The ROI Puzzle

Nicole Stirling sits down with Manushree Bahukhandi, Director of Business Development at Turnitin. Manushree reveals why the "shiny object" of AI is actually forcing a return to deep human connection. She shares how she navigates 60+ stakeholders to turn a small project into 50x revenue growth.01:35 AI Trends Driving Deeper Human Conversations04:47 The Two Biggest Blockers Slowing Deal Velocity05:48 What's Changing in 2026: Stakeholder Alignment from Day One07:21 Building Local Proof in Global Markets: The Glocal ApproachLearn more at https://www.stirlingmarketing.netDon’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more insights from The ROI Puzzle.-------------------------------------------------------------ABOUT MANUSHREE BAHUKHANDIManushree leads commercial strategy for Asia Pacific at Turnitin, where she specializes in Greenfield market development and building solutions outside traditional sectors. Her role focuses on connecting the dots between client needs and company capabilities, managing complex stakeholder relationships across multiple organizations.You can reach out to Manushree through:Website: https://www.turnitin.com/-------------------------------------------------------------ABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing’s toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

Two years to close a deal. That's where Quang Cao started. Six months is where he got it to. Across eight APAC markets at the same time. In this conversation he walks through the exact 90-day framework he built at Blancco Technology Group for entering new markets through channel partnerships — without a local team in place, without years of slow relationship building. Stop. Start. Measure. That's the core of it. He goes step by step.00:00 Building pipeline where nobody knows you03:31 The 90-day APAC market plan05:30 Finding first partners in Vietnam from scratch08:57 Two regulations quietly creating new pipeline12:02 How sales cycles went from 2 years to 6 months15:47 The government program that unlocked his first partnersLearn more at https://www.stirlingmarketing.netDon't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more insights from The ROI Puzzle.ABOUT QUANG CAOQuang Cao is Channel Manager, ASEAN & ANZ at Blancco Technology Group, where he works with banks, government agencies, and large enterprises on data erasure, compliance, and secure data lifecycle management. Over ten years he's built relationships with 30+ financial institutions, 20+ conglomerates, and government agencies across ANZ and ASEAN. His focus is practical: helping organisations manage redundant data, meet regulations like PCI DSS and ISO 27001, and actually execute the transition to cloud or hybrid environments without leaving compliance gaps.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/quangcaohoang/Website: https://blancco.com/ABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing’s toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

Nicole Stirling from Stirling Marketing sits down with Victor Pineiro, formerly Vice President of Asia Pacific at Aptitude Software.Victor has led sales teams across Asia Pacific for Thomson Reuters, AMP, and now Aptitude Software. He's also an open water endurance swimmer who completed a 60km solo swim from the Isle of Man to Ireland. A feat no one had ever done before.Today he breaks down exactly how that same mindset drives the way he grows companies in new markets. And he shares a 90 day playbook for proving pipeline in a brand new APAC country.03:30 — The AI shift and why data quality is the real bottleneck04:48 — One stack ERP is dying. Best of breed is winning06:02 — 90 day pipeline playbook for a new APAC country08:42 — What a 60km Irish Sea swim teaches you about stretch goals12:44 — Why growing a company and endurance training are the same gameLearn more at https://www.stirlingmarketing.netDon’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more insights from The ROI Puzzle.-------------------------------------------------------------ABOUT VICTOR PINEIRO:Victor Pineiro was recently the Vice President of Asia Pacific at Aptitude Software where he led go to market growth across the region. A chartered accountant by background, Victor has spent over 15 years in leadership roles across Australia, Asia, and Latin America with companies including Thomson Reuters, AMP, and KPMG. He is also an open water endurance swimmer who has completed five of the world's seven ocean swims and is featured in The Ultimate Swim, a documentary following his record setting 60km solo swim in the Irish Sea.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victorpineiro21Website: https://www.aptitudesoftware.com/-------------------------------------------------------------ABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing’s toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

