Hey there! I’m Kerry Curran—revenue growth consultant, industry analyst, and your host of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast. Every episode, I sit down with top marketing and sales experts to bring you actionable strategies that drive measurable revenue growth results.
We’ve had over 800K downloads, so if you’re serious about scaling your business, hit subscribe to stay ahead of your competition!
Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast is a must-listen for business leaders, marketers, and sales professionals who want to drive revenue growth, optimize marketing strategies, and stay ahead in a competitive landscape. Across our diverse range of episodes, this podcast delivers actionable insights, expert strategies, and real-world case studies that empower listeners to make informed business decisions for better revenue growth.
If your brand sells to marketers, give me a shout about custom sponsorship opportunities!
Topics we’re covering:
1. Strategic Marketing for Business Growth
How to align marketing with business goals to drive measurable revenue.
The role of branding in both B2B and B2C growth, including positioning, storytelling, and visual identity.
Leveraging influencer marketing, social commerce, and content strategies for brand awareness and engagement.
The power of creativity in marketing—breaking through the noise to create emotional connections.
2. Sales & Marketing Alignment for Revenue Acceleration
How to bridge the gap between sales and marketing to create a seamless customer journey.
Optimizing discovery calls, CRM strategies, and ABM approaches to generate and convert high-quality leads.
Implementing AI-driven strategies for automation, personalization, and improved targeting.
3. Data, AI, and Technology in Modern Marketing
The evolving role of AI in search, content creation, and advertising (SEO, retail media, ChatGPT, and beyond).
How brands can use first-party data and analytics to enhance personalization, optimize campaigns, and measure ROI.
The rise of AI-driven retail media networks, influencer attribution, and omnichannel marketing strategies.
4. Evolving Consumer Behavior & New Marketing Channels
The shift in buyer behavior and decision-making—why modern customers engage before speaking to sales.
Understanding the impact of social listening, consumer insights, and community-driven marketing.
How LinkedIn, TikTok, Amazon, and retail media networks are shaping digital marketing strategies.
5. Optimizing Performance Marketing & Revenue Attribution
Best practices for integrating brand marketing with performance marketing to drive ROI.
The importance of revenue attribution models—how to track and measure the real impact of marketing investments.
How B2B and DTC brands can balance short-term wins with long-term brand building.
6. Founder-Led Growth & Executive-Level Marketing Strategies
Insights from top CMOs, marketing executives, and business leaders on scaling brands efficiently.
The impact of thought leadership, personal branding, and organic social media in driving business growth.
How startups and legacy brands alike can navigate challenges and capitalize on opportunities in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
7. Retail Media, E-Commerce & Amazon Growth Strategies
How brands can leverage Amazon, Walmart, and Instacart to drive online sales and visibility.
The latest trends in multi-network retail media, affiliate marketing, and performance-based advertising.
How brands can optimize their content, listings, and influencer strategies to succeed in e-commerce.
Who Should Listen?
CMOs & Marketing Leaders looking to refine their go-to-market strategies.
Founders & Executives who want to scale their business with smarter marketing investments.
Sales & Business Development Teams aiming to improve alignment with marketing.
B2B & DTC Marketers seeking new ways to drive awareness, engagement, and conversions.
Growth & Revenue Leaders focused on maximizing ROI through data-driven strategies.
Each episode is packed with expert insights and practical takeaways that help businesses drive sustainable growth, optimize marketing investments, and build a competitive edge.
Why This Podcast Matters
B2B business development is more complex than ever. Many companies are over-investing in sales while pulling back on marketing—yet buyer behavior has shifted in the opposite direction.
🔹 Today’s buyers build their shortlists before speaking to sales reps.
🔹 If your brand isn’t visible and credible, you won’t make it into their consideration set.
To win in today’s market, you must excel across four critical stages:
✅ Awareness: Buyers must know your brand
✅ Affinity: They must believe you can solve their challenges
✅ In-Market: They must be ready to buy
✅ Engagement: Sales must convert them into customers
At RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors, we offer Fractional CMO services to help businesses optimize their entire growth infrastructure—from brand development to sales enablement—delivering:
🚀 Increased high-quality lead volume
🚀 Shortened sales cycles
🚀 Improved close rates
I’m Kerry Curran, Founder & Chief Growth Officer of RBMA, with 20+ years of experience driving double- and triple-digit revenue growth for B2B companies. I specialize in helping scale-ups, mid-market agencies, tech, and service-based businesses build revenue-driven marketing strategies that align with sales for measurable impact.
