The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five)

Interviews with top marketers sharing tactical tips, strategies, and lessons learned to help you grow your business. Hosted by Dave Gerhardt, founder of Exit Five, former CMO, and author of Founder Brand. Learn more at exitfive.com

The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five) is a business podcast hosted by Exit Five, with 405 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Exit Five hosts The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five), a business show with 405 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #397

  [Best of B2B] April Dunford - Positioning, Differentiation, Lessons from 200+ Sales Pitches, and How To Do It Right

  Oct 2, 202650 min

  #397 | One of our most popular episodes ever, inducted into our Best of B2B series: April Dunford is a B2B positioning expert and author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch . Sales Pitch guides you through an eight-step sales pitch structure the helps you stand out and win business. Building on the concepts of the bestselling book, Obviously Awesome, Sales Pitch will give your sales reps a story that makes your product shine. We talk about her new book, lessons from her first book, and covered: - Positioning vs. Category Creation vs. Strategic Narrative - Lessons from 200+ B2B sales pitches - Why differentiation is everything and how to do it - Why positioning has to be a cross-functional activity - not just for the marketing - A structure anyone can use to turn positioning into a strong sales pitch - Why she set out to write a follow up book to her 2019 hit Obviously Awesome called Sales Pitch (and go through the pain of writing a book all over again) Timestamps (00:00) - Why timeless marketing lessons still matter (01:21) - How April does positioning in one week (07:22) - Why marketing never wins a battle of opinions (08:38) - Who you really compete with (11:49) - Positioning vs. strategic narrative vs. category creation (19:40) - No decision, FOMO, and the race to the bottom (22:44) - Finding differentiation when you think you have none (27:58) - Selling what's on the truck vs. the vision (34:18) - Why April wrote Sales Pitch (41:00) - The sales pitch structure, with a Help Scout example Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive . Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive . Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive . Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive . Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive . *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #396

  Dave & Dasha Live from Drive

  Oct 1, 202636 min

  #396 | Dave and Dasha recorded this episode live during Drive 2026 - our biggest event yet. Dave explains how Drive nearly moved to Boston, and why he thinks keeping it in Vermont matters. They also went deep into how Dave wrote this year's keynote. He shares his struggle of building an outline with Claude that had no soul, and asking Harry Dry for help. Eventually, the talk became about one idea: connection. Dave also covers how that experience changed the way he gives feedback to his team, his biggest wins of 2026, and what he's betting on for 2027. Timestamps (00:00) - Interviewing Dave IRL at Drive about His Career and Keynote Writing Process (03:49) - How the Drive Event Started (09:08) - Why This Year's Keynote Matters and How Dave Wrote It (11:49) - Moving Past the Writer’s Block: "AI Rotted My Brain" (13:47) - Getting Harsh Feedback from Harry Dry (16:00) - The Angle: a Story About Human In-Person Connection (20:13) - Bringing Harry's Feedback Style to the Team (25:41) - How to Build an Outstanding Team and Why This is Your Biggest Lever (31:43) - The Canadian Snack Taste Test Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive . Convertiv - A B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise teams build an AI-powered go-to-market strategy, specializing in AEO. Podcast listeners get a free AI search review showing how you stack up against competitors. Learn more at convertiv.com/exitfive . Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive . Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive . Customer.io - An AI powered customer engagement platform that help marketers turn first-party data into engaging customer experiences across email, SMS, and push. Learn more at customer.io/exitfive . *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #395

  Is the MQL dead? (with Freya Ward, Headley Media)