Two years ago the average enterprise customer had five or six funded initiatives. Now they have two.Asanga Wanigatunga, formerly VP APJ at Snyk, ran the region with 55 people across India, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, about 8% of Snyk's global business. He walks Nicole through the account-based approach behind 30% market share in ANZ, why vendor consolidation is moving faster than most sales teams have adjusted for, and the value engineering his team leaned on when customers started cutting spend. He also covers how to build local proof across 44 APJ markets when global campaigns are not enough.00:00 Why the easy decade in B2B tech just ended01:48 When customer budgets went from 6 priorities to 204:24 What Snyk is doing differently in 202606:33 The math that made retention more important than acquisition08:36 How to build credibility across 44 different markets10:08 Why ANZ, Singapore and Japan each need a different playbookABOUT ASANGA WANIGATUNGAAsanga Wanigatunga is the former VP APJ at Snyk, where he ran go-to-market across 55 people in India, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. His team ran 8% of Snyk's global business, focused on cybersecurity stack consolidation across the region.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asangawanigatunga/Website: https://snyk.comABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for Sitecore, Acquia and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle digs into one of B2B marketing's hardest problems: proving what actually drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with sales and marketing leaders from top tech companies on attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and using AI to measure impact.Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

Jasmeet Sawhney has spent a lot of time on this problem. He is the Global Head of Marketing at Axtria, where sales cycles are long and some of the most important marketing work - executive relationships, brand credibility - never shows up in any dashboard.00:00 Why proving marketing spend keeps getting harder02:16 The events everyone loved but nothing showed in the CRM03:00 Why "if you can't track it" needs a caveat04:37 The marketing work that matters but can't be measured06:44 How AI is changing what you can actually prove08:12 The metric he almost refused to nameABOUT JASMEET SAWHNEYJasmeet Sawhney is Global Head of Marketing at Axtria, an analytics and cloud software company that works with life sciences companies on commercialisation and patient outcomes. He's spent his career trying to make marketing spend legible to the rest of the business - harder than it sounds in long B2B sales cycles.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmeet-sawhney/Website: https://www.axtria.com/ABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for Sitecore, Acquia and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle digs into one of B2B marketing's hardest problems: proving what actually drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with sales and marketing leaders from top tech companies on attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and using AI to measure impact.Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

AI was supposed to push B2B marketing further into the digital. The room landed somewhere else. Face-to-face is becoming the premium play.In this episode, Nicole Stirling covers the second half of the B2B Marketing Leaders panel she moderated in Melbourne, with IBM, Twilio and Zendesk. She breaks down why Zendesk splits its year between brand awareness and pipeline conversion, why IBM's CXO roundtables go unrecorded on purpose, the difference between account-based marketing and account-based motion, and why another e-book probably isn't the answer. She also shares how Stirling Marketing turned a forgotten lead list into more than 30 warm sales conversations in under three weeks, with zero ad spend.00:00 The other half of the Melbourne B2B marketing panel00:52 30 warm sales conversations in three weeks, no ad spend01:13 Bigger expectations, leaner teams, no clean formula01:38 Why face-to-face is becoming the premium play02:03 IBM's CXO roundtables, deliberately not recorded02:46 Account-based marketing is really account-based motion03:19 Put your hand up for the messy project04:11 Stop making thought leadership nobody readsABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing's toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

IBM, Twilio and Zendesk aren't talking about hypothetical AI use cases. Their marketing teams are already putting them to work.In this episode, Nicole Stirling shares lessons from a B2B Marketing Leaders panel she moderated in Melbourne. She breaks down how IBM is using AI to personalise event follow-up, how AI can act as a marketing assistant, and how teams are using it to solve attribution problems between sales and marketing.00:00 Inside the Melbourne B2B marketing panel02:39 What IBM, Twilio and Zendesk are doing with AI03:18 IBM’s AI-powered event follow-up system04:56 Why AI should be treated like a marketing assistant06:54 Using AI to fix sales and marketing attribution08:04 How to position AI without making it sound like a threat08:59 Where the real AI debate is headingABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing’s toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

