How do you redesign your marketing operating model to align with modern growth strategies—without blowing up your team or budget? In this episode of Growth Driver, we dive deep into one of the most overlooked yet mission-critical challenges facing B2B marketing and revenue leaders: marketing org transformation. Host John Common and guest Jen Ross examine why even the most hard-working and well-intentioned marketing teams are falling short—not because of effort, but because their org model wasn’t...
Jun 03, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 32
The reality for most B2B organizations is that go-to-market teams—marketing, sales, customer success—are still operating in silos, creating inefficiencies that hurt pipeline conversion and customer experience. RevOps is the unlock. Today we’re digging into how RevOps has become the critical, behind-the-scenes growth driver for today’s B2B enterprises. When executed well, it transforms disconnected technology, data, and processes into a well-orchestrated system that ensures the right signals reac...
Mar 11, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 31
How can B2B organizations transform product marketing into a strategic driver for go-to-market success? Some companies have already cracked this code and realized that product marketing is no longer a handoff function—it’s the connective tissue aligning product, sales, marketing, and customer success. In this episode, we dig into the critical relationship between product marketing and a precise ICP, how to effectively align product offerings with customer needs, and optimize for pipeline generat...
Jan 28, 2025•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 30
When companies feel the pressure to hit revenue growth goals, leadership often finds itself at a crossroads: deliver short-term results or focus on building long-term team trust and accountability. But what if the two aren’t at odds? In today’s world of hybrid work, top talent has endless opportunities—and keeping them engaged, productive, and motivated requires more than quotas and KPIs. It requires leadership that blends accountability with empathy. Consistent, empathetic leadership isn’t abou...
Jan 14, 2025•57 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Sales enablement has long been a buzzword in B2B, but how can organizations truly transform this concept into a strategic advantage? For companies navigating complex, multi-dimensional markets, the challenge of aligning sales and marketing efforts is especially difficult. In this conversation, we explore how marketing can partner with sales in meaningful, measurable ways. From integrating first- and third-party data to effectively translating that data into actionable sales insights, we’re diggi...
Dec 31, 2024•31 min•Season 2Ep. 28
It’s no secret, most B2B content feels lifeless and overly cautious. And even though we have proven research that says the bolder and braver the content the better your engagement will be, it’s rare to find B2B content that isn’t bland–or another obvious statement labeled as the latest ‘hot take.’ Today we’re exploring why traditional approaches to B2B content often fail to captivate audiences, the dominance of video, podcasts, and the influence of dark social in decision-making. It’s time B2B m...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 27
With today’s B2B buyers, every word counts. Getting your messaging right can mean the difference between closing a deal or losing it to a competitor. Crafting messages that resonate and convert is more than just a creative exercise—it's a strategic imperative. Yet, many organizations fall into the trap of using the same messaging tactics across all stages of the customer lifecycle, missing opportunities to leverage buyer psychology effectively. This episode explores the nuances of messaging and ...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Theory & Practice, a special subseries within the Growth Driver podcast, is where John Common, CEO of Intelligent Demand, cuts through surface-level strategies and explores what truly drives B2B growth. Season 1 brought insights that challenged assumptions and transformed growth into more than just a metric—here are some of the standout moments! From John Common’s advice to have the CMO, CRO, CEO, and CFO at the table for strategic planning to breaking down real growth goals, every episode c...
Nov 12, 2024•2 min
In this episode of Growth Driver, John welcomes AJ Gandhi, Chief Growth Officer at Marlin Equity Partners, for an in-depth exploration of the emerging role of the Chief Growth Officer (CGO) in modern B2B growth. They unpack what makes this role unique—its core responsibilities, how it compares to other C-level titles, and how CGOs drive aligned growth across diverse functions. AJ shares insights from his experience as a CGO, shedding light on the evolving demands of go-to-market strategy. With b...
Nov 12, 2024•58 min•Season 2Ep. 25
What if your account-based strategy needs to become your business's lifeline? More and more organizations are claiming ABX is the cornerstone of their go-to-market strategy, but they didn’t get there overnight. The journey from simply “ABX curious” to running a full-scale pilot highlights how companies can elevate both engagement and conversion rates by focusing their efforts on the accounts that matter most; and the critical elements that will prevent account-based success if not addressed earl...
