Jen Allen-Knuth

Founder, DemandJen | Sales Trainer & SKO Keynote Speaker | Dog Rescue Advocate

I help B2B revenue teams stop losing pipeline to buyer status quo. I'm a former Enterprise seller who carried quota for 18 years, closing 7-figure deals with Fortune 500 brands. Now, I run DemandJen, a sales-training firm trusted by Autodesk, GE, G2, IBM, Bloomberg, Instructure, Sprout Social, and more.

From conference stages to company Sales kickoffs, I'm known for:

- Buyer-Centric Frameworks – Practical playbooks for defeating buyer status quo in outbound pipeline generation, running executive-level discovery, building a point of view on cost of inaction (COI), and gaining consensus with larger Enterprise buying groups. 

- Story-First Messaging – Techniques that replace product pitches with problem-centric narratives that buyers remember.

- Engaging Delivery – A direct, humorous style that keeps even your most tenured reps taking notes.

Featured in Forbes, Sales Hacker, and 200+ podcasts, I combine real-world stories with data-driven insight to move audiences from inspiration to application. When I'm not on the road, you’ll find me in the Chicago suburbs chasing my 4 rescue dogs and 4 step-kids.

Head of DemandJen

Delivering SKO keynotes & virtual workshops that won't put your teams to sleep.

B2B Sales & Marketing teams have tried to earn buyer time and attention with a strategy of "more". 

More dials.
More emails.
More content.
More "value" and ROI.

But, 2023 showed us "more" is expensive and no competition against today's risk-averse B2B buying teams.

Instead of motivating the team to do “more”, I help empower teams to defeat customer status
quo and to make their sales conversations a competitive advantage.

Meet Mara 🩷

She’s a 7 year old, 59lb girl with the most gentle demeanor (especially with kids). 

Dogs like Mara always have a harder time getting adopted. She’s older + she’s a pittie mix. It doesn’t make her any less deserving of love. 

Every dog should be judged by their own demeanor. Not breed sterotypes.

We have a husky who never makes a peep and is scared of his own shadow.

We have a pittie who would throw herself in front of a bus to protect our kids. 

Mara is calm, easygoing, walks nicely on a leash, and does amazing in daycare. She’s a complete love.

Mara deserves a loving family. Will you help share her? 🩷

Available at Many Paws Global Rescue in Palatine, IL.

Photo credit: Nicholas I. Knuth 📸 

PS - I know many of you have pitties, too. I love seeing your photos in the comments - please share them!

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I just read a post from a CEO who was in disbelief that a customer churned b/c they're going to try DIYing the vendor's AI solution.  It included the quote - "Good luck, see you in 6 months when you realize how hard it is."

I think we're going to see a lot more of this from tech companies in 2026. This isn't me picking on anyone. DIY is a really tough competitor. And, it hurts to lose to it. 

But, wishing for a customer's failure has never served me well in Sales. 

It's understandable that our knee-jerk response is to name all of the reasons why DIY is a bad idea. 

Often, our points are valid. 

But, the delivery is defensive. We erode trust because we fail to be collaborative or helpful. 

Instead, here's something that worked for me when I was up against DIY:

#1 - I asked questions about how they were thinking about rolling it out. Not "gotcha" questions. Qs that were genuinely curious in nature that helped me understand their beliefs/assumptions. I sought to understand (vs. seeking to correct them). Often, this exposed a flawed assumption. 

#2 - I shared ideas/tactics from other execs that were taking a DIY approach, so they could learn from them. I stopped fighting against DIY. This built trust.

#3 - Lastly, I offered at least one idea for how I could partner with the team as they thought through their DIY approach. I prescribed suggestions on areas where I knew DIY typically fell down. It gave me the chance to get in with the teams and illuminate the roadblocks that made DIY harder than they assumed.

More of those DIY deals started to convert. Not all of them. Just more of them.

TLDR - there's a great Brent Adamson quote - "Before you tell someone why they're wrong, first tell them why they're right". 

When competing against DIY, I stopped trying to be "right". I started trying to be useful.

I'm no LinkedIn expert, but I don't think we win by taking what works for someone else's content and trying to copy it. Here are 3 people who I think embody what it means to a have a voice on here that is totally and completely their own.  

