In this episode of The Get, host Erica Seidel and guest Ashley Deibert, CMO of Marigold, candidly discuss the realities of leading marketing in today's SaaS landscape.

Ashley shares how she's navigated seismic shifts in marketing org structures, budget realities, and the CMO role itself, all while keeping alignment at the center of her approach. You'll learn from her perspective on:

• How to build alignment, not on Day 1 in the job, but during the interview process
• Deciding what to stop, start, and continue when taking on a new role
• Handling drastic budget reductions by providing scenario-based options
• Hiring fast, hiring micro-experts, and spotting 'moldable' talent through situational questions
• How to be open to others' feedback without getting mired in it
• Advice to CEOs on avoiding CMO mis-hires
• Why 'touch more, do more, be exposed to more' should be every rising CMO's mantra
• Structuring product marketing and customer marketing together for impact
• How AI is augmenting marketing without replacing talent
• Why the best GTM teams blur the lines among sales, marketing, product, and customer success into one revenue team

If you're a marketing leader, a CEO hiring a CMO, or otherwise navigating the changing currents of SaaS go-to-market, you'll learn new insights and frameworks from this episode.

Some quotes of note:

• "I don't believe in doing more with less. I believe in focus…. When you're a CMO, it's about alignment because you're servicing the organization's growth."
• " Don't just be selfish in a hiring cycle. Also, think about, is this person going to get what they need from you? Because if they don't, guess what? They leave."
• "The CEO needs to really think about the relationship that the organization and the culture around marketing that they desire….  I've seen and lived through many situations where it's, "we gotta have marketing", but "gotta have" versus "we need to embrace and make this core to our go-to-market" are different. Marketing is part of go-to-market. It's literally in the title."

00:00 Welcome to The Get: Meet Your Host Erica Seidel

00:16 Introducing Ashley Deibert: CMO at Marigold

01:19 Ashley Deibert's Career Journey and Insights

03:51 Mentorship Moments: Lessons Learned

07:43 Marketing Org Structure at Marigold

14:58 Advice for Aspiring CMOs

20:13 Navigating Budget Cuts in Marketing

21:08 Presenting Scenarios and Aligning with Leadership

23:13 The Importance of Networking in Hiring

25:24 Evaluating Candidates for Culture Fit

29:18 Hiring Freelancers vs. Full-Time Employees

31:40 Advice for CEOs on Hiring CMOs

36:38 The Role of AI in Marketing

38:21 The Future of SaaS Marketing Teams

39:27 Conclusion and Podcast Information

The Get is here to drive smart decisions around recruiting and leadership in B2B SaaS marketing. We explore the trends, tribulations, and triumphs of today’s top marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

This season’s theme is how SaaS marketing organizations are changing — in both seismic and subtle ways.

The Get’s host is Erica Seidel, who runs The Connective Good, an executive search practice with a hyper-focus on recruiting CMOs and VPs of Marketing, especially in B2B SaaS.

If you are looking to hire a CMO or VP of Marketing of the ‘make money’ variety, rather than the ‘make it pretty’ variety, contact Erica at [email protected]. You can also follow Erica on LinkedIn or sign up for her newsletter at TheConnectiveGood.com.

The Get is produced by the team at Simpler Media Productions.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy