Episode #220: Website Teardown | In this session from the Ultimate Roast of B2B Websites , Dave Gerhardt teams up with Diane Wiredu, messaging strategist and founder of Lion Words , and Lee Reshef , Head of Product Marketing & Retention at Fiverr , to break down what makes a high-converting B2B homepage. They critique real B2B homepages, analyzing messaging, design, and user experience to highlight what works, what doesn’t, and how to fix it. Dave, Diane, and Lee cover: The biggest homepage ...
Feb 17, 2025•58 min•Ep. 220
In this episode, Dave sits down with Trinity Nguyen , CMO at UserGems , to discuss her journey from first business hire to CMO, the role of product marketing in B2B, and how AI is transforming outbound sales. Trinity got started at UserGems’ by building their first website for free, then got hired as Head of Marketing and has shaped the company’s ABM strategy and demand generation playbook. Dave and Trinity cover: Why every startup should hire a product marketer How to develop a strong vision an...
Feb 13, 2025•52 min•Ep. 219
You work hard to drive traffic to your landing pages – they’re the backbone of lead generation and conversion. In this session from our Ultimate Roast of B2B Websites, Tas Bober, Founder of The Scroll Lab , Gabi Sellam, Conversion Specialist at Fiverr, and Will Hoekenga , Founder of Six Words Studio and expert copywriter, sit down to discuss how to nail your B2B landing pages. The panel breaks down real B2B landing pages, highlighting common mistakes, best practices, and live optimizations that ...
Feb 10, 2025•59 min•Ep. 218
In this episode, Matt Carnevale sits down with Jessica Andrews , VP of Marketing at Copper, a CRM built specifically for agencies, consultancies, and media companies, designed to help relationship-driven businesses find ideal clients, win new business, manage projects, and nurture customer relationships. The two discuss Jessica’s journey from Senior Product Marketing Manager to VP of Marketing, how she’s navigated imposter syndrome, and her strategies for leading a successful marketing team. Mat...
Feb 06, 2025•45 min•Ep. 217
Is there anything more terrifying for a marketer than having to work on the pricing page? How do you handle packaging, listing out features, and deciding whether to put the actual price, or “contact sales”? In this session from our Ultimate Roast of B2B Pricing Pages, Emily Kramer (Co-Founder & Advisor of MKT1 ), Bill Wilson (CEO & Founder of Pace Pricing ), and Karan Sood (Director Sales Operations at Rakuten Kobo ) share their secrets to a killer B2B pricing page. Then, they do a live ...
Feb 03, 2025•58 min•Ep. 216
In this episode, Matt Carnevale sits down with Kanika Sharma , a conversion page copywriter and Founder of Copywriting Teardowns . Kanika audited over 100 LinkedIn profiles in the Exit Five community and shares her biggest takeaways on how marketers can optimize their profiles to attract the right audience and drive conversions. Matt and Kanika cover: Why your LinkedIn profile should be treated like a landing page The biggest mistakes B2B marketers make with their LinkedIn presence How to struct...
Jan 30, 2025•56 min•Ep. 215
In this solo episode, Dave shares his POV on marketing with answers to a bunch of burning questions, including: Balancing Brand vs. Demand Working with the sales team vs. serving customers How to inject personality into your brand The most successful marketing campaigns Dave was a part of in his career How to plan and brainstorm good marketing ideas The biggest mistake marketing teams make How to structure a marketing team How did you know it was the right time to start your own company? How to ...
Jan 27, 2025•41 min•Ep. 214
This episode is from the Direct podcast hosted by Corrina Owens (Fractional ABM consultant) and Taylor Young (Director of Strategy, Professional Services at DemandScience ). Corrina and Taylor sit down with Exit Five ’s Head of Community, Matthew Carnevale, to discuss his journey in scaling the Exit Five community to over 5,000 members. They dive into engagement strategies, fostering connections, and creating value-driven programming for B2B marketers. Corrina, Taylor, and Matthew cover: How to ...
Jan 23, 2025•36 min•Ep. 213
In this episode, Dave sits down with Michael Cole , SVP of Marketing at Everflow , a partner marketing platform that helps companies manage referral and affiliate programs. Michael discusses his journey from being Everflow’s first marketing hire to leading a marketing team of 16, and shares strategies for building a marketing function from the ground up. Dave and Michael cover: How Everflow turns happy customers into referral partners What it’s like to be a first-time marketing leader Building a...
Jan 21, 2025•51 min•Ep. 212
In this episode, Dave is joined by Chris Walker , CEO of Passetto , and a prominent voice on LinkedIn, where he has been pushing the boundaries of B2B marketing for years. Chris shares actionable insights and tactics on social media strategy, what has changed in marketing over the last five years, and how to build effective feedback loops and flywheels. Dave and Chris also cover: The future of GTM and the evolving role of the CMO Why sustainable growth is the only path forward The transformative...