Sara Uy
She grew like crazy on here after filming herself making cold calls every week. She's relatable because she was never trying to impress you. She showed the good, bad, and ugly. She took a job-to-be-done that makes many sellers nervous and she did it in front of the entire LinkedIn community. My favorite comments from her followers are the ones where sellers say, "You inspired me to pick up the phone more". Sara didn't copy what bigger creators were doing. As a result, she's at the top of every Sales creator list. Right where she belongs. 

Tas Bober
The queen of sharp wit. Her expertise is paid ads landing pages. But, she finds 100 different ways to make it fun. She's unafraid to say how she feels + doesn't shy away from constructive debates. When I met Tas for the first time last year, I felt like I already knew her. She does a great job balancing SME content with human content. I'm pretty sure if I was given 10 random LinkedIn posts, I could pick the one she wrote. Her voice is so uniquely hers. 

Shali Rana Reed
She's the people's champion. You can feel Shali in your corner when you read her posts. It's impossible not to click "see more" when her posts appear in the feed. She's one of the best at sparking curiosity in her hooks, without making it feel corny. You never know if it's going to be a pun, a serious post, or a work post. I like how she keeps us guessing. She has this no-nonsense energy about her. Big sister energy, in the best of ways. 

Your turn. Whose voice stands out to you as completely their own?

Generic GTM is dead → Go to my featured section for actionable GTM insights and elevate your marketing game 🔥| Co-Founder of TACK | Creating the category of People-first GTM 👥| 13+ Years in B2B Marketing 📈

I help B2B companies build go-to-market strategies that prioritize real connection because relationships, not just reach, drive growth.

After 14 years in B2B marketing, I’ve led field marketing, demand gen, community, and influencer programs. I know what works, what doesn’t, and what’s changed.

Too many companies still treat buyers like leads. That’s not how modern GTM works.

I’ve helped 35+ B2B brands shift from transactional tactics to connection-driven growth, building scalable strategies, launching communities, running 30+ webinars, and rolling out on-demand models that replaced bloated in-house teams.

Today, I work directly with brands, founders, and marketers to build go-to-market engines that scale—without the spam.

What I do:
→ Build integrated campaign strategies that drive pipeline
→ Coach creators and brands on influencer marketing
→ Design community-led and field programs that actually work
→ Speak on GTM, content, and creator-led growth
→ Act as a fractional marketing leader or advisor

📚 Author of B2B Influencer Marketing: Work With Creators to Generate Authentic and Effective Marketing (Kogan Page, 2025)

👋 Let’s work together: DM me or visit https://linktr.ee/NickBMarketing

Nick Bennett

Wheels up to B2BMX.

I’m speaking Wednesday at 11:00am.

Session: “Moments That Move Buying Groups”

If you’re tired of marketing to one person and hoping your champion drags the deal across the finish line, this one’s for you.

I’m breaking down:

1.) how to map 6–8 roles before you ever outreach
why “safe” marketing disappears
2.) the G.I.F.T. framework we used to drive $9M+ pipeline
3.) plays you can steal (buying-group moments, not theory)

But here’s what I’m really after:

I’m filming a content series while I’m there.

If you’ve got a hot take, a story, or just want to riff on camera for a few minutes, DM me. We’ll make something good (fast).

Also: the Reachdesk team is unveiling something brand new at booth #209. First time anyone’s seeing it. Worth stopping by and I’ll show you it firsthand and you may get a little something. 

Now the real question:

Who’s going to be there?
Who wants to grab coffee?
Who’s down to create some content?

Drop a comment. Let’s make this happen.

B2B Marketing Operator | Sharing what works from 15 years of actually doing it | Field Marketing, Events, ABM, GTM

Shoutout to Jared Robin and Katie Penner of Influ2 for the cool laser engraved trophy. 

Also one of the coolest designed booths I’ve seen in a long time! Shoutout to you Natalie Burt. 

LinkedIn legends 😂😂😂

I used to run monthly field marketing meetups.

80-100 field marketers would join virtually. We'd talk wins, losses, ideas. Same topic came up every single time.

Tracking.

Everyone had a CRM. Everyone had spreadsheets. Nobody had a simple way to show leadership what actually worked.

Event season is coming. I was lying in bed thinking about this problem again.

So I built something.

It's called Event Impact Tracker. Free. No login. Data stays in your browser.

Here's what it does:

→ Pipeline-first metrics (not badge scans)
→ Auto-calculates ROI and grades events A-F
→ Compares your results against industry benchmarks
→ Exports to PDF or CSV for leadership reports

I built this V1 in about 30 minutes laying in bed watching TV on Lovable last night. It's not perfect. But it solves the problem I kept hearing about for years.