Let’s Grow Together
Ready to unlock your business’s full potential? Subscribe now and start driving the revenue growth your business deserves.
🚀 Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast is brought to you by RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors. Learn more at https://www.revenuebasedmarketing.com/
Let’s set up a call to identify opportunities in your growth infrastructure and get your business on track for increased revenue in 2025.
Site
RSS
Apple
Data updated on 04/07/2026
Recent rankings
Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.
Shared links between episodes and podcasts
Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.
Discover shows related to Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
From Siloed to Strategic: How Unified Customer Data Fuels Predictive Marketing
Episode 88
Monday, June 9, 2025 • Duration 27:51
"Marketers don’t need more data, they need smarter data. When you unify your first-party customer data and layer it with predictive AI, you move from generic messaging to precise, revenue-driving actions. Whether it's suppressing low-propensity audiences, expanding high-value segments, or optimizing media efficiency, organized data is the engine that powers real growth."" Matt Greitzer
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, titled From Siloed to Strategic: How Unified Customer Data Fuels Predictive Marketing, Kerry Curran sits down with Matt Greitzer, CEO and Co-founder of Actable, to break down why customer data is still your most valuable yet most underutilized marketing asset.
Matt shares how brands across retail, CPG, publishing, and financial services can unlock their existing first-party data to predict churn, increase retention, suppress wasted ad spend, and personalize messaging at scale.
You’ll learn how to: Unify online and offline customer data into a clean, cloud-based system
Align IT and marketing teams around shared business outcomes
Use AI-powered scoring and segmentation to identify high- and low-propensity buyers
Deploy more efficient media strategies through intelligent suppression
Move from basic personalization to advanced, predictive lifecycle marketing
Whether you’re starting from siloed systems or scaling a sophisticated CDP, this episode gives you a roadmap to smarter, revenue-driving activation.
🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth? You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue growth.
"It’s not just about getting a deal closed; it’s about aligning on shared goals, making sure we’re solving the right problem, and ensuring we can actually scale together. That upfront rigor means faster onboarding, better results, and long-term partnerships that last.” Lee Aho
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, titled Smarter Targeting, Stronger Growth: How ICP + GTM Rigor Unlock Scale, Kerry Curran sits down with Lee Aho, Chief Revenue Officer at PerformCB, to unpack how his team unlocked massive new business growth by bringing a modern go-to-market (GTM) approach to a performance-based agency model.
Lee shares how PerformCB applied B2B SaaS-style GTM rigor ICP definition, sales enablement, pitch optimization, ABM, and customer onboarding—to drive 1000% growth in new business launches and a 3x+ improvement in conversion rates. He breaks down the cross-functional strategies that aligned sales, marketing, and customer success around smarter targeting, faster activation, and outcome-based revenue.
If you’re leading growth for a services business and wondering how to scale without sacrificing quality, this episode offers a proven blueprint."
🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
Beyond ABM Platforms: How Predictive ICP and GTM Alignment Drive Revenue Results
Episode 85
Tuesday, June 3, 2025 • Duration 34:03
"It’s not about throwing tech or SDRs at the problem. If your teams aren’t aligned, your content isn’t differentiated, and your ICP isn’t predictive, you’ll keep spinning your wheels. ABM has to be a full go-to-market motion not just better targeting.” Kristina Jaramillo
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, titled Beyond ABM Platforms: How Predictive ICP and GTM Alignment Drive Revenue Results Kerry Curran sits down with Kristina Jaramillo, President of Personal ABM, to dive deep into the real meaning of an account-based go-to-market strategy (GTM) and why tech platforms alone won't fix your revenue challenges.
Kristina reveals why many B2B teams misfire with ABM—treating it as a marketing campaign or demand gen add-on rather than a full-funnel revenue strategy. She breaks down:
The difference between segment-level intent and predictive ICP
How to build messaging that teaches for differentiation not just against competitors, but against the status quo
Why content needs to align with enterprise priorities, not just pain points
How to activate and align sales, marketing, and customer success for long-term customer value
Why expansion and retention need the same strategic rigor as net-new acquisition
Whether you're in SaaS, services, or B2B tech, this episode will help you rethink how your team is going to market and who you're truly built to serve.🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
Operationalizing Marketing for Revenue Growth: Cut the Drag, Scale the Impact
Episode 84
Sunday, June 1, 2025 • Duration 27:52
"If people show up to a meeting and they’re just on their laptop the whole time, they probably don’t need to be in that meeting. Let’s call it out and give them permission to opt out.” Matt Heinz
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, titled, Operationalizing GTM for Revenue: Cut the Drag, Scale the Impact, Kerry Curran is joined by Marketing Industry Expert Matt Heinz, President and Founder of Heinz Marketing, to explore how marketing leaders can unlock scalable revenue growth by eliminating internal inefficiencies and aligning their go-to-market (GTM) operations.
