Scaling Thought Leadership, Partnerships, and Lead Gen in B2B Marketing

At GrowthRise, we believe in building businesses together—collaboratively, intelligently, and with integrity. Our most recent Mastermind call brought together marketing leaders from across the B2B SaaS ecosystem.

It was a potent session, packed with tactical insight, battle-tested strategies, and collective wisdom. Below, I’ll share a comprehensive breakdown of what we explored together, from AI-powered content repurposing to affiliate strategies that are generating millions in revenue.

If you're not already a member, apply to join us here and join us for the next mastermind call every Tuesday at 2pm ET. We're building the best community for B2B Marketing Leaders and would love for you to join us!

1. Content Creation and Distribution: Turning Conversations into Multi-Channel Momentum

One of the most powerful shifts in our marketing approach this year has been our content creation engine. I’ve said this before: content is the most scalable form of trust. But I also know that most teams are drowning in great ideas and starved for the time to execute on them. That’s why I was excited to walk through the full system we’ve built to create, refine, and distribute content that drives millions of impressions per month—without hiring a media team.

It starts with something simple: recording conversations we’re already having.

That means every GrowthRise Mastermind call, every customer interview, every workshop, and fireside chat becomes a content asset. We upload these videos to Wistia, which is our preferred platform not just for hosting, but because it allows us to generate clean transcripts instantly.

From there, we use ChatGPT 4.0—the $200/month plan with the large context window—to analyze the full transcript. That’s key. You need the extended context because these calls can run an hour or more. With the full transcript in GPT-4, we prompt it to produce a 2,000–3,000-word blog post draft, just like the one you’re reading now.

That’s our first draft. Then we go in, edit for tone and clarity, add visuals, insert internal links, and finally schedule distribution.

Here’s the full content flywheel:

1. Record: Weekly calls, interviews, workshops.
   
   
2. Upload to Wistia: For video hosting and transcript generation.
   
   
3. Feed to ChatGPT 4.0 Pro: Generate a long-form blog post.
   
   
4. Edit: Add images, polish structure.
   
   
5. Distribute: Post to blog, YouTube (as audiograms or long-form), LinkedIn, and email newsletter.
   

This system helped us generate:

• 2.6 million impressions for SaasRise
  
  
• 500,000 impressions for GrowthRise

Those aren’t vanity numbers. That’s thought leadership reaching the right audience. A member asked how we stay consistent with so much volume. The answer is simple: we don’t start from scratch. We start from what already exists—transcripts of real, valuable conversations.

Another member asked how we repurpose the same content across multiple channels without sounding repetitive. My response was: remix, don’t repeat. If you have a 3,000-word blog post, you’ve also got:

• 10 tweet threads
  
  
• 5 LinkedIn posts
  
  
• 1 email newsletter
  
  
• A few video clips or audiograms
  
  

That’s the beauty of this approach—it’s scalable, efficient, and aligned with how people consume today.

The point I emphasized is this: don't wait to write content when you're "inspired." Instead, systematize the conversion of conversation into thought leadership. You’re already saying brilliant things on Zoom calls. The only missing piece is the workflow to turn those things into assets.

2. Partner Programs: Scaling Trust with Affiliates and Resellers

Another high-value conversation we had centered on partner programs—specifically, how to design and scale them without building a 10-person BD team.

I walked through how we’re thinking about partnerships in two tiers:

• Affiliates – These are individuals or companies who refer customers and receive 20% commission. They’re typically lower-touch, often creators or micro-influencers in our space.
  
  
• Resellers – These partners are more involved. They might white-label the product, integrate it into their service offering, or handle part of the customer onboarding. For that reason, we give them 25% commission.
  
  

What’s exciting is that this isn’t theoretical. I shared the story of a company we’ve been modeling our system after. They’ve onboarded over 6,000 affiliates, with 1,000 of them actively referring customers. That affiliate channel alone drives 20% of their customer acquisition. It's not just scalable—it’s profitable.

We also went deep on tools that make partner management easier:

• PartnerStack – Probably the most robust option for SaaS.
  
  
• Rewardful – Great for startups just getting started.
  
  
• Reditus – Designed specifically for SaaS affiliate growth.
  
