Andy Mewborn

Distribute.so

I use to be young & cool. Now I do b2b SaaS. 

Husband. Dad. Ironman. Pilot. Taco lover. 

Founder of Distribute // Co-founder of Taplio (acq. by Lemlist) // Early @ Outreach.io.

Creator

A community of over 4,000+ B2B professionals growing together on Linkedin.

• "Brand30 absolutely did wonders for my business." -Maritha Koortzen

• "Brand30 changed the trajectory of my life...To say it’s opening doors for me is an understatement" - Amanda Stern

• "Brand30 provided the group accountability and expert advice I needed to more than double my LinkedIn engagement in just one month" 

🚀 Start Building An Audience Of Potential Buyers On LinkedIn In 30 Days👇

• https://www.brand30.io/

most sales reps kill deals with their follow-ups (here’s how to fix it)

so i’ve been in sales for a while, and the one thing that still blows my mind? how many reps completely tank their chances with shitty follow-ups. not because they’re spamming people, because they’re sending nothing.

"just checking in"
"wanted to circle back"
"following up on my last email"

like, checking in on what? you never gave them anything to actually respond to. prospects aren’t mind readers. if you don’t say something useful, they’re gonna ignore you.

so what actually works? here’s what i’ve seen:

instead of "just following up," try:

"i recorded a 2-min video showing how [similar company] cut their onboarding time by 40%. thought of you because you mentioned this was a bottleneck last time we talked."

instead of "wanted to circle back," try:

"saw this article about [industry trend] and immediately thought of our convo. the part about [specific insight] lines up with what you said about [their challenge]."

instead of "any updates?" try:
"quick question, are you still focused on [goal they mentioned], or have priorities shifted? context changed, so i don’t want to waste your time."

the pattern here is simple:

• give value first
• show you actually listened
• make it about them, not your quota
• make it easy to respond (ask a specific question)

i built a tool that does this automatically. it pulls call recordings, videos, and docs into one link so you’re not just sending another empty "checking in" email. not because reps are lazy, because prospects are busy, and they don’t have time to guess what you want.

Andrew Mewborn

Sellers

Should you ever badmouth competitors during sales calls?

A) Always - Highlighting their flaws strengthens our value proposition
B) Strategically - Only when directly asked about specific weaknesses
C) Rarely - Focus on our strengths without comparative negativity
D) Never - Unprofessional and damages industry relationships

P.S. - 15,000 sellers stopped writing follow-ups. Take the 2-min quiz to see what they switched to: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Should you ever badmouth competitors during sales calls?

Sellers

What's more valuable: relationship selling or solution selling?

A) Relationships first – People buy from people they trust
B) Solutions first – Buyers want problems solved, not friends
C) Value selling – ROI conversations close deals faster
D) Consultative approach – Be an advisor, not a vendor

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

What's more valuable: relationship selling or solution selling?

Sellers

What’s the worst sales advice you’ve received?

A) “Always be closing” – Aggressive pressure turns prospects off
B) “Fake it till you make it” – Authenticity matters more than acting
C) “Price isn’t a problem” – Dismissing budget concerns backfires
D) “Never take no for an answer” – Respect boundaries to build rapport

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

What’s the worst sales advice you’ve received?

Sellers

Should you ask about budget in the first call?

A) Always - It qualifies prospects immediately and saves time
B) Sometimes - Only after establishing clear interest and need
C) Rarely - Money talk too early creates resistance
D) Never - Discussing budget before value cheapens your solution

P.S. - If your follow-ups take longer than 60 seconds, you're doing it wrong. Take the quiz: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Should you ask about budget in the first call?

Sellers

Should sales managers still carry a quota?

A) Full quota – Can't coach what you don't practice 
B) Half quota – Need skin in the game 
C) Token quota – Just enough to stay sharp 
D) Zero quota – Let leaders lead, sellers sell

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Should sales managers still carry a quota?

Sellers

How much does luck contribute to success in sales?

A) Significantly – Being at the right place at the right time often makes all the difference.
B) Moderately – Luck plays a role, but skill and effort are more important.
C) Minimally – Success is mostly the result of hard work, strategy, and persistence.
D) Not at all – It's all about skills, planning, and execution. Luck doesn't come into it.

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

How much does luck contribute to success in sales?

Sellers

Do good looks matter in sales?

