Marketing Spark (The B2B SaaS Marketing Podcast)

Before AI: The Critical Knowledge Gap You're Overlooking

Many companies are rushing to adopt AI tools hoping to unlock new levels of productivity and innovation — and failing. Why? According to Sarah Jeannault, former FinTech founder and now VP Marketing at ProcedureFlow, it’s because they skipped a crucial step: building a strong operational and knowledge foundation. In this episode, Sarah dives into why AI initiatives fall flat, how to fix broken knowledge systems, and what a true AI-ready organization actually looks like. We also talk about marketing’s evolving tech stack, change management, and why AI must empower frontline teams — not just leadership.

From Podcasting to Prompt Engineering: Dan Sanchez’s Leap into AI

In this episode of Marketing Spark, Mark Evans sits down with Dan Sanchez, a former podcasting leader turned AI marketing consultant, to explore his incredible transition into the world of artificial intelligence. From feeling behind the curve with ChatGPT to becoming a trusted voice in AI for marketers, Dan shares the pivotal moments and painful lessons that led him to reinvent himself.You’ll learn how chain prompting changes how we use AI tools, why top-of-funnel SEO is dying, how to build a personal brand that stands out in an AI-saturated world, and what marketers can do right now to catch up and stay ahead. Whether you're AI-curious or all-in, this episode delivers a roadmap for future-proofing your marketing strategy.Topics We Cover:The AI wake-up call that changed Dan’s career pathWhat most marketers still misunderstand about chain promptingThe “30-30-30” framework for becoming a trusted voice in any nicheHow AI is reshaping SEO, blogging, and brand trustThe 5 categories of essential AI tools every marketer should useHow to stand out when everyone is using the same tools

David Usher on Creativity, Memory, and Staying Human in the Age of AI

David Usher has sold over 1.4 million albums, won five Junos, and performed around the world. Today, he’s just as focused on algorithms as he is on melodies.In this conversation, David talks about the shift from turning emotion into music to building products that preserve memory, support healing, and explore how technology can actually make us more human. We dig into: Why creativity is a transferable methodology across art, writing, and coding How his mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis inspired Second Echo The ethical edge between digital preservation and digital imitation Why over-reliance on AI threatens our writing and thinking muscles The rise of “human spaces” and why connection still matters What AI is doing to music, artistry, and the business model behind itIt’s a wide-ranging conversation about art, identity, AI, and the future of human experience — from someone who’s lived at the intersection of creativity and technology for decades.

Bill Beutler on Why Wikipedia May Be the Most Overlooked (and Dangerous) Marketing Channel

Marketers spend countless hours optimizing for Google, LinkedIn, and Reddit—but what about Wikipedia? In this episode of Marketing Spark, host Mark Evans talks with Bill Beutler, one of the world’s leading experts on Wikipedia strategy. Bill explains why brands can’t afford to ignore the platform that powers both Google search and AI tools like ChatGPT, and how companies can ethically and effectively manage their presence. From the pitfalls of “learned helplessness” to the opportunities of Wikidata, Bill reveals why a Wiki strategy is now a marketing imperative.

Revolutionizing Cold Outreach: Michael Maximoff on Building Relationships, Not Just Pipelines

Cold outreach has a bad reputation—spammy emails, pushy SDRs, endless noise in the inbox. But Michael Maximoff, co-founder of Belkins, believes it doesn’t have to be that way. In this episode, Michael breaks down why most outbound strategies fail, how to rethink outreach as a marketing function (not just sales), and why relevance beats personalization every time. He shares lessons from scaling Belkins into a global powerhouse, the role of AI in creating hyper-relevant buyer journeys, and why CEOs should be their company’s best marketers. If you want to transform cold outreach from a numbers game into a trust-building engine, this conversation is for you.