SoulPurpose Advisory · 2026

2026
AgencyAIPlaybook

13 Practical Hacks to Win More CMO Business

MATT WEISS

Founder, SoulPurpose Advisory

Speed is now a commodity. Judgment is the new margin.

Why give away tips & tricks?

Heart. Humility. Hustle. And one more that matters just as much: be good to each other. Those aren't slogans. They're operating principles.

I'm a big believer in giving away the hacks and tricks — the prompts, the shortcuts, the ways to think about using AI better and faster. Share the playbook and let people run with it.

Why? Because two competitors can walk into the same room, hear the same ideas, even leave with the same playbook… and still walk out sounding completely different.

Tools don't create advantage. People do. How you think. How you treat people. How you apply what you learn. That's where EQ beats IQ every time.

The people who lead with heart, humility, and a little hustle usually end up doing something pretty special with it.

And along the way, remember the rule that matters most: Be good to each other.

The Premise
The CMO Is Your Target.
AI Is Your Edge.

Your CMO prospects are drowning in generic pitches and agencies that all look the same. The agencies that win in 2026 show up knowing more, seeing further, and moving faster. These 13 hacks give you that asymmetrical advantage.

01 The Offensive Finding and winning CMO business
02 The Intel Understanding your CMO's world before they do
03 The Engine Doing exponentially more with a smaller team
Theater 1
The Offensive
Finding & Winning CMO Business
Hack 01

Walk Into the Room Already Diagnosing Their Pain

What It Does

Before you pitch a CMO, find the gap between what their company tells Wall Street and what their brand actually delivers. Feed the AI their 10-K, earnings transcripts, and a CMO interview. Let it find the "Gap of Unmet Ambition."

Why CMOs Buy This

A CMO who feels understood — not just pitched — opens the door. You are not selling services. You are diagnosing a problem they have not yet named.

Use Case

Prep for a first-time CMO pitch at a mid-market brand. Walk in with a one-page C-Suite Cheat Sheet that reframes your agency as the bridge over their specific strategic gap.

Power Phrase

"Act as an elite Corporate Intelligence Analyst. Cross-reference the financial mandates in this 10-K with the qualitative statements made by the CMO in the provided interview. Identify the 'Gap of Unmet Ambition' — where their stated financial goals require a level of creative risk they are currently not taking. Output a 1-page C-Suite Cheat Sheet that tells me exactly how to frame our agency as the bridge over that gap."

Hack 02

Kill Your Pitch Before the CMO Does

The Mechanic

Before you present to a CMO, let AI play the role of the most hostile person in the room — a cost-cutting procurement officer, a cynical CMO who has heard it all before. Upload your draft pitch deck and their brand guidelines. Ask the AI to find the three silent deal-killers in your logic, your pricing, and your differentiation.

The Edge

CMOs have finely tuned BS detectors. The agencies that win are the ones who have already answered every hard question before it gets asked.

Use Case

You have a pitch in 48 hours. Run this before you finalize the deck. Walk in bulletproof.

Power Phrase

"Adopt the persona of a hostile, highly skeptical, cost-cutting Procurement Officer and a cynical CMO who has seen every agency pitch imaginable. Review this pitch deck. Do not flatter me. Identify the 3 'silent deal-killers' in our strategic logic, pricing justification, or differentiation. Grill me on these weaknesses using a confrontational tone, and demand to know why we are better than a holding company network."

Hack 03

Hit the CMO the Day Their Budget Unlocks

What It Does

Cold outreach is dead. But signal-based outreach — timed to a new hire, a funding round, a leadership change, a regulatory shift — lands every time. Feed the AI the trigger event, the CMO's career history, and their new company's market position. Get a 3-sentence "Day 1 Strategy" email that sounds like a peer, not a pitch.

Why CMOs Buy This

A new CMO in their first 90 days is actively looking for partners who can help them make their mark. This is the moment. Do not miss it with a generic intro email.

Use Case

A CMO just moved from a DTC brand to a legacy retailer. You know their past wins. You know the new company's vulnerabilities. This prompt connects those dots in 3 sentences.

