How we built this list
Every roundup of "best B2B influencers" looks the same: 30 famous names, in random order, with no audience-ICP analysis. This list is built differently. Selection criteria: (1) Active in the last 6 months - no retired voices. (2) Credible within a defined category - we organised by 10 B2B categories. (3) Substantive content - frameworks, original research, or strong category POV. (4) Engagement quality, not quantity. (5) Mix of follower tiers: ~15 macro (100K+), ~25 mid-tier (20K-100K), ~10 specialists (under 20K).
Category 1: B2B Marketing & Demand Gen (general)
1. Dave Gerhardt (~150K LinkedIn) - B2B marketing, ex-Drift CMO, Exit Five community founder. 2. Chris Walker (~110K LinkedIn) - Demand gen, dark social, contrarian POV. Refine Labs founder. 3. Sangram Vajre (~70K LinkedIn) - ABM, GTM Partners founder. 4. Mark Schaefer (~80K LinkedIn) - Marketing Rebellion, future-of-marketing. 5. Joe Pulizzi (~50K LinkedIn) - Content marketing, founded Content Marketing Institute. 6. Andy Crestodina (~60K LinkedIn) - Content marketing, original research-led. 7. Tim Davidson (~45K LinkedIn) - B2B paid acquisition, performance. 8. Pam Didner (~40K LinkedIn) - B2B revenue marketing, sales-marketing alignment.
Category 2: Positioning, Brand & Strategy
9. April Dunford (~80K LinkedIn) - Positioning. Author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch. Probably the most-cited single voice in B2B SaaS positioning. 10. Anthony Pierri (~30K LinkedIn) - Homepage positioning specialist (FletchPMM). Higher engagement quality than most macro creators. 11. Andy Raskin (~40K LinkedIn) - Strategic narrative, executive storytelling. 12. Emma Stratton (~25K LinkedIn) - Messaging, B2B copywriting fundamentals. 13. Roger Martin (~50K LinkedIn) - Strategy theory. 14. Lia Garvin (~40K LinkedIn) - Operations and team strategy.
Category 3: RevOps & Sales Operations
15. Mollie Bodensteiner (~25K LinkedIn) - RevOps, Series B-D scaleups. 16. Crissy Saunders (~20K LinkedIn) - RevOps practitioner, CS2 founder. 17. Rosalyn Santa Elena (~30K LinkedIn) - Revenue operations leadership. 18. Jeff Ignacio (~15K LinkedIn) - RevOps tactical, ex-Procore. 19. Lindsey Plocek (~20K LinkedIn) - RevOps systems and process. 20. Dan O'Leary (~10K LinkedIn) - RevOps automation, high ICP density.
Category 4: Sales & Sales Content
21. Devin Reed (~50K LinkedIn) - Sales content strategy, ex-Gong, ex-Clari. 22. Sam Jacobs (~50K LinkedIn) - Pavilion community, B2B revenue. 23. Jen Allen-Knuth (~80K LinkedIn) - Demand creation, pre-sales conversations. 24. Belal Batrawy (~50K LinkedIn) - Outbound sales, founder GTM Buddy. 25. Kyle Coleman (~40K LinkedIn) - Marketing-sales alignment. 26. Anthony Iannarino (~60K LinkedIn) - Sales fundamentals.
Category 5: Product-Led Growth & PMM
27. Wes Bush (~50K LinkedIn) - PLG, ProductLed founder. 28. Kyle Poyar (~70K LinkedIn) - PLG, ex-OpenView. Heavy original research. 29. Aatir Abdul Rauf (~40K LinkedIn) - PMM strategy. 30. Yi Lin Pei (~25K LinkedIn) - PMM career and craft. 31. Tamara Grominsky (~20K LinkedIn) - PMM, pricing strategy. Ex-Unbounce.
Categories 6-10: Devtools, Fintech, HR Tech, Founders, Newsletters
Devtools & DevRel: Swyx/Shawn Wang (~80K Twitter), Cassidy Williams (~90K Twitter), Chris Coyier (~150K Twitter), Kelsey Hightower (~200K Twitter), Eddie Jaoude (~40K LinkedIn).
Fintech & Finance B2B: Alex Johnson (Fintech Takes, ~30K LinkedIn), Matt Brown (~25K LinkedIn), Jason Mikula (~20K LinkedIn), Simon Taylor (~25K LinkedIn, 11:FS co-founder), Linas Beliūnas (~40K LinkedIn).
HR Tech & People Ops: Hebba Youssef (~70K LinkedIn, "I Hate It Here" newsletter), Lars Schmidt (~50K LinkedIn, Amplify HR), Adam Grant (~600K LinkedIn, organisational psychology).
Founders publishing publicly: Justin Welsh (~600K LinkedIn, solopreneur/course-led), Patrick Campbell (~80K LinkedIn, ProfitWell), Hiten Shah (~80K LinkedIn, multi-founder), Des Traynor (~40K LinkedIn, Intercom co-founder), Nathan Latka (~50K LinkedIn, SaaS metrics).
Newsletters & Niche Substack: Lenny Rachitsky (Lenny's Newsletter, ~600K subscribers) - product, growth, and career. Probably the highest-priced sponsorship slot in B2B newsletters.
How to use this list
Step 1: Identify the 1-2 categories that match your ICP. Step 2: Within those categories, pick 5-8 names that match the kind of voice your brand wants to associate with. Step 3: Check their last 30 days of content for consistency and substantive engagement. Step 4: Check previous brand partnerships - avoid creators who've worked with direct competitors in the last 12 months. Step 5: DM them with a one-paragraph pitch covering ICP fit, deliverables, budget range, and timeline.
FAQ
Who is the best B2B marketing influencer to follow?
There's no single best. April Dunford for positioning, Dave Gerhardt for general B2B marketing, Chris Walker for demand gen, Sam Jacobs for revenue, Lenny Rachitsky for product. The "best" creator for your brand is the one whose audience is your ICP.
Are these creators available for paid partnerships?
Most are. Rates run from $500 (nano specialists) to $50,000+ per text post and $30,000-$75,000+ per video-led campaign at the operator-authority tier — Welsh, Dunford, and other 500K+ multi-platform creators with C-suite cred-stacks. Usage rights, exclusivity, and paid amplification are routinely quoted on top. Availability changes frequently.





