Sales

I never want to write another case study again. Nothing moves the needle faster in B2B sales / marketing than a relevant, well-timed customer story But everyday I find it harder to believe that this playbook is actually working: - interview a customer - write a 1,500 word case study on your blog - share it on social one time - post it in Slack and hope the sales team remembers to dig it up when relevant Running this playbook typically results in the following: - nobody reads the case study (not even the sales team) - in a typical B2B SaaS company only 2 people know all the case studies: the founder and the person who wrote them So last quarter, instead of spending 3 hours re-running this outdated playbook, I spent 3 hours writing a custom GPT I trained it on all of CoLab's existing case studies Now, when a BDR provides a prospect profile, the GPT returns a 40-sec cold call script based on a story of how we helped a similar customer solve a real problem What happened next? - BDRs started using customer stories way more often in cold calls - They also mastered new customer stories (not just the top 2-3 logos) - And the kicker: our connect to meeting rate doubled in less than a quarter Don't stop interviewing customers, don't de-prioritize case studies But make this the year you reinvent the playbook and do it 10x more effectively AI makes this possible #b2bmarketing

Last week, I heard from a super impressive customer who has cracked the code on how to give salespeople something they’ve always wanted: more selling time. Here’s how he transformed their process. This customer runs the full B2B sales motion at an awesome printing business based in the U.S. For years, his team divided their time across six key areas: 1. Task prioritization 2. Meeting prep 3. Customer responses 4. Prospecting 5. Closing deals 6. Sales strategy Like every sales leader I know, he wants his team to spend most of their time on #5 and #6 — closing deals and sales strategy. But together, those only made up about 30% of their week. (Hearing this gave me flashbacks to my time in sales…and all that admin tasks 😱) Now, his team uses AI across the sales process to compress the amount of time spent on #1-4: 1. Task prioritization → AI scores leads and organizes daily tasks 2. Meeting prep → AI surfaces insights from calls and contact records before meetings 3. Customer responses → Breeze Customer Agent instantly answers customer questions 4. Prospecting → Breeze Prospecting Agent automatically researches accounts and books meetings The result? Higher quantity of AI-powered work: More prospecting. More pipeline.  Higher quality of human-led work: More thoughtful conversations. Sharper strategy. This COO's story made my week. It's a reminder of just how big a shift we're going through – and why it’s such an exciting time to be in go-to-market right now.

If you’re an AE and still sending “Recap Emails” after discovery calls, let me save you 12 months of frustration: You're making a mistake. You are confusing the buyer. You’re flooding them with everything you heard—but not what they need to do next. It feels helpful. It feels “consultative.” But in reality, it kills momentum. Here’s what I teach my AEs instead: Only one thing matters between first meeting and proposal: Progress. Forget the fluff. The notes. The recap. The follow-up should be this simple: “Great meeting with your team. Looks like there’s strong potential to help. As a next step, we’ll need to do a deeper dive into your environment so we can show you a tailored demo and proposal with implementation details and costs. Let’s schedule that session—it should take about an hour. After that, we’ll be ready to deliver a proposal.” That’s it. No persuasion. No selling. Just forward motion. Why does this work? Because: Buyers don’t read your bullet-pointed essays. They don’t remember action items buried in paragraphs. They don’t need more “convincing” before the demo. They need clarity. Ownership. Urgency. And when you stop treating every meeting like a closing opportunity, you’ll finally start getting to the point that matters: Proposal on the table.

Here's how to simplify your pitch and 10x your sales: 1. Talk less, sell more. Short sentences = more sales. Hemingway once bet he could write a story in 6 words that'd make you feel something: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." Your pitch should pack the same punch. 2. Complexity is for people who want to feel smart, not be effective. The worst salespeople make simple things sound complicated. The best make the complex simple. 3. Complexity says, "I want to feel needed." Simplicity limits to only what is needed. 4. Read your pitch out loud. I remember when I'd asked my COO to read the manuscript of my book. He chose to do it aloud. All 258 pages. Ears catch what eyes miss. The final version reads like butter. 5. "Be good, be seen, be gone." This was the best sales advice I ever got. - Good: Deliver value - Seen: Make an impression - Gone: Don't overstay your welcome People buy from those they remember, not those who linger. 7. Speak like your customer, not a textbook. We like to sound sophisticated. "We create impactful bottom-line solutions." But we like to listen to simple. "We help small businesses explode their sales." Which one would you buy? 8. Every word earns its place. Your pitch should be lean and mean. - Be specific - Avoid cliches - Check for redundancy - If it doesn't add value, cut it out 9. Abstract concepts bore. Concrete examples excite. ❌ "We'll increase your efficiency." ✅ "We'll save you 10 hours a week." Paint a picture. 10. People buy on emotion & justify with logic So tap into their feelings: - Fear of missing out - Desire for success - Need for security Then back it up with facts. 11. The "Grandma Test" never fails. If your grandma wouldn't get your pitch, simplify it. No jargon. No buzzwords. Just plain English. 12. Benefits > features. Dreams > benefits. ❌ "Our group hosts 10+ events per year." ✅ "Our program helps you close deals." 🚀 "Let's take back Main Street through ownership." 13. Use power words: - You - Free - Because - Instantly - New These words grab attention and drive action. Two final things to keep in mind... Simplicity isn't just for sales. Apply these principles to: - your business operations - your thinking processes - your next investment - your relationships - your to do list Sales isn't just for car dealerships. You pitch when you: - Negotiate a raise - Interview for a job - Post on social media - Hire someone for a job - Talk to an owner about buying their biz If you found this useful, feel free to share for others ♻️

