I help salespeople become sales leaders w/ the Salesblazer Method™️ | Executive Sales Leader

Over the last decade, I helped build multiple multi-million dollar medical device territories by developing new markets and strategic sales teams. I also helped customer-partners build their personal brands and land consulting contracts, which led to developing new products/techniques and enhanced patient outcomes.

Then, in 2023, I hit a fork in the road. Do I continue building someone else's company at the expense of my convictions, or do I risk my comfortable life to gain personal agency, take complete ownership over my future, and craft something worth telling a story about?

Building something on my terms and diversifying my income would be the best pathway towards control over my calendar, autonomy over the work I get to do, and the direct impact I can have.

While this pathway has not been easy, the results have been remarkable.

Since leaving a sales executive role with a great brand, I have been able to replace my income by working for myself with less effort (working smart).

I have launched Sparkbound, a medical sales & marketing organization that goes beyond the transaction and seeks to enrich the lives of others.

Sparkbound not only helps our people build influential careers, increase our partners' influence, or improve our practitioners' patient outcomes, but we also want to help aspiring difference makers become the change they wish they could make... and then help them make positive change happen.

My mission is to help you see that you're not stuck. You don't have to labor and live as others expect you to. My mission is to help you challenge the status quo, lead by design, and choose the impact you wish to have.

I love writing about leadership, specifically leadership without titles, about how high-impact professionals can earn personal agency, purposeful productivity (doing more good, better), and meaningful work.

Francisco Martinez

Don't be the sales boss who kills careers.

Be the one who:

1) Prepares people for future promotion
2) Takes on the blame for their team
3) Gives credit where credit is due
4) Champions people behind closed doors
5) Knows their purpose and passions
6) Teaches sales principles on repeat
7) Allows for personalized sales processes 
8) Invests in their development
9) Helps align their revenue goals with team goals
10) Follows up on 1-on-1 meetings

Because when your team knows you have their back,

Everything changes.

They trust you more.
They take bold risks.
They own their growth.
They grow faster.

And they stick around longer.

Because you make it hard for them ever to want to leave. 

Your job isn't to hoard all the success. 

It's about building a room full of people you want to support and setting them up to win in sales and life. 

Be the boss who doesn't just want their team to be successful,

But who puts in the work to make it happen. 

Have you had a boss like this?

---

♻️ Repost to encourage people-first leadership.

And follow me, Francisco Martinez, for more leadership content

Making Leaders Remarkable | Follow for systems & strategies for effortless leadership & remarkable work | Founder & Principal building an 8-figure sales agency from scratch

Find a leader to work for. Not a job to do. 

The wrong manager can hold your career back for years. 

The right managers see your potential, help you unlock your potential, and champion your promotion. 

The best leaders are agnostic to the logo they represent. 
They are believers in the people they are responsible for. 

The best managers prioritize people first, then profit. 

I've worked for great leaders. 

- They believed I had potential.
- They asked about my wife & children. 
- They invested in me even when I deserved to be fired. 
- They designed comp plans around revenue goals, not quota.
- They created roles to solve problems that fit my passion and strengths. 
- They listened - and did not turn on me - when I considered outside offers.

I once struggled because I wasn't sure I wanted to be in this industry. 
My leaders noticed my decreasing excitement, put their arms around me, and said, "Where do you want to be? We'll help you get there." 

They are why I stayed, even though I was offered better pay elsewhere. 
They are the reason I haven't quit the medical device industry.

Ultimately, their leadership has led to several promotions, bigger paychecks, and once-in-a-lifetime career opportunities. 

Choose leaders who want to see you grow today. 

Agree? Let me know your thoughts👇

If you're only trying to get smarter, AI will replace you. 

Because the best leaders aren't the smartest in the room. But...

AI will never be able to replace people trying to get wiser. 

Here's why:

🤖 AI gives you infinite knowledge at your fingertips. 
🦉 Wisdom helps you know what to ignore.

🤖 AI generates faster answers. 
🦉 Wisdom helps you patiently listen to others.

🤖 AI follows the prompt you give it. 
🦉 Wisdom teaches you how to ask the best questions.

🤖 AI can give you the most probable outcome. 
🦉 Wisdom gives you the courage to do what seems improbable. 

🤖 AI can summarize a meeting. 
🦉 Wisdom reads the room AI can't see.

🤖 AI collects data at scale. 
🦉 Wisdom connects dots others can't see.

🤖 AI can study human emotions. 
🦉 Wisdom helps you see and feel where people are at. 

The leaders who are being promoted right now aren't the ones with the best AI tools.

They're the ones who know when to follow the data and when to go with their instincts. 

AI is a multiplier. But it multiplies whatever you bring to it.

Bring knowledge, you'll get more information. 
Bring Wisdom, you'll get better decisions.

