Most FinTech and B2B SaaS companies struggle with channel noise, messy funnels, and marketing that doesn’t tie to revenue.
Brandon Smith is a fractional Chief Marketing Officer who specializes in FinTech marketing and B2B marketing for SaaS leaders who need predictable pipeline and ARR. He leads with sharp buyer-led positioning, clean funnel definitions, and a weekly revenue cadence tied to one scoreboard.
With over 15 years generating $150M+ in revenue across FinTech, SaaS, AI, HealthTech, and commercial real estate, Brandon owns the loop from narrative to pipeline.
FinTech B2B Targeting Strategy
Brandon Smith generated $2M at BlastPoint with a whitepaper, and 60% of downloads came from target accounts, here’s how he did it.
The secret? “The key is to make sure ultimately you target 2 people. You target the buyer and you target the person who’s really holding the pain.”
The “Leaky Faucet” Analogy
Brandon uses a brilliant analogy: “If we have a leaky faucet that’s really dad’s problem to fix, but it’s really mommy’s pain because daddy doesn’t want to fix it right now.”
The targeting strategy: Keep poking the pain holder (ads for mommy: “Husband won’t fix the faucet?”) while providing the solution to the buyer (ads for daddy: “Stop your nagging wife—we’ll fix it”). This is, of course, a simplified example, but the concept is solid.
“At the end of the day marketing really ties to our emotive behavior. We need to make sure that our output in our content not only educates but really picks at the scab. You’re making it worse, making them feel the pain.”
The conversion metric that closes deals: “Always use an ROI metric [with the buyer]. That’s the conversion metric that helps them know how long it’ll take for the problem to be resolved.”
This is how Brandon approaches FinTech marketing—emotive, pain-focused, and buyer-journey aligned.
How to Grow ARR 6x While Reducing Costs 30%
At Plainsight, Brandon scaled ARR from $8M to $50M in 12 months while reducing CPL by 30%.
Most executives think you have to choose between growth speed and efficiency. Brandon reveals how he did both simultaneously.
The foundation: “First, don’t waste it [money]. And the most important thing is to do is make sure we’re targeting the right triggers. It’s not just about brand awareness. This is real money. So we need to get that ROI immediately.”
Find People With the Problem at the Right Time
“Find the people with the problem. Talk about the actual risk and make sure you’re touching the right people that are really in the weeds at the moment.”
Then, “You target the right people who have the right problems at the right time. And because of our specific targeting, we communicate those pain points at the right time in the direct channels so that CAC payback can show your proof of purchase.”
The Scaling Sequence
Most FinTech marketing leaders scale before they have proof. Brandon’s sequence: “Once you hit the right people then you start to amp up the spin. Now that we’re hitting the right people, we’re getting the right feedback. Now we can apply scale by just throwing more money at it.”
The result: “And then the money just continued to scale. One X 2 X 3 X. Like now we hit the sweet spot. All the way to 6 X.”
This is revenue marketing that actually works—targeting before spending, proof before scale.
ABM: The Surgical Approach That Delivered 3X ROAS
Brandon ran a persona-based ABM campaign at BlastPoint that improved SQL quality by 45% and achieved over 3X ROAS on paid media.
The principle that separates winners: “That’s surgical approach.”
What Most B2B Marketing Teams Get Wrong
“I think what’s missing in the output of ABM is understanding that it’s surgical. This is not something that’s for everybody. ABM should not be your largest growth engine.”
The common mistake: “I think a lot of marketing organizations think the execution for ABM is really, we have a targeted list, but that’s just the beginning.”
The Surgical Approach
“You really have to get surgical in your account-based marketing initiatives. Otherwise ABM will always be messy.”
Brandon’s analogy with kids asking parents: “If you ask the right person, you’ll get a different response. Ask mommy this question, ask daddy this question.”
The same thing applies to ABM. Know who, when, and how bad: “You really need to know who to ask and is it the right time. If they’re actively ready for the conversation, they need the solution today. It’s not a let’s wait in 6 months. That’s a demand campaign.”