Your CFO doesn't care about booth traffic. They care about pipeline and revenue. This helps you show them that.

No catch. No email capture. Just use it.

https://lnkd.in/eDQ7JirG

If you're heading into event season and need a better way to prove ROI, this might help.

Shoot me feedback! I want to improve this thing, and I'm also semi addicted now.

15+ Year B2B Marketing Leader Turned Founder | ABM, Field Marketing & Events, Influencer Marketing & More | DM Me to Learn More

A campaign that should've taken 2 weeks took me a few hours.

Not because I moved faster. Because there was nothing to wait on.

Most marketing teams aren't slow because they lack ideas. They're slow because they're waiting. Waiting on ops to pull a list. Waiting on copy approval. Waiting on sales to confirm follow-up. By the time everything aligns, the moment is gone.

The play was a cold pipeline re-engagement campaign.

We pulled accounts that showed intent over the past 6 months but never converted. Segmented by product interest and role. Launched a 3-touch email and LinkedIn sequence.

Total time from idea to live: one day.

What made it possible:

→ Segments already built in Common Room
→ Messaging templates ready to adapt
→ No dependency on ops for list pulls or triggers
→ Sales aligned on follow-up the same morning

Within the first week we had replies, meetings booked, and a handful of deals reopened.

The lesson isn't about moving faster. It's about removing the waiting before you need to move.

Segments defined ahead of time. Triggers ready to go. Ownership clear before the play even exists.

The fastest marketing teams don't sprint harder. They've already done the setup so execution is simple when the moment shows up.

What's slowing down your team's ability to act on ideas?

Most event marketers can't defend their budget.

Not because events don't work. Because they're reporting the wrong things.

Finance asks: What did we get from that $50K conference?

And the answer is usually badge scans and booth traffic. That's not ROI. That's activity.

Here's what an actual event report should include:

ICP Accounts Attended
How many Tier 1, 2, or 3 accounts had someone at the event? This tells you if you were even in front of the right people.

Contacts Added
Net-new contacts from attending accounts. Not total scans. New names in your CRM that didn't exist before.

Meetings Booked
Sales meetings scheduled as a direct result of the event. Not "good conversations." Actual meetings on the calendar.

Qualified Pipeline (New)
Net-new opportunities created post-event that meet your qualification criteria. Stage, ICP fit, value threshold. Real pipeline, not maybes.

Influenced Pipeline
Existing opportunities where the event helped move things forward. Deals that accelerated, re-engaged, or unstuck because of a conversation at the booth.

Closed-Won Revenue
Revenue from deals directly attributable or influenced by the event. The number finance actually cares about.

Then calculate two ROI metrics:

Pipeline ROI
(Qualified Pipeline + Influenced Pipeline) ÷ Total Event Cost
Use this to compare efficiency across events.

ARR ROI
Closed-Won ARR ÷ Total Event Cost
Use this for long-term performance.

One more metric worth tracking: Revenue Coverage in the Room. A directional estimate of potential new and expansion revenue based on who attended. Not a forecast. A planning tool.

When you report like this, the budget conversation changes completely.

You're not defending why events should exist. You're showing which ones deserve more investment.

What metrics do you use to prove event ROI?

P.S. let me know if there are metrics you want me to go deeper on here, too!

Everyone's chasing scale. Bigger booths. Bigger audiences. Bigger budgets.

Deals move faster in a room of 7 than a crowd of 700.

I'm joining a virtual panel on March 17th to talk about what's actually working in B2B events right now.

The session: "Events That Actually Convert: What B2B Marketing Leaders Are Doubling Down on in 2026"

Hosted by ConvergeX Connections with a small group of North American marketing leaders who are done with vanity metrics and ready to talk real ROI.

We'll cover what's working, what's been cut, and the experiments shaping event strategy this year.

I'll be sharing my take on micro events. Highly curated. 7-10 people max.

Why I'm doubling down on them:

→ Decision-makers actually show up
→ Conversations go deeper than badge scans
→ Deals move faster because you're not competing for attention

This is a peer conversation, not a webinar. They're keeping it small and curated to make sure the discussion stays tactical.

If you're a B2B marketing leader building your 2026 event roadmap, you can request a spot here: https://lnkd.in/ecF3E-fm

Spots are almost gone, only a few seats are left. Drop a comment if you're applying. Would love to see some familiar faces in the room.

Event ROI doesn’t break at the booth.

It breaks on Monday.