Stop learning more with AI. 
Start cultivating the Wisdom to use it well.

Your career will thank you.

How are you balancing the wealth of information AI brings? 👇

--

♻️ Repost to help your tribe lead wisely in the AI era 
➕ Follow Francisco Martinez for more leadership insights

It's not your fault that you aren't getting promoted.

Companies love to promote the wrong people: 

People with seniority, big numbers, and loud mouths. 

But don't let that stop you from getting promoted the right way.

Promotion the right way is simple.
It's not about being extraordinary. 
Nor is it about being high performing. 

It's about being a high-impact person. 

High-impact people don't chase what others chase:

🏷 Executive titles
🏢 The corner office
👏 Praise and recognition
🎓 Fancy MBA degrees

High-impact people are simply leaders without titles. 

Lead where you are. 

No hierarchy.
No entitlement.
No permission needed.

✅ Seek impact, not impressions.
✅ Take initiative when others are complacent.
✅ Pursue excellence when no one's watching.
✅ Lift morale when others stick to themselves.

The gap between insignificance and influence shouldn't be authority.

It's the choice to become the leader you wish you had.

What do you think?

Most people wait for the perfect opportunity to start leading.

The perfect promotion.
The right work/life balance. 
The sales kickoff meeting.
A bigger team.

But here’s what I’ve learned after building sales teams:

There is no perfect opportunity.

The promotion won't make you a leader.
There is no such thing as work/life balance in sales leadership.
Leadership happens before the title. 

The people who get promoted don't wait. 

They start.
They lead anybody.
Create opportunities to serve. 
They find solutions that everyone has been aching for. 

Because they understand something most people ignore:

You don’t build influence by a title. 
You earn it by leading. 

Serving builds trust.
Solving problems makes you indispensable.

That’s exactly how I've gone from a sales demotion to now running my own sales organization.

Not with a perfect plan.

But by showing up every day seeking to enrich the lives of others.

What about you?

Character is king. 

Character > Competency.
Character > Credentials. 
Character > Commissions. 

Character lasts forever.

Francisco Martinez (Out of Office)

If you want to get promoted in 2026, stop acting like your boss and start acting like a true leader. 

Know the differences between a sales boss and a true leader (and how to apply these now to earn a promotion):

1 - Stop criticizing teammates and start praising

🚫 Bosses criticize in public and praise in private. 
☑️ True leaders do the inverse. 
✅ So train yourself to see the good in others and encourage and praise them.

2 - Be an example worth following

🚫 Sales bosses drag their people across the finish line
☑️ Sales leaders inspire their people to success by showing them the way. 
✅ Master the basics of your sales job and help elevate your teammates. 

3 - Own your development

🚫 Sales bosses dictate plans. 
☑️ True leaders develop people. 
✅ Take ownership of your role. Don't have SOPs on what's expected? 
- Ask what's expected of you. 
- Create your own SOPs. 
- Don't wait for instructions. 

4 - Embrace an owner's mentality

🚫 Sales bosses are ruthless taskmasters. 
☑️ Whereas leaders care about outcomes. 
✅ If you want to get promoted, stop asking what you should do next. 
Start asking what results are desired, create a game plan, and execute. 

5 - Trust their team

🚫 Bosses withhold trust
☑️ Leaders give it upfront with guardrails.
✅ I know many sales professionals who withhold information because they want to keep their cards tight to their chest. It never works out in their favor. 
Learn to trust and to give trust. 

6 - Fall on your sword

🚫 Bosses and toxic performers blame everyone else but themselves. 
☑️ Leaders own up to their mistakes. 
✅ The aspiring leader admits defeat, failure, or when they mess up. 

7 - Design how you win

🚫 Bosses demand results but give no instructions on how 
☑️ Leaders design a clear path to winning
✅ If you want to get promoted and have no design on how to win, propose scorecards, create your own, and ask for accountability from your manager. 

8 - Build systems

🚫 Bosses are chaotic and sporadic at best
☑️ Leaders win consistently because they have systems
✅ Design a system with high-revenue habits that help you win consistently. For me, it was my quarterly planning, my weekly plan, my daily system of preparation and follow-up. 

9 - Rely on Reality
🚫 Bosses solely lead reactively on their gut
☑️ The best leaders lean into the data for decisions. 
✅ Aspiring sales leaders, be consistent with your CRM and create impactful dashboards that tell you the truth and show you where your best effort should be spent. 

10 - Communicate thoughtfully

🚫 Bosses don't think before they speak
✅ True leaders use their words wisely. 

11 - Be cool under pressure 

🚫 Bosses create more chaos under pressure.
☑️ The best leaders bring clarity in the midst of chaos. 
✅ Be aware of how you respond to pressure and learn how to grow from it. 
- Make contingency plans before the storm hits. 
- When the storm hits, pause, think, and react. 