Your buyer already knows your product before they talk to your sales team. They've done the research. Run it through AI tools. Compared you against the competition. By the time they get on a call, they're not there to learn — they want to know if the numbers hold up. Paul Wittich has been dealing with this shift for a while now. He's General Manager APAC at Dext, and in this conversation he talks through what's actually changed in pipeline generation across Asia Pacific - longer cycles, more people in every buying decision, and data residency requirements that kill deals most North American teams never see coming.00:00 Why your sales team's job just fundamentally changed01:41 The five shifts hitting B2B pipeline right now03:24 Why your sales cycles keep getting longer05:53 The training that banned product talk entirely08:24 Why global campaigns fail in local markets11:36 The deal they lost and won back in 90 daysABOUT PAUL WITTICHPaul Wittich is General Manager APAC at Dext. He runs go-to-market strategy and pipeline generation across Asia Pacific, where the buying process looks nothing like what the global playbook assumes. He's learned most of that the hard way.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulwittich/Website: https://dext.com/ABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing’s toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

B2B tech companies walk into APAC with the same playbook that worked in the US. Harry Peters has spent nearly a decade at Hudl building revenue across Southeast Asia, China, and Korea. His read on why Western companies stall in these markets isn't what you'd expect. It's not the product, the price, or the competition. It's that they skip the education step and go straight to selling.00:00 Why APAC sales requires a completely different playbook02:59 The small tweaks that move markets more than big campaigns04:34 Becoming a dad and a manager in the same week06:31 Why the Manchester City case study doesn't work in Cambodia09:10 The one thing blocking pipeline across every emerging market10:49 What Harry wants every working parent to hearABOUT HARRY PETERSHarry Peters is Regional Director for Southeast Asia, China, and Korea at Hudl, a sports technology company that makes performance analysis software. He's spent close to a decade building revenue across APAC markets where most of the real selling work happens before anyone opens a proposal.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-peters-0152a445/Website: https://www.hudl.com/ABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing’s toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug

Most B2B marketing teams are measuring the wrong thing. They hit MQL targets. Pipeline still stalls. Somebody needs to explain where the money went, but nobody owns the answer. Patrick Bradshaw has been in that room. He runs acquisition and growth marketing at Highspot.00:00 Why most B2B leads never become pipeline02:17 What Patrick actually runs at Highspot03:43 Where deals quietly go to die05:24 The system that makes reps actually follow up09:32 What changed when marketing joined the Monday call11:10 How to grow pipeline without growing the budgetLearn more at https://www.stirlingmarketing.netDon’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more insights from The ROI Puzzle.ABOUT PATRICK BRADSHAWPatrick Bradshaw is Senior Director of Acquisition and Growth Marketing at Highspot, where he leads teams responsible for driving new customer pipeline and scaling their growth engine. With over a decade of experience at the intersection of demand generation, marketing operations, and revenue growth, Patrick has helped B2B organisations turn marketing activity into measurable pipeline.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-bradshaw-28ab203/Website: https://www.highspot.com/ABOUT NICOLE STIRLINGNicole Stirling is the CEO of Stirling Marketing, a global marketing agency helping tech startups and scaleups accelerate growth and revenue. With over 15 years of experience in the technology industry, she has led marketing strategies for top companies like Sitecore, Acquia, and TechnologyOne, as well as emerging tech innovators across the Asia-Pacific region.You can reach out to Nicole through:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolestirling/Website: https://www.stirlingmarketing.netABOUT THE ROI PUZZLEThe ROI Puzzle is a podcast that dives into one of B2B marketing’s toughest challenges, proving what truly drives results. Hosted by Nicole Stirling, the show features conversations with executive leaders focused on growth in sales and marketing from top tech companies. Each episode explores topics like attribution, pipeline visibility, sales and marketing alignment, and the use of AI to measure impact. Listeners gain real-world insights and practical frameworks to connect marketing spend to revenue and confidently prove value to the board.To know more about The ROI Puzzle, you can visit the links below:Podcast/Blog: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ZXy9ccI8JqEAETghD7eDPYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2R7dib6tKP4abfFZjwpbug