Power Phrase

"Act as a hyper-targeted B2B matchmaker. [CMO Name] just moved from [Past Company] to become CMO at [New Company]. Based on their past success with [Past Campaign / Strategy], write a punchy, 3-sentence 'Day 1 Strategy' email. Connect the dots between their past wins and the exact market vulnerabilities of their new company. Do not sound like a salesperson — sound like a peer offering a dangerous idea."

Hack 04 · The Provocateur POV Builder

Publish the Opinion Your CMO Prospect Is Afraid to Say Out Loud

What It Does

CMOs do not hire agencies for more of the same thinking. They hire agencies that challenge them. Feed the AI your founder's past writing to teach it your voice, then give it three short articles about a trend and ask for a contrarian POV that challenges the consensus.

Why CMOs Buy This

A CMO who reads your POV and thinks "that's exactly what I've been thinking but couldn't say" will reach out. You've done their thought leadership for them — and shown you deeply get their world.

Use Case

Your agency works with retail brands. Consensus: "loyalty programs are the future." Your POV: loyalty programs often signal a brand has stopped being interesting. Publish it. Watch who calls.

Power Phrase

"Analyze the rhetorical cadence, sentence structure, and use of metaphors in the provided samples. This is my 'Agency Voice.' Now, read these 3 short articles about [CMO's Industry Trend]. Identify the boring industry consensus. Using my 'Agency Voice,' write a 400–500 word contrarian POV that aggressively challenges this consensus — the opinion the CMO is thinking but afraid to publish. Give it a provocative headline and ensure the logic is defensible."

Theater 2
The Intel
Understanding Your CMO's World Before They Do
Hack 05

Read What the CMO Is Not Saying

What It Does

After every discovery call or tissue session, you have a transcript. Most agencies summarize it. The best agencies analyze it. Feed the raw, unedited transcript to the AI and ask it to perform a conversational dynamics analysis — isolating moments of hesitation, topic changes, and shifting tones around budget, timelines, and risk.

Why CMOs Buy This

A CMO who feels truly heard — whose unspoken anxieties are addressed before they even voice them — will trust you faster and fight harder to keep you.

Use Case

You just ran a discovery call with a CMO at a B2B SaaS company. They seemed enthusiastic but went quiet when timelines came up. This prompt tells you exactly what that silence meant — and how to address it in your follow-up.

Power Phrase

"Perform a conversational dynamics analysis on this transcript. Do not summarize the meeting. Instead, isolate moments of hesitation, abrupt topic changes, or shifting tones — especially around budget, timelines, or risk. Output a 'Subtext Report' that flags the CMO's unspoken anxieties and hidden organizational politics, and prescribe exactly how our agency needs to address them in the follow-up proposal."

Hack 06 · The Category Blindspot Radar

Show the CMO the White Space Their Competitors Are Ignoring

What It Does

Before a strategy meeting, feed the AI six months of competitors' press releases, launches, and ad copy. Ask it to define the "Category Blindspot" — the demographics, use cases, and emotional territories the herd ignores.

Why CMOs Buy This

A CMO who brings a map of undefended market territory becomes indispensable. You are not just an agency — you become a strategic intelligence partner.

Use Case

Example: premium pet food brands target millennial pet parents. The blindspot: Gen X empty nesters who just got their first dog. This prompt finds that gap and writes the brief to own it.

Power Phrase

"Synthesize the last 6 months of strategic moves by these 3 category leaders in [CMO's Category]. Where is the 'herd' moving? What demographics, use cases, or emotional territories are they collectively ignoring? Define this 'Category Blindspot' and write a 1-paragraph strategic brief on how our client can aggressively occupy this undefended territory before a competitor does."

Hack 07 · Pitching the "Digital Twin"

Simulate the Agency Trying to Beat You — Before the CMO Sees Them

What It Does

Before a competitive pitch, upload your most direct rival agency's case studies, website copy, and LinkedIn posts. Ask the AI to become their "Digital Twin" — to internalize their frameworks and counter-pitch your strategy in character.

