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.

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.

Chris was joined by Tom Wentworth, CMO @ Recorded Future, to talk about GTM programs and Marketing ROI. Their discussion focused on guiding marketers aspiring to senior roles, offering rich insights into account selection, demand creation, and the relationship between marketing and finance.

Tom emphasizes the importance of narrowing down account focus, even for large enterprises, suggesting that a smaller, targeted set of accounts can yield better results. They dig into practical challenges and solutions in demand creation, attributing their lower cost per opportunity to a more strategic allocation of marketing spend. Tom’s advocacy for direct mail as a unique, effective tactic highlights an often-overlooked channel. Moreover, the value of robust financial relationships, notably with the CFO, and the innovative use of a news organization to drive engagement and brand authority are discussed in depth.

Then, they spent time on listener questions, going into the specifics of Direct Mail tactics and messaging. 

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.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. 

First, he highlights the shift in the market from growth at all costs to efficient growth and the need for companies to adjust their strategies accordingly. He also emphasizes the importance of looking at metrics such as CAC payback period rather than CAC to LTV ratios for evaluating marketing ROI. Additionally, he explains the difference between demand capture and demand conversion and the need to consider all revenue channels, not just inbound, when assessing marketing performance.

Key Takeaways:

-Companies need to shift from growth at all costs to efficient growth in order to align with changing market dynamics.

-CAC payback period is a more appropriate metric for evaluating marketing ROI than CAC to LTV ratios.

-Demand capture refers to capturing the intent of potential buyers, while demand conversion involves converting that intent into sales meetings or pipeline.

-It is important to consider all revenue channels, not just inbound, when evaluating marketing performance.

Chris sat down with Cameron Evans for a half hour consultative session to provide valuable insights and strategies for a real estate brokerage firm looking. Chris emphasizes the importance of focusing on agents who can generate revenue and have a higher lifetime value. Chris suggests collecting qualitative data from top-producing agents to understand why they choose to work with the firm and using that information to create a unique value proposition. He also recommends leveraging social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook to reach a wider audience and boost engagement. Additionally, Chris advises adding a secondary content creation pillar, such as consulting calls or expert interviews, to further enhance the marketing strategy.

Key Takeaways:

-Focus on attracting real estate agents who can generate revenue and have a higher lifetime value.

-Collect qualitative data from top-producing agents to understand why they choose to work with the firm.

-Create a unique value proposition based on the insights gathered from top-producing agents.

-Leverage social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook to reach a wider audience and boost engagement.

-Consider adding a secondary content creation pillar, such as consulting calls or expert interviews, to enhance the marketing strategy.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. 

First, he highlights the abundance of information available in the digital age and the need for individuals to discern between opinions and data-driven insights. He draws a parallel to the medical field's transition to evidence-based medicine in the 1940s and suggests that the go-to-market space should also prioritize science and data over personal experiences and opinions.

Next, Chris shares a real-life example of a company's misalignment between their perceived pipeline and the actual pipeline based on historical win rates. By analyzing the data, he reveals that the company inflated their pipeline by almost $90 million, leading to inaccurate forecasting and missed targets. He emphasizes the importance of defining pipeline based on objective performance criteria to improve sales and marketing alignment.

Finally, he introduces his company's approach of using science and data to help companies make informed go-to-market decisions. He believes that breakthroughs can be achieved by analyzing large datasets and applying scientific principles to create confidence and clarity in future strategies.

Key Takeaways:

-Information has become a commodity, and individuals must discern between opinions and data-driven insights.

-Companies often inflate their pipeline by not accurately defining qualified pipeline based on historical win rates.

-Science and data should drive go-to-market decisions to improve alignment and achieve breakthroughs.

Chris was invited onto the inaugural episode of Donuts and Demand, hosted by Lindsay McGuire and joined as well by LaShanda Jackson. They discuss the definition of demand gen, share tips for success, and highlight their favorite campaigns. Chris emphasizes the importance of always-on programs and taking risks with one-time campaigns. They also discuss strategies for boosting conversions and the differences between creating demand and capturing demand.

Key Takeaways:

-Demand generation should be focused on creating demand, capturing demand, and converting demand.

-Metrics and attribution systems dictate marketing strategies, so it's important to align them with revenue goals.

-Third-party intent data can be unreliable, and marketers should focus on first-party data and Facebook's advertising algorithm for better targeting.

-Always-on programs are essential for building brand affinity and familiarity, while one-time campaigns allow for creative risks.

-Optimizing for closed-won revenue and qualified pipeline is more effective than optimizing for conversion rates or lead generation.

