Deric Drazich

Hiring your Founding AE might be the most important hire in your SaaS journey — and one of the easiest to get wrong. The AE who crushed it at $50M ARR might crumble at $1M ARR. Early-stage SaaS needs a different kind of seller: 💡 Adaptable – thrives without a playbook. 💡 Curious – great at discovery, not just pitching. 💡 Builder – helps create the sales motion. 💡 Resilient – handles rejection and iteration. Your Founding AE doesn’t just sell — they help you build the machine. Full breakdown here 👇 👉 https://lnkd.in/d5SPdbGg #scalewithstrive #accountexecutive #gtmhiring

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗗𝗥 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹. In most B2B orgs today, the real challenge isn’t effort or headcount, it's focus.  • SDRs spend hours chasing leads that aren't in-market  • Personalization often defaults to "Hi {First Name}"  • Sales cycles are longer than ever, while buyer engagement is happening behind closed tabs 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁? Wasted touches, burned budget, and pipelines that look full… until the quarter closes. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗹𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘁: 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗗𝗥 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁? This is where intent data becomes a revenue lever, not just another tool. According to Demand Gen Report:  • Companies using intent data see 2.5x conversion rates  • Sales cycles shrink by 28%  • 68% of marketers say it’s critical for ABM performance At S2W Media, we help marketing leaders solve this with a full-funnel, intent-driven strategy:  • 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 + 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁�� 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, pinpoint buyers already researching your solution or evaluating your competitors  • 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, SDRs focus on verified, high-intent accounts  • 𝗛𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿-𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵, informed by real behavioral signals, not assumptions The outcome? Predictable pipeline. Faster velocity. Higher ROI. No more guessing games. No more wasted touches. As marketers, we don’t need "more leads."We need better intelligence to drive a meaningful pipeline. If you're ready to align sales & marketing on who to target, when to engage, and what to say, let’s connect. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 - https://lnkd.in/dq3Qbvzt

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Anrok generated $300K in pipeline in 3 months by unifying marketing and sales outbound in Unify. Here's the playbook growth marketing lead Kathleen Kong, and founding SDR Rydian Searles used to make it happen:   Anrok was growing fast. But before Unify, their outbound was fragmented. Kathleen was running marketing campaigns in HubSpot, but every new campaign took forever to build, and segmentation was painfully slow. Rydian's SDR team was worse off, switching between 3 different tools to execute every sequence.   "We had the growth and the signals," Rydian said. "What we needed was a system that helped us act on them."   There was only one answer.... Unify. Kathleen started by building automated plays targeting new hires, website visitors, and accounts showing sales tax exposure via AI signals. Once marketing proved the model worked, they expanded Unify to the SDR team.   Suddenly, both teams were operating on the same page. Campaigns could be built 20% faster, SDRs could work 4X faster, and cold calls converted better with out-of-the-box AI insights.   This made it easy for Kathleen & Rydian to support Anrok's growth and expansion into new markets; easily spinning up new sequences without rebuilding a single workflow.   Kathleen summed up their experience best: "Unify gave us the flexibility to run everything in one ecosystem. We could move fast, measure impact, and stay aligned."   Ready to follow Anrok's lead and unify your teams? Use the link below to learn more.

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The #1 reason your outbound team isn’t scaling? It’s not your SDRs. It’s how you manage them. ❌ More tech won’t fix a broken SDR team. ❌ More headcount won’t either. ✅ Better management will. If you want pipeline that compounds, you need SDR managers who know how to: ➡️ Coach consistently ➡️ Build repeatable processes ➡️ Set meaningful metrics ➡️ Balance activity with outcomes We unpacked where most companies go wrong, and how to fix it:  🔗 https://lnkd.in/gwFVPNV9 Worth a read if you own a pipeline target. #SalesLeadership #B2BSales #OutboundSales #SDR #PipelineGrowth #SalesManagement #RevenueLeadership #SalesCoaching #GoToMarket #SaaS

