What strategies can help marketing and sales stay aligned while keeping the client at the center?

In this episode, Vanguard’s John Howie, head of sales channel marketing for the Financial Advisor Services division, reflects on his move from sales into marketing. He discusses how marketing leaders can drive stronger results by grounding solutions in each client’s selling realities and building a shared understanding with sales, not just for sales.

John describes how his team uses direct input from sales leaders to shape marketing efforts around real selling conditions and emphasizes that effective internal change efforts need both rational support and human buy-in. When it comes to AI, John advocates using it to guide strategy, rather than to fully design or replace the strategy itself. He warns that leaders should not let the push for speed and productivity crowd out creativity, judgment, and the distinctly human work of storytelling and problem solving.

This episode offers a practical point of view to help today’s marketers keep the client at the center, use data and frontline insights together and treat this moment of transformation as a chance to improve not only the way teams work, but the overall quality of work.