PODCAST · business
CMOs Without Borders
by Joel Crampton
Welcome to CMOs Without Borders — the podcast where two seasoned marketing leaders with decades of experience from opposite sides of the border cut through the noise and get real about what actually drives growth in financial services.Hosted by fractional CMOs Joel Crampton, founder of CMO/Alpha (U.S.), and Mandy MacPhee, founder of illumination (Canada), this show explores the strategic marketing moves that help RIAs, fintechs, credit unions, and financial brands thrive — regardless of size, structure, or postal code.We bring different lenses to the mic: U.S. vs. Canada, Fintech vs. Institutional, Independent firms vs. Enterprise marketingBut we’re united by one mission: helping you build a smarter, more strategic marketing function that actually drives results — not just more activity.Each episode delivers candid conversations, real-world examples, and field-tested insights to help you: - Align your marketing with business goals - Outperform the competition without wasting time
Episodes
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The Pendulum Swings Back: AI, Trust, and the Return of In-Person Marketing
For this episode, Joel Crampton reports in from Future Proof, the financial services conference on the beach in Huntington Beach, California, with 5,500 advisors, marketers, and fintech leaders in attendance. Mandy MacPhee joins from home, and the two dig into what Joel is hearing on the ground…
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Judgment Is the Thing AI Still Can't Fake
An AI can generate a thousand versions of anything. It still takes a human to know which one is right. In this episode, Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee sit down with Ben Finklea, a fellow fractional CMO and the founder of Armbrain, an AI tool built for fractional CMOs. Ben was the one who…
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One Year In: What Twenty Three Episodes Taught Us About Consistency
A year ago, Mandy MacPhee and Joel Crampton weren't sure they'd be in sync as podcast partners. Twenty four episodes later, they're marking the anniversary the same way they started, just the two of them, no script, riffing on marketing. In this episode, Mandy and Joel look back on their first…
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Systemize Kindness: How Marc Shaffer Built a Firm on Consistency, Not Sales
Trust happens because you show up the same way, meeting after meeting, until people just assume otherwise. In this episode, Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee sit down with Marc Shaffer, CFP and Principal at Searcy Financial Services and Allos Investment Advisors, to talk about what 20 years in the...
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The Trust Equation: Building and Protecting Client Confidence in the Age of AI
Trust isn't a feature or a differentiator; it's the actual product in financial services. It's built over years, and can collapse in a single moment. In this episode, Mandy MacPhee and Joel Crampton discuss candidly how to earn, protect, and rebuild trust in financial services, and how AI's rapid...
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What Most Brands Get Wrong About Multicultural Marketing
Marketing to diverse audiences doesn’t start with translation or last-minute campaigns. It starts with understanding how people think, what they value, and how they make decisions. Without that foundation, even strong campaigns fall flat. In this episode, Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee sit down...
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From Pipeline to Revenue — The Marketing Systems Every Founder Needs
Getting the lead is only the beginning. What comes next, the follow-up, the nurture, the conversion, the retention, is where most firms either win or quietly hemorrhage what they invested to get there. In this episode, Mandy MacPhee and Joel Crampton go deep on the full marketing funnel, from…
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The Appointment Generation Engine — How RIAs Are Scaling with Facebook Advertising
Most financial advisors know they need more clients. What they don't know is that the answer might already be in their prospects' Facebook feeds. In this episode, Mandy MacPhee and Joel Crampton sit down with Alex Khassa, founder of Clients Blackbox — a Meta advertising partner with $10M+ in ad...
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The Model Behind Modern Marketing Leadership — Lessons from the Fractional CMO Frontier
The best marketing leaders aren't just strategists. They're operators, builders, and systems thinkers — and the fractional model is exactly where those skills come to life. In this episode, Mandy McPhee and Joel Crampton pull back the curtain on what it actually means to be a fractional CMO. No...
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The Strategy Behind Safe and Scalable AI
AI isn’t coming for your business — it’s already inside it. The real question isn’t whether to use it, but whether you’re using it strategically, safely, and in a way that actually drives results. In this episode, Mandy MacPhee and Joel Crampton sit down with JL Verboomen, analytics and AI...
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The Leadership Patterns Behind Scalable Companies — Lessons from "The Work That Holds You"
Growth doesn’t begin with tactics, campaigns, or activity. It begins with self-awareness — understanding the patterns shaping your leadership, the foundations supporting your business, and the systems required to turn effort into sustainable growth. In this episode, Mandy MacPhee, fractional CMO...
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The System Behind Predictable Client Acquisition — Lessons from "Trailblazing Growth"
Client growth doesn’t begin with tactics, campaigns, or quick wins. It begins with clarity — understanding the journey prospects are already on, the psychology behind their decisions, and the systems required to guide them from interest to trust. In this episode, Joel Crampton, fractional CMO,...