Which one has worked the best for you?

After 14 years in medical sales (18 total in sales), I've had to reinvent my career several times. 

I have been demoted, stuck, and promoted. 

I have represented large brands and startups. 

Every time, it has come down to these basic but powerful habits. 

Here are the 17 powerful habits of high-impact salespeople:

1. Focus on what you can control: your attitude & actions
2. Learn to say, "I don't know, but let me find out." 
3" Give, don't take. Give away your time, expertise, & self. 
4. The day starts the night before. Wake up to execute. 
5. Practice patience, not passivity. Growth takes time. 
6. Like Navy Seals, train with a pod of peers. 
7. Sundays are for strategy. Plan an ideal week.
8. Get aligned every quarter with your values and mission
9. Always be checking in on your character. 
10. Do what you say you will do, even if it costs you. 
11. First impressions are for impact, not to impress. 
12. Time block high-revenue activities. Ruthlessly stick to it
13. Send a weekly highlight report to your boss. 
14. Send a weekly lessons learned report to your team. 
15. End each day with a self-assessment review of yourself.
16. Solve big problems instead of reacting to fire drills. 
17. Go beyond the transaction and seek to enrich lives. 

Medical sales, and all sales, is more than hitting quota. 

It's about becoming the person you would rave about doing business with. 

What did I miss? 

--
♻️ Repost to help your network become a high-impact salesperson
➕ Follow for more tips on how to grow your sales career

Your company will never fully develop your leadership potential. They can't.

Their model only works if you stay productive in your current role — not preparing for your next one.

A great way to close that gap is to develop yourself.

1. Start with WHY you want to lead.

Leadership is about taking people on a mission towards a better future.

2. Align your work, sales pitch, and company mission to your purpose.

Your why inspires passion, but alignment maintains it.

3. Turn on the lights.

Spotlight everyone's shared problem, inspire hope with those who want to fix it, and fix it together.

4. Build a tribe of mentors.

Find one mentor in your organization, 3 mentors outside your org but within your industry, and 5 models you can read that inspire you.

5. Do generous work that makes your colleagues more successful.

Build a reputation as someone who creates value for others, not just climbs ladders.

Stop waiting for your company to prepare you for what's next.

Develop yourself.

What else would you add?

The best way to avoid hitting quota is to plan everything before you start. 

After 18 years of sales, I have learned this the hard way (and a simple fix). 

I'm OCD about having a meticulous sales strategy. 
It has overcome my deficiency in selling skills. 
But it has also paralyzed me. 

So many times, I could've achieved my sales goals so much sooner if it weren't for my overplanning. 

Here's why:

1) Hyper planning is a dopamine hit

It feels like progress, but you haven't moved. 

2) Analysis paralysis is a real thing

Overplanning creates lots of options and freezes your brain when it attempts to take action. 

3) You don't train a bias for action 

You train your brain not to get into the habit of taking action. 

Learn from me, who often gets stuck in the planning phase.

Instead, try this simple fix:

✅ Calculate your ideal revenue goal
- How much money do you want to make this year? 
- Making it personal helps you take more ownership. 
- Just ensure it is aligned with company and team goals

✅ Identify the top opportunities that are right in front of you
- Create an opportunity Eisenhower matrix
- List the top 3 most important opportunities in your high-volume customers (existing business) with High opportunity (more room for growth)
 - Second, find your top 3 low-volume opps with high opportunity (with HOT leads). 

✅ Take the next best step

- Identify the next best step for each opportunity
- And execute. 

You are your worst nightmare. 
Not your boss.
Not the culture you're in.
Not your lack of opportunity. 
You. 

So train yourself to master yourself. 

What's a quick fix you would add to help someone overcome overplanning?

You don't need permission to lead.
You don't need to work 60-hour weeks.
You don't need approval to implement AI.

Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. 

The biggest lies we tell ourselves:

"I need to wait until the culture improves."
"I need to be promoted before I can lead."
"I need to stay in my lane.

Here's the truth:

You have everything you need to make change happen in your company.
The work isn't waiting for permission.
The work is taking responsibility.

How many people do you know who spent years taking orders instead of taking initiative?

The most successful people didn't wait to lead and do great work.

They had a vision.
They took small bets.
They chose to lead and make a change.

Stop waiting to get picked.

Pick yourself and make positive change happen. 

♻️ Repost to help your tribe be the change they wish they had
➕ Follow for more insights on getting unstuck and doing things better.

99% of people overcomplicate career moves.

So, in 2023, I simplified the riskiest career decision of my life. 