Because by Monday, the context is gone.

The rep remembers:

- the company name
- a vague pain point
- and that the conversation “felt good”

So the follow-up turns into: “Great meeting you at the event…”

Which is basically saying: “I have nothing specific to say.”

Here’s the simplest post-event operating system I’ve found that actually produces pipeline.

The 48-hour event follow-up OS

1) Before anyone leaves the venue, capture context (15 minutes)

Do a debrief while it’s still fresh.

3 Rules:
1.) everyone stays
2.) no laptops
3.) no “we’ll do it later”

For each priority conversation, capture 5 things:

- What problem did they actually say out loud?
- What’s broken in their current process?
- What do they care about personally? (risk, time, reputation, budget)
- Who else is involved? (names and roles)
- What’s the next step they agreed to?

If you don’t have those 5, you don’t have a lead. You have a badge scan.

2) Turn that context into something delegatable (30 minutes)

This is the move most teams miss.

Have reps record a 30–60 second voice note per priority account. Raw. Ugly. Specific.

Now anyone can write the follow-up. Because the “why” is preserved.

3) 24 hours later: send the follow-up that proves you were listening

One email. Short. No fluff.

Structure:

1 line: what you heard
1 line: what you’re sending (resource / recap / next step)
1 line: the ask (calendar link or two times)

If the follow-up doesn’t reference their world, it’s spam.

4) 48 hours later: score the event like an operator, not a marketer
Don’t report “leads.”

Report:
1.) ICP accounts engaged
2.) meetings booked within 14 days
3.) influenced pipeline
4.) one thing to change next time

That’s it.

Everything else is whatever.

What’s your team’s biggest follow-up failure mode today: no context capture, no ownership, or no SLA?

Accounts don't buy. People do.

And most ABM programs forget that.

They roll everything up into an account score. Wait for a threshold. Then blast the same message to everyone on the list.

Meanwhile, the actual buyers are already forming a shortlist. Different stakeholders. Different priorities. Different timelines.

By the time your score triggers action, you're late.

Here's what Influ2 found when they analyzed 2M targets (full report in comments):

→ Contacts who engaged with ads booked meetings 74% more often than cold outbound alone
→ Accounts with buying group engagement converted to pipeline 118% better
→ 66% of buyers change priorities mid-deal
→ 92% of decisions involve up to 9 people
→ IT/Security blocks deals 38% of the time despite having only 10% of influence

That last one is critical. The person with the most objections isn't the person with the most weight. And if you're running one averaged journey for the whole account, you're missing the blocker entirely.

Here's how I'd operationalize this:

1) Map the buying group before outreach. Not just titles. Identify who influences, who blocks, and who signs. IT and Security need their own message track.

2) Track engagement at the contact level. When someone clicks, that's a signal. Follow up within 48 hours with context tied to what they engaged with. Not a generic sequence.

3) Don't wait for account scores. If one person in the buying group is active, that's your window. Act on individual signals, not rolled-up thresholds.

4) Align sales on who engaged, not just which account is "hot." Give reps the name, the topic, and the timestamp. That's what turns outreach into a conversation.

The 118% lift doesn't come from better targeting alone. It comes from treating buyers like people instead of logos.

If your ABM is still account-first, you're leaving pipeline on the table.

Full report in comments.

What's your current approach: account-level scoring or contact-level orchestration?

I’ve watched teams rewrite sequences for 3 months…

…while 40% of their emails quietly went to spam.

The problem is you can’t copy your way into the inbox.

Here’s the simple triage tree I use before we touch messaging:

If opens are low
→ inbox placement, authentication, domain reputation

If opens are fine but replies are low
→ targeting, offer, ask, list quality

If replies are decent but meetings are low
→ qualification, next step clarity, handoff

Most teams skip the first step and jump straight to new subject lines.

If you want to stress-test inbox placement and warm-up without guessing, this is what I use:
https://lnkd.in/e4ZtDH_U

What are you seeing right now
low opens or low replies?

School vacation week starts Monday.

Here's what I think will happen vs. what will actually happen.

Expectation: I'll knock out that strategic project I've been putting off.
Reality: I'll negotiate screen time limits like a hostage negotiator by 9am.

Expectation: The kids will play quietly while I take calls.
Reality: Someone will scream "SHE HIT ME" during my most important meeting of the week.

Expectation: I'll maintain my normal work schedule.
Reality: I'll be answering Slack messages from the bathroom because it's the only room with a lock.