I’ve been chatting with marketing leaders lately, and wow - there’s a huge shift happening.   The days of "acquisition at all costs" are OVER.    According to the latest reports, 60% of CMOs are pumping more money into keeping customers while actually cutting their acquisition budgets.   Why? It’s simple math that’s getting impossible to ignore:   ● It costs nearly DOUBLE to acquire customers compared to just two years ago ● A 5% increase in customer retention can increase a company’s profitability by 75%   One CMO friend put it perfectly: "We finally realized we were just filling a leaky bucket!"   The smartest teams are creating dedicated retention squads, rethinking their content to serve existing customers, and treating post-purchase experience as their competitive edge.   When was the last time you looked at your retention vs. acquisition spend? Most marketers I talk to are shocked when they do!   Sources: Clevertap, Bain & Co.

Last week I met with the CRO of a company that was last valued at $2.3 billion. He used my favorite words I’ve heard TO DATE to describe the biggest problem in sales today: “A couple years ago we were selling in a ‘demand-positive’ environment,” he said. He went on: “Today, we’re selling in a ‘demand-neutral’ and even ‘demand-negative environment.’ Those are COMPLETELY different skills.” I asked him what skills sellers need today. Here’s a few things he said: 1. Deliver a McKinsey-caliber POV. A point of view is a UNIQUE insight about an industry problem. A great POV can change how your buyer thinks. All in a way that favors a purchase. Most sellers don’t know how. POVs are thinly-veiled product pitches. There’s no insight. There’s no acumen. The best sellers deliver POVs that rival a McKinsey consultant. They subtly communicate: “I know your business. And I know this problem better than anyone.” Buyers walk out of those meetings better than how they walked in. 2. Uncover C-LEVEL pain and outcomes Open your CRM. Look at the notes in the ‘pain’ field in your deals. Now ask yourself: Are these the topics that C-Level execs talk about? Chances are: Your pain statements resonate with mid level managers. Not C-Level buyers. Uncover the need BEHIND the need. You'll land on the jackpot. 3. Uncover WHAT IT WOULD TAKE to capitalize on a priority. In a demand-neutral environment, you have to go “outbound.” That means buyers aren’t exploring your solution. The obvious step 1 is to uncover priorities (see above). But that’s not enough. You can uncover priorities until you’re blue in the face. But if you don’t know what it takes for your buyer to CAPITALIZE on them? You can't TIE your solution to them. The best salespeople don’t just uncover deep pain. They uncover how the buyer thinks about the causes. They offer insight on how the buyer SHOULD think about them. 4. Build consesus. Buying committees have gotten larger. Buying committees have gotten more risk averse. Buying committees are prone to “do nothing.” Yet sellers have the same multi-threading habits they did two years ago: Work with one, two, MAYBE three people. Stick with the most comfortable contact. Avoid the skeptics. The best salespeople don't just multi-thread. They do it in a way that creates consensus. 4. Confront and convert skeptics into champions. Weak sellers avoid the skeptics. They're uncomfortable. They ask hard questions. They voice hard objections. But the best sellers know that skeptics can become your best champions. Only people who CARE about solving a problem are skeptical about solutions. If you can win them over, they move mountains. Lean into the skeptics. Not away from them. P.S. Here's 39 (free) questions that sell in today's market conditions: https://go.pclub.io/list

This is a dangerous mindset that founders need to avoid: All you need is a good product and it will sell itself. At the beginning, one of my biggest misconceptions as an engineer turned founder was thinking that your product is your only competitive advantage. I never stopped to think that sales could be a competitive advantage. In the early days at AppDynamics, we managed to grow to several million dollars in annual revenue, primarily by landing a few big accounts like Netflix. But a fellow CEO pointed out the obvious: If we ever hoped to cross the $100 million threshold someday, we needed to get scientific about sales. For other founders who want to embark on a sales education, here are some steps I took: - Accept that sales actually matter. Once a company starts growing, sales, marketing and distribution are as important as the product itself. - Commit to learning — If a software engineer can learn programming, they can learn sales. That said, I won't sugarcoat it — learning sales is a years-long process and isn't something you figure out in a day. - Study the competition — I studied companies similar to mine that were 3-5 years ahead: How did that company run its sales process, and what kind of salespeople did it recruit? - Lean on experts — We were fortunate to have hired John McMahon, a top authority on enterprise software sales, for weekly whiteboard sessions. Eventually, I also hired a VP of Sales which was one of the best decisions I made as a founder. Sales should never be an afterthought and while this education requires significant time investment, it's well worth it. #Sales #FounderAdvice #Startup #Entrepreneurship