The result: “That’s where you can attribute conversions, and cost of acquisition is super low. And then you can apply the scale.”
Optimize Your MarTech Stack: One Owner Per Tool
Brandon overhauled a client’s MarTech stack and reduced CAC by 30% while improving conversion by 25%.
The mistake he sees most: “There’s too many chefs in the kitchen. I think a lot of marketers think the more tools I have, the better all the results I’ll get. That’s not the truth.”
The Ownership Principle
“You need to have a few tools that can do amazing work. But ultimately, if you’re using a multitude of tools for the MarTech stack, it’s really about having ownership.”
The implementation: “Have one dedicated person that’s like, hey I’m the Salesforce girl. All she does is make sure that all the data going in the Salesforce matches; she reads it, syncs it, comes out [clean]. When somebody says hey, I need this input she’s like, nope it’s not good, wouldn’t hand it to me. She’s the guard that says, no, it doesn’t meet my expectation.”
Like a Line Chef at Your Favorite Restaurant
“Each person owns a dedicated tool that’s their specific area of expertise. Just like a line chef at your favorite restaurant. They know their role, they pass it along, it fits right in.”
The result: “Then you start to get efficiency on the output of your marketing function. You start to see, oh here’s what I’m seeing in Salesforce. Here’s what I’m seeing in Demandbase. That’s where you start to drive the efficiency toward your North Star.”
Marketing Through an IPO: Running Two Machines Simultaneously
At Delhivery, Brandon marketed through their IPO on the New York Stock Exchange while launching OS One in the Americas—driving $130M in ARR and improving MQL quality by 30%.
His authetic take away: “It was probably the best of times and the worst of times. You’re really marketing two different approaches simultaneously.”
Operating as Two Different Entities
“We almost literally had to operate as two different entities. I had to split the team because the team was so large.”
He leveraged geographic distribution: India for IPO brand work, remote teams for growth marketing. “We needed a separation of content, separation of strategy, separation of execution and curating a story while building brand.”
The breakthrough: “Because we had the right people at the right place with a lot of structure, we were really able to curtail brand narrative and marketing focus right on building business simultaneously.”
The result: Two machines working successfully with a symbiotic relationship through dedicated focus. $130M ARR. 30% MQL quality improvement. Successful NYSE IPO.
About Brandon Smith
Brandon Smith is a fractional Chief Marketing Officer who builds revenue systems for FinTech and B2B SaaS companies that need predictable pipeline and ARR. He replaces channel noise with buyer-led positioning, clean funnel definitions, and a weekly revenue cadence tied to one scoreboard.
He owns the loop from narrative to pipeline. He leads ABM, lifecycle, paid, content, and sales enablement with tight measurement. He builds teams across demand gen, lifecycle, product marketing, and marketing ops, with clear roles, standards, and execution rhythm
Industries: FinTech, B2B SaaS, AI
Specialties: FinTech marketing, B2B marketing, ABM strategy, demand generation, lifecycle marketing, martech optimization, pipeline development.
Brandon is a husband and father of three daughters. His leadership philosophy is rooted in curiosity, resilience, and empathy—traits that drive both people and performance.
Ready to Build Your FinTech or B2B SaaS Revenue System?
If your marketing isn’t tied to revenue, your funnel definitions are messy, or you need predictable pipeline and ARR growth, fractional CMO Brandon Smith can help. Learn how we work.
Next Steps: Schedule a brief intro call to share your goals and challenges. https://scheduler.zoom.us/corinne-cavanaugh/exploratory-w-corinne
Our true north
You don’t have to figure this out alone.
We deploy fractional CMOs and CROs from Fortune 500 companies who’ve already solved what you’re facing. They embed on your leadership team to build the revenue systems you need, mentor the teams you have, and deliver the predictable growth you’ve been working toward. You get your time back. Your marketing works. Revenue growth is our shared obsession.
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