And how your podcast fits in.
B2B marketing isn’t just about leads—it’s about integrating sales, marketing, and customer success to drive revenue. But too often, marketing builds a campaign and expects sales to “jump in.”
Mark Kilens and Nick Bennett, co-founders of TACK, have worked with 30+ B2B startups and developed a framework for integrated revenue campaigns—a strategy that aligns teams and turns engagement into revenue. They shared their best tips for aligning sales and marketing and how a podcast fits into this framework. Read on for their advice.
Why Traditional Campaigns Fail
It happens alllll the time. But literally—why do our beloved marketing campaigns flop?
- Marketing works in a silo, expecting sales to “catch up.”
- Sales doesn’t use marketing’s content.
- Teams aren’t aligned on goals from the start.
So what’s the solution? If we had to put it simply, taking Mark’s advice? It is to use integrated revenue campaigns. They align teams from day one—targeting the right accounts with the right offers at the right time. Sales and marketing get on the same page and the same team for each stage of the buyer’s journey. As the old idiom goes, teamwork makes the dream work, baby.
A Framework for Integrated Revenue Campaigns
Mark mapped out the basics and shared them with the graphic below. So here’s a step-by-step how-to for organizing your GTM strategy to set you up for success:
Step 1: Define What You’re Working With
It all starts with organization—we know, we know, not the most fun. We’re talking about these buckets in this graph: brand message, verticals, segments, audiences, and activities.
Most companies are probably aligned on the first two buckets here—your brand positioning and messaging, verticals. But making sure everyone is clear on these next pieces is super important.
Next, here’s what Mark suggests you tackle:
- Identify segments (SMB, enterprise, mid-market).
- Under each segment, pinpoint accounts that fit each segment.
- And lastly, map the associated contacts (decision-makers, influencers, blockers).
Documenting those accounts helps you build your integrated campaign plan. Because now we’re going to map those to audience segments and activities—for both sales AND marketing. (There’s that teamwork I’m talking about.)
Step 2: Build a Shared Campaign Plan
So, now you’re taking those accounts you’ve mapped and slotting them under awareness stages. You map those awareness stages to certain sales AND marketing activities, and BAM. You’ve got your first outline of an integrated revenue campaign.
To help you do this, here’s what Mark suggests:
- Agree on who the campaign targets.
- Define what content/offers will drive engagement.
- Outline where and how it will be distributed.
Key to success: Early collaboration = better execution. The earlier you can get everyone aligned on this, the better. (But we all have to start somewhere! Don’t let that “get in early” advice stop you from just getting aligned on what you’re working with.)
Why Sales Doesn’t Use Marketing Content—And How to Fix It
Now, not everyone can start from zero. How can you align marketing and sales without building this from scratch?
From a marketing perspective, it starts with understanding the problem. (We’re good at that, right?!) Here’s why sales and marketing get on different pages:
🚫 Content isn’t packaged for easy use.
🚫 The created assets or campaigns don’t align with sales needs.
🚫 There’s no clear distribution plan.
So how do we fix it? (Yes, it’s possible. And it can start small.)
Involve sales early. The earlier, the better.
Create “grab and go” content—think short and shareable.
Centralize content for easy access. Having an easily accessible and well-organized content library goes a long way to help make that content more impactful.
When content aligns with sales workflows, it gets used—and converts.
Where Does a Podcast Fit in an Integrated Revenue Campaign?
A podcast isn’t just content—it’s an avenue for reaching business outcomes—when done with intention, we see it help accomplish these big goals: build brand, drive demand, or grow an audience.
(All of which contribute to closing deals.)
So, to make sure you’re getting the most juice out of the squeeze, here are three questions you can ask to make sure you’re keeping your podcast on track with your business goals:
Who is it for? (Executives, end-users, influencers?)
Where does it fit? (Brand awareness, mid-funnel engagement?)
What is the intended action or goal? (Tied to campaigns, events, or sales?)
During his time at Drift, Mark had a hand in bringing their podcast to life. It consisted of 3 shows, each playing a role in different audience segments with different goals. Here’s how you can see it come to life:
- Show 1: Thought leadership for brand affinity. (Goal: Build Brand – Stay Top of Mind)
- Show 2: Targeted content for decision-makers. (Goal: Drive Demand – Accelerate Sales)
- Show 3: Tactical insights for end-users. (Goal: Build Brand – Client Retention)
Key Takeaway? Align your podcast to a specific audience, a specific stage in the funnel, and, ultimately, a specific business outcome.
(You’ll hear me talking about that one ‘til the cows come home.)
The Future of B2B Marketing Is Integrated
If I had to sum up how this all comes together?
The best campaigns aren’t just about leads. They’re company-wide revenue strategies.
Sales, marketing, and customer success must collaborate from day one.
Work backward from revenue, not just MQLs.
Want to build an integrated revenue campaign? Get sales and marketing in the same room—and start aligning now.
(And maybe start a podcast. 😉)