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Most SDR teams start their morning with a "messy middle", a mix of intent signals, Salesforce reports, and LinkedIn tabs. It’s a recipe for burnout and flat pipeline. What if your team started every day with a prioritized Playbook instead? We’ve taken the exact motion that helped Demandbase scale and embedded it directly into our platform. Sales Playbooks are here to help your team: ▸ AI-powered account summaries explain the "why" instantly ▸ Automatically surface the right personas, not just the first one you find ▸ An AI agent that mimics your best rep’s tone and logic The results? One top-performing SDR reports getting 70% of their opportunities from these specific plays. Make this the centerpiece of your 2026 sales strategy. Read the full breakdown by Demandbase Chief Sales Evangelist, Jay Tuel: https://okt.to/qg8EM0

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Manual prospecting drains time. Automated prospecting builds pipeline. Teams embracing outbound automation aren’t just working faster—they’re compounding smarter. The difference? A repeatable flow that feeds your reps warm, high-intent conversations every single week. #OutboundAutomation #RevOps #FutureOfSales

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Kyle Asay is giving away his cold call system that broke every SDR record at LaunchDarkly for FREE 👀 When Kyle Asay stepped in as VP of Global Growth Sales, he made one goal the top priority: build a world class outbound engine that actually produces pipeline. Three months later, his team increased outbound pipeline by 142 percent. Six months later, revenue per AE climbed by 40 percent. Nine months later, they broke every SDR outbound record in the company. Kyle partnered with us to break down his exact frameworks and how Nooks helped his reps move faster, stay focused, and win more often. Inside the guide you will learn: 💜 How one SDR jumped from 60 percent to 120 percent of quota by “bucketing buyers” 💜 Why the best reps look for insights on calls, not only meetings 💜 How to build a problem based opener that earns real executive conversations 💜 How Nooks tracks your gold nuggets so you can use them in future touches 💜 Why problem first messaging outperforms product pitches every time It's right here, check it out 👉 https://lnkd.in/gFXhcVgG 🔥

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SDR is the most crucial sales role. Is it? What about AE? SalesOps? The Strategic Trifecta: AE, SDR, and SalesOps. All three are crucial.  Sales teams have three key roles.  Each serves a different purpose.  Together they create a powerful revenue engine. #AE = Account Executives 🤝 They are the closers. They build client relationships. They understand complex needs. They craft solutions. They negotiate deals. They secure revenue. #SDR = Sales Development Representative 🔍 They are the prospectors. They identify potential customers. They start conversations. They qualify leads. They build the pipeline. They create opportunities for AEs. #SalesOps = Sales Operations ⚙️  They are the backbone. They design systems. They analyze data. They optimize processes. They remove obstacles. They provide insights. They make everyone more efficient. SDRs → build pipeline. AEs → close deals. SalesOps → makes it all work smoothly. When these roles align, growth becomes predictable. Success becomes repeatable. What role do you think plays a more important role in the sales ecosystem? #SalesStrategy #SalesTeam #RevOps #SalesEfficiency 

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How to increase outbound SDR performance (without burning out) 👀 According to Tito Bohrt 🧪🧫 - Sales Mad Scientist, CEO of AltiSales, “many people overcomplicate SDR performance. They think the answer is more — more dials, more leads, more sequences, more tools. But what if I told you that efficiency doesn’t start with adding, it starts with understanding?” As Tito shares on our latest blog, you need to diagnose first before you add more fuel. Run a detailed diagnosis inside tools like Outreach to find out: → Where are we strong?  → Where are we leaking revenue?  → Where are we totally blind? Outreach is full of data that reveals what’s working and what’s not. The signals are there, you just have to look.