Chris joined Ricky Sevta and Sean Diljore on the Sassy Talk podcast to share his insights on demand capture, demand creation, and revenue operations for early-stage B2B companies. He emphasizes the need for a data-driven approach to marketing and go-to-market strategies, highlighting the importance of using large-scale aggregated data to inform decision-making. 

Chris also discusses the disadvantages of the traditional MQL hamster wheel model and the need for a new operating model that is continuously updated based on data and insights. He explains how the traditional MQL SQL model is subjective and lacks data-driven decision-making, and suggests that companies should focus on performance-based objective data to determine the stages of the revenue process. Chris highlights the challenges faced by companies as they scale and the importance of finding efficient and effective ways to drive growth. He also emphasizes the need for early-stage founders to prioritize marketing and demand creation in order to accelerate growth and reach their target market. Additionally, Chris discusses the importance of pricing and how it should be listed on the website based on customer preferences and feedback.

Key Takeaways:

-The traditional MQL SQL model is subjective and lacks data-driven decision-making.

-Companies should focus on performance-based objective data to determine the stages of the revenue process.

-The current influenced revenue model often leads to analysis paralysis and hinders strategic decision-making.

-Early-stage founders should prioritize marketing and demand creation to accelerate growth and reach their target market.

-Pricing should be listed on the website based on customer preferences and feedback.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. 

First, he highlights the common problem of understaffed and reactive revenue operations functions in B2B companies. He emphasizes the need for executives to prioritize and invest in this function to drive strategic changes and growth. Chris also discusses the lack of prioritization and investment in revenue operations, despite companies claiming to be data-driven. He suggests that companies should challenge their current practices and frameworks to ensure the effectiveness of their revenue operations function.

Key Takeaways:

-Revenue operations functions in B2B companies are often understaffed and reactive, hindering their ability to drive strategic changes.

-Companies need to prioritize and invest in their revenue operations function to achieve growth and success.

-Executives should challenge existing practices and frameworks to ensure the effectiveness of their revenue operations function.

Chris was invited onto the Nex6 Project, hosted by John Ghiorso, to discuss Dark Social and Demand Generation in the context of B2B marketing. Chris emphasizes the need for a holistic revenue team approach, breaking down demand generation into three core categories: creating demand, capturing demand, and converting demand. He highlights the underappreciation of these concepts in B2B marketing and the flawed measurement models used by companies. Chris also emphasizes the importance of understanding customers deeply and leveraging platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook for effective marketing. He challenges traditional marketing practices and encourages companies to think differently to drive better results.

Key Takeaways:

-Demand generation should be viewed as a holistic revenue team approach, focusing on creating, capturing, and converting demand.

-Dark social, including platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, is an underappreciated channel in B2B marketing.

-Companies should shift their budget allocation to focus more on digital marketing, including Facebook and Instagram ads.

-Personal brands are often more effective than corporate brands in driving engagement on social media platforms.

-Thought leadership strategies should involve subject matter experts who provide objective insights and help customers across their entire job spectrum.

Chris was a guest speaker for the SaaS Metrics Palooza, happening live online from October 10-12, coordinated by benchmark.it.

For this fireside chat, Chris sat down with Ray Rike to discuss the importance of reevaluating marketing metrics and strategies to drive revenue growth. Chris shares his insights on the need to shift from lead generation to demand generation, and how companies can create, capture, and convert demand effectively. He emphasizes the importance of aligning marketing and sales efforts to optimize revenue generation and highlights the flaws in traditional measurement models. Chris also provides practical advice for CFOs and CEOs on how to allocate marketing budgets and make data-driven strategic decisions to achieve superior returns on their go-to-market investments.

Key Takeaways

-Shifting from lead generation to demand generation is essential for aligning marketing and sales efforts and optimizing revenue generation.

-Companies should focus on creating, capturing, and converting demand to drive revenue growth effectively.

-Allocating marketing budgets based on the different stages of the revenue process can lead to better ROI and scalability.

-Analyzing sales velocity and buyer intent can help identify the most effective channels and programs for revenue generation.

-Bold and innovative strategies are necessary to achieve significant pipeline and revenue growth.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. 

First, he explains that pipeline velocity is a key metric that combines four growth levers: the number of qualified opportunities generated, win rate, average deal size, and sales cycle length. Chris emphasizes that companies should not solely focus on generating more pipeline, but rather optimize the existing pipeline to drive accelerated growth.

