Anneli Thomson’s Post

What if I gave you all the leads you long for. Would your business fall apart? I won't be telling you that MQLs aren't the only metrics to measure marketing success. I've made my peace with this question at every pre-sale and end-of-month report and just nod along. But what if I gave it all to you. All 5, 10, 20, or 50 MQLs per month, just like that. → Would you close the deals? → Would you nurture the ones not ready to buy? → Would you respond fast enough to meet their needs? Often, we think the problem is 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 not having enough clients. No clients = no revenue. No revenue = layoffs. Simple, right? But more often than not, that’s not the real issue. It's a lack of strategic business direction. It’s broken delivery processes. It’s weak sales. Marketing doesn’t work in a vacuum. If your internal processes—sales and delivery—aren’t solid, marketing can’t swoop in and save the day. Prove me wrong.

For the 3rd time in 3 weeks, I saw layoffs—3 different IT consulting firms. The last one happened Tuesday, right before I jumped on a call with an account manager to talk shop. Before the call, I reviewed their website to learn about their BizDev efforts. This is what I saw: 130 Employees 11 Sales representatives 4 Marketers 94 SEO Blogs 4 Unverified Testimonials 0 Case studies 0 Unique positioning statements This is a team throwing people at a problem. They probably started with 2 - 3 SDRs who went through the meat grinder, trying to generate new business, finding minimal success. Then, they probably added more and more bodies, thinking that volume would solve the problem. But those teams have no value to share. If they did, it would be on the website instead of SEO blogs and generic positioning like (literally) “We solve challenges and scale growth.” Those teams have to work harder to close deals. Pressure increases because of higher overhead. That leads to desperate tactics. Prospects see desperation and run, making it harder to close. Everyone loses. As a marketer at one of these firms, you gotta fight for your team: Clarify your positioning, narrow your ICP, review client data, build case studies, verify testimonials, create sales enablement, and thought leadership. All this empowers your sales team, driving success—and protecting everyone's job. If you don't, your team will end up on the chopping block. 

⚠️ Know the warning signs… Layoffs can happen in Medical Sales. But the signs are often there if you know where to look. After years in the industry, I’ve learned to spot the warning signals before they become reality. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨: 1. Radio Silence: Vague or infrequent company updates. 2. Leadership Changes: Managers start leaving the organization. 3. Budget Cuts: Reduced travel, hiring freezes, or smaller training budgets. 4. Low Morale: Fewer meetings, stressed managers, or widespread rumors. 5. Declining Financials: Watch for reports of lower revenue or shrinking market share. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲: 🔹 Keep Your Résumé Fresh: Be ready to pivot quickly. 🔹 Track Wins: Keep detailed records of your contributions. 🔹 Stay Informed: Read updates, attend meetings, and ask questions. 🔹 Network Now: Build relationships inside and outside your company. 🔹 Financial Prep: Save more, spend less, and be ready for the unexpected. Layoffs are never easy, but preparation is everything. 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Setbacks can be opportunities in disguise. Have you experienced any of these signs before? <><><><><><><><><> 🔹 When you stay prepared, you’re always ready for what comes next.

⚠Worried about sales layoffs, little/no raise or capped commissions? As a top-performing sales exec, these are very real concerns. ⏳ Overworked? 💸 Underpaid? 💤 Exhausted? I've been there. My company was bought out. Then we downsized. Cost-cutting measures. Raises capped. Bonuses shrunk. All despite strong growth. 📣 My wake-up call: -I'm just another number! BUT, I learned there's a way to take back control by... ✅ Creating multiple streams of income: 📌 Investing in conservative apartment building deals 📌 House hacking 📌 Side hustles As a sales exec, isn't it time to start planning for an uncertain financial future? You and your family's peace of mind are worth it. 📞 Let's set up a virtual coffee and chat about how this strategy can help you achieve your goals. ------------------- I'm on a mission to help top-performing sales executives buy back their time by making sure their investments are working just as hard as they are. ⚡ DM me "PASSIVE" to learn about your options! #salesexecutive #sales #realestate #passiveincome

There’s 2 schools of thought when it comes to capitalizing on high intent purchase behavior throughout the year. 1) turn customer acquisition up to 10. 2) throttle it to drive efficiency. Choosing depends on your business goals and margins. Let’s take an example. You’re approaching Q4 and your Q3 wasn’t great. You’re a small 8 figure brand that’s taken a few punches the last 24 months. Cutting marketing costs is front of mind for the C suite and your boss is breathing down your neck. And you have 2 options: 1) full blast spend across all channels to bring as many new customers as possible. 2) spend smart across channels & tactics knowing there’s existing high demand in the market. What do you choose? There isn’t a one size fits all but I’ve seen some brands taking option 2 lately. Because they can’t afford to put inefficient spend in the market so they’d rather take a slightly smaller revenue number. Using the existing demand in the market to boost acquisition efficiency is smart, but these decisions are entirely dependent on your: - CAC goals - repeat customer base - financing & cash position - OpEx coverage - business strategy So don’t let anyone tell you which one is ‘right’ without the proper context. Net dollars are typically the most important, but you’re the one dealing with: - internal politics - layoffs - YoY declines - marketing reorganizations So as Q4 starts today, don’t forget to focus on what’s important for YOUR business - not anyone else’s. Have a great Q4!