Nov 05, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Welcome to a world where the role of CMOs is rapidly evolving, demanding not just creative genius but strategic acumen and data-driven decision-making. It’s up to today’s marketing leaders to understand how their responsibilities intertwine with sales, product, and finance to drive cohesive growth strategies. Today, we’re diving into the art of driving efficient growth as an enterprise CMO, while juggling limited budgets, lots of competition, product complexity, and the never ending challenges o...
Oct 29, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 23
As revenue leaders, we spend the majority of our time working on strategy, processes, and metrics... And we should. But when you step back and look at how our customers and prospects actually get to know us, what they really interact with, it’s our content. Content is the heartbeat of B2B growth—yet, let's face it, much of it is uninspired and forgettable. B2B content is often generic, jargony, and timid. And it’s not a stretch to say you could swap logos on the content in most categories and no...
Oct 15, 2024•57 min•Season 2Ep. 22
B2B buyers have changed—and your strategy should too. Are your strategies still centered around the outdated MQL model? You're not alone, but it's time to break free and step into the realities of new buyer behavior, buying teams, and multi-threading. These challenges are more connected than you might think. Today we’re tackling the monumental shifts in B2B buyer behavior and why clinging to Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) is no longer the path to revenue success. It's time to equip your busine...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 21
An Ideal Client Profile (ICP) and Target Account Lists (TAL) are nothing new in B2B. Yet, what data to leverage–and when–is something many organizations have struggled to operationalize, leading to wasted resources and lagging efficiency. That’s why we’re breaking down the steps to build a precise ICP and TAL using firmographics, technographics, and exegraphics–and where intent signals, event triggers, and segmentation should be part of the process. Sit down with Aaron and Jeff Ha, Chief Go-to-M...
Oct 01, 2024•35 min•Season 2Ep. 20
We’re kicking off Season 2 with a deep dive into the mindset and methods of the new model Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The B2B field is undergoing a monumental transformation—marked by disruption, innovation, and a significant generational shift in leadership, so it’s no surprise that innovative leaders are spearheading the change. As many of us know all too well, marketing is often the first to face cuts when budgets constrict. But this transformation presents an opportunity to marketing lead...
Sep 24, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Welcome to the all new series on Growth Driver, Expert Deep Dives, with Aaron Owens. Aaron, Head of Growth Consulting at Intelligent Demand, pulls back the curtain to get deep and detailed in these interviews with real deal experts across all of the practice areas of modern B2B revenue growth: technology and Revenue Operations; paid media; digital experiences and web best practices; messaging, positioning, brand, creative and content; sales development; events and field marketing; product market...
Sep 24, 2024•6 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Season one of Growth Driver took listeners behind the scenes of B2B growth, where industry leaders candidly shared their experiences, wisdom, and human moments that shaped their journeys. In this special trailer, we’re revisiting some of the most impactful insights on leadership, mentorship, and the real-life challenges that come with driving growth. From the weight that senior leaders carry on their shoulders to the unexpected, relatable "toothbrush moments" of self-reflection, these episodes r...
Sep 19, 2024•4 min
Season 1 of Growth Driver was packed with insightful conversations with some of the brightest minds in B2B, and we’re just getting started. Starting in season 2, we're launching an all new type of Growth Driver episode featuring Expert Deep Dives with Aaron Owens, head of Growth Consulting at Intelligent Demand. Aaron is a growth expert with over 20 years starting companies, leading sales and marketing teams, and advising the fastest-growing companies across industries. Every episode of Expert D...
Sep 17, 2024•5 min
Amidst the boom of go-to-market (GTM) in B2B, there’s no better time than now to decode the intricacies of the strategy. Is it real? Or, is it hype? Can GTM really unlock efficient B2B growth? Today we’re dissecting the core components and modern trends of GTM strategies, breaking it down from buzzword to game-changer in B2B growth. Because GTM isn’t a buzzword at all; it's a comprehensive process that connects strategy to execution across all customer-facing functions. Tune in with us as we div...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 17
People and culture are the bedrock of any successful growth strategy. But it’s easy to lose sight of this amidst the technological tools, trends, and best practices that bombard growth leaders daily. No matter how brilliant your strategy, if you get the people part wrong, it's hard to get the growth part right. From the evolution of leadership fundamentals over the last decade to top mistakes that hold senior executives from being more effective leaders, we’re diving deep into what makes great l...
