Closing Time: quick insights from sales & marketing experts

Inbound and referral leads can fuel growth in B2B—but when your team masters outbound sales, results can skyrocket. But is outbound still possible in a post-pandemic world? This week on Closing Time, Marcus Chan says absolutely. As a sales coach who's led teams of 100+ and generated $70M in weekly pipeline, Marcus knows what it takes. We'll dig into the outbound mindset, plus the training and lead...

Working in sales leadership at a bootstrapped company is much different than a PE or venture-backed company. Bootstrapped means "unfunded"—built using the founder's own resources and revenue from the business, not outside capital. This week on Closing Time, Louie Bernstein shares the real pros and cons of leading sales in this environment—from the scrappy creativity it demands to the resource limi...

When you think of influencers on social media, Instagram and TikTok likely come to mind. But big growth is happening with influencer marketing on LinkedIn—the new 'global watercooler' for B2B brands. In fact, influencer marketing is now considered 'essential spend,' showing exponential growth as more B2B companies embrace it. In this episode of Closing Time, meet Aneesh Lal, head of Wishly, the #1...

LinkedIn video is an untapped goldmine for executives and go-to-market leaders looking to build trust, amplify brand reach, and engage customers, teams, and prospects. While text and photos have their place, video is where true thought leadership and authenticity shine. In this episode of Closing Time, Val Riley welcomes Devin Reed, CEO of The Reeder and LinkedIn content expert, to share how leade...

Do you speak CFO? It's a skill every marketer needs to master—fast. There's often a gap between marketers who want to invest in brand (because they know it works) and CFOs who need to see clear metrics tied to that spend. Drawing that line isn't always easy, but this week's guest on Closing Time is here to help. Patrick Cumming of KlientBoost shares five practical tips to help marketers justify br...

Did you know that up to 72% of a salesperson's time is spent on admin tasks instead of selling? You've heard a lot of ideas about how AI will disrupt the sales profession—but what about the real, practical ways it can actually help your team sell more? In this episode of Closing Time, Val sits down with Gaurav Bhattacharya, CEO of Jeeva.ai, to break down how AI can help flip that stat in your favo...

Time kills deals. We all know it. Yet, in 2025, slow-moving pipelines and endless sales cycles are more common than ever. Buyers have more power, more options, and more reasons to delay decisions. But what if you could flip that dynamic and move deals forward faster? Nick Cegelski, founder of 30 Minutes to President's Club and author of Cold Calling Sucks , has mastered this art. He shared seven p...

Gen Z sales reps are entering the workforce fast—and sales leaders need to be ready. By 2030, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that Gen Z will make up 30% of the U.S. workforce. If you're not managing a Gen Z seller yet, it's only a matter of time. In this episode of Closing Time, we sit down with Tony Morando, Chief Sales Officer at World Emblem. Tony has climbed the sales ranks over...

The North American economy is uncertain, so what should your agency be doing to stay profitable and keep growing? In this episode of Closing Time, we sit down with Jon Morris, founder of Fiscal Advocate, a firm that helps marketing agencies make smarter financial decisions through real planning—not just bookkeeping. Jon shares the offensive and defensive strategies every agency should be using to...

Email fatigue is real—and it's hitting B2B marketers hard in 2025. With inboxes flooded by AI-generated outreach, outdated content, and automation overload, it's no wonder open rates are tanking. So what can you do to stand out and stay relevant? In this episode of Closing Time, we're joined by Jack Kosakowski, CEO of Creation Agency (U.S.), who shares 7 practical tips to revive your marketing ema...

Do you know the scroll rate or the engagement rate on your landing pages and website? Google does, and they are using those metrics to determine how you show up in search results. In this episode of Closing Time, Jennifer Denney of Elevated Marketing Solutions talks about the key metrics on your website and landing pages, and how improving them can lead to an improved user experience, lower cost-p...

Product-led growth thrives when customers can explore, try, and succeed—without ever needing to talk to sales. But designing that seamless, self-serve experience? That's the hard part. In this episode of Closing Time, Geoff Coutts sits down with Dave Boyce, Executive Chair and EVP of Product at Winning by Design, to explore how AI is transforming the PLG motion. From AI-guided demos and onboarding...

