depends on treating the sale as the midpoint of the customer journey. He shares how SDRs can improve opportunity quality, how brand investment earns trust before buyers enter the market, and why marketing must connect the entire commercial system. The result is stronger customer value, better conversion, and a more credible growth function.Follow Maxime Guirauton on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Part Thirteen: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 09.09.2026 27мин

  Episode #336:Liz Emmott, Chief Revenue Officer at CIBT, explores how commercial leaders can rebuild revenue organizations amid changing technology and buyer expectations. She explains why customer understanding, internal trust, and expert collaboration create meaningful differentiation. Her perspective shows how aligned teams can build credibility, improve the customer experience, and drive sustainable revenue growth.“Being able to articulate, understand, and speak the language of our customers and prospects is actually the only way we are going to win. We have to demonstrate that we know their industry better than they do, and this is why they need to trust us.” - Liz EmmottLiz Emmott shares a practical view of revenue leadership when automation accelerates outreach but makes differentiation harder. Drawing on experience across enterprises, startups, and CIBT’s global mobility businesses, she explains how leaders can turn specialist knowledge into buyer relevance, align commercial and service teams, and make internal trust visible to customers. The conversation connects customer obsession to stronger credibility, better decisions, and durable revenue growth.Follow Liz Emmott on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Part Twelve: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 08.09.2026 29мин

  Episode #335:Stephanie Crockett, President and CEO at Eric Mower + Associates, explains why customer obsession should influence decisions across the entire organization. She explores how customer intelligence can align teams, reduce risk, strengthen trust, and support bolder decisions. Stephanie also shows how CMOs can turn the voice of the customer into greater strategic influence and sustainable growth.“That's where the revenue comes. It's about creating products and services, front of the house and back of the house, where all of the things that a customer experiences demonstrate that obsession with their needs.” - Stephanie CrockettCustomer obsession becomes a revenue strategy when insight shapes more than marketing. Stephanie explains how continuous customer intelligence can reveal operational issues, align leaders around shared evidence, reduce the risk behind major investments, and give teams confidence to make bolder choices. She also explores why brand, demand, trust, and emotional connection must work together before B2B buyers create their shortlists.Follow Stephanie Crockett on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Part Eleven: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 04.09.2026 27мин

  Episode #334:Zach Calef, Chief Revenue Officer at Infinity, explains how customer obsession becomes a practical revenue strategy. He explores client economics, strategic alignment, innovation, trust, human capital, and disciplined execution. Zach shows why understanding what customers truly need can help revenue teams differentiate, strengthen relationships, and build repeatable growth.“The obsession is where it starts, and without the obsession, you're going to minimize the revenue that you're capturing for your clients. You have to start with the centerpiece, which is the client.” - Zach CalefCustomer obsession becomes more valuable when it shapes how revenue teams make decisions. Zach explains why leaders should understand customer economics, align strategy before applying technology, invest in people, and execute with discipline to produce measurable outcomes. He also explores how trust, experimentation, internal influencers, and repeatable proof can help companies differentiate in increasingly commoditized markets.Follow Zach Calef on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  The CRO's Guide to How Emotional Intelligence Leads Revenue Growth 02.09.2026 31мин

  Episode #333:Jennifer Knecht, Chief Revenue Officer at Western States Lodging, explains how emotional intelligence strengthens B2B revenue performance. She explores how awareness, trust, transparency, and meaningful connections influence buyer decisions. Jennifer also shares how AI can help sales teams understand different perspectives, strengthen human relationships, and reach the emotional level behind buying decisions faster.“Revenue is driven by the exchange of value. The faster you can get to the emotional level, the faster you can get to a true, solid decision that sticks.” - Jennifer KnechtJennifer explores why emotional intelligence is becoming a practical revenue capability for B2B sales organizations. She explains how stronger self-awareness, buyer understanding, confidence, and trust can improve sales performance, while AI-powered digital teammates can help sellers recognize different perspectives and build meaningful connections faster. The conversation shows revenue leaders how technology can reinforce human relationship skills, improve sales consistency, strengthen internal champions, and help complex opportunities move forward.Follow Jennifer Knecht on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  CROs: How to Win in Fewer and Shorter Bursts 31.08.2026 27мин

