Buyer Led Growth | Go-to-Market Acceleration for companies with $5mm - $50mm in revenue

The Internet is flooded with advice on how to scale from $0 to $100MM, which is a dangerous trap.

The "hyperscale" advice may be entertaining and aspirational, but it is not very applicable to companies that need to drive growth with capital efficiency.

I help B2B companies with $5MM - $50MM in revenue create value by demystifying Go-to-Market with a simple framework called #BuyerLedGrowth.

In the last 15 years, I've created 3 companies, sold two of them and advised nearly 50. The common theme?

Companies get "stuck" at $10MM / $20MM / $30MM in revenue. They are likely still growing, but that growth is HARD and getting harder. 

The leadership roles in marketing, sales and even customer success have become revolving doors. Two steps forward, 1.5 steps back.

These headwinds have become even more challenging as the shift in B2B buyer expectations accelerate, requiring a comprehensive, integrated revenue engine.

I help companies break through these growth barriers in a variety of roles;
- Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Yield Group
- Operating Partner at Boathouse Capital
- Limited Partner in and advisor to Stage 2 Capital

gtmPRO.co is the place that my team and I "open source" our frameworks, templates and learnings (coming soon!)

We are driven to help take the friction out of growth and help functional revenue leaders expand into well-rounded business leaders.

Most importantly, I am blessed to be a husband to my wife and a father to our 4 children. 🙏

Gary Schwake

Struggling to get clients from your content?

You've invested a lot of time, effort, and resources into publishing content, but it hasn't led to the leads, clients, or sales you expected.

You're frustrated.

(And you should be!)

Your content is like a wind-up toy that keeps bumping into a wall. 

Don't wind it up more - turn it in the right direction so it finally moves forward.

That's what I help you do.

You don't need to create more content, go "viral," or do things that don't feel authentic to who you are.

You just need to be more strategic.

Most people fail to get clients from their content because: 

• Their content attracts people who will never buy.

• They chase engagement and vanity metrics that don’t translate into sales.

• They post in ways that limit reach - weak hooks, external links, and no engagement strategy.

• They don’t leverage newsletters and email marketing, overlooking the strongest connection they can have to their ideal buyers.

The strategies I teach aren't theoretical - they're based on real-world results.

I’ve built a multi-six-figure business as a consultant, newsletter creator, and podcast producer by using content to attract 500+ paying clients, 33,000+ newsletter subscribers, and 32,000+ Twitter followers.

Inside the Clients From Content Program, I show you exactly how I’ve done it - so you can turn your content into clients too.

Join today to get immediate access to:

✅ 20+ Skill Sessions (1-hour video trainings) on writing, newsletters, social content, and client attraction.

✅ Monthly Office Hours where I give one-on-one help and answer your questions.

Want more clients from your content?

📩 Step 1: Subscribe to my newsletter (32,000+ readers) here: www.fortheinterested.com/subscribe-linkedin/

🎙 Step 2: Listen to my podcast for actionable strategies here: www.joshspector.com/podcast/

🚀 Step 3: Join the Clients From Content Program here: www.joshspector.com/program/

Josh Spector

David Letterman kept a stack of cups in his dressing room - each one represented a completed show.

One of the (many) reasons I love this photo:

What matters is what you've DONE - not what you intend to do.

He's not counting down and removing cups the way you would cross things off a to-do list.

He's simply tracking what he's completed and doing so in a way that reveals the progress he's made.

Most of us spend more time looking at lists of things we haven't done (and feeling bad about it) than looking at lists of things we have done (and feeling good about it).

It's a subtle, but important difference.

Want more clients from your content? I'll show you how.

Is social media already dead? 

I think it might be. 

What people think of as social media these days is basically just TV on your phone. 

It’s primarily video. 

What you see is mainly from people you don’t personally know. 

It’s increasingly a passive, one-way medium with nothing “social” about it. 

Not only is the consumption of “social media” basically TV watching now, it’s even worse because you’re not even choosing what to watch.

You don’t even control the remote any more. 

It’s like having the opportunity to watch hundreds of TV channels, but instead just saying “Hey CBS, show me whatever you want to show me.”

