Stop automating the best part of B2B — Steve Armenti @ Howdy

What if the best B2B marketing strategy in the age of AI is… being more human? Steve Armenti has spent 16+ years in marketing, including years running demand programs at Google. Now he’s the founder of twelfth agency and Howdy, where he’s betting on a very different version of AI-powered GTM: let AI do the research and repetitive work — then let humans create the relationship. Timestamps: 00:00 - Meet Steve Armenti 02:40 - What ABM actually means 05:10 - Should a $9/month SaaS even think about ABM? 07:59 - When does ABM make sense for a startup? 10:47 - The economics behind a $1.4M pipeline campaign 12:00 - How Howdy turns personal signals into real experiences 15:42 - Why ABM can build more than pipeline 17:38 - Personalization vs. creepy: Europe, GDPR and trust 22:27 - Can AI research people without losing the audit trail? 25:42 - What should you actually automate with AI? 29:52 - Can AI audit AI? 34:52 - Why complicated AI workflows break 37:37 - Is field marketing becoming more important than demand gen? 41:14 - Why big B2B purchases still need humans 42:18 - How personal is too personal? 45:34 - Steve's AI disaster story 49:37 - What Steve is excited about that has nothing to do with AI 50:38 - The case for going for a walk 55:07 - Final thoughts Steve Armenti — https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenarmenti/ twelfth agency: https://twelfth.agency/ Howdy: https://heyhowdy.ai ─── sounds good. — a podcast with Anna Nadeina https://soundsgoodpod.com sounds good. is sponsored by saas.group — serial acquirer of profitable SaaS businesses. If you're thinking about an exit, they're worth a conversation. https://saas.group/