Jul 02, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Depending on when you start counting, Account Based Marketing and Selling is 15+ years old as a defined GTM strategy. It’s time we take a fresh look at how and why Account Based started, its current state, and where it’s headed next as a driver of B2B growth. One thing is for certain: it never should have been called ABM. True account-based motions are cross-functional, and the most successful include the entire customer journey–from acquisition to retention and expansion. But whether it’s due t...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 15
The MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) is a relic from 25 years ago, yet it remains central to most companies' revenue processes. Running an MQL-centric process offers no more than a 1-2% success rate—when opportunities and buying groups can claim numbers up to 400% increases in conversion rates. It's time to rethink MQLs as the cornerstone of marketing metrics. Old habits die hard, but understanding why and how to transition to focusing on buying groups can greatly improve your efficiency and succe...
May 28, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 14
What makes or breaks a B2B growth strategy? The pivotal roles of understanding your ideal customer, aligning your product to their needs, and crafting positioning and messaging that not only attracts but wins and retains those very customers. This trifecta can significantly reduce missed revenue, minimize wasted go-to-market spend, and alleviate professional suffering. But these elements cannot merely exist in theory, confined to a PowerPoint presentation or trapped in the mind of a single visio...
May 14, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Conflict can have a positive impact on your organization when it’s handled with the right approach and language. When leaders leverage purposeful actions early on and establish a strong foundation of trust, they’re able to leverage difficult situations as growth opportunities for their organizations. It starts by prioritizing deliberate leadership, and equipping yourself with the right tools to ensure intention matches the impact of our actions and sets our teams up for success. From self-awaren...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In the race towards modernizing go-to-market strategies, B2B firms often lose sight of what truly propels growth–the customer. If you've nodded in agreement to buyers’ behavior shifts, the tangle of tech consolidation to drive efficiency, and the explosion of new GTM motions; it’s time to pause. Amidst all this talk and transformation, our customers seem to have been forgotten. Customer obsession is more than a mantra; it's a strategy that infuses customers into the lifeblood of leadership and o...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 11
The way today's B2B buyers are actually buying has changed dramatically in the last few years, leaving many B2B companies with out of date and out of sync go-to-market strategies. The good news is we finally have the research and data-back behavior insights to update GTM strategies with the modern B2B buyer. We know the modern buying journey is done almost entirely online, but did you know most buyers are already 70% through their decision-making process by the time they talk with any vendor rep...
Mar 05, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 10
Before the pivot into efficient growth, and even before AI, the field of B2B sales has been seriously transformed in the last few years. B2B buying behavior has shifted, away from meeting with sellers and toward anonymity. There has been an unprecedented rise of different GTM motions; account-based, product-led growth, customer-led growth, partner ecosystems… And to top it all off, we’re experiencing an absolute explosion in technology, data, and now generative AI. Despite all of this upheaval a...
Feb 27, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Stories of ascent and success don't get more compelling than those penned in the high-stakes environment of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). We’re taking an honest look at the path to becoming a B2B CMO, followed by a deep discussion about what it takes to be successful as you enter the role and make the right impact. This episode is tailor made for 3 types of folks: 1. You want to become a CMO 2. You’re currently a CMO and feeling some version of imposter syndrome 3. You’re a head of sales or...
Feb 13, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Why should businesses shift focus from the old 'growth at all costs' playbook to the more nuanced approach of 'efficient growth'? What's the lowdown on leveraging technology, data, and AI to supercharge your B2B sales and marketing? Striving for not just growth, but efficient growth in the competitive landscape of today's business-to-business marketplace is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’, but a mandatory requirement to surpass the competition. We're rolling up our sleeves and diving into the modern ...
Feb 06, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Everyone is talking about how the Old B2B Growth Playbook isn’t working any more and it’s time to learn a smarter, more efficient New B2B Growth Playbook. We see and feel it. We’re living it. But What are the real differences? And how do you make that shift? We’re going to bring some structure and rigor to this conversation and do a point-by-point analysis that compares and contrasts the old playbook and the new playbook. At each step, you’ll get insights and advice for how and where to focus YO...
Jan 19, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 6