The death of social media is one of the biggest (and saddest) wasted opportunities of our time. 

Anyone else feel like this?

I just wrote the first line of your next piece of content for you. 

Ready for it? 

Just pick one of these 10 opening lines and the rest should write itself. 😉

1. “I’ve never been more wrong in my life.”

2. “I couldn’t believe how much impact one small change could have.”

3. “It’s amazing how one comment from the right person at the right time can change everything.”

4. “You’re not going to believe what I’m about to tell you, but I swear it’s 100% true.”

5. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy when I suggest this…until they try it.”

6. “If I had to start over, I’d do a lot differently.”

7. “This isn’t easy for me to admit, but here we go…”

8. “There’s one question I get asked more than any other and it’s time I answered it here.”

9. “Can we talk about the most annoying thing in the world?”

10. “I saw something the other day that blew my mind.”

The best part of those 10 opening lines? 

You don’t have to only use one of them. 

Use them all if they inspire you. 

Use them often. 

You’ll have a bunch of compelling new content. 

You’re welcome. 😉 

PS - These are the kind of strategies I share in my newsletter. 

Join 30k subscribers here: https://lnkd.in/g-dHgxqh

I wrote 5 issues of the daily newsletter I'll send to 30k subscribers in ONE hour.

Here’s how I’m able to do that:

1. It’s short. 

Each issue is about 3 sentences long. 

Including 3 links - 1 of which is an ad or promotion for my products. 

2. I don’t reinvent the wheel. 

Most issues include at least one link to a piece of content I’ve shared before. 

Usually a LinkedIn post I published recently or blog post I published years ago.

It’s all valuable and timeless. 

But little of it is new. 

3. It’s curated. 

I’m not the only one with value to share. 

So my own content isn’t the only content in my newsletter. 

I come across valuable articles, social posts, and videos others have created every day.

When I do, I save the link in a document. 

When it’s time for me to write my newsletter I can grab those links and share them. 

As a result, I spend no time "looking for links" when writing my newsletter. 

•••

I'm not saying you need to approach your newsletter the way I approach mine.

But...

I am saying a newsletter - even a daily one - doesn't have to be nearly as complicated or time consuming as you may assume.

It just has to be valuable.

Want help figuring out how to pull that off?

Let me know and I'll give you a suggestion.

Don’t forget:

1. Whatever you chose to start, you can also choose to stop. 

2. Everyone else is as unsure of what they’re doing as you are. 

3. Every right path includes a bunch of wrong turns. 

4. No success starts out as one. 

5. If there’s not a clear before and after, then nothing actually happened. 

6. Everyone’s got an opinion about what you should do, but those are just opinions. 

7. The more you’re willing to tell the truth, the stronger your content becomes. 

8. The algorithm isn’t your customer. 

9. You’re always a moment away from everything changing - for better or worse. 

10. You don’t need to chase opportunities once you learn how to create them. 

Your Turn:

What's a concept you always try to remember?

When someone follows you, send them a direct message that says this:

"Hi Mike! 

Thanks for following me - I appreciate your interest. 

I’m curious…"

Then end with one of these five questions:

1. How did you discover me? 

2. What made you want to follow me? 

3. What’s your main goal at the moment? Happy to help if I can. 

4. Have you created anything my newsletter readers might find helpful? Happy to share it with them if it’s a fit. 

5. Who else do you enjoy following? I’m always looking for good people to follow. 

Sending this DM to a new follower does a bunch of good things:

• If they reply they become 85% more likely to see your posts in their feed

• It starts a conversation which can lead to a valuable relationship

• It shows you care

• It lets you provide immediate value to them (which can turn a follower into a buyer)

• You learn what can help you attract more followers

• It allows you to thank a person who recommended you (if that's how they discovered you)

By the way...

Want more clients, reach, and engagement from LinkedIn?

Check this out: https://lnkd.in/gbv2QS5F

10 things on my mind…and now on yours:

1. Caring can be incredibly powerful. 

But so can not caring. 

