In this week’s live event, Chris is joined by Tom Wentworth, CMO of Recorded Future, to discuss the intricate collaboration between marketing leadership and finance. They dive deep into the often-overlooked aspect of bringing business acumen into financial planning, emphasizing the importance of marrying marketing metrics with business objectives to drive enterprise value. With Recorded Future's forthcoming acquisition by Mastercard, Tom shares valuable insights on aligning marketing strategies with organizational growth goals.

The conversation shifts to annual planning and the use of marketing metrics that truly reflect a company's health. Chris and Tom examine the pitfalls of traditional marketing metrics and highlight how marketing leaders can better prepare for board meetings and annual strategy planning. The dialogue outlines the significance of FP\&A in marketing processes and explores Tom's approach to integrating financial metrics into marketing planning. Keywords like pipeline creation, win rates, and ROI underline the episode, making it valuable for marketing professionals and business strategists looking to enhance their financial alignment.

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

In this week’s live event, Chris is focused on reinforcing the importance of unified metrics and financial acumen. He also covers marketing efficiency, effective brand marketing strategies, and the role of ROI in driving business success. Addressing listener feedback and industry misconceptions, Chris provides a comprehensive analysis of marketing performance metrics. He argues against the widespread undervaluation of marketing ROI, emphasizing its crucial role in achieving pipeline targets. Chris highlights how a misalignment in understanding these metrics can lead to significant revenue loss, illustrated by a case study involving a company with a $95 million pipeline deficit.

Chris Walker also tackles the skepticism around brand marketing, asserting that an effective blend of marketing investments translates to tangible business results. He busts the myth that only performance marketing yields measurable outcomes by illustrating the dynamics of performance marketing inefficiencies and the long-term ROI benefits of brand marketing. This episode serves as a clarion call for better integration of financial acumen in marketing roles, urging professionals to adapt their strategies to ever-evolving market demands. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

In this week’s live event, Chris is joined by finance expert David Spitz to dig into the intricacies of go-to-market efficiency, a crucial metric for SaaS companies. As businesses navigate 2025 planning and budget setting, understanding key performance indicators is indispensable. David provides a detailed exploration of how public SaaS companies are evolving in their approach to marketing efficiency, following the dramatic shifts seen post-2021 due to economic pressures and the end of the "growth at all costs" era.

By examining data from about 80 public SaaS companies, David highlights the decline in growth rates from 34% in 2021 to a median of 17%, driven by various macroeconomic factors. Despite reduced sales and marketing expenditures, the cost of acquiring new revenue has increased significantly, doubling compared to previous years. The episode further illustrates the link between go-to-market efficiency and enterprise value, offering insights into how companies can adjust their strategies to ensure sustainable growth and better valuation. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

In this week’s live event, Chris starts by discussing the misconceptions surrounding marketing ROI within the B2B space. He criticizes the conventional wisdom that overly focuses on attributing ROI at the campaign level and stresses the necessity of examining ROI from an entire department perspective. This shift, he argues, allows for more creative and impactful marketing strategies that align better with business-level outcomes.

Throughout the episode, Chris discusses real-world scenarios, including his consultation with a large SaaS company struggling with declining marketing efficiency. He emphasizes the importance of viewing the GTM strategy as a cohesive "revenue factory," where various departments work together harmoniously to drive core business metrics. He shares insights on diagnosing and resolving inefficiencies by using data smarter, stressing the dangers of being too granular with metric segmentation and the flaws of the four-funnel model that many companies adopt. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

Chris joined moderator Asaf Azulay and a group of founders and CEOs on Team8 Marketing’s Acceler8 Workshop.

Chris covers the most common B2B Marketing mistake that he sees companies make when it comes to scaling: financial planning process relating to GTM programs. He talks about how this leads to overlapping costs and nobody focused on creating net new demand for their product or service. He also recommends having business KPIs that are separate from Attribution, so that you can more easily find a root cause of any issues. He also answers audience questions, giving tactical advice and feedback for early stage companies. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

In this week’s live event, Chris is joined by Jacco van der Kooij, founder of Winning by Design, to discuss the nuances of running your Go-to-Market strategy as a revenue factory. The session kicks off with discussions on the pivotal role of GTM and how the focus has shifted towards growth, efficiency, and sustainability in today's economy. Jacco draws from his vast experience to explain how businesses need to transition from a 'growth at all cost' mindset to one that emphasizes unit economics and sustainable scaling.

The episode covers essential concepts such as the "revenue architecture framework," the importance of GTM efficiency, and the measurement of net new ARR. Jacco provides a comprehensive explanation of how companies can adopt a factory model approach to their GTM strategy. He discusses the significance of production lines and the categorization of high-touch to low-touch models, and how these can be leveraged to drive cost-efficient, scalable, and durable growth. The conversation also touches on common hurdles faced by companies, the declining availability of IPO slots, and the impact of market dynamics on revenue generation.

