Board alignment is harder than ever. Budgets are tight, expectations are high, and every decision feels under a microscope.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Rachel Downey connects with John E. Lepto IV, CRO at Clear Go-To-Market, a buyer intelligence firm serving private equity-backed SaaS companies. With deep experience across sales, healthcare tech, and private equity ops, John shares how strategic clarity helps leaders earn trust in the boardroom even without a formal board himself.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How buyer intelligence builds credibility with executive stakeholders
• What boards actually want to hear from go-to-market leaders
• Why clarity is the antidote to boardroom anxiety

Things to listen for:
(00:00) Why we wanted to talk to John
(01:40) From lending to SaaS to PE-backed GTM
(02:20) What Clear Go-To-Market actually delivers
(03:00) Why win-loss is more than “why we lose”
(04:10) Why John bets on service, not SaaS
(05:20) The two converging shifts in PE and SaaS
(07:00) What trust really means in boardroom settings
(08:40) Bringing clarity to win-loss and GTM strategy
(10:15) How Clear helps clients validate or challenge assumptions
(11:30) One piece of advice for CROs walking into the boardroom

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who’ve been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you’ll want to play again.

Don’t miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore Genius Cuts for more B2B content strategy insights.