2. “I don’t understand this whole thing about computers and the superhighway. Who wants to be in touch with all those people?” 

- Ray Bradbury in 1995

3. “Writing” is actually editing. 

And “first drafts” are actually thinking. 

4. If you’re always worried about what MIGHT happen…

Nothing will ever happen. 

5. “In every man, there are may men.”

- A line from the first episode of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

6. Newsletter creators freak out when Apple or Google do something to make it easier for people to unsubscribe.

But here’s the thing:

Why do you want people on your list who don’t want to hear from you?

They’re doing you a favor.

7. No one ever feels good looking at their to-do list, it’s an inherently negative experience.

A done list is the opposite. 

8. Every masterpiece you see was created by someone who at some point wasn’t sure it was good enough to put into the world.

Imagine how many masterpieces we’ll never get to see because their creators guessed wrong.

9. The goal of your first sentence is simply to get people to read the next sentence.

And with each additional sentence you get someone to read, they become exponentially more likely to read the whole post.

10. Should I do posts like this one more often?

The 7 words that defined my year:

1. Mistakes.

My year started with the realization a shift I had made in my business was a mistake.

In my desire to optimize for more revenue, I lost my way and abandoned how I like to work and who I like to serve.

In many ways, I spent the year undoing the damage I had done (primarily to myself) and rediscovering what I want out of work and life.

And most importantly, how to get it.

2. Vulnerability.

A big part of that undoing was a willingness to be vulnerable and publicly share my mistakes and lessons learned from them.

The reaction to the most vulnerable blog post I’ve ever published was incredible.

The way it was received further cemented for me (and my audience) that I was headed back in a better direction.

3. Freedom.

That direction is to prioritize freedom.

One of the biggest lessons I learned this year (the hard way) both personally and professionally was that I had built a life of external freedom without an equal level of internal freedom.

There’s no point in working for yourself if you’re not going to shape the work to fit what you most enjoy – otherwise you might as well go get a job.

4. Pressure.

15 years ago, I sat on a couch in my first therapy session and with a straight face said I had no stress in my life.

I truly believed it at the time.

Now, I look back and can’t believe how disconnected I was from reality.

This year I sat on a Zoom call with the same therapist and said I didn’t think I put much pressure on myself.

Then came to realize that was just as insane a statement.

5. Products.

The new clarity and direction I’m finding has started to lead to new directions in how I approach my business as well.

By the end of the year I launched the first digital product outside of my membership in a while.

My Email Templates That Turn Subscribers Into Buyers has not only been a hit, but it’s made me realize products are a great way to package my expertise.

6. LinkedIn.

I loved Twitter for a decade until Elon ruined it.

This was the year I bailed on it and shifted my attention to LinkedIn.

I’ve been thrilled with the results and have come to believe it may have been a better platform for me all along.

Better late than never, I guess.

Not only has it become the only social platform I regularly use, it’s also generated a lot of business for me.

I even created my LinkedIn Experts’ Playbook to share what I’ve learned about how to get clients and reach on the platform.

7. Breaks.

There were two Sundays toward the end of this year when I didn’t publish my newsletter.

That’s the first time I skipped an issue in the 9 years I’ve published it.

And for the first time in 3 years I took a break from publishing my podcast.

Those are quite the accomplishments – not the publishing streaks, the decision to take a break (finally).

•••

So...

That was my year in a nutshell.

What words defined your year?

OVERRATED: Blaming the algorithm
UNDERRATED: Ignoring the algorithm

OVERRATED: Videos
UNDERRATED: Links in posts 

OVERRATED: Bio link to website
UNDERRATED: Bio link to newsletter 

OVERRATED: Impressions
UNDERRATED: DM conversations

OVERRATED: Connection requests w/ notes
UNDERRATED: Connection requests w/o notes

OVERRATED: Posts
UNDERRATED: Comments 

OVERRATED: Job title in bio
UNDERRATED: Reason to follow you in bio 

OVERRATED: AI writing your posts
UNDERRATED: AI feedback on your posts

OVERRATED: Linking to your newsletter in posts
UNDERRATED: Linking to your posts in your newsletter 

OVERRATED: Minimal images
UNDERRATED: Text-heavy images 

OVERRATED: Cold DMs
UNDERRATED: DMs to existing followers

What do you think is overrated or underrated on this platform we "love" to complain about?

