Ben Billups — Founder, Breaker
Published:
There are helpful leading indicators (new subscribers in your ICP, verified clicks, etc.) and then there are definitive lagging indicators (calls on the calendar and contracts signed)… Someone who has opened 5 newsletters is far less predictive of purchase than someone who has clicked your demo link once.
What does Ben Billups say on The Agile Brand podcast?
Ben Billups, Founder, Breaker, says: Ben Billups, founder of Breaker, argues that the AI-driven panic about readers distrusting AI-written B2B email misses the real problem: relevance. He advises marketers to prioritize audience definition and targeting, measure leading vs. lagging indicators sensibly, compute cost-per-qualified and cost-per-engaged leads, and be patient with newsletter programs because purchase intent often emerges many months after initial contact.
From: The Agile Brand podcast
Cite as: Ben Billups. (2026). On The Agile Brand podcast. Retrieved from https://research.agilebrandguide.com/insights/ben-billups-there-are-helpful-leading-indicators-new-subscribers-in-you