What they won't teach you in school or corporate America is that all you need is:

1. Direction - where do you want to go in life? 
2. Anti-goals - what are you not willing to give up?
3. Convictions - Why and what must you do no matter what?
4. People - whom do you have as your personal board of advisors?

Things you don't need:

1. To listen to your heart.
2. 5 & 10-year plans.
3. Large network.

The key is to decide on your career before you need to choose. 

And no matter what, be excellent and intentional. 

Because none of this matters if you suck at your work.

What would you add to this career decision framework?

Being great at sales delays becoming a great leader.

I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly across high-performing teams:

Top sellers get promoted because they hit numbers, then struggle because leadership demands a different operating system.

Selling rewards individual optimization.
Leadership rewards collective progress.

This leadership gap shows up in four quiet skills most high performers miss:

1) Teaching what you know

Top reps protect their competitive edge. Leaders create leverage for all.
If others can’t replicate your success, the team stays dependent on you.

Leaders elevate the entire team to own their success. 

Start small:
Write your sales process end-to-end
Coach one underperformer
Help get them a quick win.

2) Fixing the system, not your pipeline

Sellers ask how to hit their quota.
Leaders ask what’s slowing everyone down.

They create a system that fixes what is holding everyone back. 

3) Holding uncomfortable conversations

Sellers are used to being customer-centric and "appeasing" their customers. 

When leading, it's all about the people until they put themselves in danger.

Can you tell someone their performance isn't good enough? Can you wisely push back on your boss when they're wrong? Can you mediate conflict between teammates?

4) Prioritizing people over personal numbers

Sellers optimize for wins. Leaders optimize for growth.

That means developing others even when it costs you short-term output.

I’ve been the rep who thought quota was enough.
It wasn’t.

Numbers prove you can sell.
They don’t prove you can lead.

Leadership isn’t a title you’re given.
It’s a lifestyle you practice before you’re promoted.

Which of these are you actively avoiding right now?

♻️ Repost to help high performers make the shift to leadership 
➕ Follow Francisco Martinez for daily insights on advancing your sales career

Want to quit your toxic company? Go for it. 

Want to make work easier for your bad boss? That's fine. 

Want to ask for a promotion? Do it. 

Want to jump ship for more pay? More power to you. 

If you are unhappy with the way your career is going or stuck with a mediocre compensation plan, one thing must happen:

Change.

Nothing changes if nothing changes. 

But change must start with yourself. 

- Change your plans. 
- Change your goals. 
- Change your habits.
- Change how you lead.
- Change how you work.
- Change your perception. 
- Change how you treat others.

Stop wishing for your company to change or your boss to leave, and start making change happen in your life and the areas under your control.

What else would you change?

The best way to sell more is to stop worrying about quota. 

Start focusing on these 17 sales habits:

1. Focus on what you can control: your attitude & actions
2. Learn to say, "I don't know, but let me find out." 
3. Give, don't take. Give away your time, expertise, & self. 
4. The day starts the night before. Wake up to execute. 
5. Practice patience, not passivity. Growth takes time. 
6. Like Navy Seals, train with a pod of peers. 
7. Sundays are for strategy. Plan an ideal week.
8. Get aligned every quarter with your values and mission
9. Always be checking in on your character. 
10. Do what you say you will do, even if it costs you. 
11. First impressions are for impact, not to impress. 
12. Time block high-revenue activities. Ruthlessly stick to it
13. Send a weekly highlight report to your boss. 
14. Send a weekly lessons learned report to your team. 
15. End each day with a self-assessment review of yourself.
16. Solve big problems instead of reacting to fire drills. 
17. Go beyond the transaction and seek to enrich lives.

Stop trying to hit quota once. 

Start putting it on self-driving mode by implementing systems. 

James Clear says, "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." 

Systematic selling reduces anxiety and stress. 

Habits and systems help you win over and over again. 

What habits would you add?

The best leaders don't just get more stuff done 
or try to accomplish more...

They aim to do more good.

So before asking, "Will this have a high ROI?", ask, "Will this accomplish the most good?" 

Start with purpose.
Then align with the profit. 

That's how to ensure your work stays meaningful. 

What do you think?

Trust me when I say:

- mastering influence
- excelling in your role
- crafting solutions as a niche
- teaching others to create success

And above all, being worthy of remark...

Will make it 100x easier to get promoted.

Waiting for an opportunity isn’t reliable. Go create demand for your skills.

"People over profit" is not only for leaders. 

Everyone must learn to choose people over profit.

In 2021, I rejected my dream job.

And all that came with it:

- Fancy title
- Diversified
- More money
- National influence
- Unlimited benefits
- My own career ladder
- Accelerated career growth

The role was everything I would create in a perfect world.

But I had to turn it down.

Why?