  

Someone brought up a great point about partner activation. It’s one thing to get people to sign up. It’s another to get them to actually refer leads. I shared that activation is all about clarity:

• A simple one-pager on what the product does
  
  
• Pre-written social/email copy
  
  
• Clear instructions on how and when they’ll get paid
  
  

One member asked about recruiting partners. My response: Treat it like outbound sales. Use cold email. Build a list of potential partners by vertical or audience size, and reach out with a clear value proposition: "We’d like to give you 20% of every customer you send us."

Another member mentioned they’re using HubSpot to manage their affiliate forms and partner portal. While it’s not as purpose-built as PartnerStack, it can work if you’re already deeply embedded in the HubSpot ecosystem.

Finally, there was discussion around partner incentive tiers—should we reward top performers? My take: absolutely. If someone brings in $10k+ in MRR, bump their commission to 30%. Or surprise them with a bonus. Show that you value the relationship.

The takeaway was clear: affiliate and reseller programs can be one of the most cost-efficient CAC channels when you build them with intention, automation, and strong enablement.

3. Lead Generation Services: Incentivized Demos, Smart Event Strategy, and Quality Filters

Next, we turned to lead generation, and one of the first platforms we dissected was SweepLift—a gamified lead gen tool that lets you offer Amazon gift cards ($50–$75) in exchange for email signups, demo bookings, or surveys.

The pitch is appealing: Use rewards to boost your conversion rate. But the discussion quickly turned to tradeoffs.

One member shared their concern: “If we’re offering $75 gift cards, how do we know we’re not just attracting reward-seekers instead of real prospects?”

It’s a fair point. Incentivized leads often come with lower intent. That’s why I advised layering in friction. Instead of giving away a gift card just for an email, require a 15-minute demo or a qualifying form with budget/timeline questions. Use that as a filter.

Another key insight: not all events are created equal when it comes to lead generation. I emphasized that we’re moving away from mega-conferences where booths can cost $70,000+, and instead focusing on smaller, high-touch events that cost ~$7,000. Why?

• Smaller events allow for real connection
  
  
• Follow-up is more personal and likely to convert
  
  
• CAC is often lower because you're not competing with hundreds of other booths
  
  

Someone asked if we still do the big shows, like SaaStr. My answer: not unless we’re speaking or sponsoring with intent. Otherwise, it’s too much noise and not enough depth.

Another member mentioned combining SweepLift-style incentives with outbound cold email, saying they’re testing a sequence like:

1. Cold email with a unique angle
   
   
2. CTA to book a demo
   
   
3. Post-demo reward offer via Tremendous, the gift card platform
   
   

It’s a clever blend of direct outreach and lead magnet psychology. But again, the emphasis has to be on lead quality, not just quantity.

We also briefly discussed User Interviews as a tool—not for lead gen per se, but for quickly talking to 5–10 people in your ICP. That data can massively sharpen your value prop before you even launch a new campaign.

The overarching takeaway: lead gen in 2025 is about precision, not volume. Whether you’re using incentives, conferences, or research panels, the question is: Are these people actually in our buying window? If not, no gift card or trade show booth will save you.

4. Marketing Channels: Diversifying Beyond Paid and Building a Repeatable Content Engine

One of the core themes that came through in this Mastermind was just how much marketing strategy is shifting in real time—especially when it comes to channels. It’s no longer about throwing budget at paid ads and hoping for conversions. The B2B teams that are winning today are those taking a more intentional, multi-channel approach.

Let’s start with cold email. This is still one of the most cost-effective outbound strategies when it’s done right. One member shared that their team had been struggling with open rates until they discovered the importance of inbox warmup. After using Instantly, warming their inboxes, and segmenting their lists by company size and industry, they saw open rates climb to 60%. That’s a dramatic shift.

But cold email is only effective if:

• You’re personalizing the message (even just 10-20% custom content)
  
  
• Your sender reputation is strong
  
  
• You’re offering something of actual value
  
  

Another member chimed in to say that response rates jumped when they added a low-barrier CTA: “Would you like to see how we helped [company type] get [result]?” It's specific, it's conversational, and it doesn’t push too hard. That’s what outbound needs to look like now.

We also talked about conferences, but with a strategic twist. Instead of casting a wide net at industry expos, several folks shared that their best partnerships have come from intimate, curated events—especially when they can get face time with execs. I echoed this. I’d rather have 15 high-quality conversations in a smaller room than hand out 300 flyers to people who won’t remember us.

What really got me energized, though, was hearing how members are embracing the content machine approach. As I outlined earlier, we’ve had a lot of success turning Zoom calls into long-form content using Wistia + ChatGPT 4.0. But it’s not just about creating one blog post.

