Growth Activated | The B2B Marketing Leadership Podcast · Mandy Walker

4 Strategic Bets Every CMO Should Make in 2026

·33 min·3 clips

Mandy Walker reveals the four strategic bets she's making as a CMO in 2026, starting with a filter that eliminates most marketing channels.

Mandy starts with the pressure marketing leaders are already feeling. They are being asked to show up everywhere, do everything, and stretch the same budget through a lot of uncertainty. So she narrows the planning question. Where are the real bets going, across time, energy, resources, and the team? Her answer is to choose before the loudest request takes over the plan. The first bet is trust. Visibility helps, but it is not enough when buyers are already talking long before they fill out a form. LinkedIn is the main example. Mandy points to recent guests Gabe Lulo and Eric from hatch as proof that LinkedIn branding can help drive pipeline, and she is putting the bet on herself too. That means posting consistently, engaging with other people, and using InMails as part of a wider executive branding push. The catch is familiar: it only works if the executives around you are bought in. Mandy is trying to model the behavior first instead of just asking for it. Sales enablement comes in next. Her teams are training sales to use LinkedIn beyond the usual messaging and Sales Navigator habits. The filter is practical. Pick strategies that can build trust while also making the company more visible where buyers already spend time. She also leaves room for judgment. The same channels will not fit every company. Each leader has to know their buyers well enough to choose. Her second bet turns toward people and the human experience. The closing point is simple: stop reacting to every urgent thing and decide where you are doubling down.

As heard by us

A practical planning guide for marketing leaders deciding what deserves more commitment in 2026.

Mandy Walker centers the episode on a straightforward planning question: where to place real bets on time, energy, resources, and team as the landscape shifts and the buyer journey changes.

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Why you'd press play

You want a sharper 2026 marketing plan without the usual strategy fog.

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