From Colouring Book to Cheque Book: Turning Marketing into a Revenue Centre
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
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Marketing as a cost centre? That mindset’s expired.
We gathered a group of marketing leaders for a session on what it really takes to turn marketing into a revenue-driving machine. Hosted with our partner Salesloft, From Colouring Book to Cheque Book was packed with ideas, real talk and hard truths.
Here’s what came up.
Marketing is being held to higher standards
Marketing leaders aren’t just being asked to ‘do more with less’ – they’re being asked to prove ROI while running leaner than ever.
73% of marketers say they don’t have the budget to deliver their strategy.
41% of CMO dashboards still don’t track pipeline or revenue.
That’s not sustainable. The boardroom isn’t looking for awareness; it’s looking for growth and return. Marketing has to show its commercial impact. Not clicks, not impressions. Revenue.
Focused marketing drives real revenue
James Middleton, our Head of Sales, brought stories from 100+ CMOs on the frontline of this session. Budgets are tight and expectations are sky-high. So, what’s the answer?
- Stop chasing more. Maximise what you already have.
- Ditch the one-size-fits-all and focus on what works (even if it doesn’t scale).
- Go deep on your ideal customers. Subsegments, not spray-and-pray.
The marketers making the biggest commercial impact? They’re not the ones with the flashiest tools. They’re the ones doing the work that others won’t… Fast, focused and fearless.
James Middleton – Head of Sales
The future of website traffic is already here…
Meet AEO.
The era of optimising for search is fading and AI is rewiring the rulebook. Daniel Templin, Sales Engineer at Salesloft, dropped the reality bomb: traffic is down, competition is up, and attention is harder to win than ever.
What’s changing?
Featured snippets – the short answer boxes AI tools often pull from – have grown by 2,215% in the past year. And looking ahead, AI agents and LLMs are projected to drive up to 10% of all website traffic by December 2025.
This shift means search engines are becoming Answer Engines, and your content needs to work for AI, not just humans.
So, what’s working now ?
- Start thinking AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation), not just SEO. Optimise for how AI will interact with, summarise and serve your content.
- Treat every visitor like they’re gold – because with less traffic, the stakes are higher. If they do land on your website, the chances are they are very interested.
- Use conversational AI to qualify, convert and accelerate deals.
It’s not about more traffic; it’s about better traffic. Fewer tyre-kickers, more decision makers and AI-powered journey that turn interest into meetings – fast.
Daniel Templin – Sales Engineer
Referrals are your hidden growth engine
While the spotlight often lands on new martech or paid channels, referrals are quietly outperforming. Richard Fitzmaurice, Former Senior MD, Global Marketing & Communications at Intertrust Group shared some impressive stats from his research and experience:
- 91% of B2B buyers are influenced by word of mouth.
- Referred clients close 69% faster and convert 71% higher.
- Happy clients = 9 potential referrals.
CMOs have an opportunity to treat peer referrals as a core growth strategy to drive pipeline. That means building structured programmes that make it easy for customers and peers to refer – and rewarding advocates in ways that build long-term trust.
It’s not just about getting more leads. It’s about building credibility and reputation that drives high-intent pipeline – from people who already trust your brand. Referrals are a revenue multiplier and Richard’s upcoming venture is set to change the game.
Richard Fitzmaurice – Former Senior MD, Global Marketing and Communications at Intertrust Group
So where is your marketing function on the revenue centre pathway?
The days of marketing colouring in the brand guidelines are over. If your board is asking tough questions, be prepared to prove value, focus on revenue and turn your marketing into the growth engine it was always meant to be.
In our session poll, over half of attendees (54%) placed themselves as pipeline accelerators – marketing teams working closely with sales to influence revenue outcomes. The remaining 46% described themselves as demand generators, still largely focused on MQLs. Not a single respondent chose the extremes of brand-only support or full commercial ownership. It’s a clear signal that marketing is evolving – but the journey to becoming a true revenue centre is still in motion.
Where are you on that path?
Let’s talk about how SDRs can help you rewiring marketing for revenue.