The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

Exit Five

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com

  1. 14 h fa

    From $3M to $50M ARR Without Paid Ads with Alex Howe (SVP Marketing & Growth at Funnel Leasing)

    #371 | Most B2B companies gate everything and hide their pricing. Funnel Leasing does neither, and grew from $3 million to $50 million in revenue anyway. Dave sits down with Alex Howe, SVP of Marketing and Growth at Funnel Leasing, to talk about how he built that growth engine with no marketing background, no paid ads, and no sales team pressure. They get into why his whole philosophy is built around being different rather than better, why ungating everything (including pricing) builds more trust than gating ever could, and how to prove marketing is working without hard metrics like a two-week sales cycle. Plus: how a background in political PR shaped his approach to getting attention, the event marketing stunts that actually got prospects talking, and why messaging should keep evolving without ever losing its core story. Timestamps (00:00) - - Introduction (05:32) - - Be Different, Not Just Better (09:13) - - Why You Should Ungate Everything, Including Pricing (13:34) - - How to Prove Marketing Is Working Without Hard Metrics (18:38) - - A Great Product Makes Marketing Easier (24:54) - - Build a Point of View by Staying Close to Your Customers (27:10) - - Creative Event Marketing Beats a Boring Booth (31:00) - - What a PR Background Teaches You About Getting Attention (35:59) - - Hire Specialists and Give Them Ownership (39:00) - - Why Differentiation Matters More Than Ever in the AI Era Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    47 min
  2. 3 gg fa

    Why B2B Marketers Should Be Running CTV Ads with Amit Sharan (SVP Marketing at Tatari)

    #370 | Most B2B marketers have no idea you can run TV ads for $50 a day. Dave sits down with TV advertising veteran Amit Sharan, SVP of Marketing at Tatari, to talk about this, and how to think about CTV as a B2B channel. They get into the difference between linear and streaming, why programmatic buying only reaches 15% of total TV inventory, and the case for retargeting your website visitors on TV instead of just running more ads on LinkedIn. They also get into what makes TV creative actually work, where AI fits into that process, how to measure performance without relying on last-click, and why it's worth testing a channel you've never touched before. Timestamps (00:00) - - Why B2B marketers are sleeping on TV ads (01:17) - - Getting into ad tech: video advertising, Facebook, and a $450M acquisition (07:03) - - How to cold-apply your way into a company you want to join (09:05) - - What scale looks like for a modern TV ad platform (11:02) - - The three buckets of marketing: demand gen, product, and corporate (13:59) - - How to actually measure whether your brand is working (16:12) - - Why marketers respect good marketing more than any celebrity spokesperson (20:04) - - CTV 101: linear vs streaming, and why programmatic only touches 15% of inventory (25:03) - - The $50-a-day move: retargeting website visitors on CTV (28:07) - - What actually makes TV creative work (33:42) - - Should you use AI-generated video for your ads? (37:21) - - Measuring TV without relying on last-click (38:19) - - Testing new channels: the case for trying something you've never done Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    45 min
  3. 2 lug

    60-Minute B2B Blitz: 9 Marketers Share Their Best Plays from 2026 (So Far)

    #369 | It's hard to know what works and what doesn't, what's real and what's not right now. So we tapped 9 B2B marketing pros, all specialists in their area, to share one thing that's produced real results so far this year. Here's how it works: 9 speakers, one play each, two minutes on the clock. When host Dave Gerhardt hits the buzzer, it's on to the next play. The audience votes on their favorites, and the top plays come back for a second round with more detail. 60 minutes of back-to-back insights across demand gen, content, brand, social, product marketing, strategy, and more, featuring plays from senior marketing leaders at companies like Snowflake, Sprout Social, Tekmetric, Lendio, and many more. Timestamps (02:23) - - Nine marketers, two minutes each, one play — welcome to the B2B Blitz (07:23) - - 6x podcast engagement with comic-style clips, Jess Cook (Vector) (09:41) - - Adapting core messaging across different segments, Diane Wiredu (Lion Words) (11:43) - - Turning win-loss research into pipeline recovery, Drew Giovannoli (BuriedWins) (13:28) - - An AI-powered voice-of-customer system built from sales calls, Jonathan Rosenfeld (Hologram) (16:09) - - Treating your internal team like a demand gen channel, Hunter Talpas (Tekmetric) (19:23) - - A revenue-first framework for campaign planning, Hailey McDonald (Sprout Social) (21:27) - - AI messaging tests that delivered an 8x CTR lift, Casey Patterson (Snowflake) (23:23) - - Putting AEs in the ad to build familiarity before outreach, Spencer Rule (Lendio) (25:30) - - Automating LinkedIn ads with Claude Code, Anthony Blatner (Speedwork) (40:51) - - The winning play, round two: AE-led video ads in depth, Spencer Rule (Lendio) Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    52 min
  4. 29 giu

    Running a Media Company Inside HubSpot with Jonathan Hunt (VP, Media and Content)