Jan 16, 2025•56 min•Ep. 211
In this episode, Dave is joined by the team at Tenon to go behind the scenes of B2B marketing. They talk about the marketing operating system -- specifically: how to organize your 2025 campaigns, align your team, and stay laser-focused on what matters most. You’ll learn how top marketers are using work management tactics to simplify the complexity, free up time for high-value work, and boost team performance—all while showing your boss the real impact of marketing. Dave and the Tenon team cover:...
Jan 13, 2025•52 min•Ep. 210
Dave is joined by Ross Simmonds . Ross is the Founder & CEO of Foundation , a content marketing agency that strategizes, distributes, and optimizes content for some of the most successful SaaS companies in the world and works as partners for multiple publicly traded cloud companies that have redefined entire industries. They share lessons they both learned on their content journeys and discuss things like: Prioritizing search as a distribution channel Why social followers are not a vanity me...
Jan 09, 2025•56 min•Ep. 209
This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Dan Cmejla, B2B Community Expert and former VP of Community at Apollo and Chili Piper, shared actionable frameworks and three phases for building impactful B2B communities that drive brand growth and customer engagement. Dan covers: How community marketing transforms brands by turning customers into primary distribution points for your story. Why it’s important to map influence spaces and le...
Jan 06, 2025•48 min•Ep. 208
Dave is joined by Jason Lemkin . Jason is the founder of SaaStr , the world’s largest community of SaaS executives, founders, and entrepreneurs. Before SaaStr, Jason founded EchoSign, which was sold to Adobe in 2011. They discuss: Why Jason started SaaStr What makes a great VP of Marketing in SaaS and how to hire one How tech and SaaS have changed since 2020 CROs vs CMOs Importance of alignment between the CEO and marketing team Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro (06:44) - - Understanding the Importan...
Jan 02, 2025•59 min•Ep. 207
This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Kyle Coleman , CMO at Copy A I and former SVP of Marketing at Clari, hosted a session on leveraging AI to create a $0 CAC strategy that drives demand generation. With a career spanning leadership roles in B2B SaaS, Kyle brings a wealth of experience in building high-performing teams and transforming go-to-market strategies. Kyle covers: Why developing a provocative point of view is critical ...
Dec 30, 2024•53 min•Ep. 206
Amanda Natividad is VP of Marketing at SparkToro. She's also a contributor for Adweek, a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef, and a former journalist. Dave and Amanda catch up after Amanda's return to work after having her second child, talk about trends they are seeing in B2B marketing today and what Amanda's seen work at SparkToro (including email strategy and LinkedIn). Plus they talk about the path to CMO - and why Amanda enjoys being a team of one. Timestamps (00:00) - - Webinar Promotion Without L...
Dec 26, 2024•49 min•Ep. 205
In this episode, Dave and the Exit Five team celebrate the end of the year with a holiday party for the Exit Five community. They share insights, lessons, and highlights from their growth and events in 2024, play a game show with Ding Zheng , sales rapper and co-founder of EventShark , and provide a sneak preview of what's in store for 2025. Dave and the team cover: 2024 stats: How treating community as a product drove nearly 80% growth this year The hottest content topics in B2B marketing in 20...
Dec 23, 2024•54 min•Ep. 204
In this episode, Dave is joined by Gurdeep Dhillon , CMO of Contentstack . Gurdeep has built an impressive career leading marketing at some of the biggest names in enterprise software, from SAP to Adobe, Marketo to Zoura. Now at Content Stack, he's challenging conventional B2B marketing wisdom in rethinking how enterprise companies should approach demand generation and brand building. In this conversation, Dave and Gurdeep dive deep into why marketing is ultimately a game of memory and reputatio...
Dec 19, 2024•53 min•Ep. 203
In this episode, we’re delivering another B2B marketing lesson in under 10 minutes—no fluff, just practical insights. Matthew Carnevale , Marketing Manager at Exit Five, shares a game-changing mental model for marketers: the GM vs. Player mindset . Inspired by a sports analogy, Matthew explains why thinking like a General Manager—hiring resources and creating leverage—will help you tackle big opportunities without waiting for bandwidth. Learn how shifting your mindset from “doing the work” to “m...
Dec 18, 2024•8 min
This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Peter Mahoney, Chief Commercial Officer at GoTo , and author of The Next CMO , shared strategies for building and leading high-performing marketing organizations. Peter covers: 10 Guidelines for building (or re-building) a marketing organization Running marketing: how to build your CMO operating system 5 strategies for effectively leading an organization Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro to Peter...
