Episode 418

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Published on:

19th May 2025

Kelly Cheng: Building Buyer Trust Before They’re Ready to Buy

In this episode of Make It Happen Mondays, John Barrows sits down with Kelly Cheng, CMO at Goldcast, for a wide-ranging and insightful conversation on sales, marketing, and the evolving buyer journey. From her early days as a self-proclaimed rebel growing up in Hong Kong to working with top brands like Adobe and Microsoft, Kelly brings a fresh, strategic perspective to how modern go-to-market teams win mindshare before buyers are ready to buy.

They dive into “mindshare marketing,” the challenge of measuring brand ROI, and why most of your market isn’t in-market—and why that’s exactly where your attention should be. Kelly also shares her thoughts on video’s role in building trust at scale, the problem with attribution models, the shifting role of SDRs, and the impact (and ethical complexity) of AI influencers.

If you care about building long-term success in a noisy, AI-driven world, this one’s packed with real talk and actionable insights.

Are you interested in leveling up your sales skills and staying relevant in today’s AI-driven landscape? Visit www.jbarrows.com and let’s Make It Happen together!

Connect with John on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/

Connect with John on IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/

Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-membership?ref=3edab1

Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyhcheng/

Check out the Goldcast Website: https://www.goldcast.io/

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About the Podcast

Make It Happen Mondays - B2B Sales Talk with John Barrows
John Barrows helps sales leaders decide whether to replace or rebuild their teams for the AI era. Drawing on 25+ years with Salesforce, LinkedIn, Google, and Amazon. Weekly tactics and guests to help you sell at a consistently high level.
John Barrows helps sales leaders decide whether to replace or rebuild their teams for the AI era, drawing on 25+ years working with Salesforce, LinkedIn, Google, and Amazon. He advises CROs and VPs of Sales on AI readiness, team structure, and go-to-market strategy. He trains sales teams on the fundamentals that drive consistent performance, with or without AI.