Here’s a crazy idea that may be smart: 

What if I published 50 newsletters instead of just one? 

My current newsletter is focused on a relatively specific nice - how to get more clients from your content. 

But…

What if I created 49 additional newsletters tied to super specific niches within that niche? 

For example, one might be ONLY about how to get more email subscribers. 

One might be ONLY about how to get booked as a guest on podcasts. 

And one might be ONLY about how to get more digital product sales. 

Unlike my main newsletter, there would be no set frequency for these. 

I’d send them when I had something worth sending. 

And it wouldn’t be nearly as much work as it seems, because essentially I’d just repurpose stuff I had shared elsewhere on that topic. 

So what’s the benefit? 

A few things potentially:

1. People who don’t care about 90% of what I share but REALLY care about the other 10% could opt in to get only what they most care about. 

2. I’d have a sense of exactly what people are most (or least) interested in. 

3. I’d be able to tailor new products and offers to match the exact interests of my audience. 

4. I’d likely wind up with more total subscribers and less audience churn overall. 

5. It would create hyper specific sponsorship opportunities. 

6. It would create a place to get new value out of 10 years worth of resources I’ve previously shared before. 

7. The conversion rate on these super specific topic sign up pages would likely be VERY high and I could drive highly targeted traffic to them 

8. It would be one hell of an experiment. 

What do you think? 

And what topic would you most want to sign up for to make sure you never missed a resource related to it?

What if your entire marketing plan was to turn one buyer into two? 

If instead of chasing “new” people, you focused ALL your effort on serving existing buyers so well that they bought again and/or told others about you? 

And not just for people who pay you with their money, but also for people who pay you with their attention. 

For example, part of your marketing effort would be to turn one newsletter subscriber into two or one LinkedIn follower into two. 

What would you do differently? 

Maybe you’d spend less time creating new content and more time engaging with and helping the people who engaged with you. 

Maybe you’d spend less time and effort creating automations, and more genuinely connecting with people and building relationships. 

Maybe you’d spend less effort creating bonuses to get people to buy and more creating incentives for people to buy again or refer others. 

My bet is you’d see a lot of what you do differently and change a lot of your approach. 

And I bet there’s a good chance you’d ultimately get more of the result you actually want. 

This is a hypothetical, but…

It’s also not. 

Because I’m increasingly leaning into this approach in my own work and encouraged by the direction it’s going. 

What do you think about this idea?

No alternative text description for this image

I was thinking about paying to boost a LinkedIn post yesterday so I asked ChatGPT if I should - it gave me a fascinating answer.

The post I was considering was the David Letterman post I published a couple days ago because it performed well organically.

(Go to my profile to check it out - it includes what may be my favorite photo ever.)

I showed ChatGPT the post and gave it the organic stats of its performance.

I figured it would say it was a good candidate for boosting. 

But here’s what it said...

•••

The “Boost or Not” decision rule (steal this)

After 12–24 hours, ask:

Is this post still climbing on its own?

•  Yes → Let it run
•  No, but the engagement quality is great → Boost it
•  No, and engagement is weak → Don’t boost it at all

Boosting is for the middle case.

A simple scorecard you can run in 30 seconds

Give the post one point for each:

•  Above-average impressions
•  3+ organic reposts
•  Comments beyond first hour
•  Engagement from non-core audience
•  Feels “universally likable”

Score:

•  0–1 points → Boost candidate
•  2–3 points → Case-by-case
•  4–5 points → Do not boost

Your David Letterman post would score 4–5.

That’s why it didn’t need help.

•••

It's an interesting formula for deciding what to boost, don't you think?

I'm curious...

Have you ever paid to boost a post? How did it go?

I'm launching a product next week - here's what I've done behind the scenes to get ready for it.

Next week I’m launching 30 Days of Doin’ It. 