Expectation: We'll do fun family activities in the evenings.
Reality: Everyone will be too tired and annoyed with each other by 5pm.

Expectation: I'll meal prep healthy lunches.
Reality: Goldfish crackers count as a food group now.

A realistic survival guide for the week:

Step 1: Lower your expectations.
Step 2: Lower them again.
Step 3: Accept that "productivity" means everyone is still alive by Friday.

Here's the thing though. I'm taking the end of next week off. And it still feels weird to say that.

When you work for yourself, stepping away is harder than it sounds. There's always something. A client email. A project to tweak. A "quick" thing that turns into two hours.

But this is exactly why I went out on my own. The flexibility to be present when it matters.

So I'm logging off. Mostly.

To all the parents balancing work and a house full of chaos next week: I see you. We're all just trying to make it to the weekend.

Good luck out there.

$150 gift to a CMO. $60 notebook for procurement. Both delivered the same day.

That's not random acts of gifting. That's a Buying Committee Play.

And when it's coordinated with what each stakeholder sees on your website and in their inbox, it can pull deals forward. I've seen it cut 23 days off cycles and push win rates to 68%.

On March 18, I'm running a hands-on workshop at "Websites That Think" where we build this play from scratch.

What we'll cover:

→ The 3 buying group stages and the signals that tell you when to act (and why stage 1 is usually the wrong time to send anything)
→ The Champion Activation Play: why a $40-60 book timed to arrive the day before a demo can drive 90-95% show rates vs ~65% average
→ How to build role-specific website experiences so your CMO, Marketing Ops, and CFO don't see the same generic page
→ The full Buying Committee Play: what to send, to who, what it costs (~$410 for 4 people), and the triggers that kick it off
→ How to measure what's working: leading indicators that show pipeline movement before the deal closes

Before the workshop, there's a panel with Oana Manolache (Sequel.io), Adam Kaiser (6sense), Matt Hammel (AirOps), Amanda Kahlow (1mind), and Guy Yalif (Webflow) on how AI powers intent-aware website experiences and what shifts when buyers arrive from LLMs like ChatGPT.

If you run ABM or field programs and want a repeatable system for moving buying groups faster, this is for you.

Save your seat: https://lnkd.in/emMK7KSQ

Websites that Think Webinar

Your outbound isn't a messaging problem. It's a deliverability problem.

I watched a team spend three months optimizing subject lines, rewriting sequences, and testing new CTAs. Open rates stayed flat. Reply rates kept dropping.

Turned out 40% of their emails were landing in spam. They had no idea.

Here's the thing. You can have the best copy in the world. If your emails aren't hitting the inbox, none of it matters.

Most operators never check this stuff until something breaks. By then you've already burned your domain.

Here's what to actually monitor:

1. Sender Reputation

Check Google Postmaster Tools weekly. If your domain reputation drops to "Low" or "Bad," you're already in trouble. Aim to stay in "High" consistently.

Microsoft SNDS gives you similar visibility for Outlook. If you're selling to enterprise, this matters.

2. Authentication Stack

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC aren't optional anymore. They're table stakes.

But "set up" isn't the same as "configured correctly." Most teams have partial implementations that still leak trust signals.

Run a check monthly. If any of these are failing or misconfigured, inbox placement tanks.

3. Domain Age and Warm-Up

New domains need 2-4 weeks of warm-up before you scale. Sending 500 cold emails from a fresh domain is a fast track to spam.

Volume ramp matters too. Start with 10-20 emails per day. Increase gradually. Jumping from 50 to 500 overnight triggers filters.

If you're running multiple campaigns, use subdomains for outbound. Protect your primary domain reputation.

4. Inbox Placement Testing

Open rates lie. Tracking pixels fire even in spam folders sometimes.

Run seed list tests before launching campaigns. Know where your emails actually land across Gmail, Outlook, and corporate domains.

This is where Warmy comes in.

It automates warm-up, monitors inbox placement, validates your authentication setup, and flags issues before they tank your campaigns.

I've been using it to stress-test deliverability for outbound programs. The visibility alone is worth it.

If you want to boost your deliverability, drop a comment and I'll send you the link.

If your outbound has been underperforming and you've already optimized the obvious stuff, check your deliverability first.

It might be the invisible thing killing your pipeline.

https://lnkd.in/eDAEH22K

Most teams run ABM like a campaign.

Launch it. Measure it. Move on to the next one.

That's why most ABM programs fail.

