When you enter a new market, every move hinges on one thing: whether buyers trust you enough to pay attention.

In this episode of Straight to Voicemail, Rachel Elsts Downey calls Christie Horsman, Head of Marketing at UpCodes, to dig into why customer trust has to be the center of any scaling strategy. Christie shares how she approaches new markets by studying the category, understanding how buyers evaluate options, and mapping where her product fits. She explains how trust is built through people, not brands, and why thought leadership, influencer partnerships, and customer proof matter more than ever in AI driven search.

You’ll learn:

• How to build trust before you build pipeline
• How to research and position yourself in a new category
• How to use voices, not brands, to shape buyer perception

Jump into the conversation:
(00:00) Why we wanted to hear from Christie
(00:09) Why trust decides whether your strategy works
(00:20) Why Christie understands how to scale in new markets
(01:20) The different ways to approach new markets
(01:40) How to position against incumbents
(02:16) Why trust matters more than paid ads
(03:20) How influencers and ambassadors build credibility
(04:00) Why thought leadership drives trust in AI search
(06:20) Scaling through reviews and lighthouse customers
(07:40) How trust fuels your funnel

Straight to Voicemail is for CMOs, CEOs, and Heads of Marketing in B2B tech who want insights from the people who’ve been there. Each episode centers on one big question answered like a voicemail you’ll want to play again.

Don’t miss this conversation! Follow Straight to Voicemail and explore Genius Cuts for more B2B content strategy insights.