Dave Gerhardt

Hey I'm Dave Gerhardt. I created Exit Five, which has turned into the top community for B2B marketing professionals. Before starting Exit Five I had a 10 year career in marketing and grew from PR intern to CMO. I even once had hair! My wife says I'm more handsome now though, and she's quite pretty so that means a lot -- but the internet just boxes me in as the typical bald guy tech bro. So oh look, another bald tech guy writing on LinkedIn! whoopty freaking do.

Anyway. Where was I... OH. Receipts! I wanted to talk about receipts, because in a world of fluff and online influencers, I actually have some receipts and I want to tell you about them here because it signals power, credibility, and makes it seem like I'm super rich, so: I used to be pretty good at marketing, and my work as a marketer played a key role (at least I think so) in helping two software companies to successful exits: Drift for $1B+ and Privy for $100M+. I certainly helped the founders make a bunch of money, and I was able to comfortably purchase a brand new Toyota Sienna minivan for my family in 2021.

Today I spend my time working on Exit Five, and it's actually been super fun and given me a bunch of purpose. We're a team of six full-time team members now, and we have a private online community and host in-person events around the world. Plus there's a popular podcast and newsletter for marketers. We reach something like 20 MILLION marketers with our content every year, and we've got a pretty special thing going on. I hope to keep it going. You can learn more about it all at exitfive.com.

I spent most of my life in the Boston area but now live in the woods in Vermont with my wife, two kids, two cats, and one dog.

You can reach me at dave@exitfive.com if you want, but TBD if I reply. Depends on the message. But please don't send me any more swag or books. But if for whatever reason you do want to send me something, I play the ProV1x golf ball and like the low numbers.

PS. Find my podcast “The Dave Gerhardt Show” on Spotify

Founder & CEO

Exit Five is a media company focused on B2B marketing. We help B2B marketers build successful careers through our content and community. Learn more at exitfive.com

We polled ~100 CMOs at companies $50M - $500M+ ARR on what their top marketing challenges are right now. Here are the top takeaways.

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1. AI. No surprise. 85% said AI adoption is # 1 priority for 2026.

But this goes beyond the cute use cases you see on LinkedIn and from the AI creators showing you all the new things to do with the new tools.

"I need practical use cases and quick wins to show” - VPM $25M ARR

“We are expected to be using AI to scale marketing  efficiently” - VPM $30M ARR

“We are under pressure to demonstrate hard savings and additional value created via AI adoption.” - CMO $450M ARR

“Wondering am I moving fast enough on AI transformation — not just adopting tools, but truly rethinking how marketing works from the ground up.” - CMO $600M ARR

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2. Everyone said some version of this: "We need to grow more, spend less, & prove marketing did it.”

Grow more. Spend less. And PROVE that marketing did it. That is the key word there.

They all talked about revenue growth, but the framing has evolved beyond "drive more MQLs."

The dominant language was:

• Marketing-sourced and marketing-influenced pipeline (not just leads)
• Pipeline quality over volume
• Tying marketing to ACV expansion and retention, not just new logos

“We ned to tie marketing more directly to revenue outcomes — not just MQLs, but marketing-sourced and marketing-influenced pipeline, ACV growth, and expansion revenue” - VPM $85M ARR

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3. The other repeat topics we heard included:

• Team too small for scope of work
• Feeling  caught between strategic work (positioning, GTM, C-suite influence) and heavy day-to-day execution
• Structural misalignment after acquisition or reorg
• AI search disruption
• Moving upmarket
• Moving from single product to multi-product

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PS. We run a private group for in-house B2B marketing leaders. If you're running the marketing team at a company doing $50M+ ARR you should check this group out. Apply here:

exitfive.com/cmo-council

LinkedIn is the number one channel for B2B marketers (for content, social, ads, you know we love it here) so I had LinkedIn VP Marketing Davang Shah on the podcast this week to go right to the source about what's working, what's not, and trends across the platform.

We covered: 

- What actually works with LinkedIn ads right now
- Brand vs performance marketing strategies and how they differ
- How to think about measurement beyond last-click attribution on ads
- Why 95% of your buyers aren't in market at any given time and what to do about it

Davang also shares the data behind thought leader ads, what most marketers get wrong about the buyer journey, and how he's leading his own team through the AI shift at LinkedIn.

Listen here:

https://lnkd.in/erc8w2vM

PS. Did you know the average B2B deal takes 211 days and involves 22 people?

I help B2B companies /w Revenue Operations & ABM using HubSpot // Executive MBA // HubSpot Certified Trainer // Big fan of sales-free zones.

𝗜𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰? 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗺𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵.

I know B2B leaders' frustration. Their sales, marketing, and customer success teams are stuck in silos. The result? Sales cycles are slow. Resources are wasted. Every turn blocks the potential revenue.

But what if your teams could move together, like a well-tuned engine on the Autobahn? That’s where we come in.

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀:

• Everything around HubSpot: Onboarding, Migrations, Audit, Web Dev, Operations
  
• Solution Architecture: Custom RevOps solutions. From design to code.
  
• ABM & Demand Generation Ops: Set up in HubSpot all your allbound campaigns
  
• Account Management, CX Ops: Design and set up all B2B customer success and account management processes in Hubspot.

• Reporting: Get custom reports covering key metrics. We provide accurate data on MRR, ARR, T&M, or capacity. You'll be confident in stakeholder meetings.

We’ve helped companies like Cloudflight, Dun & Bradstreet, The Software House, Amsterdam Standard, DataFeedWatch, Baselinker, Otovo, T-Mobile, Equiem, Coface and many more.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗮𝘆:

"𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘖𝘱𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦. 𝘔𝘈𝘕 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘖𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴-𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴." - 𝙇𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙑𝙖𝙣 𝙊𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣, 𝘾𝙀𝙊 & 𝘾𝙤-𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙙

𝗔 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲:

I’m a big believer in blending technology with human connections. After starting as an AIESEC alum, I spent over a decade in the corporate world with TMI, DHL, Electrolux, and Farnell. I learned to align teams and drive results. In 2016, I founded MAN Digital. It helps B2B companies grow by solving their sales, marketing, and CX operational challenges. In 2023, I earned my Executive MBA at Quantic Business and Technology University. It sharpened my skills in aligning teams and driving revenue.

Today, I run MAN Digital's marketing team. I also host a podcast, "𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗕𝗠 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁." We geek out on all things RevOps. I mentor startups and help them scale. I also speak at tech conferences about RevOps, growth, and tech.

DM me, and let’s explore how we can get your teams moving in the right direction.

Romeo Mann

I'm 40. I run a business. I booked a hostel in Madrid.
Not because I couldn't afford a hotel.
Because the biggest risk in entrepreneurship isn't failure.

It's getting so comfortable that you stop growing.

Flew out for Champions League. Real Madrid vs Benfica.

40,000 people were cheering in the stadium that night.

Then back to a hostel room with strangers from three different countries.

Midnight conversation about stoicism with a guy I'll never see again.

That's the thing about hostels.

You meet people you'd never cross paths with in your normal life.

23-year-olds figuring out the world. Backpackers between careers. People with zero agenda.

No Slack notifications. No revenue dashboards. No "optimizing."

Growth happens outside the spreadsheet.

Your comfort zone expanded with your bank account.

That's the trap nobody warns you about.

The hotel would have been nicer.

But the hostel made me think.

And thinking is what I needed more than a good pillow.

I help B2B folks get more from their Marketing, Sales & CX Teams with Revenue Operations as a Service // Executive MBA // HubSpot Certified Trainer // Big fan of sales-free zones and value first approach.

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