ABM isn't a campaign. It's an operating system.

Here's the difference:

Campaign mindset: Pick some accounts, run ads, send emails, hope something sticks.

Operating system mindset: Build a repeatable engine with prioritization, signals, feedback loops, and clear rules for when to invest and when to cut.

The operating system has five parts:

1. Account Tiering

Not all accounts deserve the same effort. Build T1, T2, and T3 tiers based on revenue potential and strategic fit. Your T1 accounts get intensive, personalized engagement. T3 gets scaled plays. Stop treating every account the same.

2. Buying Group Mapping

Enterprise deals aren't won by reaching one contact. Map 6-10 stakeholders per account across functions. Operations, IT, Finance, whoever touches the decision. Multi-thread or lose.

3. Signal-Led Prioritization

Stop guessing who's ready. Track event engagement, website activity, content consumption, and sales intel. Prioritize accounts showing real signals, not just the ones sales "feels good about."

4. Channel Orchestration

Your channels should work together, not in silos. Events, content, paid, SDR outreach, sales follow-up. All coordinated around the same accounts at the same moments. Timing matters more than volume.

5. Investment Rules

This is where most teams fail. You need clear criteria for when to increase spend and when to cut it.

Invest more when:
→ Sales has real insight into the account
→ Multiple stakeholders are engaging
→ There's a clear path to pipeline

Cut when:
→ No meaningful engagement signals
→ No sales alignment or account knowledge
→ Activity isn't translating to opportunities

The teams that win at ABM aren't running better campaigns.

They're running a system that compounds over time.

Are you running campaigns or building a system?

POV: Your Event Marketing Manager trying to calculate the ROI of the conference.

Conference ROI is one of the last socially acceptable black boxes in B2B.

You can spend:

 $30𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩
 $10k flying the team out
 3 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘐𝘊 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦
 a month of planning

…and still get back to the office and ask:

"So what did we actually get?"

That's when the coping mechanisms kick in.

"We had a ton of great convos."
"Traffic was solid."
"People loved the swag."
"We think we met the right accounts."

Meanwhile the reality is messy:

Badge scans in one place.
Business cards in someone's backpack.
Notes in a rep's phone.
A spreadsheet called FINAL_final_V9.
And a CRM that's missing half the context.

So follow-up gets delayed.

Leads fall through cracks.

And when leadership asks for ROI, you're left trying to reverse-engineer pipeline from a bunch of partial breadcrumbs.

The problem isn't conferences.

It's that most teams don't have a clean way to connect:

who you met → what mattered → where it went → what it turned into.

That's why I like what Popl is doing.

Every time I show Popl to Event Marketers, the reaction is the same:

"Where have you guys been all this time?"

Here's why. With Popl, all you have to do is scan a conference badge or paper business card. That's it.

Then it automatically:

→ Enriches all contact & company data
→ Tags every lead to the event and rep who captured it
→ Pushes everything straight to your CRM with lead qualifiers and notes
→ Emails the prospects

All while you're still on the conference floor.

So when leadership asks "what did we get from that conference?"

You're not digging through spreadsheets and backpacks.

You've got full attribution. Every lead tied to the event. Every opportunity tracked to the source.

ROI stops being a debate.

It becomes a dashboard.

Start tracking the ROI from your conferences: https://hubs.la/Q046rbYn0

Brand partnership • B2B Marketing Operator | Sharing what works from 15 years of actually doing it | Field Marketing, Events, ABM, GTM

Most marketers build lists the old way.

One tool for companies. Another for contacts. A third for emails. Maybe a fourth for phone numbers.

By the time you've pieced it together, half the data is stale and you've wasted hours.

I've been testing FullEnrich Search and it changes the workflow completely.

Here's the exact play I ran last week:

I had 32 target accounts attending an upcoming conference. Needed to find every VP and Director of Marketing with verified emails before our pre-event outreach.

Step 1: Uploaded my account list as a CSV

Step 2: Applied contact filters
→ Title contains "VP" or "Director"
→ Department: Marketing
→ Seniority: Senior, VP, Director

Step 3: Hit search

143 contacts across all 32 accounts. 95% coverage.

Step 4: One-click enrichment

Verified emails and mobile numbers added instantly. No switching tools. No manual cleanup.

Total time: 12 minutes.

Old workflow would've been 2-3 hours across ZoomInfo, Apollo, and a separate enrichment tool. Plus the inevitable data gaps.

