If your LinkedIn leads are getting more expensive, the problem isn't always your budget—it's your ad strategy. In this episode of Closing Time, Val Riley sits down with B2B growth expert Philip Ilic to unpack one of the biggest questions facing marketers today: how to evaluate the true ROI of LinkedIn ads.

Learn why cost per lead is often misleading, how top teams prioritize pipeline generation and lead quality, and what actually drives revenue from LinkedIn. Philip breaks down how to use LinkedIn as a content distribution engine, why thought leader ads outperform traditional formats, and how to connect paid, organic, and outbound to turn engagement into real pipeline.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Want expert advice delivered monthly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Closing Time newsletter to never miss an episode: https://bit.ly/3C5aZUw

Explore Unbounce go-to-market solutions: https://unbounce.com/go-to-market-solutions/

Connect With:

• Philip Ilic: Kiin - LinkedIn ads agency // LinkedIn

• Val Riley: LinkedIn

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website

Companies are rushing to adopt AI in their sales process, but very few are prepared for what it takes to implement it successfully.

In this episode of Closing Time, Val Riley sits down with Deepak Shukla, Founder of LemStudio and AI automation expert, to talk about what actually needs to happen before you start implementing AI. They get into how teams are using AI today—handling inbound lead qualification, drafting emails, booking meetings, and prepping for calls—and why those use cases often fall short without a documented playbooks (rules, workflows, and edge cases) that train your LLM.

Deepak shares his process for rolling out and monitoring AI implementation, where automation is delivering real value, and where AI still needs a human in the loop. If you're thinking about introducing AI into your sales workflow, this episode will give you a grounded look at what works, what doesn't, and how to approach it confidently.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Want expert advice delivered monthly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Closing Time newsletter to never miss an episode: https://bit.ly/3C5aZUw

Connect With:

• Deepak Shukla: // LemStudio // Website // LinkedIn

• Val Riley: LinkedIn

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website

Founder-led sales is one of the most important skills a startup founder can develop. Before you hire sales reps, build a revenue team, or create a formal sales process, founders are usually the ones closing the first deals and learning what customers actually want.

In this episode of Closing Time, Val Riley sits down with entrepreneur and Harvard Business School sales lecturer Lou Shipley, author of Unlikely Entrepreneurs, to break down the three stages of founder-led sales and how founders can transition from personally winning early customers to building a scalable sales organization. You'll learn why founders should close their first 15–20 customers, how to avoid common mistakes when hiring your first salesperson, and what changes when your startup begins scaling a sales team.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Want expert advice delivered monthly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Closing Time newsletter to never miss an episode: https://bit.ly/3C5aZUw

Connect With:

• Lou Shipley: Lou's Unlikely Entrepreneur book // LinkedIn

• Val Riley: LinkedIn

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website

If your CPL is climbing, the fix probably isn't more budget or more campaigns—it's better destination pages.

In this episode, you'll learn the B2B landing page strategy every paid media team needs to turn clicks into qualified pipeline instead of wasted traffic. Val Riley sits down with B2B landing page expert Tas Bober, Founder of The Scroll Lab, to break down her "Core Four" framework designed to support how modern B2B buyers actually make decisions.

Discover why buyers rarely convert in a single step, how sending paid traffic to a homepage kills momentum, and why managing dozens of hyper-specific landing pages drains resources without improving results. Tas explains how to earn the conversion with clarity and credibility first, then guide buyers toward the right next step—whether that's exploring use cases, evaluating comparisons, reviewing pricing, or booking a demo.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Download Tas' Core Four toolkit: https://bit.ly/4s6UfRo

Want expert advice delivered monthly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Closing Time newsletter to never miss an episode: https://bit.ly/3C5aZUw

Connect With:

• Tas Bober: LinkedIn // The Scroll Lab

• Val Riley: LinkedIn

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website

Scaling a digital agency isn't just about winning more clients. It's about building systems that help existing clients perform better—faster, more consistently, and without constant friction.

That's the approach Found Search Marketing has taken as it's grown into a fast-moving agency managing hundreds of landing pages and significant media spend across competitive industries like higher education and healthcare. At the center of that system is Unbounce.

In this Customer Spotlight episode of Closing Time, Caroline Stoner, Director of User Experience at Found Search Marketing, shares the agency growth blueprint her team uses to scale impact through a high-velocity landing page strategy, experimentation at scale, and conversion rate optimization (CRO) that drives real performance gains. Caroline breaks down how Found Search Marketing operationalizes A/B testing across hundreds of landing pages, supports complex qualification flows without slowing conversions, and removes development bottlenecks so teams can move faster and deliver better results for clients.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Try Unbounce for free (no credit card required): https://bit.ly/46dwxej

Connect With:

• Found Search Marketing: LinkedIn // Website

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website

Is 2026 your year for a career change into sales? And what if that next chapter offers more flexibility, income potential, and ownership over your future?

In this episode of Closing Time, we explore why sales is emerging as a powerful option for career reinvention—especially for women considering a midlife career change or looking for a more autonomous, growth-oriented path. Val is joined by reinvention coach Katia Vlachos, author of Uncaged, to unpack what really drives a career pivot, the benefits of changing direction, and the internal barriers—like fear, identity, and confidence—that often hold people back.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Want expert advice delivered monthly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Closing Time newsletter to never miss an episode: https://bit.ly/3C5aZUw

Explore Unbounce go-to-market solutions: https://unbounce.com/go-to-market-solutions/

Connect With:

• Katia Vlachos: Website // LinkedIn

• Val Riley: LinkedIn

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website // LeadsRx's Website

Rising ad costs and tighter performance expectations are forcing SaaS marketers to rethink their paid media strategy in 2026.

On this episode of Closing Time, Jonathan Bland, paid media strategist and co-founder of Omni Lab, breaks down the paid media trends shaping the year ahead—from rising CPCs and shifting Google Ads economics to what's actually working on LinkedIn ads for SaaS. Covering seasonal pricing dynamics, creative formats like thought leader ads, and when it makes sense to rethink channel mix altogether, this conversation offers practical guidance to help digital marketing leaders plan for 2026 with confidence.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Want expert advice delivered monthly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Closing Time newsletter to never miss an episode: https://bit.ly/3C5aZUw

Explore Unbounce go-to-market solutions: https://unbounce.com/go-to-market-solutions/

Connect With:

• Jonathan Bland: omni lab Consulting // LinkedIn

• Val Riley: LinkedIn

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website // LeadsRx's Website

Brand storytelling is becoming one of the most critical growth levers for B2B marketers—and in 2026, it's being reshaped by AI.

In this episode of Closing Time, we're joined by brand storytelling expert and author Park Howell to break down what brand storytelling really is, why it matters more than ever, and how B2B marketing leaders can use proven frameworks to stand out in an increasingly automated world. Park introduces his simple but powerful ABT (And, But, Therefore) framework, explains how storytelling builds trust and emotional connection, and shows how it can be applied across landing pages, messaging, and go-to-market strategy.

We also explore how AI is influencing brand storytelling in 2026—what it can accelerate, where marketers need to stay human, and why understanding storytelling fundamentals is essential before handing the work to AI.

Watch the episode on YouTube.

Want expert advice delivered monthly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Closing Time newsletter to never miss an episode: https://bit.ly/3C5aZUw

Explore Unbounce go-to-market solutions: https://unbounce.com/go-to-market-solutions/

Connect With:

• Park Howell: StoryCycle Genie // LinkedIn

• Val Riley: LinkedIn

• Insightly's Website // Unbounce's Website // LeadsRx's Website