    #368 | Dave sits down with Jonathan Hunt, VP of Content and Media at HubSpot, to talk about what it means to run a media company inside a software company, and why that framing changes everything about how you build a content team. Jonathan runs a 70-person operation reaching 50 million people a month across 17 YouTube channels and a creator network of 150. They get into how HubSpot thinks about the three jobs of content (demand gen, influence, and earned media value), why gated PDFs are dead and what's replacing them, how Jonathan's team built an AI clipping engine in a six-week sprint, and how to tell the measurement story to a public company's CFO. Plus: what Jonathan looks for when hiring, how creator partnerships actually work at scale, and why "creative freedom" without strategy is just chaos. Timestamps (00:00) - - - Jonathan Hunt, VP of Content and Media at HubSpot (03:17) - - - Running a media company inside a software company (07:47) - - - From the HubSpot blog to a network of 150 creators (11:22) - - - How to find creators (and the tool Jonathan recommends) (12:39) - - - The three jobs of content: demand gen, influence, and earned media value (17:22) - - - How to tell the measurement story to your CFO (20:42) - - - Why gated PDFs are dead and what converts now (24:00) - - - What actually works in creator partnerships (31:21) - - - The AI clipping engine HubSpot built in six weeks (45:38) - - - HubSpot's public code of ethics for AI use Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    49 min
  5. 25 giu

    Influencer Marketing, Podcasting Strategy, and Brand Driving Demand with Jess Cook (VP Marketing at Vector)

    #367 | Dave sits down with Jess Cook, VP of Marketing at Vector, to talk about how she spent $12K on seven micro-influencers with zero UTM tracking and generated $1.1M in pipeline. Jess also breaks down why she started a brand podcast as an awareness play, how a B2C copywriting background at major CPG brands shaped the way she thinks about brand and standing out in B2B, and what it actually takes to make the jump from content leader to VP of Marketing. Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro (07:00) - - Why influencer marketing made sense as a first channel (12:15) - - Tracking pipeline without UTMs: using keyword alerts (13:06) - - The results: 45 demos, 80%+ ICP, $1.1M in pipeline (15:45) - - Why loose briefs outperform tightly controlled campaigns (20:23) - - How to scale an influencer program when you're a team of two (23:01) - - How to make your podcast an awareness magnet (31:49) - - How to know if your podcast is working when you can't track it (37:01) - - LinkedIn: 37K followers in 3 years and how the content strategy works (44:58) - - Why brand and mascots aren't optional anymore in B2B Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    1 h
  6. 22 giu

    Demand Gen Plays for the Antisocial Buyer

    #366 | The B2B buyer has gone antisocial. No form fills, no hand raises, just self-directed research through Google, Reddit, and AI before they ever talk to sales. In this session, you'll hear from three marketing pros about how they built a LinkedIn influencer program that doubled branded search volume, why ungating top-of-funnel content drives more meetings - not fewer, and how to build an LLM visibility page so AI models correctly answer questions about your product. Plus the case for measuring trust in hours of content watched, and much more. Featuring Judy Kimball (Consensus), Hunter Talpas (Tekmetric), and Mason Cosby (Scrappy ABM). Timestamps (00:00) - - How the B2B funnel has flipped (05:52) - - Why brand is the new demand (08:23) - - Running a LinkedIn influencer program that moves pipeline (13:19) - - Why ungating content drives more meetings, not fewer (15:57) - - Building for AI and LLM visibility (19:00) - - What an LLM visibility page looks like (24:48) - - Using async video to build trust at scale (29:14) - - Why seven hours of content watched beats 28 touch points (36:26) - - How to get leadership to ditch the MQL model (42:00) - - Measuring demand gen by stage of the buyer journey Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    51 min
  7. 18 giu

    The Case for Influencer Marketing in B2B with Brianna Doe (Founder at Verbatim)

    Most B2B influencer programs fail for the same reason: no defined success metrics before the first post goes live. Brianna Doe, founder of influencer marketing agency Verbatim, breaks down how to actually build an influencer program that maps to pipeline — not just impressions. She covers her "Creator Engine" framework, how to tier creators by authority and reach, and why 90 days is the absolute minimum for a meaningful pilot. If you're trying to convince leadership this channel works, this is the playbook. Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro (01:00) - - Why influencer marketing is no longer optional in B2B (03:00) - - What most companies get wrong about influencer marketing (07:00) - - Lessons B2B can borrow from B2C influencer campaigns (08:00) - - The creator engine: how to actually structure an influencer program (13:00) - - How to choose the right creators for your goals (15:00) - - How to align your team on what success actually looks like (22:00) - - The 90-day influencer pilot framework (25:00) - - How to coach leadership on offers, ROI, and longer B2B sales cycles (34:00) - - How to discuss risk with clients before handing over creative control to influencers Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    41 min
  8. 15 giu

    How to Use AI for Content Without Creating Slop with Eoin Clancy (VP Growth at Airops)

    Dave sits down with Eoin Clancy, VP of Growth at AirOps, to talk about what's working in B2B marketing right now. They get into the rise of the content engineer role, how to use AI to produce high-quality content without creating AI slop, and why webinars have become AirOps' top growth channel in 2026. Eoin breaks down the three signs that content is AI slop, how AirOps runs their webinar funnel end-to-end, and how they follow up with attendees without ever pushing for a demo. Timestamps (00:00) - - Intro and episode overview (01:36) - - What AirOps does and the content engineer role (07:10) - - Why good SEO principles haven't changed in the AI era (11:34) - - AirOps' growth story: 10x revenue in 12 months (15:01) - - The challenge of using AI without creating slop (18:09) - - Three signs your content is AI slop (22:08) - - How to capture and maintain your brand's tone of voice (25:02) - - Why subject matter expertise is the best content ingredient (31:24) - - Why webinars are AirOps' #1 growth channel in 2026 (37:18) - - How AirOps plans topics and sources webinar guests (38:40) - - The webinar tech stack: Luma, HubSpot, Zoom, and Clay (39:09) - - Personalized follow-up strategy and signal scoring (43:42) - - How to build internal buy-in for a long-game content strategy (48:49) - - How to fill a webinar without gating anything Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive. Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai. Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive. Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link. *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

    55 min

Descrizione

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com

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