It will help you build a habit in 30 days by giving you a daily dose of proven tactics, resources, and motivation to help you stick with what you want to do and accomplish your goal.

I originally sold a version of it back in 2017, but decided to update and re-release it since it was so popular back then. 

Here’s what I’ve had to do to make that happen:

1. Update all 30 emails.

2. Create a Google doc version for people who prefer to access it that way instead of through emails - this will allow buyers to move at their own pace. 

3. Create a sales page.

4. Create a product page in Kit which is what I use to sell products and run my newsletter.

5. Set up tags and automations in Kit so buyers get tagged and entered into automated sequences after they buy.

(Side note: These sequences are ONLY related to the product - I don't automatically add them to my newsletter because that's not what they asked for.)

6. Draft launch emails and LinkedIn posts to promote the launch. 

7. Set up an automated follow up sequence to check in with buyers, see how it’s going for them, and ultimately ask for a testimonial.

8. Create a list of people I know who I’ll reach out to about cross promotions.

I'll offer to promote something of theirs in my newsletter in exchange for them promoting my product in theirs.

(Side note: Let me know if you're interested in doing that with me.)

9. Pull out old testimonials from when I offered the product years ago and add them to my sales page as social proof. 

10. Publish this post which functions as subtle promotion and a teaser for the upcoming product. 😉 

Speaking of which…

Let me know if you want a heads up as soon as the product is live.

It will be available for just $29 for the first 24 hours and goes up to $49 after that.

I believe you…

1. Are doing more than you need to do. 

2. Should trust your instincts more. 

3. Are capable of more than you realize. 

4. Are creative. 

5. Want to feel seen and heard. 

6. Should have a newsletter. 

7. Should invest in yourself financially as well as with effort. 

8. Would read more books if you were quicker to abandon bad ones. 

9. Have something to say that someone else needs to hear. 

10. Have something you need to start doing. 

11. Have something you need to stop doing. 

12. Will be closer to success with each failure. 

13. Know what you need to do. 

How do I know these things about YOU? 

Because they’re true for EVERYONE. 

What did I miss?

🚨OPPORTUNITY!🚨

It’s Free Rewrite Time! 

I’ve been having fun working as a writing partner to my clients and editing/rewriting their content and marketing materials. 

So I figured I’d do a bit of it here for you. 

Reply with something you’d like to see me rewrite for you and I’ll give you a revised opening paragraph for it. 

It can be your sales page, a LinkedIn post, a newsletter issue, a promotion email, your about page, whatever you’d like to see how I’d rewrite it. 

PS - Let me know if you’d like to know more about how I can work with you as your writing partner.

Let's shoot down the 11 excuses that hold us back.

1. "I don’t have enough time."

Yes you do. Time is a choice. You’re choosing to use it on other things.

The choices we make with our time are not easy and always come with consequences, but they are also always choices.

2. "I don’t have enough money."

So start small. Start for free. Start getting creative.

If you can’t afford to do the big thing of your dreams, then find a way to do a tiny version of it and build from there.

3. "I might fail."

True, but you also might succeed.

Failure is always an option. Get used to it. Run toward it.

4. "I don’t know how."

You didn’t always know how to walk, or speak, or read. 

No one knows how to do anything until they learn how to do it.

And the only way to do that is to try.

5. "I don’t have any experience."

There’s only one way to get some.

How do you think people who have experience got it? 

They weren’t born with it.

6. "I don’t have any connections."

Who you know is influenced by what you do. 

When you do things, it draws people to you and connections develop in the process.

A network isn’t a prerequisite to do something - it’s a result of something you do.

7. "I don’t have access."

Someone does. 

Find that person. Find that place. Find that thing. 

And find its access point.

Every opportunity has a front door AND a back door  - use them. 

Need access to a recording studio? Get a job there as a janitor. 

(Bon Jovi did.)

8. "It’s a long shot."

So are most things worth doing. 

That doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

9. "I don’t have permission."

You don’t need it. 

No one -  not your boss, friends, or family - has the right to dictate the choices you make in your life.

The only permission you need comes from yourself.

10. "I don’t have help."

