Author: Melissa Caffrey

Joelle Kaufman has been both a CRO and a CMO—and she’s here to tell you: if sales and marketing aren’t on the same page, you’re leaving revenue on the table. 

In this Huddles Quick Take, Joelle outlines the three most common mistakes CMOs make when trying to align with sales—and how to avoid them. From pipeline goals to budget tension to attribution battles, Joelle shares how CMOs can build better partnerships that actually drive revenue. 

What You’ll Learn: 

• 3 alignment mistakes that keep marketing and sales at odds 

• Why obsessing over MQLs sends the wrong signal 

• How shared pipeline goals help unify teams 

• The real problem with attribution finger-pointing   

For the rest of the conversation with Joelle, visit our YouTube channel (CMO Huddles Hub) or click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64XHb_E7UT4.  

Get more insights like these by joining our free Starter program at cmohuddles.com.  

ABM falls apart fast when teams jump in before locking down who they’re chasing, why it matters, and how it’s all supposed to run. Sales pushes one list, marketing builds another, and no one agrees on who actually matters. No shared ICP? No clean data? Well, no chance. You need a strategy.

Guest host Jon Russo (B2B Fusion) corrals Heidi Bullock (Tealium), Patti Newcomer (Centerbase), and Bindu Chellappan (Corpay) for a breakdown of how they’re keeping their ABM engines running clean. Think pods with purpose, seller-first workflows, and data that matters.

In this episode: 

• Heidi on running pods that bring marketing, sales, and CS into one motion 

• Patti on aligning across the funnel and why ABM needs ownership 

• Bindu on activating firmographic and intent data with shared definitions

Plus: 

• Where alignment really starts 

• Why trust beats tech every time 

• How AI is speeding up the grunt work without losing the signal 

• The metrics that actually tell you it’s working

Tune in to learn about what breaks ABM, what fixes it, and how to keep teams pulling in the same direction. 

Let’s face it, most marketing metrics don’t travel well to the CFO’s office. 

Pricing power is different. It’s measurable, margin-backed, and proof that your brand is strong enough to charge more without losing volume. 

To help make sense of it all, Drew brings in Chris Burggraeve, Founder of Vicomte and author of books on marketing and business strategy. Together, they discuss what pricing power means, how to measure it, and why it’s the most powerful way to communicate marketing value to your CFO and C-suite.  

In this episode:

• What pricing power means and how to measure it 

• Why brand strength drives profit, not just visibility 

• How CMOs can align with CFOs through finance fluency 

• The tools and mindset needed to link marketing to valuation 

• How pricing power bridges marketing metrics with financial outcomes

Tune in for a clearer way to connect brand, margin, and market strength. 

️ In this Drew-on-Drew episode, Drew puts penguin hat-Drew in the hot seat as they riff on how B2B CMOs are getting smart and a little scrappy with Generative AI, finding what works and sparking fresh energy across their teams.

It’s a fast-paced convo sparked by real stories from marketing leaders in the thick of GenAI, testing big ideas, fielding questions from curious CEOs, and rallying their teams behind the experimentation. Throughout, both Drews dish out the practical, the surprising, and the just plain fun ways marketers are experimenting with GenAI. 

Expect smart plays, one very silly penguin hat, and a few “why didn’t I think of that?” moments.  

Key Takeaways:  

• Build your own Executive GPT and walk into every boardroom meeting three steps ahead 

• Outsmart shallow C-suite prompts with better inputs and smarter thinking 

• Turn team learning into an AI challenge that brings the fun back to marketing 

• Tap into Customer GPTs and synthetic research to surface insights you didn’t know you had 

• Get ready for GEO because AI-first search is already reshaping the game

Tune in for a few GenAI moves you’ll wish you tried sooner! 

Be honest, when you think “CMO,” do you picture campaigns, brand work, or the de facto unifier of a siloed C-suite? 
In this episode, guest host Narine Galstian (SADA) leads a conversation with Katie McAdams (Basis Technologies) and Julia Goebel (Komodo Health) on how the CMOs role has grown into a key driver of org-wide alignment. It’s part diplomat, part coach, translating strategy across departments and turning zigzags at the top into coordinated momentum.

In this episode: 

• Katie shares how early signals from marketing and sales can shape product strategy before it hits the roadmap 

• Julia explains why cohesive brand messaging only happens when product, marketing, and sales move as one 

• Narine explores how marketing becomes the connective tissue that keeps cross-functional teams in sync

Plus: 

• Why fragile alignment breaks when you skip the relationship-building 

• How “agree and commit” clears the clutter when teams clash 

• The case for marketers to stop owning just campaigns and start owning outcomes

Tune in for a blueprint on becoming the Chief Collaboration Officer your org needs! 

Nothing scrambles a CMOs brain faster than parsing pipeline math with sales.

Alignment starts with one number, owned together, and a shared path from first touch to closed won. Miss that, and both sides will be pulling their hair out debating what happened to the pipeline.

In this episode, Drew Neisser is joined by Lisa Cole (2X), Dave Bornmann (Higher Logic), and Marshall Poindexter (yorCMO) to tackle the GTM strategy that frays the most nerves: sales and marketing alignment.

In this episode:

• Lisa shares how GTM teams build trust through shared goals, clean data, and dashboards that leave no room for spin
• Dave explains how strong sales relationships gave marketing influence across the full funnel
• Marshall shows how marketers earn trust by speaking sales’ language and showing they’re in it for the same win

Plus:

• Why sales questions your pipeline numbers and how to rebuild trust
• How shared dashboards and definitions keep teams honest
• How to speak sales without losing your marketing lens

Tune in to hear how sales and marketing alignment starts with shared goals and grows from there.