Dec 16, 2024•41 min•Ep. 202
When done right, paid spend is like throwing gasoline on the flames of what’s working in your marketing. Done wrong – it’s just a huge waste of time and money. In this episode, Dave Gerhardt hosts an live session with John Short , CEO of Compound Growth Marketing (CGM), and Kym Parker , SVP of Media Strategy at CGM , who walk through tried and true strategies they’ve built from managing over $50 million in paid spend. They also cover: How to choose which strategy is best for you and exactly how ...
Dec 12, 2024•57 min•Ep. 201
In this episode, we’re delivering another B2B marketing lesson in under 10 minutes. Matthew Carnevale , Marketing Manager at Exit Five, breaks down the story behind the best ad he’s ever created—one that generated $77,822 in MRR over two years. Spoiler: it wasn’t fancy production or clever wordplay. The secret? Raw, undeniable social proof. Matthew shares why raw social proof, like screenshots, before-and-after results, and authentic testimonials, outperforms polished case studies or logos. By t...
Dec 11, 2024•9 min
This episode is from Drive 2024, Exit Five's first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Ross Simmonds , Founder of CEO at Foundation & Distribution.ai , hosted a session on creating and distributing B2B content that drives real results. Ross covers: Why "create once, distribute forever" should be your mantra for content marketing. How to blend educational, engaging, entertaining, and empowering content to captivate your audience. Tactical approaches to dominate dist...
Dec 09, 2024•43 min•Ep. 200
In this episode, Dave is joined by Sylvia Lepoidevin , CMO of Kandji , a leading platform for managing and securing Apple devices in the workplace. Sylvia shares her journey from employee #4 to CMO at Kandji, driving the company’s growth to a $850M valuation. She talks about her experience building efficient marketing teams, leveraging AI, and creating impactful brand experiences. Dave and Sylvia cover: How AI is reshaping marketing roles and enabling smaller, more efficient teams Strategies for...
Dec 05, 2024•53 min•Ep. 199
In this episode, we’re delivering another B2B marketing lesson in under 10 minutes. Matthew Carnevale , Marketing Manager at Exit Five, introduces the "Billboard Test," a mental model to evaluate whether your marketing copy can grab attention in an instant. Inspired by how billboards must captivate drivers at full speed, this test helps you refine your ads, social posts, and emails for today’s audience. Matthew shares three key elements of the Billboard Test—concise messaging, eye-catching visua...
Dec 04, 2024•6 min
This is a re-run of one of our top episodes, where Dave is joined by Kyle Coleman , CMO at Copy.ai . Kyle went from Individual Contributor to Senior Director at Looker and Director to CMO at Clari. During his time there, he helped both companies 10x their revenue. In this episode, they chat about The importance of leadership team alignment and why the CRO & CFO should be your best friend How marketing can impact pipeline and the standard it should be held to Why you should build a marketing ...
Dec 02, 2024•53 min•Ep. 198
In today's challenging business landscape, marketers face the daunting task of not only crafting an efficient marketing plan, but implementing it quickly, proving its value, and continuously adapting the plan on the fly. The ever-changing macroeconomic environment adds an extra layer of complexity, making success even harder to achieve. In this episode, Rowan Tonkin , CMO at Planful, and Dave Gerhardt, Founder of Exit Five, lead you through the essential steps to building your plan, getting it a...
Nov 28, 2024•54 min•Ep. 197
This episode is from Drive 2024, our first-ever in-person event for B2B marketers in Burlington, Vermont. Devin Reed , Founder of The Reeder and expert in content strategy, shared a session on building a strong personal and company presence on LinkedIn. Devin covers: Identifying your “one word” to own and dominate a category on LinkedIn. Why your content strategy should focus on personal LinkedIn profiles for max reach and engagement. A step-by-step framework for producing and distributing CEO o...
Nov 25, 2024•50 min•Ep. 196
In this episode, Dave is joined by Andrew Davies , CMO at Paddle, a company providing complete payments infrastructure for 4,000+ software businesses globally. Prior to Paddle, he was VP of Corporate Marketing at Optimizely, following the acquisition of his startup. Dave and Andrew talk about the marketing strategy at Paddle, managing a team of 30 marketers, the fundamentals of effective B2B marketing, and their mission of being the most helpful brand in their space. Dave and Andrew also cover: ...
Nov 21, 2024•44 min•Ep. 195
In this episode, we’re delivering another B2B marketing lesson in under 10 minutes—no fluff, just practical insights. Matthew Carnevale, Marketing Manager at Exit Five , discusses the difference between goals, strategies, and tactics—a framework every marketer needs to plan effectively. Matthew explains why strategy is the guiding principle behind your plan, how it keeps your team focused, and shares real-world examples of aligning tactics with strategy. Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfi...
Nov 20, 2024•7 min
