Todd Clouser 🧙‍♂️💜

I learned content growing a YouTube channel from 0 - 10M+ monthly views.
I learned social by building an audience of over 1M followers across channels.
I learned community growing two Facebook groups to 12k+ monthly active users.
I learned influencer marketing building a team of 15+ creators that drove millions in DTC revenue.


Now I help B2B companies incorporate those strategies and tactics to build their own marketing machine.

DM me to chat.

Party Wizard

https://qrco.de/be1MOp

Todd Clouser

The other day I was arguing with Obaid that Peter Parker is the only super hero that reports into marketing.

And he was like, "he doesn't report into marketing, he's a photographer."

And I was like, "yeah, art dept falls under marketing."

And he was like, "okay, maybe in saas, but at a newspaper that's not really marketing."

And then I was like, "what do you mean?"

And he was like, "photographs are basically like part of the product in a newspaper. Not marketing."

And I was like, "so what you're saying is he's a product led marketer?"

And Obaid was like, "dude, no. Plus he's a freelancer anyway."

And I was like, "that's an irrelevant argument. peter parker is the only product-led marketer in the marvel universe."

Then Obaid paused and I was thinking, "yeah...got em."

Then he just said, "No."

And I was like, "huh?"

And then he was like, "he's actually a performance marketer."

And I was like, "there's no evidence that spider man worked as a performance marketer while simultaneously being a freelance photographer for the daily bugel."

And he was like, "don't you remember that scene where Uncle Ben says the thing about great power and responsibility? It's like the most iconic line in Marvel."

Then he brought up the scene (shown below)

And I was like, "shit...you're right. He was a marketer."

And Obaid was like, "yup."

Then he left the huddle and I was like, "wait...that's what i said."

Then I turned on The Dark Knight bc DC is better than Marvel.

Also, if spider man was a performance marketer he would use #Clay's new ads feature. 

#ClayPartner

Decks Sales actually use | Helping CMOs + Marketing VPs look like heroes | 18 yrs aligning product, marketing + sales in tech and startups | Former HP + Military Intelligence

Your sales assets suck. Sales rejects them because customers don’t speak like that.Product says the messaging isn’t technical enough.Marketing swears they followed the brief.And somehow, you’re the one explaining to the CEO why no one’s telling the same story.That’s usually when I get the call.I’ve spent 18 years walking into that same chaos — from HP to startups — and spotting what’s *actually* broken.It’s never the deck. It’s the disconnect.The military taught me to see patterns under pressure.HP taught me what happens when alignment collapses at scale.Startups taught me how to fix it — fast.Here’s why my approach is different: I don’t need seven workshops to find the truth.Three honest conversations tell me everything I need to know about where your story fell apart and how to rebuild it.I’m a product marketer who genuinely likes sales.I translate between engineers, marketers, and sellers who don’t speak the same language — and turn that into assets people actually use.But I don’t stop there.I built a system that finds what’s broken, fixes it fast, and makes the fix stick.Because a new deck means nothing if the story behind it doesn’t hold when things get messy.The outcome:Marketing finally earns sales’ trust — and leadership stops asking what marketing actually does.Because your sales assets shouldn’t suck. They should sell.If you’re done explaining why your deck doesn’t work, let’s fix what’s actually broken.

Talya Heller G. 💡

The best looking sales deck can have zero ROI.
Google Slides templates can win deals. How?

Most think good sales assets are about:
→ Design polish
→ 17 case studies
→ Comprehensive feature lists

But production value isn't the problem.

The best assets aren't winning one person.
They’re winning the buying committee.

CXO buy-in increases close rates by 44%*.

Your champion doesn’t buy alone.

Most assets don't land because they answer the wrong questions.

Here's a better way.

I call it a "Champion Deck".

It's made for internal selling.

Because most of the cycle we're not in the room.

A champion deck has to pass 4 tests:

TEST 1: Can a champion use this without you?

→ Self-running story 
→ Email-forward ready (context)
→ Credible sources (not just "trust us")

TEST 2: Does it answer skeptical exec questions?

→ Real tradeoffs (not just upsides) 
→ Names risks + mitigation strategies 
→ Quantifies risks + gains

TEST 3: Does it land with different audiences?

→ Variety of metrics 
→ Clear use cases (not feature dumps) 
→ Shows how it fits their existing ecosystem

TEST 4: Is the "why this approach" > "why us"?
→ Accurate problem reframe  
→ Approach > Vendor positioning 
→ Backed by evidence (not vague claims)

Top performers spend 39% less time talking about product features*. This deck should reflect that.

---

Check the infographic for the bad version of these.

It's not about polish.

It's whether champions look smart when they forward it to 10 people.


Which of these 4 you find most challenging?

*Data from Jen Allen-Knuth+Gong+30MPC research on exec buying cycles.

