Craig Zingerline

42% of people say they'd choose to work with someone they found on YouTube over someone who hasn't. Cohort playlists are a great way to surround a common ICP with education and TLC. Solve problems for prospects as a herd to prosper as a herd. What YouTube will do for you: 👉 Solves your sales and marketing problem 👉 Accelerates the know, like, and trust factor 👉 Delivers relaxed sales meetings with pre-sold contacts #YouTubeMarketing #CohortPlaylists #MasterClass #ProspectEngagement #BuildRapport #ICPEducation #TLCMarketing #ProblemSolving #BusinessGrowth #CustomerSuccess #SalesStrategy #ContentMarketing #CommunityLearning #SalesFunnels #VideoMarketing

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Here’s how we built more pipeline from Saastr and Dreamforce with a GA ticket (or sometimes even no ticket) vs. some companies that paid $50k+ for booths. Rule #1: The rule of thirds I used to approach conferences with the sole goal of building pipeline. I was stressed and in the wrong mindset, which led to transactional conversations. People want to have authentic conversations without a premeditated agenda. I now believe conversations should roughly split into the following buckets: 1) Business problems and whether Bluebirds might be helpful. This is what leads to pipeline in the near-term. 2) Talking about where the market is going (e.g. AI and sales). This is usually with C-Suite (it’s often why they’re attending the conference) and on-the-ground employees like AEs or BDRs. 3) Swapping notes on company building. This is primarily with other founders, and it’s a fantastic way to meet and learn from experienced builders. The important thing is to let go of every conversation being about pipeline. I usually don’t bring up Bluebirds unless asked. Don’t be that person who hyper-analyzes name-tags to corner decision makers. Focus on learning and great conversations, and pipeline will follow. Rule #2: 80% of the game is in the side events This one is counter-intuitive — the actual event is usually the least interesting part of a conference. Most reputable conferences have a cottage-industry of happy hours, brunches, dinners, etc. hosted by companies in the space. They’re free to attend and you just need to track down lists of these events (they always exist) and sign up. Side events have more focused groups of people (e.g. a brunch for CMOs), so it’s easier to meet people and have high quality conversations. Rule #3: It’s all in the follow up Last year, I struggled to stay organized with conversations and track follow up. When you’re meeting 20 people a day, it’s tough to remember what was discussed with each person. Now, after a great conversation I always ask to connect on LinkedIn. Have them connect with you (not the other way around) so you can accept their connection request one day later and immediately follow up via LinkedIn DMs. If I felt like they’re leaning into Bluebirds and we can be helpful, I’ll ask to pull up calendars and schedule time for a follow up right there, or exchange phone numbers. If your follow up takes more than 24 hours after meeting, or you’re unable to get ahold of someone, your process is broken and you should re-think your approach to staying in touch. These 3 changes made a huge impact to my experience at conferences, how much fun I have, and building pipeline. Anyone else at Saastr / Dreamforce have advice or tips they’ve learned? Sriharsha Guduguntla Atul Raghunathan Oliver Johnson Albert Wang Zaid Khan Max Clang Avishek Roy

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Pt 2 of Federal GTM series....I made a free tool last night https://lnkd.in/ew2fTmyC In this video I'll show you how to find the exact email addresses and phone numbers of the people in the government who are buying what you sell. Let me know what you think and what you want to see next.

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We see websites and social media posts from startup founders and it all looks so cool and glamorous 😎 Alina Vandenberghe shares what it took to bootstrap Chili Piper, in her podcast with Adam Robinson Spoiler alert - it involves selling her house 🏠 😅 #Founder #Stories

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3 years of pricing lessons at Equals condensed into one blog post. Since starting the company, we've tinkered a lot with pricing and packaging. It's one of the single most impactful levers early stage companies can pull. I think folks *don't* experiment with pricing enough, or take big enough bets when they do. We've tried free. We've tried completely sales led. We've tried not listing pricing on the site. Matt Hodges details all the plans we've had, why, and what we've learned in our latest installment on Wrap Text. https://lnkd.in/ecckEDba

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Don't let your CRO strategies fall short! If your CRO efforts aren't delivering results, you might be overlooking a critical element: qualitative research. Quantitative data shows you what users are doing, but qualitative insights: ✅ Uncover user motivations & pain points ✅ Identifies root causes of behavior ✅ Guides impactful optimizations Start combining qualitative research techniques (user interviews + usability testing) with your analytics data. It allows you to deeply understand your audience, prioritize high-impact changes, and create user-centric, conversion-driving experiences. How will you implement qualitative research to drive real results?