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The Culture Advantage – From Client Trust to Firm Growth
Client trust doesn’t begin with performance reports, portfolios, or marketing. It begins inside the firm — in how people work together, how culture is lived, and how leadership shapes the environment clients ultimately experience. In this episode, Ethan Chazin, fractional Chief Culture Officer…
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From Founder Chaos to Scalable Growth: How EOS Builds Real Business Infrastructure
Most founders don’t struggle because they lack ideas. They struggle because everything still runs through them. Growth stalls when the founder is the system — making every decision, solving every problem, and carrying every role. In this episode, we sat down with Mike Walrod, fractional…
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Marketing As An Exit Planning Strategy: Build Systems That Transfer
Most founders treat exit planning like something you only worry about when you’re ready to retire or sell. But your exit gets decided years earlier by one simple question: Can your growth run without you? If growth only happens through referrals and founder effort, buyers don’t see a system, they...
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The Future of Financial Services Marketing Is AI + Humans
As Season 1 of CMOs Without Borders comes to a close, we step back to reflect on what defined marketing in financial services in 2025 — and what leaders need to prepare for as we head into 2026. In this episode, Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee unpack the realities behind AI adoption, the…
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How Client Experience Becomes a Credibility Engine
Every financial services leader eventually reaches the same truth: your products don’t set you apart — your client experience does. We sat down with Glenn LaCoste, founder of Surviscor Group, whose team has spent over two decades evaluating client experience across banks, credit unions…
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Your Story Is Your Superpower: Why Every Leader Should Write a Book
Every great leader eventually runs into the same realization: expertise alone doesn’t set you apart — your story does. We sat down with Will Severns, co-founder of ShareYourStory.com, to explore how books, personal narratives, and authentic storytelling are becoming the next major differentiator...
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Building Authentic Networks with Clay Hicks, Founder of H7 Global Network
In this episode we sit down with Clay Hicks, founder and CEO of H7 Global Network, to unpack what authentic networking really looks like and how founders, financial advisors, and entrepreneurs can build relationships that actually move the needle. Clay shares the story behind H7’s rise from a...
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Why Most Marketing Funnels in Financial Services Still Don’t Convert
In this episode of CMOs Without Borders, hosts Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee tackle one of the most persistent problems in financial-services marketing: why most funnels still don’t convert. From RIAs to fintechs, firms spend heavily on awareness and ads — but too often, those efforts fail to...
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Reimagining Legacy: How AI and Storytelling Are Transforming Estate Planning
EPISODE OVERVIEW In this episode, hosts Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee sit down with Randy Frisch, founder of Trusty, an AI-powered estate planning platform redefining how families manage, document, and pass down their legacies. With $84 trillion set to change hands in the coming decades, Randy...
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The Importance of Founder-Led Demand Creation
When founders tell their story, they don’t just market their product or service, they create demand and separate their company from the competition. In this episode, Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee sit down with fellow fractional Chief Marketing Officer Chris Downey to unpack a modern…
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AI: The Great Equalizer in Financial Services Marketing
Financial institutions are waking up to the power of AI in accelerating their marketing engines. In this episode, Heather Gerdes, co-founder of Promode.ai, joins Joel and Mandy to unpack what real adoption looks like inside banks, credit unions, and RIAs. We dig into customer-driven demand for...
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How Financial Services Firms Can Stand Out in the Sea of Sameness
In this episode of CMOs Without Borders, hosts Joel Crampton and Mandy MacPhee dive into one of the biggest challenges facing financial services marketing today: the Sea of Sameness. From fintechs to RIAs to credit unions, firms are sounding more and more alike, shouting the same claims about…
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Why Most Financial Services Marketing Plans Fail (and How to Fix Them)
Before you spend another dollar on marketing, find out if your plan is already broken. Most marketing plans at financial services companies don’t fail because of sloppy execution — they fail before they even start. In this first episode of CMOs Without Borders, Mandy MacPhee and Joel Crampton...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Welcome to CMOs Without Borders — the podcast where two seasoned marketing leaders with decades of experience from opposite sides of the border cut through the noise and get real about what actually drives growth in financial services.Hosted by fractional CMOs Joel Crampton, founder of CMO/Alpha (U.S.), and Mandy MacPhee, founder of illumination (Canada), this show explores the strategic marketing moves that help RIAs, fintechs, credit unions, and financial brands thrive — regardless of size, structure, or postal code.We bring different lenses to the mic: U.S. vs. Canada, Fintech vs. Institutional, Independent firms vs. Enterprise marketingBut we’re united by one mission: helping you build a smarter, more strategic marketing function that actually drives results — not just more activity.Each episode delivers candid conversations, real-world examples, and field-tested insights to help you: - Align your marketing with business goals - Outperform the competition without wasting time
HOSTED BY
Joel Crampton
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does CMOs Without Borders have?
CMOs Without Borders currently has 25 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is CMOs Without Borders about?
Welcome to CMOs Without Borders — the podcast where two seasoned marketing leaders with decades of experience from opposite sides of the border cut through the noise and get real about what actually drives growth in financial services.Hosted by fractional CMOs Joel Crampton, founder of CMO/Alpha...
How often does CMOs Without Borders release new episodes?
CMOs Without Borders has 25 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to CMOs Without Borders?
You can listen to CMOs Without Borders on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts CMOs Without Borders?
CMOs Without Borders is created and hosted by Joel Crampton.
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