The difference is the waterfall. FullEnrich pulls from 20+ sources so you're not limited to one database's coverage. Contacts that don't exist in Tool A get found in Tool B or C.

If you're building ABM lists, event prospect lists, or campaign segments, run a free search and compare it to your current stack.

FullEnrich just made list building a lot faster.

https://lnkd.in/e9g7Dfq9

#FullEnrichPartner

B2B Marketing Exchange is a wrap.

Spoke today. Reconnected with marketers I've known for years. Met a bunch of new ones. Filmed some content. Walked the floor. Had way too many good conversations to count.

And I missed my twin daughters' 3rd birthday to be here.

Poor planning on my part. 😂

But that's the tradeoff sometimes. You show up for the work, and you make it count. The energy in the room, the ideas exchanged, the people who actually get what we do it reminded me why I love this industry.

Now I'm sitting at the airport. Delayed. Because of course.

Boston eventually.

To everyone I got to spend time with this week: thank you. The conversations, the laughs, the quick hallway chats that turned into real strategy talk, that's the stuff that makes events worth it.

Already looking forward to the next one.

And to my girls: Daddy's bringing home some good stories, lots of free swag. And probably airport snacks.

Badge scans. Booth traffic. "Great conversations."

None of that is ROI.

And if that's what your event report looks like, you're about to lose budget.

Here's the framework I use when I want the CFO to stop debating and start funding.

The 3-Layer Event ROI Framework

Layer 1: Strategic Fit
Was the right audience even there?

→ ICP accounts in the room
→ Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 breakdown
→ Which roles showed up (champion, decision maker, blocker)

If you can't answer this, everything below is noise.

Layer 2: Execution
Did we create next steps that sales can actually run?

→ Meetings booked (strict definition: on the calendar, owned by a rep, scheduled within 14 days, with a named next step)
→ "Follow up next week" is not a meeting
→ Net-new contacts from ICP accounts
→ Matched contacts already in CRM that were re-activated

Those are different outcomes. Report them separately.

Layer 3: Economic Impact
Did this create or move money?

→ New qualified pipeline: opps opened post-event that hit your bar (stage, fit, value)
→ Influenced pipeline: opps that existed pre-event where the event created movement (stage progression, timeline pulled forward, buying group expansion, deal re-engaged)
→ Closed-won revenue (when it matures)

This is where most event ROI is hiding. If you're not reporting influenced pipeline, you're undercounting events and overcounting everything else.

Two ratios that change the budget conversation:

Pipeline ROI = (New qualified + Influenced pipeline) ÷ Total event cost
ARR ROI = Closed-won ARR ÷ Total event cost

Event season is coming. Steal this before your next report.

3 years ago I wrote a post about driving G2 reviews.

500k views. 1,500+ likes. 500+ comments. Over 200 DMs. Remember that? Was wild!

All I did was share what worked.

I've run this playbook multiple times since then. Just ran it again. 100 reviews in 3 days. Pushed us to 1,031 total reviews. We're averaging 85 net new reviews per quarter.

Word of mouth is our #2 source of inbound at Reachdesk.

This stuff compounds.

Here's the playbook:

1. Build your list with intent

Use your CRM to filter by customers who actually use the product, not one-off senders. The goal isn't to cherry-pick positive reviews. It's to get feedback from people with enough experience to give you something useful.

2. Write the email like a human

No corporate speak. Keep it simple: thank them, ask for the review, offer a gift when it's live.

3. Make confirmation easy

Instead of screenshots, I added a form where they drop their review link. Less friction. Easier to verify.

4. Send real gifts

Not gift cards. Actual things. The Amazon integration within Reachdesk lets me send stuff that feels personal, not transactional.

Conversion rate this time: ~40%.

But collecting reviews is only half the job.

Most teams let reviews sit on G2. That's a waste.

Here's how to activate them:

→ Tag by use case. Sales, marketing, CS, events. Now you have proof for every vertical conversation.
→ Mine for language. Customers describe your value better than you will. Use their words in ads, decks, and outbound.
→ Route feedback to product. Complaints are free research.
→ Identify champions. Detailed reviewers are case study and reference candidates.
→ Build a proof bank by objection. Sales should have reviews organized by the concerns they answer.

Reviews on G2 are social proof. Reviews organized and activated are a sales weapon.

Word of mouth being our #2 inbound source isn't just G2. It's the team doing great work across CS, product, and marketing. But reviews are one piece of the flywheel that compounds when you stay consistent.

The biggest mistake I made going fractional wasn't pricing.