Chris suggests several ways to analyze pipeline velocity. At a top-level, companies can look at the overall business performance and trends. They can also break down pipeline sources and compare the sales velocity of each source to identify the most effective ways to capture and convert demand into revenue. By analyzing the underlying drivers of pipeline velocity, companies can identify root causes and develop strategies to improve performance.

Chris also shares his thoughts on the common debate of whether declining win rates or pipeline quality is the root cause of growth issues. He believes that in most cases, it is a marketing issue related to pipeline quality rather than a sales team's performance. However, he acknowledges that external factors such as market conditions and competition can also impact growth.

Lastly, Chris provides insights on how marketers should report their progress on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. He suggests focusing on high ROI activities and avoiding frequent strategy changes based on weekly data. Monthly reporting should focus on progress towards quarterly goals, while quarterly reporting should involve a holistic analysis of the entire revenue team's performance. Chris recommends hiring an external consultant for objective analysis and conducting primary customer research to inform decision-making.

Chris joined Insightly CMO Chip House on the Closing Time Podcast to discuss the changing landscape of B2B go-to-market strategies and why traditional methods are no longer effective. He highlights the shift from events, outbound sales, and paid search to more efficient and targeted approaches. Chris emphasizes the need for a new framework that focuses on demand creation, demand capture, and demand conversion.

He introduces the concept of HIRO Pipeline, a metric that aligns marketing with revenue and drives better decision-making. Chris also challenges the traditional sales funnel model and suggests breaking it down into multiple funnels based on aggregated buying intent.

Key Takeaways:

-Traditional go-to-market motions have not changed, despite significant changes in how buyers discover products and services.

-Events are still valuable for networking and business development, but spending a large portion of the marketing budget on trade show booths is misaligned with how buyers now discover companies.

-The effectiveness and ROI of paid search have declined over the past few years, making it necessary to reallocate budget to more effective channels.

-The traditional sales funnel model assumes equal conversion rates and does not differentiate between demand creation and demand capture.

-A new go-to-market framework should focus on accounts, not just leads, and integrate marketing, SDRs, and sales into an Allbound integrated revenue team.

-Companies should measure and optimize for Hero Pipeline, which defines qualified pipeline based on historical win rates, aligning marketing metrics with revenue.

Chris Walker joins Erik Jacobson, CEO at Hatch, to host a full hour AMA on Content Creation. This session dives deep into the nuances of content strategy, focusing on the importance of integrating various content forms—such as podcasts, social media, YouTube, and blogs—into a unified strategy that aligns with business goals. Chris and Eric discuss how content is no longer solely a marketing responsibility but should involve the entire go-to-market team, including sales and customer success departments.

Throughout the episode, Chris elaborates on how to establish a strong content strategy by understanding and framing customer problems, exploring various use cases, and differentiating your product through a unique value proposition. They wrap up by addressing practical concerns like when to initiate an organic content strategy, the value of deleting ineffective activities, and methods for balancing SEO with organic content. The conversation also includes practical examples and experiments Chris is currently undertaking to optimize his own content strategies, such as leveraging AI for SEO.

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.

Chris joined Paul Banks, host of the Javelin Journeys podcast, to chat about the importance of understanding dark social and its impact on marketing strategies. He emphasizes that while it may be challenging to track dark social activities, it is crucial for businesses to recognize its significance in the decision-making process of potential customers. By understanding how customers access information and make purchasing decisions, businesses can leverage dark social to their advantage and gain a competitive edge.

Chris also highlights the need for smaller businesses to prioritize marketing as much as product development and sales. By recognizing marketing as a primary growth lever, businesses can make strategic decisions based on data and customer insights. This shift in mindset can lead to more effective marketing strategies and overall business success.

Key Takeaways:

-Dark social, which includes private messaging and direct peer interactions, plays a significant role in the decision-making process of potential customers.

-Businesses should prioritize marketing as much as product development and sales to drive growth and make data-driven strategic decisions.

-The metrics and attribution systems used in marketing should be reevaluated to align with the changing landscape of customer behavior and preferences.

Chris joined Shane Mahi on the Redline Podcast to discuss the challenges faced by B2B SaaS companies in reaching their target customers. He shares strategies to overcome these obstacles and emphasizes the importance of scaling digital content and leveraging partnerships to increase brand awareness and build one-to-one connections with potential customers. Chris also highlights the need for companies to have a deep understanding of their target customers and to align their marketing strategies accordingly. He advocates for a scientific approach to marketing, using data analysis to drive decision-making and improve overall organizational scalability.

Key Takeaways:

• Scaling digital content is crucial for reaching a wider audience and building brand awareness.

• Leveraging partnerships can help companies cross-promote and reach new audiences.

