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

I wasn't a brand marketer.

I was the "pipeline now" guy. The "just get meetings" guy. The "who cares about brand when we need revenue" guy.

Then I watched the same movie play out at company after company.

10 things I learned the hard way about brand in B2B:

1. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗗𝗥 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟮𝟬𝟬 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝘅. You're literally paying for invisibility. In time. In burnout. In missed quota.

2. "𝗙𝗶𝘅 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲'𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱." I've heard this from every CEO. It's like saying "let me drown first, then I'll learn to swim."

3. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴? They're not better. They're just... known. Familiarity beats features every damn time.

4. "𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗴𝗲." No, they just have no idea who you are. There's a difference between a bad lead and a cold lead. Brand warms them up before sales even talks to them.

5. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀. That competitor who's been blogging for 3 years while you were "waiting for budget"? Yeah, good luck catching up now.

6. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱. It's underspending. Ask me how I know. Actually don't. It still hurts.

7. 𝗪𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟮𝟰 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝟲. Same close rate. Only difference? People had heard of us. That's 18 touches your SDRs don't have to make.

8. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗔𝗖 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝗰𝗸. But nobody wants to hear that in a board meeting when pipeline is down 40%.

9. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱: "𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗖𝗔𝗖 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽?" Also every board: "Cut brand spending, we need pipeline now." Make it make sense.

10. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳𝘆 𝗕𝗦. It's the difference between cold calling 100 people and having 10 people call you.

If I could go back and slap 2010 me:

Start content on day one. Not after product-market fit. Not after Series A. Day. Freaking. One.

Put 30% into brand even when it hurts. ESPECIALLY when it hurts.

Stop measuring brand impact at 30 days. That's like planting seeds and digging them up next week to see if they grew.

Document everything. Share the ugly parts. Be known for something before you try to sell something.

The brutal truth?

While you're in another meeting debating whether brand is "worth it," your competitor just became the default choice in your prospect's mind.

And once they own that mental real estate?

Your 10% better features mean exactly nothing.

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

After working with 35+ B2B brands in 3 years, here's what's actually going to matter in 2026.

Not predictions. Not hot takes. Just patterns I keep seeing with companies that are winning right now.

𝟭. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀.

Every company says they do ABM. Maybe 10% actually do it right.

The difference? They pick 25-50 accounts MAX. They know the actual humans involved. They create experiences, not campaigns.

One client went from 500 target accounts to 30. Pipeline went up 3x.

𝟮. 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.

The companies growing fastest? They're not doing it alone.

Customer co-marketing. Influencer partnerships. Integration partners running your events. One customer selling to another customer.

Solo marketing is dead. Everything is partnerships now.

𝟯. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 + 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

Stop arguing about brand vs performance. You need both.

The winning formula I'm seeing: 30% brand, 70% demand. But that 30% makes the 70% work 10x better.

We went from 24 touches to 6 at one company. Just because people knew who they were.

𝟰. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰.

The 500-person conference still exists. But the ROI is in the 8-person dinner.

VIP experiences. Executive roundtables. Customer advisory boards. Micro-events in tier 2 cities.

Quality > Quantity. Every single time.

𝟱. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.

Not just case studies. Not just referrals.

Customers creating content. Running webinars. Speaking at your events. Closing deals for you.

The best GTM teams are turning customers into an extension of their team.

𝟲. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹.

Not because of AI. Because CFOs are done with 120+ tools.

The companies winning? They have maybe 15-20 core tools. Everything else is noise.

Pick platforms, not point solutions.

𝟳. 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲-𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆.

Your buyers are people with actual problems, actual budgets, and actual bosses breathing down their necks.

Talk to them like humans. Solve real problems. Make their lives easier.

The companies that remember this are the ones still growing.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵?

None of this is revolutionary. It's just hard to execute.

But after 15+ years in B2B, I can tell you:

The basics done well beat innovation done poorly. Every time.

Anything you disagree with on the list?

Nobody talks about the hardest part of internal marketing.