  Sep 28, 202644 min

  #395 | Dasha sits down with Freya Ward, Associate Managing Director at Headley Media, to talk about why MQLs get a bad rap and what to do about it. Freya explains why the problem is usually the framing rather than the tactic, how renaming MQLs changes how sales handles them, and what you should rename them to. They also get into how to run a workshop that aligns the team on what counts as a qualified lead, and three specific fixes you can make today for better sales and marketing alignment. Show notes Gareth James at Hallam on getting brand investment signed off by finance directors: https://hallam.agency/blog/investment-for-brand-how-to-get-sign-off-from-finance-directors/ Timestamps: (00:00) - Why Freya quit marketing to join the sales team (09:02) - Is the MQL actually dead? (10:02) - Rename the MQL to qualified outbound leads (11:22) - Why every marketer has speak the sales, finance, and other department’s languages (16:47) - Three rituals that keep sales and marketing aligned (20:47) - Build your MQL definition from deals that closed (24:43) - Why Dasha's BDs report into marketing (26:26) - Fix #1: make lead rejection a required CRM field (31:46) - Fix #2: assign someone to nurture dead leads (38:00) - Fix #3: pilot alignment with one SDR Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive . Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, letting modern marketing teams build fully custom sites that perform in AI search with no developer needed. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive . Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive . Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive . *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #394

  Dave Goes UNBOUND: 5 Things B2B Marketing Leaders Are Doubling Down On

  Sep 25, 202619 min

  #394 | Dave takes his phone to the conference floor at HubSpot's UNBOUND in Boston and asks 5 B2B marketing leaders two questions: what are you doubling down on at work, and what are you doubling down on in your personal life? He opens with thoughts on why strategy and positioning matter more than tactics now that AI makes everyone sound the same. Then you'll hear from Jonathan Hunt of HubSpot on treating brands as live experiences, Palmer Houchins of G2 on balancing AI efficiency with effectiveness, Sangram Vajre of GTM Partners on the power of one-on-one conversations, Jess Cook of Vector on personally rebuilding her company's website with Claude Code, and Amit Sharan of Tatari on the importance of exploring new channels and how they're creating video content built to be found by AI search. Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive . Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, letting modern marketing teams build fully custom sites that perform in AI search with no developer needed. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive . Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive . Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive . *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #393

  Why SurveyMonkey Pivoted Away From Its Enterprise Rebrand (With Katie Miserany, CCO & Global Head of Marketing)

  Sep 24, 202648 min

  #393 | Dave interviews Katie Miserany, Chief Communications Officer and Head of Marketing at SurveyMonkey, about why the company rebranded to Momentive to go upmarket and then reversed the decision after going private. Katie explains why sales believed nobody would spend six figures with a company called SurveyMonkey, what changed under the new CEO, and why she now sees the monkey as an advantage. She also covers her path into marketing from communications, why more comms leaders are moving into C-suite marketing roles, and the advice she followed when she took over the function: get close to the growth team and ask your basic questions early so imposter syndrome doesn't cost you the learning. Timestamps: (00:00) - Why Katie Feels Like She’s Gotten Twenty Years of Experience in Seven at SurveyMonkey (05:41) - Why Sales Thought Nobody Would Buy From a Company Called SurveyMonkey (07:06) - Creating Our Brand Vision and Bringing it to Life (12:33) - The Campaign That Didn't Move the Needle (17:04) - Everyone Knows Us - The Version of Us From 2009 (20:08) - The Tactic That Lifted Click-Through by 73% (25:19) - The Journey From Comms to Head of Marketing (31:18) - What Comms Actually Does (37:14) - How to Determine if You Need a Meeting vs an Async Update Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/ *** Brought to you by: Optimizely - the AI platform for marketers. Build your own AI agents or pull from a directory of 50+ pre-built ones for marketing use cases. Their new Virtual Teammates can join meetings, complete tasks, support campaigns, and keep your website optimized. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive . Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, letting modern marketing teams build fully custom sites that perform in AI search with no developer needed. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive . Zoom Webinars & Events – The virtual event platform built to help B2B marketers run webinars that actually drive pipeline, with branded registration pages, live engagement features, and built-in tools to repurpose sessions into clips and content. Learn more at zoom.com/exitfive . Compound Growth Marketing - A full-funnel demand gen agency helping high-growth cybersecurity and enterprise software companies show up earlier in the buying journey, combining AEO, modern paid advertising, and a dedicated go-to-market engineering team. Podcast listeners get two free media planning sessions to find out what channels are driving the best ROI. Learn more at compoundgrowthmarketing.com/exitfive . *** Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production. They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast. Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest. Visit hatch.fm to learn more

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on The Dave Gerhardt Show (from Exit Five). Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.