  Episode #332:Mike Head, Chief Revenue Officer at Orderful, explains how customer understanding can strengthen every part of the go-to-market organization. He shares practical ways to prepare for executive conversations, improve discovery, coach teams with AI, strengthen retention, and align teams around customer priorities. Mike also explains why consistent execution, genuine curiosity, and continuous customer engagement can build trust, improve revenue performance, and create sustainable growth.“Your technology, your logo slide, all that stuff doesn't matter. What really matters is the customer and what they care about, and if you focus on that across your engagements in sales, marketing, customer success, and partnerships, great things will happen.” - Mike HeadExecutive access is getting harder, buyer conversations are becoming shorter, and prospects often enter the sales process with strong opinions already formed. Mike explains how CROs can respond by preparing earlier, building deeper customer understanding, strengthening post-sale relationships, and creating better alignment across revenue teams. He also shares why great people, consistent execution, customer-led discovery, and genuine curiosity can become durable competitive advantages.Follow Mike Head on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Part Ten: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 27.08.2026 27мин

  Episode #331:Matthias Holder, Chief Sales Officer at Lindner Recyclingtech, explains how customer obsession creates sustainable revenue by helping sales organizations understand customers, their markets, and their needs. He explores how salespeople can become trusted advisors by discussing business needs, market conditions, productivity, quality, costs, and competitive advantage before recommending solutions. Matthias also shows how continuous customer insight can guide sales strategy, product development, internal decisions, and stronger long-term customer relationships.“Never fall in love with your products. Fall in love with your customers, your customers' success. Products change, technology changes, markets change, customer expectations and challenges change even faster, so stay in touch with your customers. That's where we need to absolutely focus on.” - Matthias HolderCustomer obsession becomes a revenue strategy when organizations turn continuous customer and market insight into better decisions. Matthias explains how understanding customers and their customers helps sales teams identify changing needs earlier, build trust, recommend stronger business solutions, and guide product and sales strategy around measurable outcomes that support sustainable growth.Follow Matthias Holder on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Relationship-Led Growth: Building Executive Access That Actually Scales 26.08.2026 27мин

  Episode #330:Brooke Norton Lais, Chief Marketing Officer at Venbrook, explains why relationship-led growth requires companies to build trust long before a buying decision occurs. She shares how marketing can create opportunities for salespeople to reach the right executives and build meaningful one-to-one relationships. Brooke also explains how established C-suite relationships can create internal advocates and open access deeper within prospective accounts. “Creating situations where we can drive awareness and credibility for our brand while also building relationships is where I’m going to get the most value. When we can get our people in front of potential clients and have that one-on-one interaction, that’s when we see the best value.” - Brooke Norton LaisThis conversation explores how executive relationships can create access, strengthen credibility, and help companies remain relevant throughout extended buying cycles. Brooke shares how Venbrook combines brand awareness with one-to-one interactions through events, educational programs, sports partnerships, and customer advocacy. She also explains why marketing investments should create opportunities for salespeople to engage directly with decision-makers. Follow Brooke Norton Lais on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  The New Skill Set Every Modern Salesperson Must Master 25.08.2026 32мин

  Episode #329:Siddharth Singh, Chief Revenue Officer at Intangles, explains the skills modern salespeople need as buyers become more informed and meetings become harder to secure. He explores deeper discovery, primary research, creativity, and AI-enabled productivity. Siddharth shows why knowing a customer’s business beyond searchable information creates differentiation. He also explains why sales leaders must remain active player coaches as their responsibilities expand.“Ask the right questions. But if you ask questions without actively listening to what the customer is saying, you dig your own grave. The skill is how fast you go from situation questions to need-provoking questions. You’ve got to start jumping from what, when, who to why and how very fast.” - Siddharth SinghAs buyers gain instant access to vendor, product, pricing, and competitive information, salespeople need more than information to differentiate. Siddharth explains how deeper preparation, active listening, primary research, customer knowledge, and human creativity can help sellers uncover business impact faster. He also explores how AI can accelerate learning and productivity without replacing the judgment, curiosity, and customer engagement that make great salespeople effective.Follow Siddharth Singh on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Part Nine: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 23.08.2026 27мин

  Episode #328:Michael Scott, Global Chief Revenue Officer at LoopMe, explains the revenue logic behind customer obsession. He shares how deeper customer understanding helps companies identify problems they are uniquely positioned to solve, create greater value, and become more important to customers. The conversation explores why customer obsession requires C-suite alignment, continuous customer learning, and strong data. Michael also explains why it must become part of how the entire organization operates.“The better you know your customer, the more you can be a trusted partner, advisor to them, the more you can find problems that you're uniquely positioned to solve, which then creates value, and that value can be extracted or turned into revenue.” - Michael ScottThis conversation explores how customer obsession becomes a commercial growth strategy rather than simply a customer experience philosophy. Michael connects deeper customer relationships to recurring revenue, product development, innovation, and becoming strategically important to customers. He also explains why leaders need the right mindset, organizational alignment, customer conversations, and data infrastructure to continuously understand where their company matters and where it can create greater value.Follow Michael Scott on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Stop Chasing AI Tools and Start Building Better Thinking 20.08.2026 28мин