Because of everything I would lose:

- A great culture heading in the right direction
- Freedom to do my best work on my terms
- Freedom to manage my calendar
- Church influence and leadership
- Trust that comes with longevity
- Opportunity to craft a culture
- Work still left to do here
- Friendships
- Family

Nothing wrong with accepting or rejecting any of those things.

What's wrong is going against your convictions for what matters most in life.

For me, I would lose what was most important.

And that's priceless.

What would you prioritize in your career decisions?

➖ 
♻️ Repost to inspire success in what matters most
➕ Follow me (Francisco Martinez) for more like this.

Create Content that Sells | Content Strategist & Demand Gen Marketer @contactstudios → SEO, Content and Video for Online Businesses

Content changed my business' trajectory and my life.

It's the growth lever behind every client success story I'm proud to tell.

I firmly believe it's one of the best things you can do for your growth.

It's how you build trust and a reputation in your industry at scale. 

What I call: Content-Led Growth.


At Distinctiva we help you build your content strategy from the ground up.

With content & creative strategies, copywriting/ghostwriting, design and video editing/animation. 

You have the whole package to grow on platforms like LinkedIn, Newsletters and YouTube.

We create across all formats - from text, videos, carousels, one-pagers to full content machines that compound over time.

The results?

• Clients going from unknown to 10K followers in 3 months
• Some approaching 80K (more than I have!)
• YouTube channels hitting 6K views on their 2nd video
• Newsletters with 60%+ open rate in every single issue
• Millions of impressions, hundreds of podcast invitations
• Posts ranking #1 in Google Search

Best part?

Their content is one of the main sources of revenue. 

• One attributes 80% of their leads to LinkedIn Organic.
• Another credits LinkedIn as their top referral source (3x'd their website traffic!).
• Another scaled from $1.2M to $3.6M ARR through LinkedIn alone.


I only accept a limited amount of clients a quarter. And make sure I'm behind your strategy always. 

I don’t believe in massive hiring and scaling because I prioritize lean, focused teams that drive impactful results.


Thinking this might be right for your business?

Let's hop on a call and figure it out together. 

I'll take a look at where you're at, where you want to go, and we can map out if content could be your growth engine.

And hey, if content isn't the right fit or you're looking to grow on other platforms, I'm happy to point you toward the right people who can help.

Diandra Escobar

I'm tired of LinkedIn because...


People are obsessing over the wrong numbers.

➝ 20 likes feels like failure.
➝ 50 profile views feels invisible.
➝ 1000 followers feels small.

But here's what those numbers actually look like in real life:

➝ 20 decision-makers in a room, paying attention to you.
➝ 50 potential clients walking up to check you out.
➝ 1000 people who chose to hear from you—that's a packed auditorium.

The problem isn't your reach. It's your follow-through.
Likes don't close deals. Conversations do.

Swipe through to see what I mean →

Now go start those conversations 💚
Your content is working more than you think 🤝

Building content machines | Founder, Distinctiva.io - Organic Content Production House | Content Strategist | Speaker

I'm tired of Linkedin because...

LinkedIn is now the #2 source AI pulls from.
Only Reddit beats it.

Not Forbes. Not news sites. Not company blogs.
LinkedIn.

According to Semrush's study of 230K prompts, when ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode cite sources - LinkedIn shows up more than almost any other site.

What does this mean for you?
Your LinkedIn posts aren't just for your audience anymore.

They're being indexed. Cited. Recommended by AI.

That "simple" post you wrote about your process? It might show up when someone asks ChatGPT for advice in your industry.

This is another reason to stop treating LinkedIn like an afterthought.

LinkedIn was already a goldmine for B2B.
Now it's also becoming a source of truth for AI.

So here are a few tips to make sure your content is worth citing:

→ LinkedIn newsletters rank on Google - treat them like blog posts
→ Change your image alt text to keyword-friendly descriptions
→ Name your carousel files with SEO-friendly titles before uploading
→ Add your keywords to your headline, About section, and Services section
→ Use keywords naturally in your posts - write for humans, but be searchable

AI cites expertise. But people buy from people they trust.
A good LinkedIn strategy builds both.

Content compounds. This is just more proof.

Top cited domains on LLMs chart - LinkedIn ranks #2 behind Reddit according to Semrush 2025 study

I've been thinking about Twitter / X.

LinkedIn was where I started. Built everything here for myself and clients.

Then newsletters. YouTube.

But Twitter? Never really gave it a shot.
And honestly, it's a bit intimidating.

New platform. Different rhythm. Different unwritten rules.

You know that feeling when you're great at one thing and then you have to start from zero somewhere else?

Yeah, that.

But here's the thing about being a marketer:

You can't just stick to what's comfortable.

I've helped clients crack different channels. Built content engines across platforms. Developed strategies that actually work.

Time to practice what I preach.