It was saying yes too fast.

When you're solo, every "maybe" feels like revenue. So you take the call. You scope it live. You promise speed. You think you'll "figure it out."

And then 3 weeks later you're stuck in:

→ vague goals
→ 6 stakeholders
→ 0 decisions
→ "can you just…" requests at 9:47pm

So I built a filter.

Not a vibe check. A decision check.

Here are the 3 things I look for before I take on a fractional client.

1) A real owner (not a sponsor)

I don't mean "the CEO likes marketing." I mean a single person who:

→ owns the outcome
→ shows up every week
→ can say yes/no without a committee
→ will actually ship with you

If they can't point to an owner in the first conversation, here's what happens:

You become the owner.

You're chasing feedback. You're herding calendars. You're translating marketing into English for six different people.

Fractional doesn't fail because you didn't do enough.

It fails because no one inside the company is accountable for decisions.

Question I ask:
"Who is the person that will make the call when there are tradeoffs?"

If they hesitate, that's the answer.

2) A decision they're trying to make (not a hope)

"Grow awareness" is not a decision. "Do more demand gen" is not a decision.

A decision has a fork in the road.

Examples:

→ "We're choosing one ICP and building the Q2 plan around it."
→ "We're picking one primary channel for 90 days and committing."
→ "We're fixing activation or we're fixing pipeline, not both."
→ "We're repositioning the offer and changing the site copy."

If there's no decision, the engagement turns into activity: posts, decks, tweaks, random campaigns, busywork.

And you can't create leverage from busywork.

Question I ask:
"What's the decision you want to be able to confidently make 30 days from now?"

If they can't answer, you'll end up writing strategy that no one uses.

3) Protection for your time (constraints that make fractional work)

Fractional works when everyone respects the constraint.

Because your leverage is not "being available." It's making the right calls with limited time.

So I look for evidence they can operate like adults:

→ one Slack channel, not 12
→ weekly working session on the calendar
→ async updates in one place
→ a turnaround SLA (ex: feedback within 48 hours)
→ no "urgent" requests unless revenue is on fire

If they want full-time responsiveness on a part-time engagement, they don't want fractional.

They want an employee they can't afford.

Question I ask:
"How do you want to handle requests between meetings: async doc, Slack, or a weekly queue?"

If they say "we're pretty ad hoc," what they mean is: "You'll be on call."

I still lose deals because of this.

Good.

The goal isn't to be booked. The goal is to be booked on terms that let you do great work.

If you're solo/fractional right now, which part breaks most often: ownership, decisions, or time protection?

Most teams use AI to write the email.

Wrong use case.

Use it to QA the email.

The fastest way to kill conversion is a mismatch you can't see anymore:

→ Email promise says one thing
→ Landing page delivers another
→ CTA is a vibe
→ You ship it anyway

Here's the exact prompt I use before I send anything to a list. Takes 5 minutes. Catches the dumb stuff that costs you pipeline.

👇 Copy this

GTM PREFLIGHT PROMPT

You are a B2B conversion editor. Your job: find mismatch, friction, and marketing fluff before I ship. Be direct. Be specific. Quote the exact line that triggered each issue.

PASTE YOUR ASSETS BELOW:
- ICP description:
- Offer (what they get, terms, price):
- Email draft:
- Landing page copy:

RULES:
- Assume the buyer is senior, skeptical, and skimming
- No generic feedback. Every suggestion includes the exact replacement copy
- If something works, say nothing. Only flag problems.

OUTPUT:

1. PROMISE ALIGNMENT
What does the email promise? What does the landing page promise? Score alignment 1-10. If under 8, write one revised email sentence that matches the page.

2. FIRST 10-SECOND OBJECTIONS
List the 5 reasons a skeptical VP would bounce before scrolling. For each: the triggering line → the objection → one rewrite.

3. FLUFF DETECTOR
Flag up to 4 lines that sound like marketing. Rewrite each to sound like an operator wrote it.

4. CTA CHECK
Is the current CTA a clear next step or a vague ask? Rewrite the CTA 3 ways. Each should name a specific action and timeframe (e.g., 'Book 15 min this week', not 'Let's chat soon').

5. TRUST KILLERS
Flag anything that feels exaggerated or salesy. Give the safer version.

6. PRIORITY FIXES
The 5 edits that will move conversion most, ranked.

---

If you try this, what did it catch that you would have shipped anyway?

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The Battle

Jen Allen-Knuth

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