Top post of Q3
The top 10 GTM mistakes founders make — when I wrote this post I had a feeling it would be popular because I’ve seen these 10 mistakes hundreds of times and continue to see them every week!
Converting pilots to contracts
How to stop your AI pilots stalling — When your pilot stalls before the finish line, its seldom because the product didn’t work. Its usually because you didn’t build a process around the ending.
How to avoid extending your pilots — The pilot ended a month ago. The contract isn’t signed but the customer is still using it. It’s getting uncomfortable.
How to turn a pricing objection into an ROI conversation — We hear a pricing objection and immediately start defending the number or negotiating against ourselves. Don’t do this.
How to grow expansion revenue — slow expansion has little to do with product, pricing, or competition. It’s because you haven’t got back in front of the right person at the right level with the right question.
Making your first GTM hires
How to onboard an AE in 10 days — An AE who doesn’t understand pain points, can’t frame ROI, can’t explain a pilot and doesn’t know how to handle top objections isn’t much use to you. A step-by-step training plan to fix this.
How to ramp your first SDR in 10 days — Similar to above, only for SDRs. A step-by-step training plan to get them booking meetings in their third week.
How to write BDR/SDR scripts that actually work — Don’t fix cold calling by adding more complexity to the script. All the gains I’ve seen have come from removing noise and focusing selling the meeting, not the product.
How to hire your first AI deployment strategist — One of the most important and in-demand roles in AI sales. Job description, when to hire, how to source, how to screen.
Cleaning up your CRM
The dangers of managing your CRM through Claude/Codex — Most startup CRMs are an unkempt graveyard of out-of-date deals. Pointing an LLM at this kind of mess and asking it to tell you what’s going on is a recipe for disaster.
How to transform your CRM from a hot mess into a usable pipeline — The 7 most common issues, why they screw you and how to fix them in Hubspot, Attio and Salesforce.
How to write a case study that isn’t fluff — Most case studies fall flat because buyers don’t recognize their own situation in them. How to write them from headline to finish, what to include, what to delete and how to make them pop.