A) 100 % – Beauty opens doors before product does
B) A bit – Looks earn attention, skill seals the deal
C) Barely – Confidence > cheekbones
D) Zero – Quota is blind to pretty faces

P.S. - Still writing follow-ups manually? This 60-second quiz builds you an AI system that does it for you: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Sellers

Is AI replacing salespeople or empowering them?

A) Replacing – Only top 20% of reps will survive automation
B) Empowering – AI handles admin, humans handle relationships
C) Overhyped – Human psychology can't be automated
D) Transforming – The role evolves but never disappears

P.S. - 15,000 sellers stopped writing follow-ups. Take the 2-min quiz to see what they switched to: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Is AI replacing salespeople or empowering them?

Sellers

Remote selling vs. in-person: Which closes more deals?

A) Remote wins – Efficiency and scale beat face-to-face
B) In-person dominates – Trust requires physical presence
C) Hybrid approach – Use both strategically based on deal size
D) Industry dependent – Complex B2B needs in-person relationships

P.S. - If your follow-ups take longer than 60 seconds, you're doing it wrong. Take the quiz: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Remote selling vs. in-person: Which closes more deals?

Sellers

Which comp structure would you rather live on?

A) 70 % base / 30 % commission – stability rules
B) 50 / 50 – balanced risk-reward
C) 30 / 70 – big swings, big wins
D) 0 / 100 – eat what you kill, baby

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Which comp structure would you rather live on?

Sellers

Do sales reps really need to use the CRM?

A) Every detail – Data is the new oil 
B) Key stuff only – Quality over quantity 
C) Bare minimum – Just enough to not get fired 
D) CRMs kill deals – I track my pipeline in my head

P.S. - 15,000 sellers stopped writing follow-ups. Take the 2-min quiz to see what they switched to: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Do sales reps really need to use the CRM?

Sellers

Who's harder to sell to?

A) CFOs – Every penny is their first-born child 
B) CTOs – They'd rather build than buy 
C) CEOs – Good luck getting past their gatekeepers
D) Procurement – Where deals go to die slowly

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Sellers

When is the most effective time to give a demo to a prospect? 

A) Early in the sales process – To quickly showcase the product's value and capture interest.
B) After a thorough discovery call – Once you have a clear understanding of their needs and challenges.
C) Just before the closing phase – When the prospect is already considering a purchase.
D) Only on request – Waiting for the prospect to express interest ensures they're engaged.

P.S. - If your follow-ups take longer than 60 seconds, you're doing it wrong. Take the quiz: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

When is the most effective time to give a demo to a prospect? 

Sellers

Which role do you think is the hardest in sales?

A) SDR 
B) Account Executive 
C) Account Manager 
D) Sales Manager 

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Which role do you think is the hardest in sales?

Sellers

What's the biggest lie in B2B sales?

A) "I'll circle back next quarter" (They won't) 
B) "Budget isn't an issue" (It always is) 
C) "We're the decision maker" (Committee of 12 enters chat) 
D) "Your product is perfect" (Here comes the ghosting)

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Sellers

Is "fake it till you make it" acceptable in enterprise sales?

A) Essential – Confidence sells more than competence 
B) Sometimes – Strategic bluffing is part of the game 
C) Risky – One Google search can tank your credibility
D) Never – Authenticity beats artifice every time

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Is "fake it till you make it" acceptable in enterprise sales?

Sellers

How do you respond when a prospect ghosts you late in the deal?

A) Persistence: Keep following up until you get a response, showing your commitment to helping them.
B) Pause and Reflect: Give them space for a while, then reach out with a new angle or valuable insight.
C) Closure Attempt: Send a "break-up" email to prompt a final decision, making it clear you're moving on.
D) Seek Feedback: Reach out for feedback to understand what went wrong and learn for the future.

P.S. - If your follow-ups take longer than 60 seconds, you're doing it wrong. Take the quiz: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

How do you respond when a prospect ghosts you late in the deal?

Sellers

Should you maintain relationships with clients post-sale without concrete upsell potential?

A) Always - Future opportunities emerge unexpectedly
B) Only if they initiate contact
C) No - Focus energy on active pipelines
D) Never - Emotional labor ≠ compensation

P.S. - Took me 2 min to find out I was wasting 11 hrs/week on follow-ups. Take the quiz, get your number: https://lnkd.in/eNYQ3DeQ

Should you maintain relationships with clients post-sale without concrete upsell potential?

