Marketing shouldn't be a money pit. Yet many business owners feel like they're feeding dollars into a slot machine that never pays out. The dream is simple: invest in marketing and watch revenue grow. The reality? Often disappointing. 

But what if you could transform marketing from a cost center to a revenue engine? In a recent episode of The Freedom Experience, I sat down with Josh Leatherman, Chief Marketing Officer at Service Express. Josh played a pivotal role in scaling the company from $30 million to over $350 million in revenue by building a systematic marketing approach that consistently delivered results. Here's how he did it.

The Power of "Rip Off & Duplicate" (R&D)

Stop reinventing the wheel. Only about 5% of companies excel at demand marketing—find them and learn from them.  "I buy plane tickets. I will do whatever it takes to get my team in front of those people," said Josh who visits companies like Marketo, Salesforce, LinkedIn, and others to absorb their best practices. 

This R&D approach—Rip Off & Duplicate—accelerates growth by adapting proven strategies rather than starting from scratch. The most successful marketing teams aren't creating entirely original approaches; they're studying what works and adapting it to their situation.

 To implement this approach:

• Identify the top 5% of companies in your industry with exceptional marketing

• Reach out and request meetings or visits

• Send team members to learn directly from these companies

• Bring knowledge back and teach it to your entire team

• Apply relevant strategies to your business

Revenue Operations: The Switzerland Between Sales and Marketing

The tension between sales and marketing teams is legendary. Marketing delivers leads; sales claims they're not qualified. Sales doesn't follow up promptly; marketing gets frustrated. 

Enter Revenue Operations—the neutral third party that bridges this gap. 

"Revenue operations is the Switzerland between sales and marketing," acting as an objective, neutral party that uses data to resolve conflicts and improve performance. 

This team:

• Creates systematic accountability between departments

• Establishes clear definitions of qualified leads

• Monitors performance metrics objectively

• Ensures no prospects stagnate in the funnel

• Implements service level agreements between teams

Without this neutral function, marketing and sales often work against each other despite sharing the same ultimate goal: revenue growth.

Mastering One Channel Before Expanding

Many companies spread their marketing budget across multiple channels, achieving mediocre results everywhere instead of excellence anywhere. 

The better approach? Master one channel first. 

"Get really good at one channel and do it really well," whether that's SEO, intent marketing, or paid search. When you achieve success in one area, you can self-fund expansion into additional channels.

 This focused approach requires:

• Selecting a proven channel aligned with your target market

• Getting team members certified in that channel

• Understanding not just the channel but lead management and routing

• Optimizing the entire process from lead generation to sales handoff

• Scaling what works before adding new channels

Channel expertise takes time to develop. A marketer who understands Google Ads needs different skills than one who excels at intent marketing or SEO.

Accountability at Every Stage of the Funnel

Marketing teams often shy away from accountability, but the best marketers embrace it. They want clear metrics that define success. 

Implement the RACI model (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) for every stage of your marketing and sales funnel. This ensures:

• Clear ownership of each account in your database

• No stagnation within the funnel

• Specific KPIs tied to company revenue goals

• Systematic processes for moving prospects forward

"There is no account in our database where we do not have a team accountable for it."

When a prospect enters your funnel, they should either move forward or backward—never sit still. Marketing owns the top of the funnel, sales development owns qualification and meeting scheduling, and sales owns closing. Each team remains responsible even when accountability shifts.

Building a High-Performance Marketing Team

The ideal marketing team member exhibits three key qualities: humble, hungry, and smart.

Humble team members willingly learn from others. Smart ones build effective relationships across departments. Hungry ones constantly seek improvement and adapt to changing conditions.

 "Marketers have got to be insatiably curious and they have to be learners because the game is always changing for marketing."

 When hiring, look for:

• Natural learners who continuously develop themselves

• People who build networks and seek mentors

• Candidates with relevant certifications

• Those who measure success by outcomes, not activities

• Team members who think like entrepreneurs

During interviews, ask candidates about their professional development habits, mentors, and learning resources. Check references carefully, asking specific questions about their learning agility.

The Fail Fast, Learn Faster Approach

Marketing success requires experimentation. The most effective teams try small experiments, learn quickly, and scale what works.

 "We want to see a lot of small experiments fail because we know failure is the way marketers learn."

 Create a culture that:

• Encourages testing hypotheses rather than making assumptions

• Celebrates learning from failures

• Quickly scales successful experiments

• Balances innovation with proven strategies

• Uses data to make decisions

When you find something that works—even if it's just one success among many failures—you can scale it across your entire market for significant impact.

Starting From Scratch: The Essential First Hires

When starting a marketing team from scratch, focus on hiring these three key positions first:

1. A demand marketer focused on one channel

2. An operations person who manages systems and processes

3. A sales development representative who follows up on leads

This foundation ensures you not only generate leads but also have systems to track them and people to convert them.

Without operations support, marketing remains campaign-driven rather than systematic. Without prompt follow-up, even the best leads go cold—research shows an 850% higher meeting rate when leads receive follow-up within five minutes.

Marketing has evolved from campaign-driven to system-driven. Today's successful marketing teams use integrated technology stacks, clear accountability, and data-driven decision-making to create predictable revenue growth.

By focusing on learning from others, mastering one channel at a time, establishing clear accountability, hiring curious team members, and creating a culture of experimentation, you can transform marketing from a cost center to a powerful revenue engine.