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Eric Helsel

Senior Marketing Executive

Eric Helsel

“Hi, I'm Eric. Ask Me Anything About AI For Businesses In 2026”

The Senior Marketing Executive Who Actually Builds

$130M+ in pipeline. 26 years of revenue marketing. AI now lets senior leaders like me fast-track execution, cut costs dramatically, and deliver results in weeks instead of quarters.

$0M+Career Revenue Influenced
0+Years in Digital Marketing
0+Verticals
0+Companies Served
$0MIn M&A Exits Enabled

Two scenarios. One engagement.

Whether your marketing is broken or ready to scale, I bring the same thing: senior strategy, AI-native execution, and systems that outlast the engagement.

Turnaround

Marketing is broken. I fix it.

HubSpot is a mess. Sales has lost faith in marketing. Agencies are wasting spend. Prior marketing leaders have failed. I come in, reset strategy, rebuild operations from the ground up, and restore accountability. CEOs bring me in because they need marketing to become something leadership can finally trust to drive revenue.

Scale

Systems work. Time to accelerate.

The foundation is there but the company needs to move faster. I orchestrate GTM launches, build acquisition engines, and direct cross-functional teams to capture new markets. I've helped companies scale from working systems to $80M+ in gross revenue by introducing innovative monetization strategies and scaling working acquisition channels.

What I do

Senior marketing leadership, AI-accelerated execution, and systems that outlast the engagement.

+200 connections

Revenue Marketing

I've influenced over $130 million in revenue across my career - not through brand awareness campaigns or vanity metrics, but through conversion-focused systems tied directly to pipeline. If it doesn't move revenue, I don't build it.

Twitter-colorCreated with Sketch.
Twitter-colorCreated with Sketch.

RevOps & Infrastructure

I architect the full marketing-to-revenue stack. HubSpot CRM setup, pipeline design, lead scoring, expansion revenue workflows, attribution tracking. The infrastructure that turns marketing from a cost center into a revenue engine.

AI-Native Execution

AI has changed the game for marketing execution. My engagements deploy AI-personalized outbound, automated HubSpot workflows, custom internal tools, and bespoke applications - fast-tracking projects that used to take months into weeks, at a fraction of the traditional cost.

ABM Outbound Sequence
HubSpot Pipeline
BDR Co-Pilot
Prospect
AI Agent

ABM & Outbound

I design and execute account-based outbound at scale - prospect research, battle cards, buyer-journey sequencing, personalized email cadences. Currently running AI-powered BDR Co-Pilot systems that integrate with HubSpot and Clay.

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Restaurant SaaS

Pipeline value

$2.4M

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Health-Tech

Pipeline value

$1.8M

SEO & Content Strategy

Not keyword stuffing - revenue-focused content architecture. I architect SEO strategies grounded in buyer intent, segmented by persona and buying stage. For a restaurant financial services client, we delivered a 50-keyword strategy across 5 operator segments targeting 13 distinct restaurant personas.

+200 connections

Go-to-Market Strategy

Full GTM for SaaS and tech companies - ICP definition, competitive positioning, channel strategy, and the execution systems to back it up. I've launched products, entered new markets, and built pipeline engines from scratch across 8 different verticals.

How we build marketing systems

A systems-based methodology powered by AI that produces work indistinguishable from a senior team's output.

Research & Deep Context

Before I write a single word or build anything, I do deep market research. Competitive landscape, customer pain points, positioning gaps, pricing models, what the market is actually saying. 30-60 minutes of research produces exceptional output for everything that follows. Most marketers skip this. That's why their output sounds generic.

01

Foundation: Voice + Positioning

Define who you are and how you're different. Brand voice extraction, 3-5 positioning angles, anti-positioning (what you're NOT). This isn't a branding exercise. It's the operating system behind every piece of copy, every landing page, every email sequence. Everything downstream builds on this.

02

Structure: Keywords + Content Architecture

Map the territory. Keyword opportunities competitors miss. Content pillars organized by buyer intent. Quick wins for the first 60-90 days. I build SEO strategies grounded in real buyer language, segmented by persona and buying stage.

03

Assets: Landing Pages, Emails, Content

Build the actual marketing materials using the research, voice, and positioning as inputs. Landing page copy using direct response frameworks. Email sequences (welcome, nurture, conversion). Lead magnets that bridge to paid. Every asset is methodology-driven, not template-driven.

04

Iterate Until Right

First drafts are starting points. I run rejection cycles, voice enforcement, and quality gates. Would I actually send this? Would I click this? Most people skip this step. It's the difference between 'fine' and 'converts.' Then I validate using multiple AI expert perspectives to find the blind spots.

05

Strategy and execution. No gap between them.

Most fractional CMOs hand you a strategy deck and wish you luck. I deliver working systems. For a restaurant financial services client, we stood up their entire marketing infrastructure from zero in one quarter - SEO strategy, segmented landing pages, HubSpot RevOps architecture, AI-personalized ABM outbound pipeline, a BDR Co-Pilot, and operator persona libraries across 13 named restaurant segments. AI lets my team compress what used to take 6 months into weeks. That's the difference.

Traditional CMO
Working with Eric
Marketing strategy
Hands you a strategy deck
Hands you a working pipeline
Execution
Hires an agency to build
Executes in days with AI
Technical tools
Needs a dev team
Deploys AI-powered tools directly
Timeline
6-month roadmap
90-day full system
SaaS costs
Stacks household-name tools
Builds custom, saves hundreds of thousands
Team overhead
Scales headcount to scale output
Reduces marketing overhead 50-75% with AI

Results, not theory

Every engagement follows the same framework: identify the pain, build the system, deliver proof. Here's what that looks like.

Restaurant Tech SaaS

The Problem

Inherited a company with zero marketing infrastructure after 13+ years of operation. No SEO, no outbound, no CRM workflows, no content strategy. Marketing didn't exist as a function.

What I Did

Stood up the complete marketing engine from scratch. 50-keyword SEO strategy across 5 operator segments. Production-quality landing pages. HubSpot RevOps architecture with expansion revenue pipelines. AI-personalized ABM outbound. A BDR Co-Pilot powered by Claude Projects. Operator persona libraries across 13 named restaurant segments.

The Result

From zero to full marketing infrastructure in one quarter. Complete system running autonomously.

Cryptocurrency

The Problem

Needed to execute a $25M crowd sale with no existing marketing framework, funnel, or acquisition system in place.

What I Did

Architected the entire online marketing plan end-to-end. Funnel design, offer development, media buying strategy, customer journey mapping. Oversaw all marketing operations and executed the media buying plan as CMO.

The Result

$25 million raised. End-to-end marketing architecture delivered.

Turnaround + Exit

The Problem

Two separate companies in decline. Products were stale, costs were bloated, and revenue was shrinking. Both needed to be rebuilt to become attractive for acquisition.

What I Did

Led the rebuild of product lines, cut costs, streamlined operations, and created entirely new revenue streams. Directed the full execution of product, operations, and marketing for both engagements.

The Result

$18M in combined exits. One sold for $7M, the other acquired for $11M.

Common questions

What does a fractional VP of Marketing actually do?
How is this different from hiring an agency?
What does a typical engagement look like?
What do you mean by AI-native?
What industries do you work with?
How do I know if we're a good fit?

Ready to talk?

I'm currently available for 1-2 new fractional engagements. 30 minutes, no pitch deck, no proposal. Just a real conversation about your marketing and whether I can help.

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