Field Notes
Practical thinking on sales leadership, marketing, and growth — written from the field and the research. No fluff, just what actually moves revenue.
The first 90 days: diagnosing a stalled revenue engine
Before you change anything, see clearly. A field-tested way to read a revenue engine and find what's really holding growth back.
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Sales–marketing alignment is a leadership problem, not a tooling problem
Another platform won't fix a gap that lives in how the two teams are led. Where alignment breaks — and how to close it from the top.
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Positioning before demand: why marketing spend leaks
Turning up spend on a message that doesn't land just pays to be ignored faster. Fix what you say before you pay to say it louder.
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Choosing your first — or next — go-to-market motion
Self-serve, inside sales, field, partner: your motion shapes everything. How to pick the one your market and margins support.
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Your pipeline is lying to you: building a forecast you can trust
Stage promotions built on optimism wreck the forecast. Define stages by what the buyer actually does — and forecast a pattern you can trust.
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Discounting is a leadership failure, not a sales tactic
Every reflexive discount trains your market to wait. Why price erosion starts at the top — and how to stop it.
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Hiring ready-to-sell talent: what collegiate sales programs get right
The best early-career sellers aren't born closers — they're trained. What university sales programs teach us about building a hiring pipeline.
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Coaching, not closing: what the best sales managers actually do
Promoting your top rep often backfires. Closing and coaching are different jobs — here's what great sales leadership looks like.
Read →What a revenue operating rhythm actually looks like
Great revenue teams run on a cadence, not heroics. The weekly, monthly, and quarterly rhythm that keeps growth predictable.
Read →One funnel, one number: ending the lead-versus-revenue war
When marketing chases leads and sales chases revenue, both lose. Put the teams on one funnel and one shared number.
Read →Why your content isn't generating pipeline
Volume isn't the problem — relevance is. How to make content that actually moves buyers, not just traffic.
Read →Product-led, sales-led, or both?
PLG and sales-led aren't enemies. When to lead with the product, when to lead with people, and how to combine them.
Read →Stage definitions that stop deals from stalling
Vague stages let dead deals linger and skew the forecast. Define each stage by buyer evidence, not seller hope.
Read →How to raise prices without losing customers
Price increases feel risky and are usually overdue. A calm, defensible way to raise prices and keep your best accounts.
Read →The sales interview that actually predicts performance
Charisma in an interview rarely predicts quota attainment. A hiring process built around evidence, not gut feel.
Read →The feedback loop that makes reps better
Annual reviews change nothing; timely feedback changes everything. Build a loop that improves performance week to week.
Read →Why your best rep can't save the quarter
Leaning on a star to rescue the number is a symptom, not a strategy. Build a system that wins without heroics.
Read →The service-level agreement every sales and marketing team needs
Alignment isn't a feeling — it's an agreement. The simple SLA that defines what each team owes the other.
Read →Brand versus demand is a false tradeoff
The 'brand or leads' debate misses the point. How brand and demand compound when you stop treating them as rivals.
Read →The ICP exercise most companies skip
A fuzzy ideal customer profile makes every downstream decision harder. A practical way to define who you're really for.
Read →Pipeline coverage: how much is actually enough?
Three-times coverage is a myth until you check your own math. How to set a coverage target grounded in your real conversion.
Read →The anatomy of a value-based proposal
A proposal that leads with price invites a negotiation about price. Build one that leads with value instead.
Read →Ramp time is a leadership metric
How fast a new rep gets productive says more about you than them. Why ramp belongs on the leader's scorecard.
Read →Promoting a rep to manager without losing both
The classic mistake: reward a star by making them a boss. How to set new managers up to succeed, not sink.
Read →Leading indicators: the metrics that actually predict revenue
Revenue is a lagging number. The handful of leading indicators that tell you where it's headed while you can still act.
Read →What 'MQL' gets wrong about how people buy
Scoring a lead is not the same as a buyer deciding to act. Rethinking qualification around real buying behavior.
Read →The messaging test your homepage is probably failing
Swap your logo for a competitor's — would anyone notice? A quick test for whether your message actually differentiates.
Read →Expansion revenue is a go-to-market strategy, not an afterthought
The cheapest pipeline you'll ever build is inside your current customers. Treating expansion as a first-class motion.
Read →Why deals slip — and how to stop it
A slipped deal is usually a qualification problem wearing a timing costume. The root causes of slippage and the fixes.
Read →Negotiating from strength when you're the underdog
You don't need the biggest brand to hold your price. How smaller players negotiate from conviction, not fear.
Read →When to hire your first sales leader
Promote too early and you lose a rep; too late and you cap growth. Signs it's time to hire real sales leadership.
Read →One-on-ones that aren't just status updates
If your 1:1s are deal updates, you're wasting them. Turn them into the highest-leverage coaching time you have.
Read →How to run a sales QBR that changes behavior
Most quarterly reviews are status theater. Run one that drives decisions, resets priorities, and moves the number.
Read →Account-based thinking without the ABM hype
You don't need a six-figure platform to focus on the accounts that matter. Account-based discipline, minus the hype.
Read →Demand capture versus demand creation
Harvesting existing demand and creating new demand are different jobs. Why you need both, and how to balance the budget.
Read →Entering a new market without burning cash
New segments look tempting and quietly drain resources. A disciplined way to test a market before you bet on it.
Read →The weekly deal inspection that works
Deal reviews either coach reps or interrogate them. Run the kind that improves the deal and the rep at once.
Read →Packaging and tiering that sells itself
Good packaging does half the selling before a rep says a word. Principles for tiers that guide buyers to the right choice.
Read →Comp plans that drive the right behavior
Your comp plan is your real strategy — reps do what it pays. How to design incentives that match the outcomes you want.
Read →Leading through a down quarter
How you lead when the number's red defines your team. Steadiness, honesty, and focus when it matters most.
Read →The discipline of saying no to bad-fit deals
Chasing every logo slows everything down. Why qualifying out is a leadership act — and how to make it a habit.
Read →The shared pipeline review that fixes alignment
One meeting, one funnel, both teams in the room. The operating ritual that does more for alignment than any tool.
Read →Measure marketing by revenue, not MQLs
Vanity metrics make everyone feel busy and no one accountable. Tie marketing to pipeline and revenue instead.
Read →When to add a channel or partner motion
Partners can multiply reach or multiply chaos. The signals that say you're ready — and the ones that say wait.
Read →Reading a pipeline you didn't build
Inheriting a pipeline means inheriting its lies. How to quickly assess what's real when you step into a new team.
Read →Why 'just send me a quote' kills deals
Jumping to a number skips the value conversation that justifies it. What to do when a buyer rushes you to price.
Read →Retaining your best sellers in a hot market
Top reps always have options; money alone won't keep them. What actually retains your best people when recruiters call.
Read →Building a bench before you need one
The worst time to develop leaders is when you suddenly need one. How to build depth while things are going well.
Read →Building a culture of forecast honesty
If reps get punished for the truth, they'll hide it. How to make accurate forecasting safe, expected, and rewarded.
Read →Events and field marketing that pay for themselves
Most events are expensive brand theater. How to run field marketing with a pipeline target and a real return.
Read →Build, buy, or partner for revenue capabilities
Every gap in your revenue engine is a build-buy-partner decision. A simple framework for making the call.
Read →CRM hygiene habits that compound
A messy CRM quietly taxes every decision you make. Small, enforced habits that turn your CRM into an asset.
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