So I'm asking you (because LinkedIn is still my safe space lol):

Who should I follow on Twitter?
Who's creating actual valuable content there?
What's working for you if you're active on both?

I'm not trying to go viral or chase trends.

Just want to show up. Learn. Engage with good people.
Same way I did here.

If you're on Twitter and doing cool stuff, drop your handle.

Or if you have tips for someone starting fresh, I'm all ears.

Let's see where this goes.

6 months ago we got a client's LinkedIn content to rank #1 on Google. Checked it again today. Still there.

No blog. No backlinks. No ads. In this case, just a newsletter.

We were running their full LinkedIn strategy - posting consistently, building their presence, growing their audience. The newsletter was part of that.

But we noticed an opportunity. They were in an emerging category - people were starting to search for what they do. So we picked their target keyword and built a newsletter issue around it.

He was building a new category. A brand new product they were just getting out there. The kind where people were just starting to search for solutions. Perfect timing to own that search term.

With traditional SEO, this would've taken 6-12 months minimum. Building domain authority. Getting backlinks. Competing with established sites.

But with LinkedIn content, they ranked in just a few months.

We didn't write typical LinkedIn fluff. We optimized the title, used clear H2s, answered the search intent completely. Basically SEO 101 - just published on LinkedIn instead of a blog.

Few weeks later it hit #1. Then it started showing up in AI Overviews. And 6 months later? Still ranking.

Most people think LinkedIn content disappears after 48 hours. But if you build it right, it keeps working for you.

And it's not just Google. LinkedIn ranked as the second most cited source by LLMs. Your content isn't just showing up in search results - it's being referenced by AI tools answering questions in your space.

LinkedIn is so slept on for SEO. 

You're not just reaching your network - you're showing up in search results for people who've never heard of you.

Me 🤝 The Balkans

Heading back to the land of Rakia for the 3rd time.

Speaking at unlockit conference on February 19-20, 2026.

Marketing Growth Session.

800 participants. 100+ speakers. Founders, investors, operators building real companies in CEE.

This isn't another "growth hacking" conference.

It's about scaling startups from Central and Eastern Europe to global markets.

Day 1: Growth Track and Inspiration Track.
Day 2: Hands-on workshops.

What's got me excited?

The focus on operator experience over theory.

People who've actually built companies, not just talked about building them.

The CEE tech ecosystem doesn't get enough attention.

But some of the most resourceful founders and executives I know come from there.

*cough cough* Nick, Vukasin

They build with less. They think differently. They execute faster.

I'll be sharing what's worked for us at Distinctiva.

Real content strategies. Real client results. Real systems.

No fluff. No hype. Just what actually moves the needle.

If you're building in CEE or thinking about expanding there, this is worth checking out.

See you in Belgrade. 🥃

Details: unlockit[dot]org

Most influencer campaigns fail before they even start.
Not because of bad creative or low budgets. Because you're partnering with the *wrong* people.

Sarah Adam runs influencer marketing at Wix across multiple brands.
Each one targets completely different audiences.

The old process was brutal:

⏳ Waiting on SEO teams for keyword research (never their priority) 
📑 Spending 4+ hours digging through product decks manually 
🎯 Running generic searches that miss your actual ICP 
🤷‍♀️ Guessing which creators your audience actually trusts

She built a ChatGPT workflow that changed everything.

Now she drops product docs into ChatGPT.
Extracts keyword clusters in minutes.
Maps them to ICP-specific influencer profiles.

The results:
→ 2-4 hours saved per campaign 
→ Better quality matches 
→ No dependency on other teams 
→ Scalable across different audiences

This isn't about replacing human judgment.

It's about spending less time hunting and more time building real partnerships with creators your audience already follows.

The full workflow (with all 3 prompts) is in this week's issue of The Workflow.

Real workflows. Real results. No hype 📩
Subscribe at www.theworkflow.digital

The Influencer Workflow to Discover The Correct Creators 

I've debugged these 3 content problems dozens of times.

They're sneaky because the content itself is usually fine.

Vukasin Vukosavljevic and I broke them down… and the exact playbooks to fix them:

Swipe through for the complete playbooks, content distribution workflows, and exact systems we use.

——

TL;DR

Problem 1: 
You publish and pray.

No distribution system. No content repurposing plan. Just hoping SEO saves you.

The fix? 
Build a content flywheel before you create.

Vuk's chicken analogy: one piece of content is like a whole chicken. You can make different meals from it. One blog post becomes LinkedIn posts, carousels, newsletter content, lead magnets, and YouTube scripts. 

At Distinctiva, we map the distribution into your workflow, not as an afterthought. And we’ve been collaborating closely with HeyReach.io and their genius marketing team to build these.


Problem 2: 
Traffic without pipeline.

