Most B2B marketers are told to “do thought leadership” and it becomes part of strategy... but no one tells them how to tie it back to revenue.

In this episode, we break down how to turn thought leadership into a trust-building, pipeline-generating machine. Not just fluff for likes and impressions.

We’ll show you how to build a strong point of view, map it to your buyer’s journey, and use thought leadership ads to hit the 95% of the market that isn’t ready to buy… yet.

Tune in and learn:

+ The 3 questions every POV must answer to resonate

+ Why most marketers fail at thought leadership (and how to fix it)

+ Our exact LinkedIn Ads system for turning content into pipeline

This episode is a must-watch if you want to move beyond vanity metrics and make your brand the one buyers remember when they’re ready to act.

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🔗 Links + CTAs

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💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

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🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook

📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/

📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/

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00:00 How Thought Leadership Actually Builds Pipeline

02:00 The 5 Bs Framework Recap

04:00 Why Thought Leadership Often Fails

06:00 The 3 Questions to Shape Your POV

08:00 Using LinkedIn Ads to Amplify Trust

10:00 Mapping Content to the Buyer Journey

12:00 Why Subject Matter Experts Must Lead

14:00 The Real Goal: Being Remembered at Purchase Time

16:00 The Ogilvy Method for Ads that Educate & Convert

18:00 How to Measure Thought Leadership Ads

20:00 A Proven Framework for LinkedIn Thought Ads

22:00 Patagonia: B2C Thought Leadership Masterclass

24:00 How Patagonia Drives Profit Through POV

26:00 B2B Example: Rivet’s Framework for Labor Ops

28:00 Final Takeaways: Thought Leadership That Works

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👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team??

💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??)

Get the:

🔹 strategy

🔹 templates

🔹 tools

So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.

See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator

https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

S07 E188 - The B2B Playbook

#b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #b2b #digitalmarketing

#b2bsaas #thoughtleadership #linkedinads

Most B2B teams think outbound is just about activity. Book meetings, hit quota, move on.

But this week on The B2B Playbook, we sat down with Shawn Sease—aka The Professor of Prospecting—to expose why that model is broken.

Shawn’s seen it all. From old-school cold call sprints to modern GTM teams trying to do outbound in the age of AI. And he’s brutally honest about what actually works today.

Together, we unpack how to rebuild your sales development system around truth, timing, and trust—not just activity.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

+ Why most sales development strategies fail before the first call

+ The power of cataloguing accounts (and why it's better than intent data)

+ How to build outbound systems that don’t collapse when your SDR quits

+ What real Sales and Marketing alignment looks like

Tune in and learn:

+ Why timing is a weak signal (and what to track instead)

+ How cataloguing transforms your outreach strategy

+ What great commercial architecture actually looks like

This episode is a must-watch if you’re a B2B marketer or sales leader who’s tired of outbound that doesn’t scale, and wants a better way to reach your market.

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🔗 Links + CTAs

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💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

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🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook

📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/

📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/

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00:00 The Professor of Prospecting: Who Is Shawn Sease?

04:18 Why B2B Outbound Is Broken

07:43 Cold Calls Aren’t Dead—But Your Strategy Might Be

11:12 The Real Job of SDRs Today

14:40 Why Buyers Aren’t Listening to You Anymore

17:55 How to Build Trust Instead of Noise

21:01 Is Your Go-To-Market Strategy Just Tactics in Disguise?

24:46 Cataloguing: The Secret to Smarter Outreach

28:05 Feedback Loops That Actually Align Sales and Marketing

31:36 Why "Booked Meetings" Are a Broken Metric

35:14 The Role of Customer Success in Sales Development

38:46 Outbound Needs a System—Not Just a Script

42:33 Stop Chasing Timing—Start Building Permission

46:10 What Good Commercial Architecture Looks Like

49:22 The Future of Prospecting: What's Coming Next

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👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team??

💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??)

Get the:

🔹 strategy

🔹 templates

🔹 tools

So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.

See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator

https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

S07 E187 - The B2B Playbook

#b2b #b2bmarketing #digitalmarketing

#b2bsaas #salesdevelopment #sdstrategy

Most B2B marketers are stuck in the short term – chasing pipeline, tweaking LinkedIn Ads, and fighting for form fills.

This episode, we break down how to get out of that cycle – without dropping results.

We unpack the research (like The Long and the Short of It), the frameworks (like our 5 Stages of Awareness), and how small marketing teams can build brand and hit pipeline targets at the same time.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

+ Why most marketers default to the short term (and how to break the habit)

+ The truth about diminishing returns in performance marketing

+ The role brand plays in lowering CAC and increasing sales velocity

+ How to map every activity to a stage of awareness using a unified framework

Tune in and learn:

+ Why only 5% of your market is ready to buy – and what to do with the other 95%

+ How brand building actually impacts the short term too

+ How to balance your marketing budget (even on limited resources)

This episode is a must-watch if you're in a small marketing team and trying to build a brand and drive pipeline – without burning your budget or your boss’s patience.

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🔗 Links + CTAs

-----------------------------------------------------

💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

-----------------------------------------------------

🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook

📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/

📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/

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00:00 Brand vs Demand: The B2B Tug of War

02:55 Why Short-Term Wins Can Hurt Long-Term Growth

05:10 The Real Cost of Chasing MQLs

07:00 Diminishing Returns in Performance Marketing

08:45 Why B2B Brands Burn Out Too Fast

10:15 The Hidden Power of Brand Building

11:45 Brand vs Activation: Know the Difference

13:05 The 5 Stages of Awareness Explained

14:55 Mapping Content to Awareness Stages

16:30 Balancing Brand & Demand on a Budget

18:00 What 60/40 Really Means for B2B Marketers

19:35 How to Allocate Budget With Limited Resources

20:55 Avoiding the 'Do It All' Marketing Trap

22:05 Final Thoughts: Build for Now AND the Future

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👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team??

💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??)

Get the:

🔹 strategy

🔹 templates

🔹 tools

So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.

See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator

https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

S07 E186 - The B2B Playbook

#b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #brandvsdemand #b2bdemandgen #go2marketstrategy