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A topic we've been debating internally at Your Basket Is Empty is custom versus of the shelf Shopify themes. Rewind to 2018 and my perspective was clear. Custom all the way. Sure, you can tweak an off the shelf theme. In fact, I created a new service line at WMW designed for this very use case - 'semi custom'. For a brand that was in between off the shelf and custom. But the 'tweaks' were always just 'a little more' which rendered the concept useless and we canned the service in favour of custom only. But in 2024, I'm revisiting my perspective. Is custom worth it? Shopify has spent a zillion dollars in R&D, Dawn is great, you're not locked into a framework that will need rebuilding or refactoring in 3 yrs and maybe the cost of a custom framework could be better spent on something else? Insert commerce's hottest acquisition and retention topic - brand marketing? I'll caveat this thesis with 'there is no perfect answer!!!'. The custom versus off the shelf also depends on the type of brand. Some brands just don't like off the shelf, usually because they want full design and creative control. And that is a competitive advantage. And there is also still hybrid options. One doesn't need to go 'fully custom'. But I'm bullish on off the shelf. With the right creative, brand, colour palette, font - and of course, a killer product - I reckon you can make it work. Thomas, Adam, Jordan, Piers, 🧔🏻 James, Paul - thoughts #commerce

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AdAttributionKit: Unpacking Apple’s new ad attribution framework AAK unifies Apple’s various advertising attribution frameworks under a single umbrella product name and extends SKAdNetwork in meaningful ways, including with support for re-engagement and alternative app marketplaces. These are substantive improvements. But impediments to adoption remain: IP-based attribution is still widely viewed as a suitable alternative to Apple’s native iOS attribution framework, meaning that platform tools like Conversion APIs will take adoption priority.

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Hitting $1.5M Rev in 3 years is impressive... but should he have sold the firm? Was reflecting on this recent podcast with Jordan Sublette, CPA. Clearly he had rapid success both in growing (and then selling to his successor). Can't help but wonder ... with a firm growing so quickly, did he sell too early? On the other side of it, the future is unpredictable and now he has some financial security... What do you think? 🤔 https://lnkd.in/gCnRh8MV #accountingfirm #acquisition #sale #CPAfirm

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“You know, named accounts is just dynamic books in slow motion.” This is something the CEO of an $80M ARR company said to me yesterday during a very thoughtful conversation about segmentation and territory design. (And yes, this really happened...) I talk a lot about dynamic books in a high-velocity new business context, comparing the model to legacy static territories for BDRs and AEs. This usually involves account distributions and returns on a pretty rapid cycle as prospect accounts get qualified or disqualified. The goal is to continuously maximize how much of your quota capacity is focused on covering the best possible accounts—despite how the business or market changes. That goal certainly still applies in less dynamic contexts. Take account management, for example. I’d say that most SaaS mid-market+ AM orgs use named accounts with a big annual carve. Once a year, RevOps determines revenue potential across a bunch of customers, figures out how much revenue per AM and then starts the long process of carving up books. You know the drill… factoring in holdovers, relationships, politics and all that jazz. When everyone’s satisfied (or at least not fighting in the streets), you roll it out at the beginning of the year. But then… in slow motion… those pristine books decay. Reps leave, reps get promoted, reps join, accounts churn, accounts shrink, accounts grow, accounts get acquired, new customers sign. Each of those little changes accumulates until your books on July 1st bear only a passing resemblance to the Jan 1 plan. You might even see your NRR goals lagging. So you do mid-year refresh. It’s still painful, you try to minimize change and you improve things a bit. Then the cycle starts all over again, just from a slightly worse place. In short, these books are dynamic whether you like it or not. More orgs should accept that change is the constant, not the exception. You’re probably better off building an ongoing capability to assess capacity and rebalance at least monthly before things get so far out of whack that it impacts productivity and starts impacting NRR. So maybe you’re not running the all-out sprint that new biz is, but it might be time to operate with a little less slow motion.

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RevOps leaders, this is the playbook you’ve been waiting for. In a world flooded with content that often lacks substance, the RevOps Docs for Startups by LeanScale are a breath of fresh air. This guide isn’t just another rundown of the basics—it’s an in-depth, yet easily approachable, guide to the rapidly evolving RevOps landscape, crafted from real insights gathered across 50+ hyper-growth companies. Huge shoutout to my longtime buddy Joe Zaghloul and the team at LeanScale for putting in the thought and care to make something truly impactful. The format alone—structured like API docs, complete with a changelog—makes it incredibly usable and memorable. #RevOps leaders and #GTM teams will find it packed with playbooks that feel almost built-in to the process. If you’re scaling a B2B SaaS, you’ll want to bookmark this one. It’s hands-on, actionable, and unlike anything else out there. https://lnkd.in/ekrUJAW5

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How do you do messaging for multiple ICPs? What do you do when one of these scenarios applies? · Expanding from one ICP to two (or more) · Needing to talk to several ICPs at once · Messaging when you're a multi-product company · Writing home page copy for multiple audiences Anthony Pierri 🎸and I are gonna talk about it for 60mis, and discuss what makes sense when. We'll share our overall thinking about the matter, but will mostly focus on audience Q&A. Come join us next Wed (June 12) to discuss this topic. Bring your questions. Free event. Registration link in the comments.