You're getting pageviews but demos stay flat. Your content entertains but doesn't convert visitors into leads.

The fix? 
Product-led content strategy and intentional content mix.

Use your own product in your content. Go niche instead of broad. Mix your content deliberately: 40% authority building, 30% growth tactics, 20% povs, 10% direct conversion.

Check your CTAs. Are they clear? Do they match where people are in the funnel? Fix your conversion mechanics.


Problem 3: 
Brand-centric content that nobody cares about.

Every post is "we launched this" or "we achieved that." Your audience doesn't care about your brand milestones. They care about solving their problems.

The fix? 
Make your audience the hero.

Outbound Outliers does this perfectly. They feature user stories, not company wins. They share customer frameworks and tactics. They turn case studies into "here's how THEY did it" instead of "here's what WE did."

Stop making your brand the main character. Your customers should be the stars.


Drop your biggest content challenge below and we might tackle it next :)

3 Content Problems That Sink Brands (And How to Fix Them)

This framework helped my boutique agency make close to $1M through LinkedIn. 32K followers. Clients paying $20K/month retainers. All inbound.

Here's the truth most people miss:

A million-dollar LinkedIn profile isn't about going viral. It's about creating a funnel where every post has a job.

And here is how we define it at Distinctiva:

→ Growth content (broad reach)
Hot takes, pattern observations, industry commentary. The stuff that makes people go "I need to follow this person." Gets shares and brings new people in.

→ Authority content (builds trust)
Deep expertise. Frameworks, systems, case studies, client results. This is where you prove you can actually deliver, not just talk about it.

→ Conversion content (drives revenue)
Sales messages. Lead magnets, direct offers, CTAs that move followers to clients. Yes, you actually have to ask for the business.

→ Personal content (optional)
Stories, updates, behind the scenes. You don't have to share personal updates - but if you've built a community that actually cares about you, they want to know what's going on in your life.


What ISN'T optional? Your point of view.

Your voice, your perspective, your unique take - that should be woven into every single post across all buckets. Without it, you're just another AI spitting out tips.

Most people post randomly and hope something sticks.
This system makes every post intentional.


I made a full video breaking down the framework - including the 5-step writing process and pre-publish checklist I use before every post goes live.

Watch it here: https://lnkd.in/esEFBFi9

Last week I got this screenshot from Backlinko: their YouTube videos are now ranking on Google. 🤸🏼‍♂️ Here's what we did:

We built their YouTube channel from scratch by treating it like part of a bigger content engine, not an isolated platform.

The full content flywheel we built:

The Backlinko team runs experiments. Gets data points from Semrush. Writes highly researched blog posts.

We turn those blogs into long-form YouTube videos.

Those videos get repurposed into LinkedIn posts. Promoted through their newsletter. 

The whole flywheel is fueled by social listening from LinkedIn and Reddit SEO communities.

Every piece feeds the next.

For the YouTube side specifically:

→ Brainstorming video ideas from their best content

→ Coordinating with Leigh McKenzie, Chris Hanna, and Matt Kenyon for hosting

→ Editing with our in-house team

→ Optimizing titles and descriptions for SEO

→ A/B testing thumbnails with our designers

→ A/B testing and iterating on titles after publishing when videos don't perform well

→ Publishing and selecting the best clips for Shorts


The biggest constraint? Time. And finding real SMEs willing to create content.

Recording takes real time that most brands just don't have. Everyone's already stretched thin running their actual business.

We're fortunate to have Matt helping with hosting. Finding an actual subject matter expert who's good on camera isn't easy. Most people who really know their stuff don't want to be on video. Or they freeze up when recording starts.


What we learned about YouTube SEO through this work:

Descriptions still matter. Not just for YouTube, but for Google search too.

We put the primary keyword in the first sentences of every description. Google pulls this as a snippet and bolds the key terms. It acts like a meta description.

We started writing descriptions like mini blog posts. Not keyword stuffing. Actual helpful content that gives context.

This is what makes videos show up in Google search results, not just YouTube.

We experiment with different title approaches constantly. Some ultra SEO-optimized for Google. Others more attention-grabbing for YouTube's algorithm.

Constant experimentation is what actually moves the needle on content performance. Not guessing what might work and sticking to it.


The goal wasn't just to launch a new channel.

It was to build a system where YouTube becomes a search engine asset, not just a video platform.

A few months in and they're showing up on Google search results.

This is what happens when you treat content as a flywheel with strategy baked in, not isolated posts hoping for the best.

The flywheel is spinning ;)

Closed a $5k/monthly deal in 29 minutes last month.
Not because I'm some sales wizard. The opposite actually.

A previous client referred us. Told the prospect we were a great choice. 