Not sure if this encourages or deters you but yes I’ll be there

(Tickets @ exitfive.com/drive)

Me, opening my copy of Wizdom from Wizards in the mail

Alma (6): “cool mom, did you get a book?”

Me: “Yes, I’m in it!”

Alma: “Whoa did you write this??”

Me: “No I’m only in a couple of pages. Wanna see?”

Alma: “Oh. No thanks”
(goes back to playing)

I’ll come back to her after writing my own book but meanwhile, I’m kinda stoked I was a part of 2 books last year:

The Multiplier by Avner Baruch (B.Eng') - one of the most comprehensive sales enablement guides out there. He pulls from his own experience and POVs from sales and customer success leaders, CEOs, and somehow, yours truly.

Wizdom from Wizards is Nitin Kartik’s collection of short, actionable takes from practitioners he interviewed over the years. Anything from pricing, launches and competitive strategies - it’s there.

She might not be impressed, but you should check them out.

Also, Alma - you have boogers.

No alternative text description for this image

When your 6-year-old reviews your career:

Me: "Alma, do you know what I do for work?"

Alma (6): "You're a marketer!”

Me: "Yes! What do you think it means?"

(She runs to her room)

Her big sister (11) tries to help: "Alma think of the word. Market is literally in it"

Alma: "Oh! You work in a market?"

Me: "Sure, but I'm not selling tomatoes."

Alma: "..."

Me: "Ok, what do you think I do all day?"

Alma: "You work. Unless you're on a break."

Me: "Right, but what do I actually DO when I work?"

(Runs away to the other room again)



Ouch. At least she’s ceo material, clearly.



What does your kid think you do all day? I need to know if I'm alone in this 😳

Sales isn't ignoring your content because they're lazy. (not even because they hate you).
They're ignoring it because it doesn't help them win.

Here's what's up:
→ You built it without them 
They weren't in the room when you wrote the messaging, fine. But you also didn't get their take before jumping on it. Now it doesn't match what buyers actually say, and they can tell.

→ It answers the wrong questions 
You ran calls through AI and got a summary. Useful, but it flattens nuance. The real objection isn't "pricing concerns" — it's "my CFO won't approve anything over $50K without a business case." AI won’t catch that. You have to listen.

→ It makes them look dumb 
Nothing kills trust faster than a slide that confuses the buyer. Reps won't risk looking unprepared, so they DIY it

→ They can't find or trust it 
You've got a content hub, a custom GPT, a Notion wiki. Doesn't matter. If reps don't trust that what's in there is current, accurate, and actually useful mid-deal, they'll go rogue.

The solution isn't more content. It's better process.

→ Involve sales before you build, not after 
Even one 30-minute call with a top rep will change what you create.

→ Build from real objections 
AI summaries are a starting point, not the answer. Pick a few deals and watch all the calls in it. Read the lost deal notes. Sit in on deal reviews.

→ Make it trustworthy, not just findable 
Reps need to know: this is up to date, this works, and this won't embarrass me. That's a curation problem, not a search problem.

→ Test it before you launch it 
Have a rep use it on a real call. Watch what happens and iterate.

Sales doesn't need more assets.
They need assets that make them look good in front of buyers.

Knowing where it breaks is step one. Find out how deep the gap runs at your company in a 2-min self assessment https://lnkd.in/gmTgxBMd

Everyone feels behind on AI. LinkedIn's own data says there's something else you should catch up on.

LinkedIn 2026 Skills on the Rise report just dropped. AI is the #1 skill, which is a surprise to no one. But what’s rising alongside it kinda is.

(If the panic of seeing this didn’t send you straight to your terminal to spin up another AI agent, keep scrolling)

Leadership communication, stakeholder management, cross functional collaboration and public speaking are rising just as fast.

The market isn't saying "learn AI or die."

It's saying AI handles execution but human judgment is still needed.

Take skill #2: Operational Efficiency. Process optimization, workflow automation. Sounds… vintage. But automating the wrong thing faster is still waste. Knowing *what* to automate? That's not an AI call.

AI can summarize your call transcripts.
It can do your research. 
It can draft emails.

It can’t read a room, decide which battle is worth fighting, or convince a skeptical exec to greenlight a budget they didn't want to approve.

Everyone's getting fluent in talking to machines. Almost nobody is getting better at talking to humans.

That gap is widening — and your competitors aren't touching it.

Your edge isn't just knowing the tools. It's mastering the skills AI can't replicate, then using AI to execute faster.

So before the next time you’re setting up an MCP — ask yourself when did you last deliberately work on your stakeholder communication?

That skill isn't disappearing. It's going up.

And if you're not sure where your team stands on it, make sure whoever's shaping your positioning has this down to a T.


(Full report: https://lnkd.in/gCJGUNVV?)

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