• Companies should focus on understanding their target customers and their specific needs and pain points.

• Field marketing should be connected to a digital strategy to maximize its impact and reach.

• Companies should invest in capturing and analyzing data to make informed marketing decisions.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. 

First he discusses the flaws in the reporting models used for paid search and the need for a shift in how executives measure the effectiveness of paid search campaigns. He shares a personal story of losing $1,000 on Google Search Ads and highlights the importance of measuring ROI in B2B companies. He emphasizes the need for executives to focus on two core metrics: HIRO pipeline dollars and closed won revenue dollars. Chris also discusses the importance of changing the goals and metrics for paid search campaigns to drive better ROI.

He then shifts the conversation to conference season and shares his thoughts on extending the impact of conferences. He suggests that companies should focus on creating content that adds value beyond the event itself, such as podcast episodes recorded at the event. He emphasizes the importance of building credibility and influence digitally before leveraging that to create opportunities in the physical world.

The iconic duo of Chris Walker and Gaetano DiNardi is back together to review the current state of capturing demand and answer audience questions live. During this episode, they cover:

-A review of different intent types and offers

-What's new or has changed in the capture demand channels

-Common missteps in capturing demand

-How Google Search, SEO, affiliates, and review sites fit into this conversation 

Key Takeaways:

-Generating a lead is not the same as capturing demand. Demand capture requires clear intent to purchase.

-Low intent offers should be treated differently from declared intent offers in marketing campaigns.

-Companies often confuse lead generation with demand capture and overinvest in lead generation efforts.

-Proper measurement and alignment of strategy are crucial for effective demand capture.

-SEO is becoming more challenging in B2B, and companies need to focus on capturing actual buying intent.

-Paid search requires careful targeting and understanding of search intent to be effective.

-Review sites and affiliates can be valuable for demand capture, but companies should also focus on building their own first-party reviews and content.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. 

First, he discusses the flawed approach of LinkedIn's influenced revenue report, which claims that a high percentage of closed deals were influenced by LinkedIn ads. Chris explains that this report is misleading because it fails to consider other factors that contribute to the sales process.

He then moves on to discuss the inefficiencies in demand capture, particularly in content syndication, paid social, and Google paid search. Chris argues that companies overspend on these channels without considering the actual ROI and effectiveness of their campaigns. He emphasizes the need for a data-driven approach to marketing and sales, rather than relying on opinions and assumptions.

Lastly, Chris addresses the debate around publishing pricing on websites. He argues that companies should prioritize customer preferences and provide transparency by publishing pricing information. He shares the results of a survey he conducted, which showed that the majority of buyers prefer to see pricing before engaging with a sales representative.

Chris was invited onto the B2B Demand Acceleration hosted by Catarina Hoch of Operatix to discuss the difference between demand capture and demand creation in B2B marketing. He emphasizes the need for a balanced strategy that includes both capturing active intent and creating demand for potential customers who are not yet in the market. Chris also challenges the traditional model of an assembly line lead generation system and advocates for an integrated revenue team approach that aligns with the customer buying process. He shares insights on the future of SDRs and suggests that companies should focus on developing business through influencer marketing and partnerships rather than relying solely on cold calling.

Key Takeaways:

• Demand capture focuses on accounts that are in-market to buy and demonstrate clear intent, while demand creation aims to educate and engage potential customers who are not yet in the market.

• Companies should adopt a balanced strategy that includes both demand capture and demand creation to maximize sales productivity and reduce wasted marketing expenses.

• The traditional model of an assembly line lead generation system is outdated and companies should shift towards an integrated revenue team approach that aligns with the customer buying process.

• The future of SDRs lies in their ability to capture active intent, but companies should consider hiring individuals with different skill sets and focus on developing business through influencer marketing and partnerships.

• Analyst firms can provide valuable insights, but companies should be cautious of their recommendations and consider the credibility and motivations behind their advice.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. First, he explores the difference between proving the ROI of marketing programs and leveraging data to make strategic decisions. He highlights the issue of mixing these two concepts in B2B companies, where the data used to prove ROI is often flawed and not suitable for making strategic decisions. Chris emphasizes the need for a standardized and objective data layer that can inform strategic changes.

In the second part of the episode, Chris talks about the key opinion leader strategy in B2B marketing. He shares his experience from his time as a B2B marketer and explains how this strategy differs from influencer marketing. Chris describes how B2B companies can identify key opinion leaders in their industry and build relationships with them to drive product adoption and influence clinical practice change. He suggests that companies should focus on more than just promotion and instead engage key opinion leaders in running studies, building use cases, and pushing the boundaries of technology integration.