Cold Calling Is Dying. Here’s What’s Replacing It. The numbers don’t lie: • Cold call success rates have dropped to 2.3% in 2025, down from 4.8% last year (Cognism). • 72% of sales calls never reach a person, and it takes 8+ dials to connect with just one prospect. • Only 28% of reps still view cold calling as effective. Meanwhile, high-performing teams are doing something different. Research-Driven, Insight-Led Outreach Wins: • Reps who thoroughly research their prospects are 3x more likely to succeed (Clevenio). • Prospect-specific research can lift conversions by ~30%. • Insight-led outreach builds trust before a call is ever placed. Email and Social Are Outpacing Phone-First Approaches: • Personalized cold emails outperform generic ones by 32%; average reply rates are 8–9%. • 78% of social sellers outsell peers, and social-enabled teams hit quota 66% more often. Takeaway: 1. The call is no longer the first touchpoint. It’s the third or maybe the fourth; it’s only viable once you have demonstrable engagement via other channels. 2. Buyers start with research—so should you. Start with research. Deliver value. Leverage email and social. Then—and only then—call with context. You’re no longer the teacher like when you were knocking on doors. 3. This is how modern sales works. And this is how trust is built at scale. Welcome to the future, my friends. 🙌🏾 #NervousSystemsStrategist #SalesLeadership #ModernSelling #ColdCalling #SalesDevelopment #InsightSelling #SalesStrategy #SalesEnablement

𝗔 𝘁𝗼𝗽-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮 $𝟮.𝟳𝗠 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹  𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁… One signature.  Months of relationship-building. And...done deal. When commission day rolled around,  She expected a check that would make her mortgage lender blush. But, here's what happened instead: FINANCE: "We capped your commission." HER: "Based on what policy?" FINANCE: "We don’t allow reps to take home more than a certain amount per deal." HER: "Where is this rule written?" FINANCE: "It's not written. It's just what we do here." A broken promise wrapped in corporate jargon. This company just taught their 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗘𝗥 that crushing it doesn't pay. Next time she has a whale on the hook, guess what happens? ➡️ Maybe she splits it into smaller deals over time.  ➡️ Maybe she slow-walks it to the next quarter.  ➡️ Maybe she updates her LinkedIn profile. Either way, the company loses. Two truths about sales compensation: 1) Quota-beaters leave companies that cap their earnings faster than candidates ghost recruiters. 2) When you teach hunters there's a limit to what they can catch; they'll find new hunting grounds or they'll start to cheat the system. Don't be that company. Don't make that mistake. Don't wonder why your best people left. 𝗣𝗢𝗩: If you aren't willing to accept unlimited downside when reps miss quota, you better be willing to pay unlimited upside when they crush it.

I analyzed 12 months of ABM campaigns that actually worked. Here's the data: Most Account-Based Marketing fails before it starts. After analyzing 12 months of successful ABM campaigns (and plenty of failures), I've identified the patterns that consistently drive pipeline. Here's what the data shows: 1. Timing matters just as much as content Accounts that received 3+ touches within 48 hours of showing buying intent converted 4x better than those that received the same content a week later. 2. The magic number is 6.2 (for this brand at least) The average closed-won deal had 6.2 stakeholders involved. Yet most ABM campaigns only target 1-2 personas per account. Expand your reach. 3. The "champion experience" is everything The accounts where we delivered a memorable experience to a single champion (personalized video, custom research, direct exec outreach) had 3x higher conversion rates. 4. Sales and marketing misalignment kills ABM Our most successful campaigns had sales activity within 24 hours of marketing touches. When this alignment slipped to 72+ hours, conversion rates dropped by 48%. 5. Personalization at scale actually works But not how most people do it. We tested 4 levels of personalization: - Generic (18% engagement) - Industry-specific (27% engagement) - Company-specific (42% engagement) - Individual + company-specific (63% engagement) 6. Direct mail isn't dead But swag is worthless (or at least it didn’t work for this audience 🤷♀️). Our highest ROI direct mail: Personalized research reports addressing the account's specific challenges. $250 spend → $45K in pipeline (average). 7. The "Double-Down Effect" When an account engages with ANY marketing touch, immediately increasing the frequency and personalization level produces a 3.5x lift in conversion rates. The companies getting ABM right understand it's not a campaign—it's a complete go-to-market strategy. P.S. I'm working on a new episodic ABM show in collaboration with Clay, so stay tuned 🤗