Author: Melissa Caffrey

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.

The career mistake that haunts CMOs most? Waiting until they’re out of a job to build their personal brand.

In this Huddles Quick Take, reputation management expert Marc Reichel from Qnary reveals the three critical mistakes B2B executives make when building their online presence. Plus, he shares practical advice on creating meaningful engagement that enhances both your personal brand AND your company’s visibility.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to identify and focus on the right target audience
• The optimal content strategy (4 blended posts per week)
• Why 70-80% of your content should be thought leadership, not company promotion
• How to build your reputation while supporting your organization

For the full conversation covering the right way to tag people in posts, how to get named a LinkedIn “Top Voice,” and recommendations for platforms beyond LinkedIn, visit our YouTube channel (CMO Huddles Hub) or click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T9Rfcs-2CY

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

Drew worked on the team that launched the Panasonic Toughbook by driving a Hummer over it on live TV! 

That stunt turned heads, sure, but it also drilled the product’s promise into buyers’ brains: tough enough to survive anything. The best launches find that one thing that matters, makes it unforgettable, and builds everything else around it.

In this episode, Drew Neisser is joined by Guy Yalif (Webflow), Chris Pieper (ADP), and Ali McCarthy (Amplify Your Voice Studio) to talk about why great launches start with one magical thing: the product’s essence.  

In this episode:

• Guy shares how Webflow’s multi-product expansion demanded a rethink of what buyers really needed and why one-size-fits-all launches rarely succeed 

• Chris explains why the launch of ADP’s Lyric platform meant wrangling hundreds of voices into one clear story without losing focus on what matters 

• Ali breaks down why putting the customer’s pain first is key and why clarity always beats complexity

Plus: 

• Why understanding the customer’s pain points beats any feature checklist 

• Why selling everything at once kills momentum  

• How to keep the story tight so the team’s always on the same page 

• Why one person needs to own the launch story from start to finish

Tune in to hear how great launches find the product’s essence and turn it into a story buyers can’t ignore. 

B2B CMOs know positioning matters—but too often, it vanishes when sales starts talking.

In this episode, positioning guru April Dunford pulls back the curtain on the disconnect between marketing and sales and shares exactly how to build a sales pitch that wins.

Drawing from her book Sales Pitch and decades of experience, April shares a battle-tested framework for building pitches that set the context, overcome indecision, and spotlight your unique value—without overwhelming buyers or falling into feature hell.

Key Mistakes: 

• Mistake #1: Treating positioning as marketing-only 

• Mistake #2: Assuming sales will “get it” if you hand them positioning docs 

• Mistake #3: Building sales pitches without a clear, compelling structure

In this episode:

• Why positioning is the starting point for every winning pitch 

• How marketing can frame the problem so sales doesn’t chase the wrong story 

• Why leading with your company history stalls momentum 

• What smart pitch sequencing sounds like in action

This Episode Is For: CMOs tired of great positioning dying in a sales deck—and want to arm their teams with pitch narratives that close. 

Is your GenAI stack bloated, scattered, or underused? You’re not alone. 

In this Huddles Quick Take, GenAI advisor Nicole Leffer delivers a fast-paced, practical deep dive into what marketers are still getting wrong with GenAI—and how to fix it. You’ll also learn why Deep Research may be the most powerful feature you’re not using. 

Plus, Nicole shares how ChatGPT helped her build a full keynote deck (including visuals!) and how to stay on top of hallucination risks in strategic work. 

What You’ll Learn 

• 3 common GenAI mistakes marketers make—plus one just for CMOs 

• Why most teams only need one core tool (and which Nicole ranks highest) 

• How to use Deep Research to analyze competitors, build strategy, and repurpose content 

• Why great prompting starts with generous context and a clear goal 

Want more?
Catch the rest of the conversation on the CMO Huddles Hub YouTube channel or click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbdXnseUK-U