Maddie Bell ⚡️💬🗓️’s Post

"You don't rise to the level of your goals... you fall to the level of your systems." And returning to work after vacation is the perfect time to action plan that. 🌴📊 Why? I'm committed to winning at work and in life, so vacation meant disconnecting for myself and my family. 🏖️ But when I did... It became abundantly clear which parts of each process I'm manually bolstering. 🤔 Because during the first week back... I got to see which balls got dropped, which didn't, which channels maintained momentum, and which faltered. 🔍 And as a result... I got a much better understanding of which ones mattered and which ones didn't. So what was the solve? 1) I assessed the delays or misses that mattered and doubled down on developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and moving them to Standard Automation Procedures (SAPs). 2) We looked into new workflows and tools, and we even enhanced the roadmap for the AI we build. 3) For the key tasks that couldn't be automated, I jotted down a prep plan for next time to properly hand off to my team. 4) For the balls that got dropped that didn't matter, I started to question whether we could just eliminate them. ❌ All this to say, going on vacation is good for: You, Your Family, AND Your Business (especially if you are a leader) Because everything comes back stronger in the end. Anything you do to build systems into your business? (Asking for a founder who will be attending 'Family Camp' without Wi-Fi next week.) 🚣♀️🏕️ P.S. You've never truly watched fireworks until you've watched them with young kiddos who get to see their favorite color. 🎆 Quote Credit To James Clear "Atomic Habits"

Few people realize just how much value is often lost when people reschedule or ‘ghost.’ Loved helping Matthew McCaffer bring that value back into his pipeline.

What was HubSpot’s sole mission in the early CRM days? Creating a sales solution that people would actually use. How do I think that evolves in a world of agentive AI? Builders need to create AI that people don’t have to ‘use,’ but still love to have. Why? Because agentive AI should be able to deliver immediate, tangible, controlled value - all by itself - while still making a human say “I love that thing.” HubSpot has led the way since its inception and continues to do so with its advanced AI features, so I absolutely loved the chance to talk to Jill Fratianne 👩🎤, who has seen frontline innovative GTM tech come to life for over a decade. Want to hear more of our conversation? Check out her episode on the NextGen GTM podcast! ( podcast link in the comments below)

When you are used to being an ‘A-student’ the early days of a startup can be extremely mentally challenging. But making those early (bad) grades make the moments when you deliver great results for customers that much more valuable. (Special thanks to Ry Walker for being the one who shared this in one of his talks. It has resonated with us for several years!)

It typically takes more than 8 touch points to book a qualified meeting... Here’s how I’ve seen B2B teams optimizing their meeting cycles as MQLs come in: Signals: 96% of leads do research before booking a call. ↳ Customer journey mapping still acts as the right backbone. Big budget teams are winning through paid social, SEO, and display to website de-anonymization to personalized retargeting. Smaller budget teams are winning by mapping webinar and content download intent into their CRMs for similar personalized nurturing. Nurturing: AI personalization is becoming a competitive advantage. ↳ No question any person (or AI agent) should be using Persona, Clay, or Clearbit for faster, more curated warm lead nurturing. You might miss 1-2 edge cases, but the scale compounds and the speed matters. Qualification: Only 27% of B2B marketing leads are qualified even with form fills and lead scoring. ↳ Some leads have high intent but low fit. Some have high fit but low intent, so conversational qualification is still key to maximizing ROI. Booking: Calendar links are still polarizing. ↳ Calendar links capture leads willing to take full action, whereas conversations and time proposals capture leads with warm intent. Show Rates: No reminders = no-shows. Reminders without rebooking = a tradeoff. ↳ Reminders without instant rebooking give leads a chore, which often causes them to defect. But reminders with instant rebooking ensure they can adjust the time profile and still maintain the invite. What part of the meeting cycle have you seen people optimize? #Sales #SalesTips #SalesLeadership #SalesStrategy #SalesTraining

18 months ago, I took the biggest risk of my career... I left a job that I loved, running billion-dollar brands across global teams, to run a business with 3 people making exactly 0 dollars. Why? Well, incidentally, it was my twelve years at Procter & Gamble that taught me how to: - Value mind and heart-opening consumer insights - Believe in the transformative power of big ideas - Ask the tough questions to the right stakeholders - Bring innovation from concept to market and beyond - Obsess over consumers All of this has helped Scheduler AI grow to where we are today. And this is why I am so excited and humbled to speak on the main stage at the #PGSignal event alongside industry giants such as: Sridhar Ramaswamy from Snowflake, Tim Ellis from the National Football League (NFL), Mary Ellen Coe from YouTube, Alex Hardiman from The New York Times Andrea Brimmer from Ally and more.