Matt breaks down the concept of ""collaboration drag"", one of the biggest threats to marketing agility and offers a proven maturity model to help CMOs and revenue teams identify friction, align cross-functional efforts, and improve execution speed without sacrificing quality.
We cover why this issue has risen to the top of Gartner’s CMO priorities list, how AI agents are becoming part of the org chart, and what operational discipline looks like when you’re serious about pipeline performance.
Whether you’re rethinking GTM strategy, introducing AI into your workflows, or simply tired of too many meetings, this episode delivers frameworks and clarity you can act on today. 🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
The Future of AI in Marketing: How Smart Teams Are Upskilling Now
Episode 83
Thursday, May 29, 2025 • Duration 33:59
"If you haven’t used AI this week, you don’t really know AI. Things are changing so fast—and the teams that upskill together are the ones unlocking real transformation." Pam Boiros
AI isn’t coming, it’s already transforming how marketers work. In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, titled, The Future of AI in Marketing: How Smart Teams Are Upskilling Now, Kerry Curran sits down with Pam Boiros, Boston-based fractional CMO and founder of Bridge Marketing Advisors, to discuss how B2B marketing leaders can move from AI overwhelm to confident adoption.
Pam shares why CMOs are caught in the middle between boardroom pressure to cut costs and team confusion on how to use AI tools. From her early adoption moment to launching a team-based upskilling program, Pam walks through the real-world barriers to adoption, how to combat the ""AI is cheating"" mindset, and how prompt engineering unlocks creativity instead of killing it.
If you’re leading a marketing team and wondering how to turn scattered AI experiments into sustainable strategy, this episode is your roadmap.🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
Beyond Google & Meta: The Future of Search, Media, and Customer Behavior
Episode 82
Wednesday, May 21, 2025 • Duration 32:43
"Marketers are being told to do more with less, so they retreat to what’s safe and attributable Google, Meta, the tried and true. But attribution doesn’t equal impact. If you’re only investing in channels that show direct ROI, you’re ignoring the way today’s buyers actually behave. You’re not capturing demand, you’re just reporting on what’s easy to track. And that mindset is limiting growth.” Megan Conahan, EVP at Direct Agents
Why clinging to traditional platforms is costing you growth — and how to reach today’s real decision-makers.
Gen Z uses TikTok to search. B2B buyers are browsing Reddit. And marketers are still optimizing for Google.
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast titled, Beyond Google & Meta: The Future of Search, Media, and Customer Behavior, Kerry Curran sits down with Megan Conahan, EVP at Direct Agents, to expose the growing disconnect between outdated channel strategies and evolving consumer behavior.
From the death of traditional search to the rise of gamified commerce and the role of agencies in decoding the chaos, this conversation is a must-listen for marketing leaders trying to do more with less, and still drive growth.
You’ll learn:
Why attribution obsession is killing innovation
How to rethink demand capture beyond Google and Meta
What platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and Roblox mean for your future strategy
How media mix modeling can unlock your next level of ROI
The agency advantage in a fragmented, fast-moving media world
If you’re ready to evolve your marketing before your audience moves on without you — this is your episode.🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
Marketing Impact Unlocked: Prove, Scale, and Strengthen Revenue Contribution
Episode 81
Thursday, May 15, 2025 • Duration 30:18
"We need to stop forcing marketing metrics on the business MQLs, click-through rates, web traffic and start speaking the language of pipeline, bookings, and revenue. When marketers align their reporting with what the executive team actually cares about, they stop defending their existence and start leading the growth conversation.” Leslie Alore, SVP of Marketing at Flexera
Marketing Impact Unlocked: Prove, Scale, and Strengthen Revenue Contribution. A practical framework for aligning marketing metrics with the outcomes your executive team actually cares about.
In this episode of Revenue Boost, Kerry Curran sits down with Leslie Alore, SVP of Marketing at Flexera, to unpack one of the most urgent challenges facing B2B marketing leaders today: proving marketing’s value in terms that drive boardroom decisions.
Too many teams are stuck reporting MQLs while the C-suite wants pipeline, bookings, and revenue. Leslie shares how to shift from tactical metrics to strategic impact with a marketing contribution model that reframes the role of marketing as a core revenue engine not just a lead factory.
