Recently we were evaluating a demand-gen firm for a client. They came in polished - playbooks, frameworks, toolkits, all beautifully packaged. Everything looked like an exact science. Halfway through the conversation, I got curious. So I said, “Why don’t you send us a proposal too? We’ve been looking for someone to help with demand gen for our own firm.” We’re a six-month-old consulting business - core team three people, selling something completely different from our client, who’s a decade-old product company with three established markets. The proposal arrived two days later. Almost identical. Same slides. Same strategy and approach. It looked like they had just replaced the company name and logo. Maybe they were holding back the real juice. Or maybe there was nothing more. Either way, it left me wondering - how much standardization is too much? Templates are powerful. They make teams faster. They create predictability. They help scale. But past a point, they stop multiplying returns and start diluting the purpose. If every proposal looks the same, every discovery call sounds the same, and every “motion” runs the same, you’re not running a system anymore. It’s just something on autopilot. You’re producing more outputs, but not necessarily better outcomes. And unless your conversion rate is rising proportionately to all this new efficiency, something’s broken. Just simply the law of diminishing returns. Every efficiency tweak gives you smaller and smaller yield - until all you’re left with is something that looks streamlined, feels productive, and changes nothing. Standardization is essential. It’s what keeps operations sane. But the real craft in sales - and in consulting - is knowing where to stop. Where repeatability ends, and relevance begins. Where efficiency should give way to empathy and context. Because after a point, templating isn’t leverage. It’s just laziness pretending to be process.

Find your unknowns and fix the incomplete picture with purpose-built analytics and playbooks. Vendavo’s Profit Analyzer provides clarity and visuals, giving stakeholders the intelligence they need to quickly make strategic decisions, identify underperforming business, drive bottom line improvements, and strengthen future sales opportunities 👀

⚡ Build vs. Buy: Why smart marketers choose licensing over building their own RTIM engine. Transform your customer engagement strategy with flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness. This guide reveals why licensing a Real-Time Interaction Management engine beats building one from scratch - covering everything from overcoming legacy system challenges to achieving rapid deployment and expert support. Download the eBook: https://lnkd.in/gJQskdyr #PegaWorld

🚫 You’re not charging too much… BUT Your messaging is unclear. Your offer isn’t positioned for the price point you’re commanding. You’re speaking around the transformation, not directly to it. You’re using adjectives and buzzwords that aren’t landing. You’re selling workbooks, hours with you, and trainings, not what people *actually* pay for. You’re watering yourself down in your sales copy. So don’t cut your rates. That’s plan Z. Elevate your messaging so your rates look like a stretch (not a steal) that people will want to meet, EVERY. TIME.

Features don’t win deals. Business priorities do. Max Elster joins the pod to share why even the best sales playbooks fall short without a clear understanding of buyer outcomes. It’s a shift from solution-selling to value articulation, and in today’s AI-fueled market, it’s not optional. #SellingTheCloud #GTM #OutcomeSelling #B2BSales #GetAGS

Want fewer inquiries? Write “about everything at once.” The market doesn’t buy lists — it buys one clear idea. Focus: pick one customer pain and hit precisely. One sentence, one proof-with-a-number, one next step. Period. Sanity check: can you retell your post in 7–9 words? If not — you’ve got either two ideas or none. Either way, that equals zero revenue. What to do today: — Narrow the topic to one thesis; — Show one metric/fact that proves the value; — Give a concrete next step (book, reply, download, DM). People act when they understand what it is, who it’s for, and what to do now. Everything else is just content noise. #B2BMarketing #GTM #Positioning #Messaging #DemandGeneration

HOW TO KEEP YOUR MARKETING WORKING WHILE YOU SLEEP Here's a secret most SMBs overlook: You don't need a bigger marketing team. You need smarter automation.   Our latest ebook, The SMB Core Growth Stack, includes tips for connecting your tools so your marketing runs smoothly, even when you’re not at your desk.   Think beyond “set it and forget it.” Great automaton can strengthen relationships. Automatically. Here are just a few ways you can achieve a few simple wins: ·     Welcome sequences that greet new leads personally ·     Follow-up workflows that revive cold prospects without manual chasing ·     Behavior-based tagging so you send the right message to the right people ·     Calendar and email integration to eliminate no-shows and missed calls. The best automation creates space for human connection, so you can spend more time in meaningful conversations. Get the full list of tools and examples in The SMB Core Growth Stack. Download your copy here: https://shorturl.at/bUnu5 #SMBMarketing #MarketingAutomation #B2BMarketing #GrowthStack #EmailMarketing #TheBalansGroup

Scaling sales requires structure. Standardized reporting, playbooks, and incentive alignment are the levers that transform a team from reactive to proactive. Ops is the silent driver of revenue.

Transform Your PRM from a Cost Center to a Revenue Operating System Most Partner Relationship Management (PRM) platforms manage partners, but they don’t accelerate revenue. It’s time to evolve. In this new Mindmatrix + Channel Force Inc. eBook, we share how Structured Performance Partnering™ turns partner programs into predictable, scalable revenue engines. You’ll learn how to: ✅ Activate partner sellers as revenue producers ✅ Implement structured revenue planning and AI-supported playbooks ✅ Gain visibility and solve attribution challenges ✅ Deliver 2× revenue growth at half the cost If your PRM feels like a cost center, it’s time to make it a Partner Revenue Operating System. Download the eBook here: https://lnkd.in/e3Dz_UBZ #StructuredPerformancePartnering #PartnerRevenue #RevOps

The discussion highlights the strategic importance of adaptive modeling and playbooks in today's dynamic business environment. It showcases how organizations can leverage these approaches to enhance decision-making and improve operational efficiency. The blended approach, exemplified by Ace Hardware, demonstrates a practical application of these concepts. This approach provides a valuable framework for businesses seeking to navigate complexity and achieve sustainable growth. #AdaptiveModeling #Playbooks #StrategicPlanning #BusinessStrategy