Chris was asked to appear on the Founder Wisdom YouTube Stream hosted by Charles Cormier, to share his unique perspective on revenue operations and go-to-market strategies for B2B companies. He emphasizes the importance of viewing the sales and marketing process as a system, rather than a series of disjointed steps. By focusing on creating, capturing, and converting demand, companies can align their marketing, sales, and SDR teams to drive net new revenue. Chris also discusses the importance of mindset, personal growth, and taking care of your body in order to achieve success.

Key Takeaways:

• Companies often get stuck in an MQL machine and struggle to transition to an account-based model.

• Organizational change management is the biggest challenge for larger companies looking to transform their go-to-market strategies.

• AI has potential in areas such as data analysis and process automation, but caution is needed when it comes to customer-facing interactions.

• Podcasting can be a highly effective marketing tool, driving both revenue and brand awareness.

• Sustainable marketing efforts have a compounding effect over time, leading to significant long-term benefits.
  

Chris was invited onto the Making Fun of Marketing podcast, hosted by Scott Logan of Kronologic to discuss the flaws in traditional marketing practices and the need for a new approach. He emphasizes the need to redefine MQLs and eliminate low-intent lead generation. Instead, he suggests focusing on ICP qualified buyers who express interest in purchasing. Chris also highlights the inefficiency of using SDRs to sell to executives and build trust. He advocates for a more streamlined process that eliminates unnecessary steps and improves conversion rates. Additionally, he challenges the traditional definition of pipeline and proposes a new framework based on sales win rates. Chris emphasizes the importance of a shared pipeline between sales and marketing and the need for a holistic view of go-to-market data. He also discusses the role of intent data and the limitations of current measurement methods. Overall, Chris encourages companies to break away from incremental optimization and adopt a new operating model to drive exponential growth.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. This week, he tackles the transition from an assembly line lead generation system to an all-bound integrated revenue team. He emphasizes the importance of starting with the customer and aligning all departments towards creating demand, capturing active buying intent, and converting that demand into revenue. Chris also highlights the need to change key performance indicators and measurement methods to effectively transition to an integrated revenue team. He explains that many companies struggle with this transition because they fail to update their analytics and KPIs, which hinders their ability to accurately measure the impact of marketing efforts. Chris concludes by emphasizing the importance of addressing organizational and incentive-related challenges to drive successful revenue growth.

In this week’s event, Chris talks marketing budgets, unit economics, and go-to-market strategies. Kicking off with a company update from Passetto, Chris shares the exciting news of their expanding team and the positive trend in customer renewals, signaling early success. He emphasizes the importance of unit economics in marketing, debunking the myth that budget constraints are the primary issue for CMOs.

Chris highlights the stark differences between average and high-performing companies, discussing how effective investment in marketing and SDRs can drastically alter business outcomes. He elaborates on the benefits of deletion over addition in marketing strategy, advocating for the elimination of low-performing investments to enhance ROI. The episode also touches on practical strategies for improving win rates, pipeline value, and overall marketing efficiency. Essential for anyone involved in B2B marketing or executive decision-making, this episode offers a treasure trove of actionable insights and strategic advice

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.

Chris sat down for a Marketing Learning Session with Mentimeter employees, led by Johanna Fagerstedt. He emphasizes the importance of understanding customers deeply and collecting primary market research to build a successful marketing strategy. Chris also shares his top three most important KPIs for measuring marketing success and discusses the challenges and strategies for implementing a hybrid go-to-market model. He highlights the need for a mindset shift in marketing and the importance of focusing on a few key marketing channels rather than spreading resources too thin. Chris also shares his thoughts on the role of humor in B2B marketing and the balance between new business acquisition and customer retention. 

Chris was invited onto the ForwardSlash podcast, hosted by Adam Buettner to talk about rethinking ABM & website strategies. Chris discusses the need for companies to transform their go-to-market strategies and challenges the traditional B2B marketing funnel. He emphasizes the importance of measuring CAC and payback, and highlights the need for companies to optimize their websites for speed to booked meetings. Chris also shares insights on the challenges of merging product-led growth (PLG) and enterprise sales, and the importance of showing pricing on websites.

Chris was invited onto the Belkins Growth Podcast, hosted by Michael Maximoff, to discuss the importance of building trust in business and how to do so effectively. Chris shares his personal and professional journey, his rejection of societal norms, and his focus on innovation and alternative solutions. He explains how Refine Labs attracts smart underdog individuals who are looking to challenge the status quo and make a significant impact in the B2B marketing space.