Getting your own team to actually give a shit.

I've watched brilliant campaigns die because sales didn't get it. Product roadmaps derail because engineering thought marketing was just making things pretty. Budgets vanish because finance saw us as a cost center.

Know what actually works? Stop trying to convince everyone. Start making them part of it.

Here's how I rally stakeholders without the corporate theater:

1. Anchor on one outcome, not 47 metrics

This campaign creates 30 meetings by March 31st.

Not impressions. Not MQLs. One number everyone understands.

2. Make ownership embarrassingly clear

Sarah owns email. Tom owns landing page. Mike owns enablement.

No we'll figure it out together BS. You own it or you don't.

3. Translate, don't escalate

Sales: This gets you 30 meetings
Finance: $50K investment, $500K return
Product: Positions feature X as differentiator

Same campaign. Three languages. Zero confusion.

4. Kill the weekly status meeting

Monday Slack update. Three bullets:
✅ On track
⚠️ At risk (why)
🔴 Blocked (need X)

2 minutes to read. No calendar invites.

5. Make fast decisions when shit gets messy

Sales wants A. Product wants B. Here's the tradeoff. I recommend A. Deciding by 3pm.

No committee. Just clarity.

6. One doc to rule them all

Not 14 decks. One living document:
Goal. Owners. Timeline. Status.

7. Bring sales in before you build

What would make this actually useful?

They shape it = They sell it.
They're surprised = They sabotage it.

8. Share wins like your job depends on it

That campaign? 12 meetings. $2M pipeline. Here's what worked.

Public wins create believers.

The brutal truth?

Your stakeholders don't care about your marketing strategy. They care about their problems.

Show them how you solve THEIR problems, and they'll fight for your budget.

Show them another PowerPoint, and they'll find reasons to say no.

I spent years trying to educate stakeholders about marketing.

Now I just show them what's in it for them.

Works every damn time.

LinkedIn's year in review was like getting a participation trophy from your kid's soccer league.

Congrats! You existed on our platform!

Meanwhile, ŌURA just dropped me 18 shots of actual data. Not 3. Not 5. EIGHTEEN. 

242,792 steps. 131 crowns. Sleep scores. Recovery trends. Stress patterns over time. And that's just what I could screenshot before my thumb got tired.

The kind of data that makes you go holy shit, I did that?

Not you posted 47 times or whatever vanilla metric LinkedIn thinks matters.

Here's what kills me about year in reviews:

Most companies treat them like automated birthday cards.

Generic. Forgettable. Zero emotional connection.

But when you show me I walked the equivalent of Boston to Philly and back? That I earned 131 daily crowns for hitting my goals? That my sleep improved when I started that evening routine?

That's not a recap. That's a mirror.

The companies that get this right understand something simple:

Data without context is just numbers.
Data with YOUR context is a story.

Spotify doesn't just say you listened to music. They show you discovered 847 new artists and played that one embarrassing song 97 times at 2am.

Strava doesn't say you exercised. They show you climbed the equivalent of Everest twice.

Oura doesn't say you wore a ring. They show you exactly how your body responded to every decision you made this year.

Why this matters for every company:

Your customers are doing incredible things with your product. But you're sending them PDFs that say thanks for being a customer.

Show them their journey. Their growth. Their wins they didn't even know were wins.

Make them feel something about their own progress.

4 years as an Oura customer (not sponsored but seriously, Oura, let's talk 👀) and this is the first year in review that made me actually proud of data.

Not because the numbers were good.

Because they told MY story.

Your move, LinkedIn. Maybe next year show me which posts actually moved someone's career forward instead of you got 73 reactions.

Until then, I'll be over here staring at my 242,792 steps wondering how my knees still work.

What's the best year in review you've gotten? The one that actually made you feel something?

Listen Innovate Grow

For over 20 years, I have worked with companies ranging from micro-businesses to large corporates across Australia and Canada including Kraft Foods, Telstra, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Accenture to develop and implement customer strategies and programs to drive business growth.