You’ll walk away with actionable strategies to:
Align marketing language with executive priorities
Measure contribution across pipeline creation, acceleration, and bookings
Navigate complex sales cycles and partner motions with smarter tracking
Earn trust by demonstrating marketing’s real influence on growth
Whether you’re a CMO, VP, or revenue-minded marketer, this episode gives you the tools to elevate your seat at the table and scale marketing’s business impact without fighting for credit.🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
The New Rules of B2B Marketing: How to Win with Differentiation and Value, Not Volume
Episode 80
Tuesday, May 13, 2025 • Duration 30:34
"Deeper ICP understanding solves 99% of your marketing problems including differentiation. Most B2B teams scratch the surface with outdated personas and miss the real insights that drive action. When you truly understand your audience, their pain points, their priorities, and what keeps them up at night you unlock messaging that resonates, content that converts, and positioning your competitors can’t copy.” Tom Shapiro, CEO of Stratabeat
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast, titled The New Rules of B2B Marketing: How to Win with Differentiation and Value, Not Volume, host Kerry Curran welcomes back Tom Shapiro, CEO of Stratabeat and author of Rethink Lead Generation, for a high-impact conversation about what’s no longer working in B2B marketing and what to do instead.
Tom shares what he’s hearing from CMOs and growth leaders across the industry: the old B2B marketing playbook built on volume, vanity metrics, and outdated tactics is dead. Today, differentiation and deep audience understanding are the new non-negotiables.
Together, Kerry and Tom explore the modern marketer’s biggest challenges: cutting through the noise, adapting to evolving buyer behavior, and building strategies that go beyond tactics to deliver lasting revenue impact.
You’ll learn:
Why deeper ICP research is the foundation of everything from differentiation to content strategy
How to use original research to create market-leading content, build thought leadership, and feed your demand gen engine
What most teams get wrong about SEO and how to leverage it strategically even as AI reshapes the SERP
How to identify high-intent website visitors and activate personalized outreach within 24 hours
The power of CRM win/loss analysis, sales call listening, and real-time behavioral data in shaping smarter campaigns
Tom also shares how marketers can partner more closely with sales to uncover fresh insights, sharpen messaging, and continuously improve website performance to reflect what truly matters to their buyers.
Whether you're a CMO at a scaling SaaS company or a demand gen leader trying to drive pipeline in a saturated market, this episode delivers practical, proven ways to rethink your strategy, realign with your audience, and win with value not just volume.🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
Revenue and Retention: Why Customer Success Is Key to Sustainable Growth
Episode 79
Thursday, May 8, 2025 • Duration 28:29
"Most companies focus on acquiring new customers, but in recurring revenue businesses, 70–90% of revenue comes from existing customers. If you're not investing in retention and expansion, you're leaving your biggest growth lever untapped.” Roee Hartuv
In this episode of Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast titled, Revenue and Retention: Why Customer Success Is Key to Sustainable Growth host Kerry Curran is joined by Roee Hartuv, Head of Revenue Architecture at Winning by Design, to unpack a mindset shift that B2B companies must embrace to grow sustainably: true revenue growth doesn’t end at the closed-won stage—it begins there.
Drawing from his experience advising recurring revenue businesses around the world, Roee breaks down how the traditional go-to-market model focused almost entirely on new acquisition—is no longer enough. He introduces the “bowtie” framework, a more holistic approach to GTM that prioritizes retention, expansion, and customer lifetime value.
Throughout the conversation, you’ll learn:
Why 70–90% of recurring revenue comes from existing customers—and why most companies are underinvesting in that opportunity
How customer success can become a strategic growth engine not just a support function
Why expansion is more efficient than acquisition, and how to resource accordingly
How to structure high-performing CS pods to support mid-market and enterprise clients
Ways to equip account managers with the mindset and messaging to grow accounts without sounding “salesy”
The critical role of marketing in supporting post-sale growth, from product updates to thought leadership
And why companies should stop thinking of GTM as a funnel and start treating it as a bowtie
This episode is a must-listen for marketing, sales, RevOps, and customer success leaders who are ready to drive sustainable revenue growt not just this quarter, but long-term.
If you're serious about building a revenue engine that lasts, this one’s for you."🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth?
You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings
you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success
stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out! 🎧
Follow us on Apple
Follow us on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Read Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast transcripts.
To learn more about Kerry Curran and the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors, go to www.revenuebasedmarketing.com and be sure to follow us
on Kerry's LinkedIn Profile and The RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing
Advisors Profile.
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We
lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market
program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue
growth.
