MarTech Podcast ™: Best Tip for a New CMO Working with a Skeptical, Marketing-Resistant Sales Leader

Date: September 3, 2025
Host: Benjamin Shapiro
Guest: Kelly Hopping (CMO, Demandbase)

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on practical strategies for new Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) who need to partner effectively with skeptical, marketing-resistant sales leaders. Drawing on her experience, Kelly Hopping shares actionable tips for building trust, fostering sales-marketing alignment, and ultimately driving pipeline growth. The discussion centers on relationship-building, aligning objectives, the role of data, and the importance of positioning marketing in service of sales goals.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Prioritizing the Sales Leader Relationship

• Kelly’s Advice for New CMOs:
  • The most important relationship to focus on is with the sales leader.
  • While new CMOs will want to meet many team members (sellers, marketers, product, finance), they should spend disproportionate time with the head of sales to build alignment and trust.
  • Quote:

    “I would say that's the most important relationship they should focus on building.”
    – Kelly Hopping, 01:34

2. The Power of Aligned Objectives

• Find the One Thing to Solve Together:
  • CMOs and sales leaders should agree on a single, shared key objective: pipeline growth.
  • Kelly points out that skepticism is often rooted in past CMOs focusing on branding or vanity projects, rather than revenue-centric goals.
  • Quote:

    "Align on what is the number one thing you and I need to solve together. And that one thing is pipeline. Every time, it's pipeline."
    – Kelly Hopping, 01:50

3. Busting the "Fluffy Marketing" Myth

• Understand Sales Skepticism:
  • Sales leaders may have seen past marketing efforts focus on leads or rebrands instead of measurable revenue impact.
  • Kelly stresses the importance of demonstrating how marketing actions tie back to pipeline creation.

4. Data-Driven Collaboration

• Sharing the Numbers Side by Side:
  • Build trust by actively collaborating with sales on data—where things are working and where they're failing.
  • Being transparent and analytical creates authenticity and mutual respect.
  • Quote:

    "If you can sit side by side, go through the data and be really, really open book about where are we failing, where are we succeeding, I think you immediately build trust and authenticity and kind of value with your CRO."
    – Kelly Hopping, 02:18

5. Marketing in Service of Sales

• Position Marketing as a Support Function:
  • Marketing should be positioned as supporting sales, not working in a silo.
  • Align on the intent that all marketing activities serve pipeline growth, even if not all are directly measured at the bottom of the funnel.
  • Examples include rebrands, PR strategies, positioning work, and website improvements—as long as their ultimate purpose is to drive sales success.
  • Quote:

    “If I need to fix the brand, if I need to fix positioning, if I need to run a PR strategy, if I need to fix the website, any of those things, all of those are with the ultimate goal of helping sales be successful.”
    – Kelly Hopping, 03:18

  • Host’s Summary:

    "...having them understand that you look at marketing's role as supporting them and bringing them things they need to be success, that that's a nice way to be like I'm here to help you as opposed to I'm gonna do my job, you do yours, and maybe we'll meet in the middle."
    – Benjamin Shapiro, 02:39

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Building the Core Relationship:

  “I would have a spend a disproportionate amount of time with the sales leader...”
  – Kelly Hopping, 01:38

• Addressing Stereotypes:

  “...They’ve heard a CMO do a rebrand...it seems like it’s just like fluffy, whatever. And they’re like, no, no, no, I need pipeline.”
  – Kelly Hopping, 01:58

• Transparency as Trust Builder:

  “...be really, really open book about where are we failing, where are we succeeding...”
  – Kelly Hopping, 02:24

• Intentional Alignment:

  “Aligning on that intention is super important.”
  – Kelly Hopping, 03:05

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:15 | Guest introduction: Kelly Hopping, CMO of Demandbase | | 01:34 | Kelly’s best tip: Build a relationship with the sales leader | | 01:50 | Align on the core objective: Pipeline growth | | 02:18 | Importance of side-by-side data collaboration | | 02:39 | Host summarizes positioning marketing as supporting sales | | 03:05 | Kelly on aligning intentions and education of sales leaders | | 03:18 | All marketing activities should ultimately serve pipeline growth |

Episode Takeaways

• For new CMOs, winning over a skeptical sales leader is crucial to success.
• Align early and explicitly on the importance of pipeline as the shared north star.
• Break down silos with transparency and a willingness to engage deeply with the sales team and their data.
• Position every marketing action—even “upper funnel” work—as ultimately serving sales objectives.
• Build relationships, foster trust, and let data be the common ground.

For More:

• Connect with Kelly Hopping on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Demandbase: demandbase.com
• Kelly’s podcast: Next Gen CMO
• Book: Yes, It’s Your Fault