  Episode #327:Trine Tirsgaard, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Twoday, explains how customer understanding, data, experimentation, and continuous learning can create greater strategic value with AI. She explores how marketing leaders can combine technology with customer intelligence to improve decision-making, strengthen teams, and create more meaningful business value. Trine also shares why curiosity and practical experimentation are becoming essential leadership capabilities for navigating rapid technological change.“What matters the most in the future is the power of humans. It's the way we put our intellect to work. It's our creativity, and the way to orchestrate concepts and feelings and understand people and teams, especially customers, and no machine can do that.” - Trine TirsgaardAI is changing what marketing teams can produce, but Trine argues that the larger opportunity comes from improving how people think, learn, and create customer value. She explores how leaders can build stronger data foundations, experiment with AI, develop more capable teams, and stay close to customers. The conversation offers C-suite leaders a practical framework for turning rapidly evolving technology into better decisions, stronger commercial outcomes, and sustainable growth.Follow Trine Tirsgaard on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  Part Eight: The Revenue Logic of Customer Obsession 19.08.2026 27мин

  Episode 326:Laura Davis, Chief Marketing Officer at Rimes Technologies, explains why customer obsession must translate into commercial outcomes. She explores customer intelligence, AI, data strategy, internal alignment, and pipeline accountability as markets rapidly evolve. Laura shows why sustainable revenue ultimately depends on continually understanding what customers need and building the business around those priorities.“The customer is everything. Even in the context of AI and our whole industry changing, and the practice of marketing changing and all the different things, at the end of the day, you need to build and sell something the customer wants to buy and hopefully keep buying.” - Laura DavisLaura connects customer obsession directly to the commercial realities facing B2B leaders. She explains why companies need continuous customer conversations, stronger data foundations, pipeline accountability, and shared priorities across teams. She also explores how AI can deepen buyer intelligence and create always-on engagement, emphasizing that technology matters only when it helps the organization solve meaningful customer problems and deliver measurable business outcomes.Follow Laura Davis on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  How to Become a Successful AI-Native Company 17.08.2026 26мин

  Episode #325Nick Malone, Chief Revenue Officer at XTM, explains what separates successful AI-native companies from organizations simply adopting new tools. He explores value-led AI, executive leadership, experimentation, data, and practical workflows that improve productivity. Nick shows why companies that connect AI to measurable outcomes while keeping humans at the core can turn incremental gains into meaningful competitive advantage.“A company's got to be willing to go into uncharted territories, to be willing to experiment. You must go and dig deep and experiment and understand in what ways you can use the AI capabilities today to improve operational performance, possibly remove cost, definitely expand on productivity.” - Nick MaloneAI-native transformation requires more than giving teams access to new technology. Nick explores how leaders can connect AI to measurable business outcomes, create a culture of experimentation, improve sales productivity, and build smarter workflows around trusted data. He also explains why executives must demonstrate AI fluency themselves and how practical, incremental improvements can compound into significant business value.Follow Nick Malone on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn
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  The Biggest B2B Growth Problem Isn't Your Pipeline 14.08.2026 27мин

  Episode #324:Katie Strout, Chief Marketing Officer at Highspring, explains why sustainable growth requires more than a stronger pipeline. She shares how customer problems can align teams around shared outcomes. Katie explores why sales and marketing should operate as one connected revenue motion. She also explains how customer validation, internal trust, and shared ownership can turn marketing into a commercial growth partner.“Growth and revenue belong to the whole organization. It's not the responsibility of any one function. It happens when marketing, sales, technology, delivery, leadership, customer success, all of those things come together around customers' problems to solve and deliver business outcomes.” - Katie StroutKatie explores why sustainable B2B growth depends on more than pipeline generation. She explains how leaders can align teams around customer problems, connect marketing more directly to revenue outcomes, and replace traditional sales-and-marketing handoffs with shared ownership. The conversation also examines how customer insight, internal trust, long-term relationships, and customer validation can strengthen growth strategy and business impact.Follow Katie Strout on LinkedInFollow Steve MacDonald on LinkedIn