If you're in the market for a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer or
Fractional Chief Revenue Officer be sure to reach out to Kerry. Kerry is
also available for speaking, panel moderation, and other professional
presentation services. For services and contact information check out
the RBMA: Revenue Based Marketing Advisors website here.
AI + EQ + GTM: The New Growth Equation for B2B Leaders
Episode 78
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 • Duration 35:38
"If done right, AI will actually make us more human. It handles the busy work and surfaces real-time insights—so GTM teams can focus on what really drives revenue: building relationships, solving real problems, and creating long-term customer value." That’s a quote from Roderick Jefferson and a sneak peek at today’s episode.
Hi there, I’m Kerry Curran—Revenue Growth Consultant, Industry Analyst, and host of Revenue Boost, A Marketing Podcast. In every episode, I sit down with top experts to bring you actionable strategies that deliver real results. So if you're serious about business growth, find us in your favorite podcast directory, hit subscribe, and start outpacing your competition today.
We explore why traditional sales enablement isn’t enough in today’s landscape—and how real go-to-market success requires alignment across marketing, sales, and customer success, powered by emotional intelligence and smart technology integration.
Whether you're a CRO, CMO, or GTM leader looking to scale smarter, this episode is packed with real-world insights and actionable strategies to align your teams and drive sustainable growth.
Stick around until the end, where Roderick shares expert tips for building your own AI-powered revenue engine.
If you’re serious about long-term growth, it’s time to get serious about AI, EQ, and GTM. Let’s go.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (00:01) Welcome, Roderick. Please introduce yourself and share your background and expertise.
Read more
Collapse
Collapse
Roderick Jefferson (00:06) Hey, Kerry. First of all, thanks so much for having me on. I’m really excited—I’ve been looking forward to this one all day. So thanks again. I’m Roderick Jefferson, CEO of Roderick Jefferson & Associates. We’re a fractional enablement company, and we focus on helping small to mid-sized businesses—typically in the $10M to $100M range—that need help with onboarding, ongoing education, and coaching.
I’m also a keynote speaker and an author. I actually started my career in sales at AT&T years ago. I was a BDR, did well, got promoted to AE, made President’s Club a couple of times. Then I was offered a sales leadership role—and I turned it down. I know they thought I was crazy, but there were two reasons: first, I realized I loved the process of selling more than just closing big deals. And second, oddly enough, I wasn’t coin-operated. I did it because I loved it—it gave me a chance to interact with people and have conversations like this one.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (01:16) I love that—and I love your background. As Roderick mentioned, he does a lot of keynote speaking, and that’s actually where I met him. He was a keynote speaker at B2BMX West in Scottsdale last month. I also have one of your books here that I’ve been diving into. I can’t believe how fast this year is flying—it’s already the first day of spring!
Roderick Jefferson (01:33) Thank you so much. Wow, that was just last month? It feels like last week. Where is the time going?
Kerry Curran, RBMA (01:45) I appreciate your experience for so many reasons. One is that—like we talked about before the show—my dad was in sales at AT&T for over 20 years. It paid for my entire education. So we were comparing notes on that era of innovation and what we learned back then.
Roderick Jefferson (02:02) Thank you, AT&T!
Kerry Curran, RBMA (02:13) So much of what you talked about on stage and wrote about in your book is near and dear to my heart. My background is in building integrated marketing-to-sales infrastructure and strengthening it to drive revenue growth. I’m excited to hear more about what you’re seeing and hearing. You talk to so many brands and marketers—what’s hot right now? What’s the buzz? What do we need to know?
Roderick Jefferson (02:44) A couple of things. The obvious one is AI—but I’ll add something: it’s not just AI, it’s AI plus EQ plus IQ. Without that combination, you won’t be successful.
The other big theme is the same old problem we’ve always had: Why is there such a disconnect between sales and marketing? As an enablement guy, it pains me. I spent 30 years in corporate trying to figure that out. I think we’re getting closer to alignment—thank you, AI, for finally stepping in and being smarter than all of us! But we’ve still got a long way to go.
Part of the issue is we’re still making decisions in silos. That’s why I’ve become a champion of moving away from just "sales enablement."
Yes, I know I wrote the book on sales enablement—but I don’t think that’s the focus anymore. In hindsight, “sales enablement” is too myopic. It's really about go-to-market. How do we bring HR, marketing, product marketing, engineering, sales, and enablement all to the same table to talk about the entire buyer’s journey?