Sellers

Swearing on a discovery call: power move or career-ending?

A) Fireable – Keep it squeaky-clean, sailor
B) Situational – Mirror the prospect’s vibe
C) Adds spice – Curses = authenticity
D) Essential – If you ain’t cussin’, you ain’t closin’

P.S. - Steal my 1-pager email follow-ups: https://lnkd.in/eQr9JQhq

Swearing on a discovery call: power move or career-ending?

Positive, engaging and seasoned doer with an entrepreneurial spirit. A visual storyteller who strongly believes we should always create exceptional experiences every day.

I wear multiple hats. I lead online communities's strategy for companies programs globally for the last 12+ years and have been awarded as the Community Professional of the Year 2020 at the CMX Awards - one of the most prestigious companies in the communities industry. 

What are my not-so-secret superpowers?
Idea generation, visual storytelling, growth hacking, event planning, building a brand of my own, lead generation, demand generation, proactive problem solving, fearless networking and cold calling, and fostering collaboration.

Where can you find me?
Behind cameras capturing a beautiful scene or in front of it sharing some thoughts; running events, playing drums OR https://ed.community

Casual, but not meaningless. I trust my guts, and I back it up with data.



Specialties
Online communities; Ambassador programs; Online support, scaled support; community platform tender; management of international communities, global communities; community strategy, community operations, social support, social media strategy, XFN; product ideation; lead generation; demand generation; campaign creation and execution; digital marketing; social marketing; social selling; product management; project management; Software-as-a-Service SaaS; Lean Six Sigma Green Belt; ScrumMaster; Vendor management; Partner Management; Outsourcing management;

Ed Giansante

Excited to announce the most important launch of my life.

Kairos Lucca Giansante shipped on Jan 18th. 

Launched ahead of schedule, fully validated in production, and already showing strong traction.

Like any ambitious launch, we hit some bumps. 

Week one brought a Sev1 incident that required a NICU escalation. 

But through God's grace, the right team was in place at exactly the right time, and we navigated through it. 

Today, he's home, healthy, and crushing it.

The name Kairos is special to us. 

It's a Greek word from the Bible that means "the right time," not clock time (Chronos), but God's perfect timing. 

Even when things don't go according to the original roadmap, Kairos reminds us the timing is exactly as it should be.

I'll be offline for the next few weeks for onboarding and integration. 

Returning soon with new perspectives, fresh energy, and a significantly sleep deprived.

Grateful doesn't begin to cover it.

God is good, all the time.

Love y'all <3

Head of Community, AI enthusiast, Storyteller, Book Author (ex-Dropbox, Wix, Zynga)

Last night I hosted a dinner for healthtech founders and c-level execs as part of #HealthtechWeek.

Conversations reminded me why SF in January hits different.

Quick themes from our table (+ some color from JPM this week):

1. "Proof over promise" is the new mantra

AI finally needs to show ROI. No more pilots that go nowhere.
One founder: "We stopped pitching AI capabilities. Now we just show before/after on automations"

JPM data backs this up: $15.5B in prevented denials from real AI deployments this year.

2. Patient verification is killing conversion rates

Someone mentioned their drop-off during onboarding was 40%+ until they rebuilt their identity verification flow. HIPAA compliance requirements make this tricky.

Side note: we've been helping healthtech companies at Persona solve exactly this NIST IAL2-certified identity verification that actually keeps patients moving through intake instead of abandoning. 

Insurance card verification, document checks, the whole thing without the friction.

3. Longevity moved from fringe to funding priority

Peptides, stem cells, diagnostics for early detection—these used to be dinner party conversations. Now they're getting serious capital.
One investor: "aging is the biggest addressable market we're not pricing correctly yet."

4. DeSci (Decentralized Science) keeps popping up

Not just crypto hype but actual conversations about funding models outside traditional pharma and VC. Data ownership, transparent research, community-driven protocols.

Still early but the people working on it aren't just idealists anymore.

5. Wearables getting clinical-grade serious

Consumer health data becoming clinical-grade was on everyone's radar. Regulatory frameworks for AI in medicine still murky but moving faster than expected.

One founder building diagnostic tools said FDA conversations in 2026 feel different than 2024 (less "prove it to us for 3 years first")

If you were at Healthtech Week, what stood out to you?