⚠️ Know the warning signs… Layoffs can happen in Medical Sales. But the signs are often there if you know where to look. After years in the industry, I’ve learned to spot the warning signals before they become reality. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨: 1. Radio Silence: Vague or infrequent company updates. 2. Leadership Changes: Managers start leaving the organization. 3. Budget Cuts: Reduced travel, hiring freezes, or smaller training budgets. 4. Low Morale: Fewer meetings, stressed managers, or widespread rumors. 5. Declining Financials: Watch for reports of lower revenue or shrinking market share. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲: 🔹 Keep Your Résumé Fresh: Be ready to pivot quickly. 🔹 Track Wins: Keep detailed records of your contributions. 🔹 Stay Informed: Read updates, attend meetings, and ask questions. 🔹 Network Now: Build relationships inside and outside your company. 🔹 Financial Prep: Save more, spend less, and be ready for the unexpected. Layoffs are never easy, but preparation is everything. 𝐏𝐫𝐨 𝐓𝐢𝐩: Setbacks can be opportunities in disguise. Have you experienced any of these signs before? <><><><><><><><><> 🔹 When you stay prepared, you’re always ready for what comes next.

Ideas Are the Starting Point, Not the Destination We felt a problem and realized there is a solution, which is a great idea. But who doesn't have ideas? What set us apart were three key market signals that showed us the path from idea to a billion-dollar company: 1. Dedicated Budgets 💰 The introduction of the Chief Partner Officer (CPO) role means dedicated budgets for partnership tools ( thank you Partnership Leaders team for this movement) 2, Purchase Intent 🛒 2,000 partner managers currently spend $300/month on partner community subscriptions, seeking partner strategy solutions. 3. Increasing TAM (Total Addressable Market) 📈 The number of partner managers doubled in the last two years and is expected to double again to offset sales and engineering layoffs. These signals validated our journey and highlighted the massive opportunity in the market. Partner Utopia is here to bridge the gap and transform how partnerships are managed and grown. Join our waitlist and find out how we changing the world of partnership strategy https://lnkd.in/d_pEFtjy

When we announced we were shutting down Outbounder and launching an inbound-led outbound firm, the feedback was mixed. There were a lot of questions that I thought I’d answer 1-by-1: 1 - Is outbound really dead? No, outbound is alive and still performing. And while Outbounder was doing just fine, we wanted to pivot because we felt as though inbound-led outbound was the future of our space. If you want to continue hammering out your power dialer, do your thing. 2 - What is inbound-led outbound? Inbound-led outbound is a hybrid of organic marketing and sales development. It’s done by creating demand and capturing it through signals. It’s been around for a while but never had an official name. We put together a guide to explain how it works: https://lnkd.in/gPgaNbFC 3 - Why is it “better” than traditional outbound? When you create your own demand and find high-intent leads, your prospects will make faster decisions, close at a higher win %, and will ultimately generate bigger deals more frequently. 4 - Are SDRs safe? No. Not at all. Despite all the job postings, SDRs are in the worst place we’ve seen for years. At the end of the upcoming quarter, we’ll see more layoffs. The market is saturated and more competitive than ever. SDRs need to start stacking skills now. Otherwise, they will likely not make the cut.

"What's your proof?" This is what your prospect is thinking when you make bold claims. Most businesses: - Are working with less budget in 2024 - Are experiencing layoffs - Are having similair goals This means the people who write the checks are grilling your offer. The CFO is asking things like: - "Can we put this off for 6 months?" - "That ROI seems to good to be true. Is it really doable?" - "Who else have they helped get similair results?" What can you do? - Build a business case 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 your Champion that helps justify the cost - Get your Champion on a call with another Champion you've signed up - Tell more 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 with proven outcomes Give confidence that doing deals with you is the right call. And make it super clear why it can't be put off for half a year. You'll see more deals move quicker. Instead of getting stuck, delayed, or ignored. Which sucks. PS. combine this, with setting out more buckets, that way when it does rain, you're COLLECTING

When I first invested in our pitch deck about VaaS, I felt relieved... until I found out I had to practice it and test it with our prospects. Even though it was hard at first, I liked it—especially when I put it in front of our ICP. I could tell that it resonated. But then, the market shifted when all the marketing layoffs happened around late 2021 to mid-2022. (Remember?) I thought we were going to have a hard time closing business. Luckily, we decided to adjust and address those changes. We conducted customer interviews and did more research, and even though it has taken us about a year, we officially have a new pitch deck! Soon enough, we'll find out whether we made the right decision. And I love that! The market decides whether my ideas are relevant or not, so I don't have to wonder. I just have to test it. PS: This is me recording myself delivering the new pitch deck... It's rough, guys—I'm not gonna lie. But someone's gotta do it.