Instead of focusing on our internal sales process and trying to shoehorn prospects into it, we should be asking: How do they buy? Who buys? Are there buying committees? How many people are involved? And yes, ICP matters—but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It goes much deeper.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (04:44) Yes, absolutely. And going back to why you loved your early sales roles—it was about helping people. That’s how I’ve always approached marketing too: what are their business challenges, and what can I offer to solve them? In your keynote, you said, “I want sales to stop selling and start helping.” But that’s not possible without partnering with marketing to learn and message around the outcomes we drive and the pain points we solve.
Roderick Jefferson (05:22) Exactly. Let’s unpack that. First, about helping vs. selling—that’s why we have spam filters now. Nobody wants to be sold to. That’s also why people avoid car lots—because you know what’s coming: they’ll talk at you, try to upsell you, and push you into something you don’t need or want. Then you have buyer’s remorse.
Now apply that to corporate and entrepreneurship. If you’re doing all the talking in sales, something’s wrong. Too many people ask questions just to move the deal forward instead of being genuinely inquisitive.
Let’s take it further. If marketing is working in a silo—building messaging and positioning—and they don’t bring in sales, then guess what? Sales won’t use it. Newsflash, right? And second, it’s only going to reflect marketing’s perspective. But if you bring both teams together and say, “Hey, what are the top three to five things you’re hearing from prospects over and over?”—then you can work collaboratively and cohesively to solve those.
The third piece is: let’s stop trying to manufacture pain. Not every prospect is in pain. Sometimes the goal is to increase efficiency or productivity. If there is pain, you get to play doctor for a moment. And by that, I mean: do they need an Advil, a Vicodin, a Percocet, or an extraction? Do you need to stop the bleeding right now? You only figure that out by getting sales, marketing, product, and even HR at the same table.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (07:34) Yes, absolutely. I love the analogy of different levels of pain solutions because you’re right—sometimes it’s not pain, it’s about helping the customer be more efficient, reduce costs, or drive revenue. I’ve used the doctor analogy before too: you assess the situation and then customize the solution based on where it “hurts” the most. One of the ongoing challenges, though, is that sales and marketing still aren’t fully aligned. Why do you think that’s been such a persistent issue, and where do you see it heading?
Roderick Jefferson (08:14) Because sales speaks French and marketing speaks German. They’re close enough that they can kind of understand each other—like ordering a beer or finding a bathroom—but not enough for a meaningful conversation.
The core issue is that they’re not talking—they’re presenting to each other. They're pitching ideas instead of having a dialogue. Marketing says, “Here’s what the pitch should look like,” and sales replies, “When’s the last time you actually talked to a customer?”
They also get stuck in “I think” and “I feel,” and I always tell both groups—those are the two things you cannot say in a joint meeting. No one cares what you think or feel. Instead, say: “Here’s what I’ve seen work,” or “Here’s what I’ve heard from prospects and customers.” That way, the conversation is rooted in data and real-world insight, not opinion or emotion.
You might say, “Hey, when we get to slide six in the deck, things get fuzzy and deals stall.” That’s something marketing can fix. Or you go to product and say, “I’ve talked to 10 prospects, and eight of them asked for this feature. Can we move it up in the roadmap?”
Or go back to sales and say, “Only 28% of the team is hitting quota because they’re struggling with discovery and objection handling.” So enablement and marketing can partner to create role plays, messaging guides, or accreditations. It sounds utopian, but I’ve actually done this six times over 30 years—it is possible.
It’s not because I’m the smartest guy in the room—it’s because when sales and marketing align around shared definitions and shared goals, real change happens. Go back to MQLs and SQLs. One team says, “We gave you all these leads,” and the other says, “Yeah, but they all sucked.” Then you realize: you haven’t even agreed on what a lead is.
As a fractional enablement leader, that’s the first question I ask: “Can you both define what an MQL and SQL mean to you?” Nine times out of ten, they realize they aren’t aligned at all. That’s where real progress starts.
Once you fix communication, the next phase is collaboration. And what comes out of collaboration is the big one: accountability. That’s the word nobody likes—but it’s what gets results. You’re holding each other to timelines, deliverables, and follow-through.
The final phase is orchestration. That’s what enablement really does—we connect communication, collaboration, and accountability across the entire go-to-market team so everyone has a voice and a vote.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (13:16) You’re so smart, and you bring up so many great points—especially around MQLs, SQLs, and the lack of collaboration. There’s no unified North Star. Marketing may be focused on MQLs, but those criteria don’t always match what moves an MQL to an SQL.
