Jason Bradwell, founder of B2B Better, joins Tara Robertson on Demand Gen Chat to discuss the relevance of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) in B2B marketing. Jason argues that MQLs are still important in certain contexts, particularly in enterprise settings with long sales cycles and complex buying committees. He emphasizes the need for a clear definition of what constitutes an MQL and aligning with sales on the criteria. They also discuss the shift towards longer buying cycles and the importance of targeting the entire buying committee. Jason advises marketers to focus on building their own platforms and email lists, as well as experimenting with AI tools to streamline productivity.

Episode Links:

Follow Tara Robertson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taraarobertson/

Follow Jason Bradwell on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonbradwell/

Check out B2B Better: https://www.b2b-better.com/

Jason’s viral LinkedIn post about events: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jasonbradwell_you-spend-120000-on-a-booth-next-to-the-activity-7087107819891499008--8D8?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Listen to the B2B Better podcast episode with Kyle Lacy: https://pod.co/b2b-better-1/v1-final-m4a

Jason’s A2E prioritization framework on Marketing Powerups: https://marketingpowerups.com/podcast/jason-bradwell-a2e-framework/

Check out Descript’s AI audio tools: https://www.descript.com/?lmref=2elBZw

Follow Lucy Heskins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyheskins/

Check out Grain AI: https://grain.com/

Follow Jason on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@jasonbradwell

Check out Jason’s newsletter B2B Bite: https://b2bbite.substack.com/

For even more marketing tips…

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Timestamps: 

0:00:00 Introduction to the podcast and guest, Jason Bradwell

0:00:44 Jason's contrarian take on MQLs and their relevance

0:04:33 Importance of lead scoring and account scoring in B2B marketing

0:08:28 Longer and more complex B2B buying cycles and the need to target multiple personas

0:10:47 Scrutinizing marketing budgets and the need to shift focus

0:11:34 Tips for making the case to cut back on ineffective marketing tactics

0:17:19 Using branded content as an ABM play and repurposing content for sales enablement

0:20:00 Metrics to track in longer B2B sales...