Why CMOs Buy This

CMOs run competitive reviews. They want to see that you understand the landscape. An agency that has already stress-tested its pitch against the competition walks in with a confidence that is impossible to fake.

Use Case

You are pitching against a well-known holding company network for a mid-market CMO's brand account. This prompt tells you exactly how they will attack your size, your pricing, and your model — and how to neutralize every objection before it lands.

Power Phrase

"You are now the strategic 'Digital Twin' of [Competitor Agency]. Internalize their frameworks, tone, case studies, and positioning. I am going to pitch you my proposed strategy for [CMO's Brand / Shared Prospect]. Acting entirely in character as [Competitor Agency], counter-pitch me. Tell me exactly how you would position against my weaknesses to win this CMO's business."

Hack 08

Write the Failure Memo Before the Campaign Launches

What It Does

Before you present a campaign to a CMO, upload the finalized plan and ask the AI to write the leaked internal post-mortem memo from 12 months in the future — after a catastrophic failure. Then ask it for 3 "Immunization Tactics" to prevent that failure today.

Why CMOs Buy This

CMOs are accountable to boards and CEOs. The agency that demonstrates it has already stress-tested for failure — and built in the safeguards — is the agency that earns the CMO's trust and their budget.

Use Case

You are presenting a bold brand repositioning to a CMO at a publicly traded company. Run this prompt first. Walk in having already answered the question: "What could go wrong?"

Power Phrase

"Transport yourself to 12 months from today. This campaign for [CMO's Brand] has been a catastrophic cultural and financial failure. Write the leaked internal post-mortem memo from the CEO. What specific cultural misreads, technical errors, or strategic gaps caused this spectacular failure? Follow the memo with 3 'Immunization Tactics' our agency must implement today to prevent this outcome."

Theater 3
The Engine
Doing Exponentially More With a Smaller Team
Hack 09 · The Dynamic Risk SOW Builder

Write the Scope That Protects Your Margin Before the CMO Changes Their Mind

What It Does

Scopes of work leak profit when they ignore the client's actual behavior. Feed the AI the project requirements, the CMO's historical revision patterns, and the timeline constraints. Get a scope that dynamically prices the risk — with legal boundaries around scope creep and SLA gates.

Why CMOs Buy This

A CMO who receives a scope that is clearly written, fairly priced, and professionally structured will trust your agency's operational maturity. You are not just creative. You are a business partner.

Use Case

A CMO has asked for a brand identity project in 4 weeks. You know from experience that their organization requires 5+ rounds of approvals. This prompt builds a scope that protects your team — and sets the right expectations from day one.

Power Phrase

"Draft a Scope of Work for [Project] for a CMO client at [Company Type]. Use our standard deliverables, but dynamically adjust the 'Risk Premium.' The CMO has requested an aggressive 4-week timeline and their organization historically requires 4+ rounds of revisions. Inject defensive legal boundaries around 'Scope Creep,' build in strict SLA gates for client feedback, and draft the pricing tiers to heavily penalize late changes after creative has been approved."

Hack 10 · The Graveyard Idea Upcycler

The Best Idea for This CMO Is Already in Your Archive

What It Does

Every agency has a graveyard of brilliant, unapproved ideas. Upload 3–5 of your best dead pitch decks. Ask the AI to strip the brand names, extract the core behavioral insight and mechanical strategy from each, and adapt those underlying mechanics to solve the current CMO's brief.

Why CMOs Buy This

CMOs can tell the difference between an idea that was built for them and an idea that was built for someone else. But the mechanics of a great idea — the human truth it taps into — can be redeployed. This is how you move fast without losing depth.

Use Case

You pitched a "community-first" brand strategy to a DTC brand two years ago. They passed. The CMO you are pitching today runs a B2B SaaS company. The mechanics are the same. The application is different. This prompt makes that connection.

