#201: Paid Spend | Mastering B2B Paid Spend: A 2025 Roadmap for Marketers with John Short, CEO of Compound Growth Marketing and Kym Parker, SVP of Media Strategy
Description
When done right, paid spend is like throwing gasoline on the flames of what’s working in your marketing. Done wrong – it’s just a huge waste of time and money.
In this episode, Dave Gerhardt hosts an live session with John Short, CEO of Compound Growth Marketing (CGM), and Kym Parker, SVP of Media Strategy at CGM, who walk through tried and true strategies they’ve built from managing over $50 million in paid spend.
They also cover:
- How to choose which strategy is best for you and exactly how to target the right ICP
 - The three keys to successful paid media, like setting up actionable reporting
 - How to identify how much you can spend for leads/account at each stage of the sales and marketing funnel
 
Timestamps
- (00:00 ) - - Intro to John and Kym
 - (08:01 ) - - Choosing the Perfect Paid Media Strategy
 - (12:29 ) - - The $100 CPL Myth
 - (16:04 ) - - Three Keys to Successful Paid Media
 - (18:42 ) - - Qualification Is Critical in ABM Success
 - (20:20 ) - - How You Should Think About Bidding Algorithms
 - (23:04 ) - - Prospect Experience: The Campaign Funnel
 - (24:44 ) - - Using a Multi-Channel Approach
 - (29:59 ) - - Mid-Intent Funnel Examples
 - (33:31 ) - - Executing on a Paid Acquisition Strategy
 - (39:40 ) - - Tailoring Your Messaging for Buying Committee Engagement
 - (44:14 ) - - Balancing Funnel Strategies
 - (46:55 ) - - Justifying Higher Costs
 - (51:10 ) - - Channel Testing and Target Comparison
 - (52:35 ) - - How to Master Paid Media in Enterprise Marketing
 
Join 50,000 people who get our Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletter
Learn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/
***
Today’s episode is brought to you by Paramark.
It’s November. 2026 planning is already here. And the stuff you’re doing right now will decide how next year plays out. 
But here’s the problem: most teams are still planning next year's marketing strategy based on the WRONG DATA because of broken attribution and a misleading gut feel.  And you can’t make smart budget calls if you’re just guessing what’s working, what’s not, and where to put your next dollar.
That’s where Paramark comes in. They help you replace the guesswork with actual insight backed by $2 billion in analyzed marketing data. They’ve figured out what actually drives incremental growth across every channel including LinkedIn, Meta, TikTok, Google, CTV, even OOH.
And right now, they’re offering a private 1:1 consultation with their CEO and CMO, Pranav and Sam, who have led marketing teams at companies like Dropbox, Adobe, Microsoft, and Shutterfly.
In this 45-minute strategy session, they’ll help you measure the real impact of every marketing dollar, pull insights from your current media mix, and design a 2026 roadmap that’s rooted in data, not gut.
This is a heck of an offer. And it’s real. And will go fast. So if you want to future-proof your marketing strategy for 2026, don’t miss out on this offer.
Grab your spot at paramark.com/brand-consult.
***
Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.
- They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.
 - Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.
 - Visit hatch.fm to learn more
 