Chris emphasizes the need for a data-backed scientific approach to go-to-market strategies and the importance of a network of companies working together to push the industry forward. He also discusses the culture and values of his organization, including the emphasis on collaboration, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning.

“All attribution is imperfect; it’s about how do we collect the right data, how do we then process it with our brain and our strategy, and make strong decisions.”

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, which opens with covering important and timely industry observations. This week, he tackles Revenue. 

He outlines Pipeline Sources and how they contribute to measuring and scaling programs in the most effective way, and then proposes a new way to look at Demand, focusing on Hybrid Attribution, Self Reported Attribution, and budgeting Demand Capture and Demand Creation as two separate programs.

Finally, he encourages everyone to shift their perspective and make changes that reflect the true  state of the market rather than following the lead of companies stuck in the past.

Chris sat down with Meghan Keaney Anderson of Jasper AI to talk about the impact AI has had on the current state of marketing, and forecast what marketers can do to keep up in the constantly shifting landscape.

They start by talking about AI and content, looking at the ways the technology can increase acceleration and efficiency, as well as the ease of adaptation to new audiences in tone, style, and language. Meghan remains positive about the benefits while warning listeners on the wrong way to use AI, and the dangers of relying too heavily on these tools. 

Then, they spend time chatting about SEO and how AI is going to heavily impact search engines, paid search, and the increasing competition of non branded organic search. Meghan hypothesizes a strong resurgence of brand, community, and editorial coming in the future. 

They propose different uses and innovations, and speculate on the possibility of correction or consolidation after the recent spike in value and attention. Finally, Meghan gives some key takeaways for marketing leaders as processes and necessary skill sets evolve and change.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, and this week he opened by covering a couple important and timely industry observations. 

First, he dives into a Split the Funnel epiphany he recently had that should help companies get a more holistic view of their entire business, not just how low intent and declared intent leads are performing. He suggests building out views of up to seven different sources, and running a split the funnel analysis on each pipeline source. Even if some programs don’t traditionally fall under the marketing umbrella, converging these processes could create a better big picture view of what’s working.

Then, he previews the conversation to be released next week with Meghan Keaney Anderson about the impact of AI on the future of marketing. He explains the way that search will be evolving into a chat-based process, and how utilizing brand awareness and Dark Social will become crucial as non branded SEO becomes more competitive than ever.

Following up on their first conversation back in June, Chris sat back down with George Boot of Acquired.com. In this session, they discuss the experience of transitioning from an SDR to a demand generation strategist. Chris explains how he realized that traditional sales and marketing tactics were no longer effective and started implementing a demand generation strategy at his company. He shares his insights on managing resistance internally and embedding a company-wide culture of demand generation. He also provides advice for SDRs looking to transition into demand gen roles.

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, and this week he opened by covering a couple important and timely industry observations. 

First, he updates information on the recent shift in funding confidence for B2B, SaaS, and Tech companies. He explains that the market is in the best position it’s been in the past 18 months and covers what we can expect to see in terms of stocks, hiring, and investments because of this.

Then, he stresses the critical importance of standardizing HIRO pipeline as soon as possible in your company. He breaks down the mistakes companies make without this standardization, in over or undervaluing sources. 

Finally, he wraps by dispelling the idea that low intent leads regularly become declared intent leads, and how to optimize lead metrics by changing your mindset.

Chris Walker was asked to join the Rev Up podcast, hosted by Ben Shipley of Trust the Process, to chat about customer-centric marketing and the importance of returning to fundamentals. Chris discusses the need to create demand by understanding customers and delivering value through content and thought leadership. He also shares insights on building a successful marketing team and utilizing essential tools for executing effective marketing strategies. They wrap up the conversation talking about content, the status of podcasting

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, and this week he opened by covering a couple important and timely industry observations. 

First, he previews the current state of Revenue Operations, including the expectations and what he is seeing in practice. He presents this as an opportunity for people to think about assuming higher level responsibilities in order to vault their careers forward.  

Then, he digs into some recent feedback on reasons that companies aren’t shifting from Lead Gen to Demand Gen. He acknowledges that attribution is going to keep holding people up until they reframe their thinking around it, and also talks through the misuse of terminology between MQL and SQL to create a perceived void in sales team productivity. 