When I say “content machine,” I mean:

• Creating pillar content (long-form posts like this one)
  
  
• Splintering it into smaller assets—tweets, LinkedIn posts, YouTube shorts
  
  
• Using tools like Descript or Opus Clip to make video snippets
  
  
• Automating multi-channel distribution through your CRM or a tool like Buffer

It’s this flywheel that gets compounding returns. Your content doesn't just live once—it gets seen repeatedly, in different formats, across different stages of the funnel.

Another member asked how to decide where to start with content. My advice: start where you talk the most. If that’s customer calls, record them. If it’s internal team huddles, document them. If it’s podcasts, transcribe them. Use your voice. Use your expertise. Then build systems to scale it.

And finally, I shared what I believe is one of the most underutilized channels right now: community-driven email. Not just sales emails. Not product update blasts. But real, valuable emails that recap community conversations, like this one. When you treat email as a relationship channel—not just a revenue one—you build trust that lasts.

5. Marketing Challenges: Budget Constraints, Ad Fatigue, and Attribution Headaches

Of course, no conversation about channels would be complete without addressing the challenges—and we went deep here.

I’ll be honest: paid advertising is no longer the low-hanging fruit it used to be. One member put it bluntly: “We’re priced out of Google Ads right now.” That sentiment echoed around the virtual room. CPCs are up, quality is down, and if you’re not managing your pipeline tightly, you’re going to burn cash.

We’ve seen it ourselves. Google Ads that cost $2 per click a few years ago are now closer to $8–$12, depending on the industry. And the competition is more sophisticated. AI tools mean everyone has decent creative. Everyone’s optimizing. So to stand out, you either need a massive budget—or a radically better offer.

That’s where offering quality and brand trust come into play. One member shared that their ad creative wasn’t converting, not because the targeting was wrong—but because the offer wasn’t clear enough. “People didn’t get what we actually did,” they said.

I stressed that content and clarity are your new currency. If your messaging isn’t resonating, paid traffic just accelerates the leak in your funnel.

Another challenge we surfaced was attribution—especially for multi-touch journeys. One member asked how we’re thinking about attribution when we have cold outbound, email nurture, community, and partner referrals all happening at once.

Here’s what I shared:

• Don’t chase perfect attribution. It doesn’t exist.
  
  
• Use first-touch and last-touch attribution to get directional insight.
  
  
• Interview new customers. Ask, “Where did you first hear about us?” It sounds simple, but that question unlocks the truth that analytics dashboards miss.
  
  

A few folks shared they’re using HubSpot's attribution models but often feel like the data is fuzzy. I agreed. Attribution is more art than science—especially when dark social (like Slack, DMs, and word-of-mouth) plays a major role in modern B2B buying.

We also talked about team size and bandwidth. One founder said their startup had just one marketer—her. So trying to manage paid ads, cold outbound, partnerships, and content simultaneously was leading to burnout. Several members jumped in with ideas:

• Narrow your focus to 1–2 channels that are already showing promise
  
  
• Use fractional or freelance help for areas like content writing or email setup
  
  
• Automate anything repeatable with tools like Zapier or Make.com
  
  

The key insight? You can’t do it all. Especially with limited budget and time. Focus beats volume every time.

6. Community Updates: GrowthRise at 140 Members and Why This Model Works

I then shared a reflection on what’s happening in the GrowthRise community itself—and let me just say: I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come.

As of this month, we’ve reached 140 active members. These aren’t just signups. These are B2B founders, marketers, and GTM leaders who show up, contribute, and share with radical generosity.

Our weekly mastermind calls are becoming the heartbeat of the community. What’s amazing is the depth of sharing we’re seeing. People are walking through live dashboards, revealing email sequences, and even talking through hiring decisions and pricing strategies.

One member mentioned how refreshing it is to be in a group where people don’t pretend to have it all figured out. That resonated with me deeply. GrowthRise was never meant to be a “look how smart I am” group. It’s a place to say, “Here’s what’s working. Here’s what’s not. Let’s figure it out together.”

Our vision is simple: create a space where B2B growth professionals don’t have to do it alone. Where you can crowdsource answers to complex marketing questions. Where you can test messaging, get feedback, and tap into new ideas that actually apply to your ICP.