How do you know if LinkedIn is really influencing your pipeline? Val Riley sits down with Deivis Rupslaukis, founder of DERU Digital, to explore practical ways to track LinkedIn ad impact—from adding "How did you hear about us?" to your forms, to manually cross-referencing CRM data, to using attribution tools like LeadsRx. Plus, Deivis shares a clever workaround for LinkedIn's lack of impression c...

What really drives a customer to click, convert, and come back? This week on Closing Time, we're joined by Jon MacDonald—founder of The Good and author of Behind the Click—to explore the psychology behind every stage of the customer journey. From mental shortcuts to mobile optimization, Jon breaks down the five key phases and shares what smart marketers do to reduce friction, build trust, and driv...

Do your customer success managers assist customers? Yes. But do they also handle renewals? Upsells? Expansion? Cross-sell? If it feels like every company writes its own script for this role, you are correct. In this week's episode of Closing Time, host Geoff Coutts welcomes Kristi Faltorusso, Chief Customer Officer at ClientSuccess, to chat through the evolving role of customer success. Kristi sha...

You saw the LinkedIn beef between Apollo.io and Seamless.ai—but did you catch that LinkedIn shut them both down? Media platforms hold the power, and if you want to keep playing the game, you've got to play by the rules. In this episode of Closing Time , we're joined by Tim Davidson, founder of B2B Rizz, to unpack the risks of trying to game the LinkedIn algorithm. From automation flags to fake eng...

AI is transforming sales—but not everyone's doing it right. In this episode of Closing Time, Nick Caruso, CRO at KnowledgeNet.ai, joins us to break down the smart (and not-so-smart) ways sales teams are using AI today. From AI SDRs and real-time lead research to bots talking to bots, Nick shares how to skip the gimmicks and use AI in B2B sales to drive real outcomes—not just activity. Whether you'...

Pipeline looking thin? Sitting back and hoping for inbound leads won't cut it—not in today's market. Top-performing reps know that building a predictable pipeline means getting smart about outbound. In this episode of Closing Time, Geoff Coutts sits down with Jed Mahrle, founder of PracticalProspecting.io, to break down seven buying signals that help reps reach the right prospects at the right tim...

Think cold calls and cold emails are your only shot at generating pipeline on a tight budget? Think again. In this episode of Closing Time, Chris Merrill, CEO of Better Media (the folks behind Sell Better & Market Better), shares tactical, low-cost strategies that go way beyond the inbox or the dialer. From live events and webinars to podcasting and building niche communities, Chris unpacks creati...

Hot off the Google press...if your landing page content doesn't match your ad AND if it doesn't have navigation, your ad might not even get served (no matter how much you're willing to pay). Google is officially emphasizing the importance of relevant content and easy-to-navigate landing pages.  In this episode of Closing Time, landing page expert and founder of The Scroll Lab, Tas Bober, breaks do...

If you think influencers are just for B2C marketing, think again. B2B buyers are still people—and people trust people more than ads. Enter B2B influencers. In this episode of Closing Time, Robyn Nissim, founder of Social Proof Agency, breaks down why 2025 is the year of the B2B influencer. She shares how to find the right creators, structure partnerships for long-term impact, and measure success b...

Are you truly connected to your customers? Too many marketers think they know their buyers—but can you name seven of your customers by first and last name? If not, you might be suffering from disconnected marketing. In this episode of Closing Time, host Val Riley sits down with Casey Cheshire, Chief Evangelist at Ringmaster Conversational Marketing, to discuss why go-to-market needs to become conn...

It's cold season—cold calling, that is. And while we're at it, let's toss in cold emails too. If you're a sales rep waiting around for inbound leads to magically appear, you're leaving money on the table. It's time to prioritize cold outreach in 2025. "But no one answers the phone anymore!"—hogwash! Meet Troy Munson, CEO of Dimmo and proud cold-caller. In this episode of Closing Time, he breaks do...

Hiring a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is a big commitment—especially for growing companies that may not have the budget for a full-time executive. That's where fractional CMOs come in. A fractional CMO provides high-level marketing leadership without the full-time price tag. But how do you find the right fit for your business? Andrew Dod, an experienced SaaS marketing leader and fractional CMO, s...

A messy pipeline doesn't just frustrate your sales leader—it kills deals. When sellers don't have a clear picture of where each opportunity stands, they waste time chasing the wrong prospects, struggle to forecast accurately, and ultimately lose revenue. So why isn't pipeline hygiene every team's top priority? Because it takes time, discipline, and a little help from our friends at 30 Minutes to P...