Most B2B teams think outbound is just about activity. Book meetings, hit quota, move on.

But this week on The B2B Playbook, we sat down with Shawn Sease—aka The Professor of Prospecting—to expose why that model is broken.

Shawn’s seen it all. From old-school cold call sprints to modern GTM teams trying to do outbound in the age of AI. And he’s brutally honest about what actually works today.

Together, we unpack how to rebuild your sales development system around truth, timing, and trust—not just activity.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

+ Why most sales development strategies fail before the first call

+ The power of cataloguing accounts (and why it's better than intent data)

+ How to build outbound systems that don’t collapse when your SDR quits

+ What real Sales and Marketing alignment looks like

Tune in and learn:

+ Why timing is a weak signal (and what to track instead)

+ How cataloguing transforms your outreach strategy

+ What great commercial architecture actually looks like

This episode is a must-watch if you’re a B2B marketer or sales leader who’s tired of outbound that doesn’t scale, and wants a better way to reach your market.

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🔗 Links + CTAs

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💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

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🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook

📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/

📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/

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00:00 The Professor of Prospecting: Who Is Shawn Sease?

04:18 Why B2B Outbound Is Broken

07:43 Cold Calls Aren’t Dead—But Your Strategy Might Be

11:12 The Real Job of SDRs Today

14:40 Why Buyers Aren’t Listening to You Anymore

17:55 How to Build Trust Instead of Noise

21:01 Is Your Go-To-Market Strategy Just Tactics in Disguise?

24:46 Cataloguing: The Secret to Smarter Outreach

28:05 Feedback Loops That Actually Align Sales and Marketing

31:36 Why "Booked Meetings" Are a Broken Metric

35:14 The Role of Customer Success in Sales Development

38:46 Outbound Needs a System—Not Just a Script

42:33 Stop Chasing Timing—Start Building Permission

46:10 What Good Commercial Architecture Looks Like

49:22 The Future of Prospecting: What's Coming Next

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👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team??

💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??)

Get the:

🔹 strategy

🔹 templates

🔹 tools

So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.

See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator

https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

S07 E187 - The B2B Playbook

#b2b #b2bmarketing #digitalmarketing

#b2bsaas #salesdevelopment #sdstrategy

Most B2B marketers are stuck in the short term – chasing pipeline, tweaking LinkedIn Ads, and fighting for form fills.

This episode, we break down how to get out of that cycle – without dropping results.

We unpack the research (like The Long and the Short of It), the frameworks (like our 5 Stages of Awareness), and how small marketing teams can build brand and hit pipeline targets at the same time.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

+ Why most marketers default to the short term (and how to break the habit)

+ The truth about diminishing returns in performance marketing

+ The role brand plays in lowering CAC and increasing sales velocity

+ How to map every activity to a stage of awareness using a unified framework

Tune in and learn:

+ Why only 5% of your market is ready to buy – and what to do with the other 95%

+ How brand building actually impacts the short term too

+ How to balance your marketing budget (even on limited resources)

This episode is a must-watch if you're in a small marketing team and trying to build a brand and drive pipeline – without burning your budget or your boss’s patience.

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🔗 Links + CTAs

-----------------------------------------------------

💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

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🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook

📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/

📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/

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00:00 Brand vs Demand: The B2B Tug of War

02:55 Why Short-Term Wins Can Hurt Long-Term Growth

05:10 The Real Cost of Chasing MQLs

07:00 Diminishing Returns in Performance Marketing

08:45 Why B2B Brands Burn Out Too Fast

10:15 The Hidden Power of Brand Building

11:45 Brand vs Activation: Know the Difference

13:05 The 5 Stages of Awareness Explained

14:55 Mapping Content to Awareness Stages

16:30 Balancing Brand & Demand on a Budget

18:00 What 60/40 Really Means for B2B Marketers

19:35 How to Allocate Budget With Limited Resources

20:55 Avoiding the 'Do It All' Marketing Trap

22:05 Final Thoughts: Build for Now AND the Future

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👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team??

💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??)

Get the:

🔹 strategy

🔹 templates

🔹 tools

So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.

See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator

https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

S07 E186 - The B2B Playbook

#b2bmarketing #demandgeneration #brandvsdemand #b2bdemandgen #go2marketstrategy

Why Most B2B Sales Teams Are Failing (And How to Fix It)

Most B2B sales teams are stuck in outdated tactics – pushing for meetings, flooding inboxes, and hoping something sticks.

But that’s not how today’s buyer wants to buy.

In this episode, we sit down with Amarpreet Kalkat (Founder of Humantic AI) and our own Adem Manderovic (Co-founder of CRO School) to break down what’s broken in B2B sales – and what comes next.

We dive into how AI can be used to build trust, not spam, and how real commercial oversight starts with market validation, not meetings booked.

Here’s what we cover in this episode:

+ Why the predictable revenue model has failed us

+ How to segment and validate your market the right way

+ The DISC profiling framework that changes how you sell

Tune in and learn:

+ Why AI is wings for the good… but crutches for the lazy

+ The Dust Bowl of B2B sales – and how to escape it

+ How CRO School and Humantic AI fit together

If you’re in B2B and tired of tactics that don’t work anymore, this is a must-watch.

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🔗 Links + CTAs

-----------------------------------------------------

💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency

🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

-----------------------------------------------------

🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook

📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/

📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/

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00:00 Why B2B Sales is Broken in 2025

03:00 What is Humantic AI & How It Works

06:00 What Broke B2B Go-To-Market (And How to Fix It)

08:45 How B2B Buyer Behaviour Has Radically Changed

11:30 Why Predictable Revenue Doesn’t Work Anymore

13:45 Lessons from the Australian Market

16:15 The Real Reason Teams Default to Volume

18:30 The 'Dust Bowl' Analogy of B2B Sales

21:00 Why Most B2B Sales Teams Are Stuck in 2010

23:30 What Market Validation Actually Means

26:30 DISC Profiles: Stop Selling to Personas

30:00 Matching Message, Timing & Channel with Buyer Personality

33:00 Why AI Makes Lazy Sellers Worse, Not Better

37:00 Why GTM Tools Can't Replace Commercial Sense

40:00 The Rise of Full-Cycle Selling & Death of the SDR Model

43:00 Will AI Replace Bad Sellers? Amarpreet’s Warning

46:30 Fitness, Spinal Injuries & The Grit Behind CRO School

49:30 Why No Kid Wants to Be a Salesperson (But Should!)

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👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team??

💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??)

Get the:

🔹 strategy

🔹 templates

🔹 tools

So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.

See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator

https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course

S07 E185 - The B2B Playbook

#b2b #b2bmarketing #digitalmarketing #b2bsaas #salesstrategy #humanticai #cro_school #buyerfirst #gtm