There’s also no feedback loop. I’ve seen teams where sales and marketing didn’t even talk to each other—but they still complained about each other! I was brought in to help, and I said, “You’re adults. It’s time to talk to one another.” And you’d think that would be obvious.
What I love is that we’re starting to see the outdated framework of MQLs as a KPI begin to fade. As you said, it’s about identifying a shared goal that everyone can be accountable to. We need to all be paddling in the same direction.
Roderick Jefferson (14:16) Exactly. I wouldn't say we’re all rowing yet, but we’ve definitely got our hands in the water, and we’re starting to go in the same direction. You can see that North Star flickering out there.
And I give big kudos to AI for helping with that. In some ways, it reminds me of social media. Would you agree that social media initially made us less social?
Kerry Curran, RBMA (14:27) Yes, totally agree. We can see the North Star.
Roderick Jefferson (14:57) Now I’m going to flip that idea on its head: if done right, I believe AI will actually make us more human—and drive more meaningful conversations. I know that sounds crazy, but I have six ways AI can help us do that.
First, let’s go back to streamlining lead scoring. If we use AI to prioritize leads based on their likelihood to convert, sales can focus efforts on the most promising opportunities. Once we align on those criteria, volume and quality both improve. With confidence comes competence—and vice versa.
Second is automating task management. Whether it’s data entry, appointment scheduling, or follow-up emails, those repetitive tasks eat up sales time. Less than 30% of a rep’s time is spent actually selling. If we offload that admin work, reps can focus on high-value activities—like building relationships, doing discovery, and closing deals.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (15:59) Yes! And pre-call planning. Having the time to prepare properly makes a huge difference.
Roderick Jefferson (16:19) Exactly. Third is real-time analytics. If marketing and ops can provide sales reps with real-time insights—like funnel data, deal velocity, or content performance—we can start making decisions based on data, not assumptions or feelings.
The fourth area is personalized sales coaching. I talk to a lot of leaders, and I’ll make a bold statement: most sales leaders don’t know how to coach. They either use outdated methods or try to “peanut butter” their advice across the team.
But what if we could use AI to analyze calls, emails, and meetings—then provide coaching based on each rep’s strengths and weaknesses? Sales leaders could shift from managing to leading.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (17:55) Yes, I love that. It would completely elevate team performance.
Roderick Jefferson (18:11) Exactly. Fifth is increasing efficiency in the sales process. AI can create proposals, contracts, and other documents, which frees up time for reps to focus on helping—not chasing paperwork. And by streamlining the process, we can qualify faster and avoid wasting time on poor-fit deals.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (18:58) Right, and they can focus on the deals that are actually likely to move forward.
Roderick Jefferson (19:09) Exactly. And sixth—and most overlooked—is customer success. That’s often left out of GTM conversations, but it’s critical. We can use AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants to handle basic inquiries. That frees up CSMs to focus on more strategic tasks like renewals, cross-sell, and upsell.
Let’s be honest—most CSMs were trained for renewals, not selling. But cross-sell and upsell aren’t really selling—they’re reselling to warm, happy customers. The better trained and equipped CSMs are, the better your customer retention and growth.
Because let’s face it—we’ve all seen it: 90 days before renewal, suddenly a CSM becomes your best friend. Where were they for the last two years? If we get ahead of that and connect all the dots—sales, marketing, CS, and product—guess who wins?
The prospect.
The customer.
The company—because revenue goes up.
The employee—because bonuses happen, spiffs get paid, and KPIs are hit.
But most importantly, we build customers for life. And that has to start from the very beginning, not just when the CSM steps in at the end.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (20:47) Yes, this is so smart. I love that you brought customer success into the conversation. One of the things I love about go-to-market strategy is that it includes lifetime value—upsell and renewal are a critical part of the revenue journey.
In my past roles, I've seen teams say, “Well, that’s just client services—they don’t know how to sell.” But to your point, if we coach them, equip them, and make them comfortable, it can go a long way.
Roderick Jefferson (21:34) Absolutely. They become the lifeblood of your business. Yes, you need net-new revenue, but if sales builds this big, beautiful house on the front end and then customers just walk out the back door—what’s the point?
And I won’t even get into the stats—you know them—about how much more expensive it is to acquire a new customer versus retaining one. The key is being human and actually helping.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (21:46) Exactly. I love that. It leads perfectly into my next question—because one of the core components of your strategy and presentation was the importance of EQ, or emotional intelligence. Can you talk about why that’s so critical?
Roderick Jefferson (22:19) Yeah. It really comes down to this: AI can provide content—tons of it, endlessly. It can give you all the data and information in the world. But it still requires a human to provide context. For now, at least. I’m not saying it’ll be that way forever, but for now, context is everything.