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Churn is the sneaky assassin of growth in the SaaS world. It’s astounding how just a couple of percentage points can drastically hamper your business over time. A small adjustment to your churn rate can mean the difference between a good year and an extraordinary one. Think about it: reducing churn from 4% to 2% can boost annual revenue by hundreds of thousands of dollars. So why do we still see so many startups hyper-focusing on acquiring new customers while ignoring the ones slipping through their fingers? It’s time to rethink this approach. Start by delivering real, consistent value from day one. If your product doesn’t resonate, churn will haunt you relentlessly. Next, revamp your onboarding process. It shouldn't just serve to convert free trials into paying customers, but also help users recognize the value of your product over time. The longer they see value, the less likely they are to churn. Enhancing your product must remain a priority. Talk to your customers. Every piece of feedback is gold. Making customer support a task for everyone in your organization boosts accountability and accelerates improvements. And remember: don't overload your product with unnecessary features. Focus on refining what truly matters to your users, keeping them invested and engaged. It's not about one magical solution but a concerted effort to nurture relationships and continuously evolve your offerings. This is how you'll genuinely find the leverage to reduce churn and accelerate growth. What’s your take on this issue? I'd love to hear your tips or experiences. https://lnkd.in/eskSuAAJ

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$9.37 for a high-ticket B2B lead…   …that's what we were paying on Monday for outsourced software development leads…   They've been averaging about $13 per lead over the last week.   And these aren't leads "scraped" off the internet.   These are folks that voluntarily gave their name and email address.   Facebook is the cheapest place I know to get high-ticket B2B leads…   …but it only happens when your ads are in the context of the intent of the platform.   Facebook is a platform where people go to read stories about people.   So, our ads tell stories about people…   And the pictures aren't polished or produced…   They look like a picture someone took with their iPhone…   Because they are usually a picture someone took with their iPhone   Because that's what normal people on Facebook post.   It doesn't matter where you advertise.   It only matters that… - Your customers are there (and there's over 2 billion people on Facebook) - You meet them in the context of their purpose for being there.   If you needed 20 high-ticket B2B (opt-in) leads by close of business tomorrow…   Where would you go to get them?   How much would you spend?   #leadershipqualities #salesandmarketing #growthstrategies

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Success in the SaaS world isn't for the faint-hearted. With over 9,100 companies in the U.S. alone competing for a slice of the $200 billion pie, standing out demands more than just a clever tagline. You need a rock-solid strategy that blends customer experience with flawless execution. The latest insights show that a staggering 99% of companies are expected to rely on at least one SaaS solution by 2024. This isn't just a trend—it's a revolution in how businesses operate. Yet, many will falter without quick adjustments to their pricing models amidst tightening budgets and evolving consumer expectations. This is where understanding your unique value propositions can set you apart from the noise. If you're looking to thrive in this cutthroat environment, leveraging data and fine-tuning your engagement strategies are non-negotiables. Your customers not only want great service; they demand it. Don’t wait for the competition to catch up—be proactive, be bold. What’s your story in the SaaS game? We want to hear how you're adapting to these fierce market dynamics. https://lnkd.in/enjmK7vy

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Despite tightening marketing budgets, in-person events continue to be a core marketing channel for B2B SaaS companies. According to Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC, in person trade shows and events are the leading area of marketing spend for 2024, with 38% percent of respondents saying that exhibiting or sponsoring in-person conferences will be a tactic they employ. It’s clear marketers understand the value but with budget pressures and a move towards efficient and sustainable growth, 41% say the pressure to prove the value of their marketing efforts is high. For events in particular, justifying the spend and proving the ROI is more important than ever. In our latest blog post, we look at the different ways to sponsor events, why events remain a core B2B SaaS marketing channel, and run through three ways to measure the ROI of your event marketing efforts. Blog post first in comments section. How are you measuring ROI for Events? #Events #conferences #ROI #marketing #saas #B2B #saastock2024

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This thread provides hard data on how influencers.. did not influence anything. At least in the hotel industry. I've said before that influencers cannot get people to engage in complex behavior. E.g. booking travel or voting if they weren't already planning on it. I think the current investment in influencers by the DNC is great to drive hype and keep the vibes going (this is important). But it's not going to have a direct impact on turnout, and the ROI is probably not measurable (or its zero, one of the two). https://lnkd.in/gVF9qEzJ

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Churn is the nemesis we all face in subscription business. This article tackles a critical truth: a leaky bucket drains your resources and inhibits growth. New customer acquisition should complement retention, not be the primary desperation. The article highlights two types of churn—voluntary and involuntary—and illustrates the importance of addressing this from the onboarding phase onwards. Why waste resources chasing new customers when elevating the experience for current users can deliver exponential value? Let’s turn the lens on how we engage and retain our customers. What strategies have you found effective in thwarting churn in your business? Share your thoughts. By the way, if you want to sharpen your business skills in record time, check out the 5 Minute Founders newsletter. A great way to pack in the benefits of full business books in just 5 minutes. https://lnkd.in/eF98xRPs

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