Some people say they ‘eat what they cook,’ but at HubSpot, they ‘drink their own champagne.’ I can’t think of a better principle to build innovation around. Why? Because deep, insightful customer understanding comes from living in the problem. It’s an incredible advantage for young companies because you actually have the tools, the talent, and the motivation to fix problems, which allows you to iterate and accelerate much faster than ‘the big guys.’ And as Jill Fratianne 👩🎤 says, it’s all about ‘the energy,’ ‘the vibe,’ and ‘the drive.’ Which is why I’m off to go live in the problem a bit to keep pushing and enhancing our AI agent to ensure... I don’t get unqualified leads on my demo calendar. (Sorry everyone, time is currency.) I don’t want to miss hot leads on the weekends. (I gotta be all in at home to be all in at work.) I hate having to update lead statuses in my CRM. (Let’s just say it’s not my spiritual gift.) I don’t have time to reschedule this meeting right now, but I don’t want to lose this chance. (See above.) Any problems you guys hope some driven startup jumps in to solve along your go-to-market motion? P.S. Want to see the entire conversation with Jill? Check out our podcast session. (Link in the comments.)

Mindset matters. That’s why solving a poor show-rate issue isn’t just about improving pipeline metrics. It’s a key part of improving team momentum. Loved this reminder from Matthew McCaffer that dialing in your pipeline isn’t just about improving KPIs... It’s also about setting up your people to crush it. Struggling with show rates less than 80%? DM me, and I’d be happy to send you the top 5 playbook principles we follow to maximize shows.

Most founders don’t wake up one day and say, “You know what I’d love to do most? Post on LinkedIn!” I certainly didn’t. In fact, I dreaded it. I came from a world where the brand’s voice was always the most trusted in the room because the brands I led had all been alive longer than I had. But I have come to realize the truth of what Kate Campbell has shared: People buy from people. And when you are growing new technology at a young company, your new brand will naturally take on the character of its leadership. Which is why these posts are an important part of how I support my company and my people. So here we are, on LinkedIn, posting. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find ‘your own way.’ You’ll note that I am now posting more takeaways from the awesome conversations that I get to have every day. These conversations: 1) inspire what I write, 2) magnify the thoughts and ideas of others, 3) force me to reflect, and 4) teach me a tremendous amount. And it’s honestly reminded me of the best leadership advice I got from my grandfather... The #1 skill you need to build something great is the ability to find, befriend, employ, and partner with people who are smarter than you. P.S. If you’d like to tune into these convos with Kate and others who I’ve met along this journey, tune into our full conversations by watching “The NextGen GTM Podcast.” It has ever-so-conveniently been sponsored by Scheduler AI 😉 (Link in comments.)

"What Prospectors Say vs. The Voice I Hear" (A Translation Guide) They say: "Greetings..." I hear: "Greetings, Earthling. I’m going to try to abduct you into a discovery call." They say: "Quick question..." I hear: "Run! Run! This is a trap!" They say: “I hope you are well.” I hear: “No, you don’t. You hope I have a niche problem that only your software can solve.” They say: “Is developing new software solutions on your radar?” I hear: “Just confirming you breathe oxygen and manage a software company.” They say: "I'm just looking to expand my personal network." I hear: “Until you click ‘Accept,’ at which point your DMs are mine!” They say: “Congrats on your recent capital raise.” I hear: “I’d love for you to give some of that cash flow to me.” Jokes aside… Why do I ‘hear’ this? And why did you laugh? Because every single line follows a pattern that has been automated 1,000 times. So what is the alternative? Believe it or not, I’m actually not against outbound prospecting. Why? 1) I realize that as an SME, I shouldn’t expect companies to provide us with a 1:1 tailored experience. 2) I don’t necessarily recognize or want to vet every software problem/solution. 3) My business depends on prospecting too. That's why: Good sellers with good insights can help my business and save me time. And I recognize that they need to operate at a scale to make it worth it for them too. But here is my ask for compromise… Do 👏 the 👏 basics 👏. This means: 1) Macro-personalize: I’m okay if you notice something about my company that gets me onto a list with 200 other companies if it is uniquely insightful and relevant to MY business. This is hard to do well, but most SaaS companies do have meaningful similarities. 2) Lead with value: Teach me something insightful and actionable. I might realize the logic is great and want an implementer. If it's fluff... I'll notice that too. 3) Watch your tone: I build AI. I know when someone prompted GPT-4 and used a lazy copy/paste. 4) Know when to stop automating: Use an initial hook and 1-2 reminders, but don’t keep me on the drip campaign forever. It makes me regret my choice. This doesn't mean you have to be perfect out of the gate. (2 years ago when I was clueless and trying to figure out Apollo, I sent a mass email to "Hi <First Name>." That's literally what it said.) It just means you have to put in the reps. Anyone else have any favorite "What they say vs. what I hear" moments?