While I am passionate about helping to create truly customer-centric organizations, I am also an avid traveller and am regularly invited to be a guest speaker and panellist for an array of SME and start-up events and podcasts across Australia, Canada and the United States. Some of my key accomplishments include:

* I developed enterprise level strategy recommendations for the Australian Small Medium Business (SME) market including key target segments, value propositions, customer solutions and customer experience requirements for a global insurance company

* I developed the business and marketing strategy including client servicing model, education/thought leadership offerings and industry engagement programs for an international customer service organisation

* I developed the go to market and product launch strategies for an international market research technology company

* I conducted seminars on B2B customer and growth strategies for the Canadian Australian Chamber of Commerce and the German Australian Chamber of Commerce

* I provided recommendations for customer experience enhancements for companies including Colonial First State, Metro Trains Melbourne and Pearson Publishing

B2B Customer Strategy Consultant

Selling to other businesses has always been a complex and challenging process.

Over the past 18 months, the needs, expectations, and buying behaviours of business clients have changed dramatically. The strategies you used last year, even 6 months ago may no longer apply.

Success in B2B requires that you adopt new strategies and approaches both with the clients and prospects as well as how you operate internally.

Take a VIP Day - a “deep-dive” into your business to develop your detailed and customized Business Growth Action Plan and Roadmap. Comes with 12-months of implementation support following your VIP Day.

This is ideally suited for CEOs and business owners of service-based SMEs (e.g. Accounting, Law, IT, Consulting) that provide their services to other businesses and wish to:

* Plan: Start and/or grow their business but lack a plan/don’t know where to start

* Acquire: Attract and acquire larger business customers (such as corporates and/or government)

* Grow: Expand the business through increased client spend, new markets and/or new offerings

Click below to learn more!

Business Growth Strategy Planning

Want to secure business customers so your business can survive & succeed in the “new norm”?

As the world comes out of lockdown, business will be tougher than ever before: Key clients and hot prospects have gotten cold or dropped off the radar, and big contracts may have been put on hold or cancelled altogether.

And you are under enormous pressure, feeling the weight of the entire world on your shoulders as you fight to keep the business going, paying the bills and keep your staff all on board? 

While the obstacles do seem insurmountable and the future is unclear, there are in fact many businesses that need your company now more than ever. The future of your company that you have worked so hard for and sacrificed so much to create can have a better and stronger future. 

That's why we created Refocus, Reignite & Rise, an online advisory program for CEOs of service-based SMEs who want a clear roadmap to acquiring those larger business customers to drive business growth and ultimately create the impact and legacy they seek.

After working with SMEs and corporates in the B2B space for over 20 years as well as closely monitoring how the needs and expectations and behaviours of business customers have changed as a result of the pandemic, I can show you what you and your company must do to gain the business customers that you want and need in order to not only ensure business recovery but also business growth. 

Click below to learn more!

Executive Consulting & CEO Mentoring

Are you looking to grow your service-based SME this year but unsure how? Stuck for new ideas and inspiration to navigate the challenges of the current economic climate?

If you answered yes to either of these questions, The Empower Mastermind Group could be for you.

Empower is a highly focused, action-driven group to support CEOs and Managing Directors of service-based SMEs/SMBs seeking to grow their companies through client acquisition, retention and business innovation.

By participating in the Empower Mastermind Group, you will become more effective at the 3 crucial activities your company must continually engage in to have sustainable, profitable growth:

* Listen: Learn how to correctly identify who the business buyers you need to target really are, and what you must provide to help them buy from you

* Innovate: Identify what changes, improvements and/or introductions are needed in your business to meet buyers’ needs and achieve the growth and impact you seek

* Grow: Learn strategies to expand your operations and manage your company culture, financials and people to sustain growth over the longer term

Meetings are conducted virtually for flexibility, as the group consists of members from different (non-competing) industries across a number of different geographic regions.

Because membership is tailored, by engaging with the group, you can be assured of having access to a wide range of business experience, knowledge, perspectives and ideas to help you grow your business.