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As an SDR I went from SMB to MM to ENT in 11 months, averaging 137% across all 3. Each segment was like a completely new role. Want to progress as an SDR? Here’s exactly how I won at each level. 1. SMB It is all about relevancy at scale. Your TAM is huge. You often have thousands of accounts so you don't have the time to personalise for each account. Instead, you should think how can I hit as many accounts with good messaging as possible? This is the process I'd follow. - Define your true ICP which companies to sell to - Define your personas, who to reach out to - Define the trigger, why to reach out - Define messaging, why now This sounds super simple but it works, in theory it would be like: Sales ATL + SaaS companies + Closed Lost. SMB is mostly high-volume sequences with you ripping dials, it’s quite simple. 2. Mid Market Now more of a strategic approach comes into play. Naturally, your time gets smaller because the companies you're going to be going after are bigger. Therefore, tiering accounts is much more important at this stage. A tier 1 account should represent about 5% to 10% of your total book with the rest falling into tier 2 and tier 3. And those tier 1 accounts are the ones where I would give them personalised relevant messages. Things like CEO mentions, key initiatives from the organisation, anything that could only be tied to that company, and that's what you should be referencing in your messaging 3. Enterprise This is where the real fun begins of true personalised prospecting. You could have a book of business from anywhere from 10 to 200 accounts you want to break into, so each account needs deep research. This is where you have to make it specific about the company but more importantly you have to craft a perspective to show how what you solve directly ties into a key business initiative. Enterprise is mostly timing. There's so many things they could be fixing. You have to show why this one issue you solve is the one they should be focusing on. Why this fire out of all the ones they could put out? 4. Processes & SOPs Rep, you should really be building out your processes for each stage because how you approach SMB vs. mid-market vs. enterprise will be completely different. I used to do all of this in Notion. It took me hours but tools like Tango can now make this 10x easier for you to just document what to do so you can do it at scale. Do your outbound as you would normally and let it record everything you're doing. You have a detailed breakdown of your system. The easier it is for you to focus on outbound, the more meetings you’re going to book. I think there's a lot of advice saying that you have to be personal but the truth is that only applies to the segment you're selling into. If you do an SMB focus on trying to be relevant at scale to the bulk of your accounts. If you do an enterprise, make it personal, make it one-to-one. Advice isn't one size fits all.

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Hiring your first GTM leader? Don’t rush into a VP of Sales — especially if you're still figuring out your ICP, pricing, or narrative. Early-stage SaaS needs experimentation, not just execution. 💡 A Head of GTM builds. A VP of Sales scales. Confusing the two can cost you up to $200,000, according to Harvard Business Review. 🎯 In SaaS, hiring right isn't optional — it's survival. #StartupHiring #GTMStrategy #SaaSHiring #FounderTips #VPofSales #HeadOfGTM #ProductMarketFit

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The cost of doing outbound like it’s still 2020 Most SDRs in the US earn a base salary of $50-60k, according to Martal Group. And yet, 6-7 hours of their day go into non-pipeline activities. We’ve done the math for you - that’s a whopping 💸 $171.88 a day. 💸 $3,781 a month. 💸 $44,688 a year. Are you comfortable paying your reps to spend most of their time on non-pipeline activities? If not, it’s time for a change. Klenty’s AI Agents help you put every minute of your sales reps' time on activity that drives pipeline. AI builds lists → reps approve AI researches accounts → reps review summary bullets AI writes emails → reps review and approve AI creates a business case → reps simply use it AI dials prospects → reps focus on talking This is the outbound playbook for winning in 2025 and beyond - AI takes over non-pipeline activities, reps’ focus on just pipeline activities. Your reps - and your budget - will feel the difference. #salestech #salesengagement #aiforsales

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Building an in-house SDR team is expensive… and it’s only getting harder to scale. That’s why more GTM leaders are turning to outsourced SDR programs that deliver speed, precision, and flexibility without the overhead. At demandDrive, we combine trained SDRs, smart tooling, and data-backed strategy to help teams generate predictable pipeline and measurable ROI. Read how leading B2B teams are redefining the economics of sales development: https://hubs.ly/Q03RWxxs0 #SDR #B2BMarketing #SalesDevelopment #GTM #PipelineGrowth #RevenueStrategy

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The fully loaded cost of an SDR now exceeds $90,000 a year. And even the best reps generate just 18 - 22 qualified meetings a month. That’s $350 per meeting, before you count management, training, or ramp. But the real problem isn’t cost. It’s scalability. Hiring more SDRs doesn’t scale outcomes, it scales chaos. Growth stays linear while complexity compounds. The best teams aren’t adding headcount. They’re redesigning the role. A small, elite SDR core now focuses on judgment work, personalization, outreach strategy, and real conversation. Everything else like research, enrichment, follow-ups - runs on AI. The impact: → 3.7× more qualified meetings → 64% lower cost per meeting → 91% higher SDR satisfaction Because when reps stop doing robotic work, they finally get to do the work that moves revenue. It’s time to stop measuring effort. Start measuring leverage. #Sales #B2B #AI #Automation #SalesLeadership #JeevaAI #FutureOfWork

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