Power Phrase

"Act as an Institutional Memory Engine. Review these dead pitch decks from the [Old Industry / Past Client] sector. Strip away the specific brand names and extract the core behavioral insight and mechanical strategy from each. Now, adapt and 'upcycle' those underlying mechanics to solve the current brief for [New CMO / New Category]. Show me how to reuse our best sunk-cost thinking to win this new business."

Hack 11 · The "Lateral Leap" Territory Generator

Give the CMO an Idea Their Internal Team Would Never Produce

What It Does

Upload the client brief, tell the AI to ignore category conventions, and generate 5 breakthrough creative territories by colliding the brand with an unrelated subculture.

Why CMOs Buy This

An uncomfortable, memorable idea makes the CMO remember your agency. Breakthrough territory comes from unexpected collisions, not playing it safe.

Use Case

A legacy bank wants Gen Z. Instead of "empowerment," what if it launched like a hype-beast drop or a cult fitness brand? Five territories = five reasons to call you.

Power Phrase

"Discard all standard tropes for the [CMO's Industry] category. Generate 5 breakthrough creative territories for [CMO's Brand] by forcing a collision with a completely unrelated subculture — e.g., 'What if a legacy bank operated like a hype-beast streetwear drop?' For each territory, give a headline, a visual vibe, and the core psychological reason it will resonate with [Target Audience]."

Hack 12 · The Anomaly Hunter

Find the One Data Point That Changes Everything for the CMO

What It Does

CMOs are drowning in data and starving for insight. Upload raw consumer surveys, social listening exports, and sales data CSVs. Ask the AI to ignore the averages and find the statistically significant outliers — the weirdest, most contradictory data points that defy current industry logic.

Why CMOs Buy This

A CMO who sees a campaign built on a genuine human anomaly — not a demographic average — will understand immediately that your agency sees what others miss. That is the most valuable thing an agency can offer.

Use Case

You are building a campaign for a health and wellness CMO. The data says their core customer is a 35-year-old woman. The anomaly: their fastest-growing segment is 58-year-old men who started buying after a health scare. That is the brief.

Power Phrase

"Act as a Master Data Detective analyzing data for [CMO's Brand / Category]. Do not tell me what this data broadly says — the CMO already knows the averages. Find the 'Statistically Significant Outliers' — the weirdest, most contradictory data points in these sets that defy current industry logic. Isolate the top 3 anomalies and draft a one-page creative brief for our agency based entirely on exploiting the weirdest one."

Hack 13 · Reverse-Engineering the Enemy's Brief

Turn the CMO's Biggest Competitor Into Your Best Teacher

What It Does

Every great campaign your CMO's competitor has run was built from a brief. Feed the AI links, articles, or transcripts detailing that campaign. Ask it to reverse-engineer the exact creative brief that produced the work — the Single-Minded Proposition, the human truth, the cultural tension resolved.

Why CMOs Buy This

A CMO who sees their competitor's strategy deconstructed — and a clear blueprint for how to counter it — will trust your agency's strategic depth completely. You are not just making ads. You are playing chess.

Use Case

A CMO's biggest competitor just won a Grand Prix at Cannes. Instead of admiring the work, your agency reverse-engineers the brief, identifies the human truth they tapped into, and builds a counter-strategy that occupies the territory the competitor left undefended.

Power Phrase

"Act as an Award-Winning Chief Strategy Officer. Analyze this highly successful campaign by [CMO's Competitor]. Reverse-engineer the exact creative brief that must have been written to produce this work. Define their 'Single-Minded Proposition,' the core human truth they tapped into, and the primary cultural tension they resolved. Then identify the strategic territory they left undefended — and write a brief for our agency to own it."

The Agency That Knows the CMO Better Than They Know Themselves Wins Every Time

These 13 hacks are not about replacing your team's judgment. They are about amplifying it. The independent agencies that will define the next decade are the ones that use AI to show up to every CMO meeting having already done the work — the research, the stress-testing, the competitive intelligence — that used to take weeks.

Speed is now a commodity. Judgment is the new margin.

Matt@soulpurposeadvisory.com
Heart. Humility. Hustle.