In this week’s event, Chris shares his recent reflections and insights following a rejuvenating vacation in Italy. He emphasizes the importance of taking breaks to gain new perspectives on business strategies and operations. Through a holistic approach, he discusses everything from achieving marketing efficiency and improving sales win rates to the evolving role of AI in the marketing landscape. His strategic insights are aimed at optimizing the go-to-market strategy, offering plenty of actionable advice for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Chris shifts into the concept of a unified go-to-market strategy, discussing how connecting different departments and aligning them towards a common goal can significantly enhance business performance. He touches on topics like setting appropriate marketing KPIs, increasing sales win rates, and the intricate balance between short-term objectives and long-term growth. The episode also explores practical AI applications, including automated content creation, data enrichment for SDRs, and more innovative technologies that are transforming the way companies operate.

Special thanks to Sidney Waterfall and everyone who took over on the call when Spectrum’s regional outage affected Chris’s recording studio!

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.

Chris was invited on the Revenue Formula Podcast, hosted by Toni Hohlbein & Mikkel Plaehn to discuss planning. They cover the challenges and problems faced by companies when planning marketing strategies, and Chris emphasizes the need to view marketing and sales planning as one overall system, rather than separate entities. He explains the importance of analyzing historical data to determine the effectiveness of different pipeline sources and make informed decisions about future strategies. He also highlights the inefficiencies and hidden costs associated with traditional MQL models and the need to focus on capturing high-intent buyers. Chris suggests that companies should optimize their demand capture budget and allocate resources to demand generation activities that drive meaningful results.

“Do less, but do it fucking phenomenally”

Chris Delivered a keynote presentation on Attribution and Measurement at the 2023 SaaStock Conference in Austin. He starts his presentation by discussing the current state of the market, highlighting the fact that companies have less money and marketing budgets are being scrutinized, and the implications of that. He emphasizes the need for companies to scale their projects down to focus on what’s working, rather than spreading their resources thin across multiple programs. 

Chris then delves into different strategies for capturing and creating demand. He emphasizes the importance of organic thought leadership and content distribution, using platforms like LinkedIn, YouTube Shorts, Reddit, and Quora. He wraps up by covering the need for a new framework for attribution, and then answers audience questions. 

Chris Walker hosts weekly Private Coaching Events for Vault Subscribers, and this week he opened by covering two important and timely industry observations. 

First, he interprets the results of the Metadata Paid Social Benchmark Report to show that when you use paid social for lead gen, the outcomes are a very high cost of acquisition and very low lead to win rate. He breaks down the percentages of win rate and length of customer acquisition cost payback time to reveal shocking results. 

Then, he digs into the potential reasons he has seen so many B2B companies abandon their sourced model in favor of an influenced model for their marketing. He explains why he thinks that’s a bad idea and ultimately proposes an alternative approach.

You’ve asked and we’re listening! Here is a compilation episode geared towards all-things Revenue R&D from Chris’ recent podcast appearances. Different areas he breaks down include:

• A definition and overview of the concept and use cases

• How to use Revenue R&D to evaluate the business in a holistic, standardized way

• A deep dive into the Revenue R&D Exit Criteria and how to adjust based on individual goals and sales cycle lengths

• An argument dispelling the myth that Revenue R&D is unnecessary

Let us know what topic you want to hear a compilation episode focusing on next!

Chris was invited onto the Game Changers webinar, hosted by Oana Manolache of sequel.io, to chat about his journey in building a $20 million business. Chris shares his background as a B2B professional and how he started RefineLabs after realizing that his unique approach to marketing was not being embraced by traditional companies. He discusses the shift from being a marketer to a CEO and the importance of thinking about the entire business holistically. 

Chris emphasizes the need for marketers to focus on the customer and use direct customer insights to drive their strategies. He also highlights the power of content in breaking through the noise and connecting with customers. Chris challenges the traditional methods of measuring content ROI and suggests looking at the overall impact of content rather than individual pieces. He advises marketers to analyze their programs and identify areas of wasted spend. Finally, Chris discusses the challenges of planning for H2 and offers insights on optimizing conversion rates and pipeline marketing.

Chris was invited onto the Power Producers Podcast, hosted by David Carothers, to share his insights on marketing and sales as applicable to the insurance industry. He emphasizes the importance of leveraging digital tools to reach customers and the need to adapt to the changing landscape of consumer behavior. Chris also highlights the power of creativity in marketing and the ability to make a real impact on business growth.Chris's strategies for releasing valuable information for free and the importance of self-reported attribution in dark social channels provide actionable takeaways for marketers in all industries.

Chris got to sit down with Anna Gullstrand, Chief People and Culture Officer at Mentometer, about her extensive background in management and leadership. Anna shares her insights and Chris expands on building high-performing teams, the importance of intentional leadership, the role of technology in employee engagement, and the future of work and remote teams. She also stresses the importance of continuous learning and development, diversity, equity, and inclusion education and implementation, and more. 