Big thank you to our partners Vouch Insurance and Winner AI

been building community for 16 years. tried everything.

forums. slack channels. zoom happy hours. online activations. content series. paid ads to drive signups.

and I can confidently tell you that nothing beats IRL. Get 8-12 people in a private room with food for 2-3 hours.

last week hosted one of these dinners. here's what happened:

- two people who "competed" for the same customers realized they could partner
- someone shared they were thinking about shutting down their community program (wouldn't say that in a public channel)
- watched body language shift from guarded → relaxed around minute 45
- covered everything from onboarding ideas to folks considering leaving the US (ask me about tips in Europe)

this is the format:
• 8-12 people max 
• curated invite (think of who you'd like to be siting besides you if you were them)
• private dining room or quiet space 
• family style meal (forces passing, sharing, proximity) 
• 2-3 hours minimum 
• zero slides, zero presentations

why it works for community:

eye contact matters. 

you can't fake engagement when you're 3 feet away from someone for 2 hours.

intimacy builds trust faster. someone admits their community is dying over dinner. they never post that in your slack.

multiple conversation threads. small group means you can go deep on 8 different topics. big events force surface level.

body language tells the truth. you see who's checked out, who's energized, who needs help but won't ask.

the roi isn't in your CRM. it's:
- the text 2 months later: "remember that dinner? i need advice"
- the intro between two people at the table who just closed a partnership
- the person who shows up to your next 4 events because they finally feel connected

To my fellow community builders: stop optimizing for scale. start optimizing for depth.

a zoom call with 100 people will never replicate the moment when 8 people lean in at the same time because someone just said something real.

your job isn't to grow headcount. it's to build connection.

that happens over pasta, not slides.

Apple just paid Google $1B/year to fix Siri.

The deal:
- Multi-year partnership with Google Gemini
- Powers next-gen Siri launching spring 2026
-  Apple runs on Google Cloud
- Apple still controls privacy layer (Private Cloud Compute)

Alphabet briefly hit $4 trillion market cap on the news. First time they've topped Apple's valuation in 7 years.

Some context people are missing:
- Apple spent billions building their own AI. Fired their AI chief John Giannandrea (former Google) in December after multiple Siri delays. 
- they also abandoned self-driving cars after years of investment.

Now they're outsourcing their most visible AI product to their biggest search competitor.

People are calling this a failure for Apple. 

and yeah - after all that spending and all those "Apple Intelligence" ads, paying your competitor $1B annually isn't the victory lap you wanted.

But here's what's actually interesting:
- Apple already pays Google ~$20B/year just to be the default search engine on Safari. This deal is 95% cheaper and solves their most embarrassing product problem.
- They're also keeping the OpenAI ChatGPT integration. So they're hedging - Gemini for foundational models, ChatGPT for complex queries, Apple's own models for on-device stuff.
- Non-exclusive deal = they can still build their own tech or switch providers.

I think vertical integration has been Apple's superpower for decades. Giving that up, even partially, signals something shifted internally.

either way, Google wins huge. $1B/year + massive validation that Gemini can power consumer products at Apple's scale (and Siri might finally not suck)

your thoughts?

Google's Gemini models and cloud technology will power future artificial intelligence features in Apple products including Siri, the iPhone maker told CNBC.

Healthtech week in SF is happening

Some highlights from day 1:

Waystar goes all-in on agentic AI
- 7.5B insurance transactions processed in 2025
- Prevented $15.5B in claim denials last year
- Building toward fully autonomous revenue cycle
- 99% first-pass claim acceptance rate

Big nonprofit systems flexing their integration wins
- Advocate Health: $1.5B in annual savings since merger (while adding 23k jobs)
- Mass General Brigham: saved 1,800 lives through "For Every Patient" initiative
- AdventHealth: $60M investment in AI smartrooms across 13k patient rooms

Women's health sector just got validated with data
- New research dropped at JPM: $100B+ in exits across 276 companies over 25 years
- 27 billion-dollar mega deals
- Nearly half of all exits happened in last 5 years
- 23 unicorns (half since 2020)
- Gynecologic health led at $29.6B, oncology at $24B

Lots of nervous energy around regulatory uncertainty and how systems stay profitable with CMS shaking everything up.

Excited to host a dinner with c-level execs in the healthtech space this evening :)

taplio

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taplio

The Battle

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