If you’ve ever stared at a funnel diagram and thought “this doesn’t reflect reality,” you’re not alone.
We sat down with Dave Heywood—a senior marketer, podcast host, consultant, and all-around marketing realist—to talk shop. What started as a conversation over English breakfast tea turned into a firehose of truth about what’s broken in marketing and what needs fixing.
No jargon. No hype. Just clarity.
Here’s what stood out.
01. Marketing starts with people. Not personas.
Dave’s career kicked off with a practical masterclass: selling kid-drawn calendars to guilt-ridden parents. Lesson? Know your audience.
But over time, he realized most persona frameworks are flawed.
“Humans are messy. You can’t cram them into neat little buyer persona boxes.”
Real marketing strategy starts with the business plan. Who are you trying to serve? Where’s the growth coming from? Don’t guess—align with the business and pressure test the plan.
02. The job isn’t tactics. It’s leadership.
Early in his career, Dave got promoted fast. Built campaigns. Hit targets. Checked all the boxes.
Then he flopped. Hard.
“I thought the job was delivering marketing. But the job was leading people.”
His mistake? Treating leadership like a to-do list. Not aligning the business. Not bringing people along. The result: stalled impact, frustrated execs, and a tough wake-up call.
Real marketing leadership isn’t about executing tactics—it’s about earning trust, building belief, and setting direction. Especially when things get messy.
Only 29% feel confident in their team’s ability to do it.
03. Predictions should come with a disclaimer.
Marketers love forecasts. So do finance teams. But Dave’s seen how that optimism can backfire.
“I like to work in ranges. Communicate upside and downside. Be honest when something’s a test.”
Overpromise, and you’ll destroy your credibility. Be clear, measured, and confident enough to say, “This may not work—and that’s okay.”
Not everything is instantly measurable—but credibility still matters.
That’s why you lead with clarity, not hype.
04. AI won’t save you. But it can sharpen you.
Dave isn’t anti-AI. He’s just realistic.
He built a “virtual advisory board” in ChatGPT—not to replace human insight, but to challenge his thinking. Smart.
“The danger? A generation that uses AI but never develops their own nose for good marketing.”
AI is a supplement, not a substitute. Use it to ask better questions. Not skip the process.
but only 36% trust the output without reviewing it.
Speed ≠ strategy. Use it smart. Don’t hand over the wheel.
05. Attribution is a distraction.
Let’s just call it.
“For every dollar we spend on marketing, how much does the business make? That’s it.”
Dave calls out the endless obsession with first-touch, last-touch, staircases, waterfalls, and black-box ROAS numbers. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Focus on outcomes. Not dashboards designed to look impressive.
06. Ban these from every marketing deck:
- The sea of “we worked with” logos.
- The buyer journey funnel fantasy.
“Buyers aren’t liquid. You don’t pour them down a funnel. It’s messy. It’s chaotic. That’s reality.”
If you’re still trying to squeeze buyers into outdated models, you’re playing the wrong game.
TL;DR: Think harder. Speak simpler. Cut the crap.
Future marketers don’t need more tools. They need more critical thinking, better communication skills, and the confidence to challenge nonsense.
Because when everyone’s following templates, clarity is your competitive edge.
Watch the full episode here:
