00:00:03 Introduction and Guest Background

The podcast opens with host Abhishek introducing Nick Bennett, co-founder of Club PF and host of the Anonymous Marketer podcast. Nick shares his decade-long marketing experience, primarily in field marketing for tech startups in series B to D stages. He explains his transition from field marketing to building ABM programs from scratch, customer marketing, and event-led growth strategies. Nick also introduces his recent venture, Club PF, a community-driven platform co-founded with Mark Killens.

00:01:44 People-First Marketing Model Explained

Nick elaborates on the “people-first” approach, contrasting it with traditional company-first marketing. He stresses prioritizing people internally (employees) and externally (prospects/customers) over just promoting the company brand. He introduces a three-pillar framework—Create Demand (content-led, community-driven), Capture Demand (member/audience-led growth), and Convert Demand (customer-led growth emphasizing retention). Nick highlights the importance of event-led growth and product-led growth strategies, all supported by partner-led growth, focusing on ecosystem collaboration. This model fundamentally centers on authentic person-to-person connections rather than impersonal company messaging.

00:05:27 People-Based Marketing vs. Account-Based Marketing

Nick compares people-based marketing with traditional ABM, describing ABM simply as targeted marketing to a subset of accounts. He argues that people-first thinking complements ABM by focusing deeply on individual stakeholders within target accounts rather than just the company as an entity. He highlights that personalization isn’t just changing a few words in emails but building genuine relationships over time through meaningful content and engagement, especially on platforms like LinkedIn. Nick stresses that marketing is ultimately human-to-human (H2H).

00:09:04 Common Mistakes and Mindset for B2B Marketers

Nick discusses common pitfalls such as superficial personalization and reliance on outdated playbooks. He debunks myths like “email is dead” or “webinars are dead,” emphasizing that channels remain effective if used creatively and thoughtfully. He advocates for experimentation, learning from failures, and leadership that supports innovation. Nick underscores the importance of video content and encourages marketers to embrace change rather than cling to old methods.

00:14:46 Creator Economy and Its Role in B2B Marketing

The conversation shifts to the creator economy’s impact on B2B marketing. Nick explains how B2B brands can leverage creators and influencers by giving them creative freedom to authentically communicate the brand message in their own voice. This two-way partnership approach contrasts with traditional, one-sided influencer marketing. He predicts increasing adoption of this model, especially in Martech and SalesTech, and highlights how borrowing trust and authority from creators can be more effective than traditional paid ads.

00:19:55 Differences Between B2B and B2C Influencer Marketing

Nick compares B2B influencer marketing with B2C, noting that in B2B, long-term value creation and community engagement build trust over time. He shares personal examples of how consistent content creation for over three years has established credibility and support from his audience. He also references creative campaigns like unboxing videos to illustrate how B2B brands can innovate with minimal cost yet high engagement.

00:22:35 Building Content and Community Presence

Nick advises marketers starting today to show up consistently by engaging with relevant communities on LinkedIn or other platforms before investing heavily in content production. He recommends engaging on peers’ posts, adding value through comments, and gradually building a follower base before increasing content frequency. The emphasis is on persistence and meaningful interaction rather than instant results.

00:25:23 Deep Dive into People-First ABM Strategy

Nick explains how a focused ABM strategy involves selecting 50-100 accounts for personalized engagement. This includes website personalization, gifting, VIP events, and constant interaction to stay top of mind without aggressively pitching. He stresses aligning marketing, sales, and revenue operations to collaboratively build the account list based on data, not just logo appeal. Personalization at scale and meeting buyers where they are—such as niche platforms like Reddit—are crucial.

00:28:34 Breaking Internal Silos for Better Alignment

Addressing the challenge of organizational silos, Nick emphasizes communication as the key to alignment across marketing, sales, and operations. He advises marketers to understand salespeople’s goals and demonstrate how marketing efforts help sales achieve quotas and revenue targets. Building internal relationships and regular check-ins are vital to breaking down silos and fostering collaboration.

00:29:59 Launch and Purpose of Club PF

Nick introduces Club PF as an exclusive community platform offering daily go-to-market tips, weekly masterclasses, and monthly events focused on ABM, PLG, and customer-led growth strategies. The community fosters networking, learning, and mutual support, especially valuable in a volatile economy where job security is uncertain. Club PF also offers VIP tiers with personalized coaching from Nick and Mark.

00:31:22 Role of Podcasting in B2B Marketing

Nick discusses his experience with podcasting as a tool for B2B marketing. Podcasts provide a unique channel to engage key prospects, understand their pain points, and showcase customer success stories, offering authentic social proof. He underlines that people buy from people, and hearing real conversations builds trust more effectively than traditional marketing collateral.

00:32:49 Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Abhishek thanking Nick for sharing deep insights on people-first marketing, ABM, the creator economy, and community-building strategies. The conversation provides actionable frameworks and mindset shifts essential for modern B2B marketers aiming to build meaningful relationships and drive sustained growth.

Profile Nick Bennett Marketer at NB Marketing LinkedIn

Nick Bennett is a B2B marketing strategist and founder of NB Marketing, helping companies turn their content and demand generation into reliable growth engines. He focuses on human-centred B2B marketing—moving beyond channels and metrics to engage real people in target accounts. Nick is known for creating repeatable growth systems that align sales, marketing and operations around measurable outcomes. He regularly publishes insights on LinkedIn, sharing frameworks and tactics that help teams scale their marketing impact with less noise.

Show Notes -

In this episode, we sit down with Nick Bennett - Co-founder of Club PF and host of The Anonymous Marketer. Nick breaks down People-First Marketing: a simple approach where relationships, conversations, and real connection matter more than hyper-polished campaigns.
Instead of chasing trends, Nick shows how to build trust, community, and demand by being human - online and offline.


Key Takeaways:
-Marketing works best when it starts with people, not channels.
-Personal brands → community → pipeline (in that order).
-Content doesn’t need to be perfect, it needs to be consistent.
-You don’t need huge budgets to start, you need conversations.

Links & Resources:

  • Generate Demand : Build awareness + nurture your target accounts across marketing, sales, and CS.
  • Why ABM — makes the case for when and why ABM works better than demand-gen for high-value accounts and longer sales cycles.