Episode Summary:

Join us as Dean Fiacco, founder of Scaled Mail (cold email infrastructure SaaS) and Beanstalk Consulting (cold outbound agency), shares his journey from tech sales to running two successful businesses. Dean breaks down the realities of cold email deliverability, why inbox infrastructure is critical, and how he’s balanced scaling an agency while building SaaS. From domain reputation to hiring strategies, this episode is packed with practical insights for agency owners, outbound teams, and aspiring founders.

What You Will Learn:

• Why scaling cold email requires more than Gmail/Microsoft accounts.
• How Scaled Mail grew out of Beanstalk’s inbox challenges.
• Best practices for domain reputation and inbox-to-domain ratios.
• The importance of simplifying agency operations and client selection.
• Hiring strategies that work: probationary periods, tests, and “hire fast, fire fast.”
• Why agencies often spin out SaaS products and how to approach it.

Featured Guest: Dean Fiacco – Founder of Beanstalk Consulting (cold email agency) and ScaledMail (cold email infrastructure SaaS).

Host: Ben Reed – RevyOps founder and host of the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast.

Episode Highlights:

• [00:00] Welcome & Intro: Dean introduces Beanstalk and Scaled Mail.
• [02:30] From pain point to SaaS: How inbox headaches became Scaled Mail.
• [04:06] Why not just Gmail?: ESP limits and deliverability challenges.
• [06:59] Domain reputation: Protecting your main domain with lookalikes.
• [10:04] Inbox ratios: Safe setups for Google, Microsoft, and SMTP.
• [12:23] Marketplace solution: Prebuilt packages to simplify scaling.
• [15:46] Redundancy matters: Avoiding provider lock-in and outages.
• [21:23] Running two businesses: Delegation, teams, and evolving roles.
• [25:58] Agency growth tips: Keep it simple, choose the right clients.
• [31:23] Hiring tests: Ben’s “three-day challenge” for new hires.
• [34:06] Hire fast, fire fast: Dean’s approach to evaluating talent.
• [40:33] From agency to SaaS: Why services spawn product ideas.
• [58:04] Sales as a founder skill: Why talking to customers matters.
• [01:08:12] Parting advice: Dean’s call to action—just start and sell.

Connect with Dean:

• ScaledMail: https://scaledmail.com
• Beanstalk Consulting: https://beanstalkconsulting.co
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanfiacco/

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Follow Ben on Social:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-aaron-reed/

Join our FREE Group "NextGen Sales Systems:"

• https://tinyurl.com/next-gen-skool

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Episode Summary:

Join Ben Reed as he speaks with Bill Stathopoulos—author of Cold Email Secrets and founder of Sales Captain.

Bill shares how he built a leading outbound agency that scaled from mastering messaging with leading brands to developing their own AI-powered reply systems.

Discover the behind-the-scenes of fast-paced book creation, high-stakes offer crafting, and staying ahead in the shifting world of outbound marketing.

What You Will Learn:

• The unexpected journey from Zoom-recorded conversations to a nearly 200-page cold email book, and the rigorous revisions that shaped it.
• How Bill leveraged cold outbound to go from recruiting elite speakers to landing million-dollar campaigns with brands like Amazon, Apple, and JCPenney.
• The contrasting types of agencies in the cold email space—from get-rich-quick schemes to expert-focused firms to scalable, client-first businesses.
• Insights on crafting offers and messaging that resonate with a cold audience—and why testing, negative replies, and rapid iteration matter.
• Strategies behind Sales Captain’s custom-built AI BDR tool: how it intelligently classifies replies and auto-responds without hallucinations.
• Trends reshaping outbound: the shift from one-to-one emails to outbound-as-inbound, multi-channel orchestration, signal-based personalization, and the renewed emphasis on relevance and deliverability.
• The enduring importance of idea-market fit: targeting the right ICP, creating compelling messaging, and maintaining email deliverability—a triad where any weakness can break your campaign.

Featured Guest: Bill Stathopoulos — Author of Cold Email Secrets and Founder of Sales Captain, specializing in data-driven, AI-enhanced outbound strategies.

Connect with Bill:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billstath/

Host: Ben Reed, host of the NextGen Sales Leaders Podcast.

Follow Ben on Social:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-aaron-reed/

Join our B2B GTM & RevOps Entrepreneur Community:

• https://www.skool.com/outbound-b2b-sales/about?ref=07a56393b2d2435d9366f2e6151e2600

Work with Ben:

• https://www.nextgensalessystems.com/

Centralize, analyze, and visualize your B2B data:

• https://www.revyops.com

Subscribe & Review: Love this episode? Subscribe to the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast for B2B CRO, Sales, and Marketing industry insights. If you found value in today’s episode, please leave us a review.

Episode Summary:

Host Ben Reed sits down with Jeff Gostovich, a 26-year veteran in B2B and B2C sales and a master of capital raising in the oil and gas industry.

Jeff breaks down his journey from door-to-door sales to raising millions over the phone with high-net-worth investors—all without Zoom or in-person meetings.

Tune in for Jedi-level insights into sales psychology, handling high-risk deals, and how being authentic and aligned beats hard-selling tactics every time.

What You Will Learn:

• Why oil and gas capital raising is one of the most challenging sales fields.
• How to influence high-net-worth individuals to invest in high-risk deals—over the phone.
• The psychology of top-tier sales, including the power of silence and disqualifying early.
• The art of building alignment over persuasion in sales.
• How to be the “CIA agent” of enterprise sales and master internal influence.
• Real-world insights on subject-matter expertise, listening, and identifying real buyers.

Featured Guest: Jeff Gostovich – Capital raising expert and high-ticket sales specialist in the oil and gas industry.

Connect with Jeff Gostovich:

• Call/Text: (307) 630-3992

Host: Ben Reed, host of the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast.

Follow Ben on Social:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-aaron-reed/

Join our FREE B2B Scaling Group for Founders:

https://www.skool.com/outbound-b2b-sales/about?ref=07a56393b2d2435d9366f2e6151e2600

Work with Ben: https://www.nextgensalessystems.com/

Subscribe & Review: Love this episode? Subscribe to the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast for top-tier insights in B2B sales, CRO strategies, and marketing leadership. Found value in this episode? Please leave us a review!