Correction: You don’t have help YET.

Help comes when you do something to inspire it. 

There are people who want you to succeed, share your vision, and will be eager to help you. 

But not until they see you take those first steps - they’re waiting for you to lead them where they want to go.

11. "I don’t know what I want."

Yes you do.

You just refuse to admit it to yourself or don’t have the courage to follow a hunch about what you might want.

It will always be easier to say you don’t know what you want than to go after something you do.

But easier rarely takes you where you want to go.

A final thought to remember:

We can talk ourselves into achieving our dreams as easily as we’ve talked ourselves out of them.

PS - Repost this if it inspired you so others can be inspired by it too. Thanks!

I’ll cut to the chase:

I can help you do any of these things next week:

1. Send an email to your list that surfaces new buyers or leads 

2. Publish the 3 most valuable LinkedIn posts you’ve ever published 

3. Rewrite your email list sign up page and welcome sequence to increase conversions 

4. Promote your product, service, newsletter, or podcast to my 30k newsletter subscribers 

5. Rewrite your LinkedIn profile to convert more of the attention you get into opportunities and sales 

Let me know which one (or more) you’d like to do next week and I’ll tell you how we can make it happen. 

I’d love to work with you!

It's REALLY hard to be REALLY obvious.

The more I help clients with their writing, the more I see how much they struggle to be clear.

Most messaging and content gets screwed up because it's overwritten, unnecessarily elaborate, or rooted in insecurity 

(Or, more rarely, overconfidence.)

No one writes how they talk.

They write sales pages, descriptions, and LinkedIn posts that sound nothing like anything they'd ever say.

They publish newsletters that sound nothing like an email they've ever sent to one person.

The solution?

Strip it all down.

Explain it like you would to a 5-year-old.

Say. What. You. Mean.

The goal of your writing isn't to trick anyone into anything.

It's not even to persuade them.

It's to be understood.

Nothing else matters until you do that.

I'm here to help if you need it.

PS: When I finished writing this post, I asked myself if my point was obvious.

(Oh, the irony.)

Here's a more obvious version of it:

***

No one knows what the hell you're talking about.

Stop trying to be cute. 

Start being clear.

Say what you do, who you help, and why those people should care.

Make it obvious.

Then shut the eff up. 😉 

***

Would that version have been stronger?

Picture this: 

You’re about to launch a product or service you’ve invested a LOT of time and effort into creating. 

You need it to work. 

To justify the effort you put into it, but also because let’s be honest - you need the revenue. 

You’ve done your best to write a sales page, promotional emails, and social posts that will create interest, communicate the value of the offer, and make your audience eager to buy. 

But…

You’re not sure your messaging is strong enough. 

Or clear enough. 

Or compelling enough. 

So you’re nervous. 

And understandably so. 

What if…

You could send a single email and get an expert to review all your materials?

To give you feedback AND rewrite them to make them stronger? 

To make sure you’re giving yourself the best possible chance to succeed? 

To make sure you’re not missing something or making a mistake? 

You can. 

Because that’s exactly what I’m doing through my writing partnership service. 

I’ll apply my expertise - and editing/writing skills - to your work to give you the best possible chance of success. 

Interested? 

Let me know and I’ll be happy to discuss with you how it works. 

I’d love to help your product or service get the attention - and sales - it deserves.

My podcast just returned from hiatus with ​an episode unlike any I've ever recorded​.

5 things you'll learn:

1. What I'm learning about doing the work I want in the way I want

It's at the 34-second mark.

2. My new "Completion Theory" approach to productivity

It's at the 6-minute mark.

3. What I'm learning from Seth Godin's book "Small Is The New Big"

It's at the 12-minute mark.

4. The role of my new "notebook" blog

It's at the 16-minute mark.

5. My experiment with boosting LinkedIn posts

It's at the 19-minute mark.

Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gQhXyDyR

taplio

The Battle

Gary Schwake

Josh Spector

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreJosh Spector's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Gary Schwake

Josh Spector

Followers

Posts

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);}Josh Spector's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreJosh Spector's LinkedIn Performance