Empower Mastermind Group

2excell Consulting

Get the guidebook that’s helped hundreds of SMEs and start-ups acquire customers and grow their businesses!

Written for start-ups and SMEs, the book covers essential B2B topics and helps start-ups and SMEs struggling to:

* Identify the industries, markets and business customers they should focus on
* Create products, services and solutions that business customers want to buy
* Achieve sustainable, profitable growth

Whether you’re an owner or founder of a start-up or SME or you’re in a key leadership role, Listen Innovate Grow helps anyone in an organization responsible for driving B2B growth with the tools, strategies, and approaches to realize their growth ambitions and secure B2B sales.

Author | Listen Innovate Grow, A Guidebook to Acquire B2B Customers

Startup Canada | Canada's Entrepreneurship Organization

Providing StartUp Canada members with insights as to leading best practices and approaches to B2B customer and marketing strategies.

Startup Advisor

Stone & Chalk

Stone & Chalk is an independent, nonprofit Fintech innovation hub whose overarching objective is to help foster & accelerate the development of world-leading Fintech startups.

Stone & Chalk’s flagship Mentor Program sets it apart from other hubs, connecting founders to high calibre mentors that will make the difference to their success. Mentors provide a trusted advisor relationship which both facilitates learning and provides a confidential sounding board, guiding startups through their business challenges; enabling them to commercialise at scale.

Startup Mentor

UTS: University of Technology, Sydney

During this contract role, I served as both the Associate Lecturer and Subject Coordinator for the Services Marketing courses at both the MBA and Undergraduate levels. In this capacity, I was responsible for educating student as to approaches to developing marketing strategies for service organisations and how they could be applied across a range of industries including Professional Services, Financial Services, IT, Telecommunications and Transportation.

Associate Lecturer, Services Marketing

Telstra Corporation

As head of customer research for Telstra's Wholesale Division, I led and implemented major research initiatives such as developing a wholesale market segmentation as well as conducting an annual Customer Value Analysis study of the wholesale market. I also successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive Customer Insights and Satisfaction Program including strategic customer workshops, an operational service tracking program as well as the designed and implemented a customer insights decision support tool.

Manager, Customer Research and Analysis

Accenture Australia

Completed industry and market analyses and strategy recommendations for corporate clients in the Financial Services, Automotive and Transportation sectors.

Strategy Consultant

Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Research Analyst, CommInsure Strategic Planning

Marketing Manager, Professional Association Programs

B2B Consultant + Speaker I Go-To-Market Strategist For Small to Mid-Sized Professional Service Firms I Founder - Legacy, The SME Leaders Circle I Customer Acquisition, Growth, & Retention Via Buyer “AIR” Driven Approach

Unlock Your Firm's Potential with Strategic Business Growth Expertise

As a seasoned Business Mentor, Go-to-Market Strategist and Start-up Advisor, I have empowered professional service firms such as Accounting, IT and Law for over a decade. My unique growth framework and insights into B2B Customer and Go to Market strategies set firms apart. I specialize in:

• Identifying key markets and clients
• Crafting tailored go-to-market strategies
• Building services and solutions that B2B clients seek

I differ from typical consultants by diving deeper and offering a proprietary framework, the "Listen Innovate Grow," fostering clarity, innovation, and growth specifically designed for companies operating in B2B--all of which are driven based on how B2B buyers buy!

Let's connect to explore how I can elevate your firm’s performance.
🗓️ https://calendly.com/michael-906/initial-30-min


📖Learn more in my book "Listen Innovate Grow: A Guidebook for Start-Ups and SMEs to Acquire and Grow Business Customers" on Amazon. 

I am also available for speaking, training, and business consulting.

Ignite your firm's growth with me.


Michael Haynes
Business Growth Advisor
michael@2excell.com
+61 2 9056 5087 (Australia)
1-647-490-3425 (Canada/USA)

www.listeninnovategrow.com

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