And more importantly, it’s working. Members are:

• Forming partner relationships with each other
  
  
• Hiring each other for fractional roles
  
  
• Swapping tech stacks and benchmark data
  
  
• Collaborating on go-to-market launches
  
  

One member said, “This group saves me six hours a week in trial and error.” That’s the power of collective intelligence. That’s why we show up every week.

We’re not just talking about growth. We’re living it, together.

7. Vertical-Specific Marketing: Narrowing Focus to Go Deeper, Not Wider

One of the most insightful threads in our mastermind call this week was the increasing move toward vertical-specific marketing. For many of us in B2B, broad messaging just isn’t converting like it used to. Buyers are tuning out generalities. They want to feel seen—spoken to in their language, in the context of their industry.

Several members echoed this. One shared how their recent pivot toward accounting firms as a niche led to a noticeable jump in cold email response rates and demo conversions. Why? Because the language was tailored. The pain points were industry-specific. The case studies featured firms just like the ones they were targeting.

I emphasized this point during the call: specificity builds trust.

If you say, “We help businesses grow,” that’s abstract. But if you say, “We help mid-size accounting firms reduce manual reconciliation time by 60%,” you’ve got attention.

Another member spoke about testing segmented outbound campaigns, where the messaging shifts depending on the vertical. For example, the same product can be positioned as:

• A compliance simplifier for healthcare,
  
  
• A workflow optimizer for logistics,
  
  
• A cost recovery accelerator for SaaS.
  
  

It’s the same platform—but the wrapper changes.

This approach is particularly powerful when it comes to cold outreach, where every word counts. But it also applies to content marketing. One person on the call shared how they’re building industry-specific blog post series—one for manufacturing, one for legal, one for insurance. Same core themes, but each series reflects the unique challenges and language of that field.

We also discussed tools and techniques for scaling this personalization. Things like:

• Dynamic email templates with industry-specific blocks
  
  
• Segmented CRM lists tied to verticals
  
  
• Using AI to rewrite core content from one vertical to another
  
  

I summed it up this way: Verticalization isn’t just about language—it’s about empathy. When your prospect feels like you’ve walked a mile in their shoes, the barrier to trust drops fast.

8. Other Topics Discussed: AI Chatbots, Marketing Automation, and Budget-Conscious Outbound

As always, our conversation went far and wide. While we had core topics to cover, the magic of GrowthRise is the free-flowing exchange of insight. We hit on a number of additional strategies and tech trends that are shaping the B2B growth landscape right now.

One hot topic was the use of AI-powered chatbots. A member shared their experience implementing a bot trained on their help center content and product documentation. The result? Dramatically reduced response times for common questions, especially during onboarding. It’s a smart way to augment support teams without ballooning headcount.

Another marketer brought up how they’re using AI internally for sales rep enablement. Their reps can now pull up objection-handling tips, product data, and customer use cases during live calls—all via a GPT-style assistant trained on internal content. It’s part of a broader trend we’re seeing: AI moving from content generation into operational workflows.

From there, the discussion shifted to B2B outbound lead generation. One member explained how their cold email strategy had stalled, and they were experimenting with intent-based outbound—using behavioral signals like site visits, ad clicks, and even LinkedIn activity to prioritize outreach.

Others chimed in with tips on outbound orchestration:

• Start with light-touch social engagement (likes, comments)
  
  
• Follow up with a custom Loom video or case study
  
  
• Then send a personalized, intent-aware email
  
  

What emerged was a new best practice: Outbound isn’t about spray-and-pray anymore—it’s about sequence, timing, and relevance.

We also talked about marketing automation integration—how to avoid the mess of disconnected tools and poorly timed emails. Several folks mentioned using HubSpot workflows to ensure that a lead from cold outbound doesn’t immediately get a “Welcome to our newsletter” email. Instead, leads are now bucketed by source and engagement level before entering the nurture sequence.

I also want to highlight a short but powerful moment from the call: one member acknowledged the very real tension between ambition and budget. Their team wants to scale outbound, do paid, build webinars, launch a newsletter—and they’ve got one person to do it. The vulnerability was refreshing. And the community’s response? “Let’s find what gives you the biggest ROI right now.”

We talked about narrowing scope, running two-week sprint experiments, and even using AI tools like ChatGPT to act as a part-time junior marketer. One person joked, “GPT is my unpaid intern—and honestly, it’s the most productive intern I’ve ever had.”

These are the kinds of micro-adjustments that help us all adapt in a fast-changing environment. The key is not doing everything, but doing the right thing at the right time—with the right tech to help.

