#120: Design - How To Drive More Pipeline by Taking Risks with Design and Brand (with Eli Rubel)

In this episode, Dave is joined by Eli Rubel. Eli is the CEO of Matter Made and NoBoringDesign and a Marketing Advisor for companies like Dropbox and Loom. Eli discusses how companies that take risks with their design and go outside the brand guidelines will stand out in the sea of sameness and drive more pipeline. He also discussesHis framework for focusing on 'micro surfaces' that lead to bigger winsThe importance of timing in email marketingHow to properly analyze the efficiency of your marketing spendTimestamps(00:00) - Design and brand as competitive differentiators (03:59) - Navigating Early-Stage Companies (06:43) - Performance Marketing (12:30) - How to determine 'Demand Efficiency' (16:22) - A new way to think about design (20:05) - Maximizing Micro Opportunities (26:58) - Diversifying Channels (28:01) - Elevating Brand Aesthetics (31:17) - Design Differentiation (37:29) - Standing Out with Design and Branding (42:55) - Free Tools and Design Investments (44:22) - Closing Thoughts Join 50,0000 people who get Dave's Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterLearn more about Exit Five's private marketing community: https://www.exitfive.com/***Brought to you by:Webflow - A website platform built for the agentic web, helping modern marketing teams build fully custom sites—no developer needed—that perform in AI search. Learn more at webflow.com/for/exitfive.Markup AI - A content quality platform that scans your content against brand voice, preferred terms, messaging standards, and AI-search readiness before it goes live, right inside Google Docs. Learn more at markup.ai.Optimizely - A no-code AI platform where autonomous agents execute marketing work across webpages, email, SEO, and campaigns. Learn how to deploy agents on your marketing team at Agents in the Mix. Learn more at optimizely.com/exitfive. Walker Sands - An integrated B2B marketing and growth services agency that helps marketing leaders turn strategy into measurable business impact through their Outcome-based Marketing model. Learn more at walkersands.com/exitfive.Knak - A no-code, campaign creation platform that lets you go from idea to on-brand email and landing pages in minutes, using AI where it actually matters. Learn more at knak.com/exitfive, or check out the MCP server by clicking this link.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more