Between that and our content, by the time he got on the call he already knew:

- LinkedIn matters for his business
- He doesn't have time to do it himself
- We know what we're doing (he'd seen our content)

The call wasn't about convincing him. It was about making it official.

This is what people miss about content.
They don't just bring you leads. They build trust before you ever speak.

But the reality most people face with LinkedIn is that posting consistently takes hours every week. And quite frankly most business owners don't have that time. 

They know they should be on LinkedIn, but between client work and running their business, content falls to the bottom of the list.

That's why when your content works 24/7, it's not just convenient.
It's doing the selling for you while you sleep.

Your content shows you know your stuff.
Your referrals prove you deliver.
By the time someone books a call, they're ready to work with you.

So what do you do if you don't have the time?
You build a system. Or you get help building one.

Either way, the goal is the same: stop treating content like a to-do list and start treating it like a machine that runs without you.

The worst option is staying stuck in the middle - knowing you should, never doing it, watching competitors show up while you don't.

Have you ever had a sales call where the prospect was already sold before you spoke?

B2B content gets ignored by Sales because it makes them look amateur in front of prospects…

(Ouch. Somewhere, a marketing team just felt a chill down their spine 🥶)

Marketing creates in isolation. Sales pretends it doesn't exist. Buyers get recycled fluff that sounds like every other vendor.

Andrei Zinkevich built a fix: a synthetic buyer panel trained on real closed-won deal data.

It's an AI feedback loop that roasts your content before your prospects do- using the actual language, pain points, and decision criteria from your best customers.

No 40-agent setup. No complex automations. Just Claude, real buyer data, and a process that catches weak claims before they tank your credibility.

Because as Andrei puts it: "AI is an accelerator. If your process sucks, it will just accelerate… the suck.”

This week's The Workflow issue breaks down: 
→ How to build a knowledge base from closed-won deals 
→ How to set up buyer personas that actually challenge your content 
→ How to validate assets in minutes instead of weeks

Subscribe using the link under my name 👆🏽

The Buyer Validation Workflow to align Marketing and Sales

Only 20% of newsletter readers click on links.

Which means 800 of you might've missed the prompts we ship in every issue of The Workflow.

So we fixed that.

🗃️ The Prompt Vault: 15 battle-tested prompts from every workflow we published in the last 6 issues.

Marketing reports. Lead scoring. Brand positioning. BOFU articles. Call-to-content workflows. Voice of customer research.

All the prompts. Zero fluff. Ready to copy-paste into ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or whatever LLM you're using.

No nodes to stack. No complicated automations. Just prompts that solve real problems when you're staring at a deadline.

To the 1,100 of you who trusted us with your inbox this year: thank you. 💙

Inbox real estate is sacred. We don't take that lightly.

Sara and I started The Workflow because we were tired of AI being presented as either magic or menace. We wanted the messy middle. The receipts. The "but what's the actual goal here?" questions that nobody else was asking.

Turns out, a lot of you wanted that too.

🎁 So here's your gift. You'll find it in the latest issue we just published.

theworkflow.digital


P.S. First 2026 issue drops Jan 8th. We're tackling Sales and Marketing alignment. Because apparently, we hate ourselves.

You want a research report that actually builds pipeline.

But you're stuck choosing between expensive agencies or burning out your internal team.

Sara found a third option at Stryber.

She ran 40 expert interviews and cut production time in half using AI and automation.

Here's her exact workflow:👇🏼

1. Set the strategy 
Workshop your goals, audience, and narrative before touching any AI tool. Define who you'll interview and what hypotheses you're testing.

2. Do the research 
Use ChatGPT to scan existing reports and trends. Know what's already been said so your report actually adds something new.

3. Find experts 
Start with warm intros (70% conversion rate). Layer in cold outreach with Sales Navigator + Clay + Dripify (40% conversion rate).

4. Prep & personalize 
Send tailored questionnaires before each call. Different personas = different questions = answers worth quoting.

5. Record & transcribe 
Run interviews with Fathom. Transcripts, key moments, and highlights — all automatic.

6. Automate the chaos 
One Zapier workflow: transcript finalized → tracker updated → Slack pinged → Google Doc appended. No chasing files.

7. Cluster insights 
Feed transcripts into ChatGPT to group themes, pull quotes, and draft takeaways.

This isn't another "10 AI hacks" newsletter.

Every issue features one real workflow from someone who actually ships work, not just posts about it.

You get the tools, the templates, the prompts, the exact system they used.

The Workflow is us giving you the systems that actually work, tested by people doing the work.

Link to subscribe under my name. ☝🏼

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The Battle

Francisco Martinez

Diandra Escobar

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Performance ScoreFrancisco Martinez's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Francisco Martinez

Diandra Escobar

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Francisco Martinez's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreDiandra Escobar's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreFrancisco Martinez's LinkedIn Performance