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

Chris joined Andrew Kappel, host of the Leader Leverage Podcast, to talk about his transition into a leadership role and how that’s affected his perspective on GTM strategies. Chris outlines the critical leverage points in early-stage businesses and emphasizes the significant impact of engaging with actual customers to refine products and services. He discusses the foundation of Passetto, explaining how it merges financial and go-to-market data to enable CEOs and CFOs to make strategic decisions based on comprehensive, real-time insights. 

Key Takeaways:

Leverage Points in Business Development: Listening to customers and iterating based on their feedback helps refine services and identify target markets.

Integrating Marketing and Financial Data: Passetto aims to bridge the gap between CRM and financial data, helping executives understand why business metrics are changing and what actions to take.

Role of CEO and CFO in Go-to-Market Strategies: Strategic reallocation of budgets and resources should be driven by executives with a comprehensive view of the company's performance, not just department-level metrics.

The Necessity of Blending Technology and Services: Combining BI tools with consulting helps businesses not merely track metrics but also make informed strategic decisions.

Transformation Through Technology: Passetto’s unique approach positions it not as a competitor to typical SaaS companies but as a modern alternative to consulting giants like McKinsey or Gartner.

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The next Expert Session, featuring Malin Wijenayake will take place on September 17 at 11am central. Register here. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

In this week’s live event, Chris covers the optimization of go-to-market efficiency, presenting practical examples using realistic data. He explores the critical importance of KPI stacks and revenue breakpoints, spotlighting real company scenarios and offering strategic insights. 

Highlights include combating poor unit economics, balancing marketing experiments with immediate ROI needs, and unifying metrics for executive clarity. 

He also answers questions about successful metrics for evaluating marketing performance and the importance of strategic reallocation.

The next Expert Session, featuring Malin Wijenayake will take place on September 17 at 11am central. Register here. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

In this week’s live event, Chris shares invaluable insights into how SaaS companies can strategically optimize their marketing and sales spend to enhance their enterprise value. This episode focuses on the correlation between go-to-market efficiency and revenue multiples, presenting findings that challenge the conventional wisdom of growth-at-all-costs in favor of more sustainable, efficient business practices.

This discussion brings to light why traditional metrics might not suffice in today's market conditions. Chris walks through the new concept of GTM efficiency percentage and breaks down its calculation method. From clarifying the inclusion of customer success costs to discussing the varying stages of company growth, this episode dives deep into the financial metrics that matter. It explores how tools like this can illuminate potential pitfalls, especially for companies seeking to navigate the complex landscape from Series B funding to successful IPOs.

The next Expert Session, featuring Malin Wijenayake will take place on September 17 at 11am central. Register here. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

Chris joined Ishaan Shakunt, founder @ Spear Growth, on the TLDR podcast to talk about outbound marketing, offering a stark contrast to traditional high-volume approaches. Chris emphasizes the importance of strategic, personalized outreach over sheer quantity, focusing on the sender's credibility, the specificity of the offer, and the optimal timing of outreach. He breaks down the tools and methodologies he employs, including LinkedIn Sales Navigator and RB2B for identifying potential leads and outlines the manual, thoughtful process he follows to ensure each interaction is meaningful and impactful.

Chris also highlights the significance of crafting compelling, unique offers that are closely aligned with the needs of the ideal customer profile (ICP). He shares his personal outreach strategy, which remarkably boasts a 60% message-to-meeting conversion rate, and underscores the necessity of having a deep understanding of one's product and market to achieve such success. By illuminating his hands-on, data-driven approach, Chris provides invaluable insights that challenge conventional outbound practices and offer a blueprint for more effective and efficient lead generation.

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The next Expert Session, featuring Malin Wijenayake will take place on September 17 at 11am central. Register here. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm

In this week’s live event, Chris covers revenue planning for 2025, the fundamental differences between KPI metrics and attribution, and the importance of clear segmentation in go-to-market strategies. Chris highlights the crucial distinction between key performance indicators (KPIs) and attribution metrics in business planning. He offers actionable advice on identifying revenue inefficiencies, understanding unit economics, and aligning go-to-market efforts with company-wide objectives. Chris advises against the segmentation of responsibilities by attribution sources, such as marketing or sales, and instead promotes a holistic approach to evaluating performance metrics. For businesses grappling with complex revenue models, Chris's insights serve as a roadmap to achieving a more streamlined and effective sales funnel.

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The next Expert Session, featuring Malin Wijenayake will take place on September 17 at 11am central. Register here. 

If you want to have a conversation with Chris and present your current questions, roadblocks, or projects you’re working through, make sure to attend this weekly event every Tuesday at 12 central. Register here.

Can’t make the event but have a question for Chris? Submit it here.

Thanks to our friends at Hatch for producing this episode. Get unlimited podcast editing at www.hatch.fm