9. Tools Mentioned: Our Current Growth Stack

We closed the call by cataloging the various tools that came up throughout our discussion. These aren’t theoretical suggestions—they’re tools GrowthRise members are using right now to grow smarter, faster, and more efficiently.

Here’s the snapshot:

🟢 Content & Video

• Wistia – Our go-to for video hosting and automated transcript generation. Used in the core content pipeline (record > upload > transcribe > repurpose).
  
  
• ChatGPT 4.0 – Specifically the $200/month plan with the extended context window. We use it to turn transcripts into blog posts, webinar recaps, and sales enablement docs.
  
  

🟢 Outbound & Email

• Instantly – Cold email platform with inbox warmup features, segmentation, and drip automation. Used by several members who saw major deliverability improvements.
  
  
• HubSpot – Widely used across the community for CRM, workflows, forms, lead attribution, and segmentation.
  
  

🟢 Partner Management

• Partner Stack – For managing and scaling affiliate and reseller programs.
  
  
• Rewardful – Lightweight, startup-friendly partner tracking tool.
  
  
• Reditus – SaaS-focused affiliate management.
  
  

🟢 Incentives & Research

• Tremendous – Platform for distributing gift cards (e.g., $50–$75 Amazon incentives for lead gen and referrals).
  
  
• User Interviews – Rapid qualitative research tool. Helps with gathering customer feedback and testing new product or messaging ideas.
  
  

A few members also mentioned using:

• Descript for quick podcast editing
  
  
• Opus Clip to generate short-form video clips from longer content
  
  
• Make.com (formerly Integromat) for advanced automations between apps
  
  

As I mentioned during the wrap-up, the tools don’t matter unless they support the strategy. But when used with intention, this stack can take a three-person team and give them the output of ten.

Final Thoughts

This call reminded me why I love this work. Marketing is part science, part art, and part community. In an era of AI noise and rising ad costs, the marketers who will win are the ones who double down on relationships, systems, and authenticity.

If you’re not already distributing your content across every channel possible, start today. If you’re not yet leveraging partners, build that motion. If you're not in a community of peers who are a few steps ahead of you, find one—or join us at GrowthRise.

To everyone who shared openly on this call—thank you. The future is bright when we rise together.

🚀 Ready to Scale? Here Are Two Ways We Can Support.

If you've made it this far, you're clearly committed to scaling your B2B SaaS company with precision, performance, and purpose.

And we’re here to help you do exactly that.

Below are the two ways we can support you:

🎓 Option 1: Apply to Join the GrowthRise Membership

The GrowthRise Membership is built for Marketing Leaders across any industry who are scaling their organization from $1M to $100M in ARR — and want to surround themselves with a growth-minded community of professionals.

Inside the membership, you’ll get:

💬 Private Slack + WhatsApp groups with access to 130+ CMOs & Marketing Leaders
🔁 Weekly Mastermind Calls to solve real-time growth challenges
📚 Access to our B2B Growth Course Slides
🎯 Member Directory to connect by industry and revenue stage
🎁 Perks and discounts on vetted tools and vendors
🧠 Weekly support from Ryan Allis and the GrowthRise coaching team

👉 Apply here to join the GrowthRise community and start your free 14-day trial.

🎯 Option 2: Apply for the Upcoming B2B SaaS Growth Program Cohort

If you’re looking for deeper implementation support to actually build and launch your growth engine step-by-step — the B2B SaaS Growth Program is your next move.

This 16-week, done-with-you accelerator helps you:

✅ Build a laser-targeted ABM lead list using Clay, Apollo, ListKit & Instantly
🚀 Launch digital ads across Meta, LinkedIn, Google, Bing & AdRoll
🧪 Optimize funnel conversion rates with proven CRO frameworks
✉️ Deploy AI-powered outbound campaigns that generate real results
📈 Track CAC, CPL, ROI, and KPIs across the full funnel
🔄 Scale your system using real-time data and weekly feedback

You’ll get live coaching, funnel reviews, campaign builds, and Slack/email support — all directly from the SaasRise and GrowthRise team (Ryan, David, Salman).

🧠 If you represent a $1M–$100M ARR B2B company ready to build a repeatable revenue engine, this is your moment.

👉 Apply here to join the next B2B SaaS Growth Program starting soon.

The future of growth is here — and it's human-first, AI-powered, and founder-led.

All the best,

Ryan Allis, CEO & Founder
GrowthRise | The Community for B2B Marketing Leaders