I love analogies, so I’ll give you one: it’s like making gumbo. You sprinkle in some seasoning here, some spice there. In this case, AI provides the content. Then the human provides the interpretation—context. That’s understanding how to use that generated content to reach the right person or company, at the right time, with the right message, in the right tone.
What you get is a balanced, powerful approach: IQ + EQ + AI. That’s what leads to truly optimal outcomes—if you do it right.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (23:19) Yes! I love that. And I love every stage of your process, Roderick—it’s so valuable. I know your clients are lucky to work with you.
For people listening and thinking, “Yes, I need this,” how do they get started? What’s the baseline readiness? How do they begin integrating sales and marketing more effectively—and leveraging AI?
Roderick Jefferson (23:34) Thank you so much for that. It really starts with a conversation. Reach out—LinkedIn, social media, my website. And from there, we talk. We get to the core questions: Where are you today? Where have you been? Where are you trying to go? And most importantly: What does success look like?
And not just, “What does success look like?” but, “Who is success for?”
Then we move into an assessment. I want to talk to every part of the go-to-market team. Because not only do we have French and German—we’ve also got Dutch, Spanish, and every other language. My job is to become the translator—not just of language, but of dialects and context.
“This is what they said, but here’s what they meant. And this is what they meant, but here’s what they actually need.”
Then we dig into what’s really going on. Most clients have a sense of what’s “broken.” I’m not just looking for the broken parts—I’m looking at what you’ve already tried. What worked? What didn’t? Why or why not?
I basically become a persistent four-year-old asking, “Why? But why? But why?” And yes, it gets frustrating—but it’s the only way to build a unified GTM team with a shared North Star.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (25:32) Yes, I love that. And just to add—sometimes something didn’t work not because it was a bad strategy, but because it was evaluated with the wrong KPI or misunderstood entirely.
Like a top-of-funnel strategy did work—but the team expected it to generate leads that same month. It takes time. So much of this comes down to digging into the root of the issue, and I love your approach.
Roderick Jefferson (26:10) Exactly. And it’s also about understanding that every GTM function has different KPIs.
If I’m talking to sales, I’m asking about average deal size, quota attainment, deal velocity, win rate, pipeline generation.
If I’m talking to sales engineering, they care about number of demos per deal, wins and losses, and number of POCs.
Customer success? They care about adoption, churn, CSAT, NPS, lifetime value.
My job is to set the North Star and speak in their language—not in “enablement-ese.” Sometimes that means speaking in sales terms, sometimes marketing terms. And I always say, “Assume I know nothing about your job. Spell out your acronyms. Define your terms.”
Because over 30 years, I’ve learned: the same acronym can mean 12 different things at 12 different companies.
The goal is to get away from confusion and start finding commonality. When you break down the silos and the masks, you realize we’re all working toward the same thing: new, long-term, happy customers for life.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (27:55) Yes—thank you, Roderick. I love this. So, how can people find you?
I’m on LinkedIn as Roderick Jefferson, Instagram and Threads at @roderick_j_associates, YouTube at Roderick Jefferson, and on BlueSky as @voiceofrod.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (28:33) Excellent. I’ll make sure to include all of that in the show notes—I’m sure this episode will have your phone ringing!
Thank you so much, Roderick. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us. This was valuable for me, and I’m sure for the audience as well.
Roderick Jefferson (28:40)
Ring-a-ling—bring it on! Let’s dance. Thank you again. This was an absolute honor, and I’m glad we got the chance to reconnect, Kerry.
Kerry Curran, RBMA (28:59) For sure. Thank you—you too.
Roderick Jefferson (29:01) Take care, all.
Thanks for tuning in. If you’re struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth, you’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success stories to help you scale faster.
If you’re serious about growth, search for us in your favorite podcast directory. Hit follow or subscribe, and leave a five-star rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming.
New episodes drop regularly. Don’t let your revenue growth strategy fall behind. We’ll see you soon!
🎙️ Thanks for tuning in! Struggling with flat or slowing revenue growth? You’re not alone. That’s why Revenue Boost: A Marketing Podcast brings you expert insights, actionable strategies, and real-world success stories to help you scale faster. 🚀
🔥 If you’re serious about growth, hit follow, subscribe, and drop a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating—it helps us keep the game-changing content coming!
RBMA specializes in business transformation to drive revenue growth. We lead companies move from an ABM strategy to a company wide Go-to-Market program that sets you up for sustainable, year-over-year revenue growth.