Then, she turned the questions back onto Chris and asked for his perspective and recommendations on supporting the Chief Marketing Officer - where they can get inspiration and conversations management can have with them to ensure alignment. 

Chris sat down with George Boot and Justin Hanna of Acquired.com to chat about creating and measuring meaningful metrics. They cover the misalignment between sales and marketing, the flaws in the traditional MQLs and KPIs, and the importance of measuring the right metrics for revenue growth. He also talks about the changing landscape of B2B sales and marketing and the need for companies to adapt to the new reality.

Additionally, Chris shares practical advice on how businesses can allocate their funding for growth, the importance of measuring the right metrics, and the benefits of using LinkedIn and Facebook ads for B2B companies. Chris's emphasis on the importance of understanding the customer and the need for businesses to be agile and adaptable in the new reality is a key takeaway from this episode. Finally, Chris teases a follow up to this episode to cover the how-tos of starting a podcast!

Chris was asked to guest on Checked In with Splash, hosted by Camille White-Stern. They discuss the changing landscape of B2B marketing and how events fit into the new marketing strategies. Camille shares her insights on why there has never been a better time to be a B2B marketer and how marketing can be the key growth driver for a company. The conversation then shifts to the importance of community in event marketing, the role of events in the customer journey, measuring the ROI of events, the difference between marketing and sales events, and successful pipeline acceleration events. Finally, they discuss Chris and Refine Labs’ approach to content strategy and dark social strategy.

Chris was asked to guest on the Launch Pod, hosted by Genero Growth’s Josua Fagerholm, to talk about B2B marketing past trends and future growth. 

They chat about:

• What B2B companies can learn from B2C

• The most important thing that will drive growth over the next decade

• Shifting mindset in measurement

• Aligning sales and marketing

• The potential of AI to increase marketing efficiency

• …and more!

Chris joined Peter Conforti on the Good Content series to discuss a range of critical topics in B2B Marketing and SaaS. From dissecting LinkedIn’s algorithms to redefining go-go-market strategies in the current economic environment, Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and practical insights to the table. 

Chris kicks off the discussion by sharing his observations on LinkedIn’s evolving algorithms and its impact on follower engagement. He then goes into the metrics that really matter for marketers, emphasizing the importance of quality inbound DM’s over mere post reach. The conversation covers the nuanced strategies needed to thrive in today’s B2B SaaS landscape, especially for companies navigating the shift from growth-at-all-costs to a balanced focus on growth and profitability.

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.

Chris was asked to guest on the B2B Insiders podcast, hosted by Gabriel Barboza and David Costa Lima to chat about Demand Generation, and how companies can stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving world of B2B marketing.

From the B2B Insiders Podcast

This 30-minute interview on B2B Insiders features a dynamic exchange between the founders of the community, Gabriel Barboza and David Costa Lima, and Chris Walker, a globally recognized marketing professional and founder of Refine Labs. The conversation will focus on pressing topics in B2B marketing, including:the evolving nature of demand generation,marketing attribution. Moreover, it will highlight the need for different demand-generation strategies at different stages of a company's growth. It will also tackle the balance between focusing on effective marketing channels and diversifying marketing efforts.

Follow Gabriel Barboza and David Costa Lima On LinkedIn

Chris was asked to guest on the A2B Series podcast, hosted by Isaiah Studivent and Chalique Seabron to chat through his experiences in B2B Marketing, Refine Labs’ approach to in-house versus agency strategies, and advice for new and prospective CMOs!

From the A2B Series Podcast:

Chris Walker, CEO of Refine Labs, joins Isaiah and Chalique in Austin to discuss the state of B2B marketing. If you’re a B2B GTM leader, this episode is for you! A few of the topics discussed in this episode: B2B Marketing best practices, frameworks to scale content, marketing attribution and measurement, what B2B companies can learn from B2C companies, and more!

With SaaStock and its incredible lineup of speakers in town, Chris was lucky to be able to do some in-person interviews for Revenue Vitals! In this episode, Anthony Kennada, CEO of AudiencePlus chats with Chris about building relationships with your audience and how to streamline and refine your content creation strategy.

They covered:

• How to produce and distribute content in the most consumable format

• How to avoid common content creation pitfalls

• Transitioning from CMO to CEO

• Anthony’s personal journey through this shift

• Balancing the idea of “firing yourself” from the CMO role and maintaining a personal brand

• The biggest challenges and process of self skill discovery

• And more!
  

Then, Anthony turns the questions back on Chris to talk about breaking through the algorithm and making a LinkedIn strategy work more effectively.