Manuel Hartmann

Founder & CEO@SalesPlaybook | Build & scale B2B sales without trial & error

Transforming B2B SaaS Sales in the DACH Region

With over 5 years of experience, I built SalesPlaybook from CHF0 to 30k MRR in under 18 months and scaled it to a 7-figure annual revenue with fewer than 6 FTEs. I’ve supported 300+ B2B SaaS and Professional Service Entrepreneurs to:
- Achieve EUR 0-10 Mio. ARR in under 3 years profitably
- Accelerate ARR growth by over 5x from 0-1 Mio. in less than 18 months
- Close 10-50x larger deals through Message-Market-Fit & Value Selling
- Implement & optimize HubSpot Sales Hub & Outbound Sales from scratch

Career Highlights:
- 2009: Launched sales career with 3-figure NPO donations
- 2012: Reached 6-figure sales with sportscars@Tesla
- 2014-2016: Led 7-figure CRM transformations@Accenture
- 2017-2019: Managed 5-figure AI SaaS@Onedot
- Present: Driving 5-figure deals@SalesPlaybook

What I Offer:
- Pipeline Generation: Developing and executing strategies to build robust sales pipelines.
- Sales Enablement: Equipping sales teams with the tools and training needed for success.
- HubSpot Services: Comprehensive implementation and optimization of HubSpot CRM

Personal Interests: 
- I’m an avid UFC fan, active (kick)boxer, snowboarder, and musician (piano + e-guitar). 
- I enjoy taking on challenges like writing a book in under 30 days or completing 1,000 push-ups

Education: Master’s Degree in Business Innovation from HSG with MBA Exchange in Canada

Let’s connect if: 
- You're a B2B entrepreneur looking to scale sales quickly, efficiently & without 6-figure mistakes
- You identify as a Top 1% talent on hunger & drive, urgent curiosity, intelligence & integrity

Founder & CEO

Join 220+ customers to build & scale sales with the #1 B2B SaaS Startup Sales Journey Partner in DACH.

All the expert sales help you need to fast forward your B2B SaaS Startup.

👉 Book a 1:1 Sales Assessment Call: https://thesalesplaybook.com/bookacall
👉 Get proven hands-on sales resources: https://thesalesplaybook.com/resources
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Track Record:
❖ 0-2M booked ARR in <15 months by finding message-market-fit in <9 months (boostbar)
❖ 0-7 figure ARR in <12 months by hitting message-market fit, setting up outbound sales engine & more (Kyan Health)
❖ 0-7 figure ARR in <18 months by hitting message-market-fit, building outbound sales & training first sales hires (Archlet)
❖ >10 projects to 50+ subscriptions to exit after building outbound sales from 0 (Airica)
❖ 0-2M+ ARR in <18 months by building a sales team from scratch (rready)
❖ 5x MRR by building scalable sales & hiring first sales rep (Turbit)
❖ Ramp 5 SDRs to quota in less than 3 months (Beekeeper)
❖ 4x annual revenue after closing 700k deal with Fortune 500 company by leveraging value-selling (novoMOF)
❖ 2x MRR in 6 months by niching down on Ideal Customer Profile (Houston & Ko)
❖ 370k+ deal closed through hands-on support, approaching 7-figure revenue (56k.Cloud)
❖ 2x ARR in 9 months by 10x'ing ACV by 10x, winning 100K+ deals & hitting 90% reply rates (Classtime)
❖ 2x MRR in 3 months, from 5-10k deals to EUR 150k contract, hitting 30% booking rates (wowflow)
❖ 2x MRR in 6 months from group coaching sessions & more (Houston & Ko)
❖ 250k ARR deal closed by changing their positioning & negotiation approach (Linimex)
❖ <5% to 80% opening and 30%+ reply rates on scalable outbound sales (TRESIO)
❖ 2x MRR in 6 months by niching down on Ideal Customer Profile (Houston & Ko)

You raised capital. Now "the ARR clock is ticking".
When do you "hire" AI, a human, or do it yourself?

What CRM setup do you need, at what stage, why?

How do you scale sales pipeline & ARR, not costs?

Startups do not lack ambition, but open dialogue.

That's why we are co-hosting a "closed door" GTM breakfast with HubSpot & Workist within START Global Summit.

Operators sharing openly what breaks and what works.
0 slides, 0 BS, 40 Seed/Series A founders & revenue leaders.
Markus Bimüller sharing how he's saving EUR 200k, per year.

3 key topics that I got asked weekly about:
1/ Scaling Complexity vs ARR
- When is an "enterprise tech stack" a growth blocker?
- How do I avoid adding too much complexity, too early
- How do I do less to grow better, already before 7-figures?

2/ Scaling Efficiently ≠ Slow Growth
- How do I build a "Revenue Factory" instead of silos?
- When is hiring people the wrong answer to do more?
- Is scaling efficiently an excuse to grow slowly? (Nope...)

3/ "Open Operator Q&A"
- "Raw" questions on GTM tech, hiring, fundraising & more
- Candid feedback on where "the LinkedIn hype" is untrue
- What still truly works in 2026, and what is truly "dead"

👉 Join Markus Bimüller, Fabian Hartmann & me on Friday 20th March@St. Gallen to discuss how to scale revenue, not costs? https://lnkd.in/eaQTUkFC

Helping DACH B2B software firms to scale sales quickly, efficiently & without 6-figure mistakes with done-for-you pipeline generation, fractional sales & HubSpot services.

Cold Calling ist nicht tot. Aber 2026 oft einfach "zu spät".
Weil B2B-Entscheider Lösungen ohne Sales evaluieren.
Hier ist die Realität aus 400+ B2B-Kunden in DACH:

Das Problem: Der Call kommt nach der Entscheidung
- Wer nur am Skript optimiert, optimiert am falschen Ende
- Weil Käufer googeln, LinkedIn lesen & ChatGPT prompten
- Weil Bewusstsein & Vertrauen vor dem ersten Gespräch entstehen

Aufmerksamkeit ohne Kontext ist kein Dialog
- Executive-Led Content schlägt anonyme Brand-Posts
- Klare Positionierung am Markt schafft Wiedererkennung
- Wiederholung einer Kernbotschaft > 20 austauschbare Themen

Wenn man dich nicht einordnen kann, spricht man nicht mit dir.

Weil Vertrauen vor, nicht im Erstgespräch Gespräch entsteht
- Menschen, nicht Logos schaffen Vertrauen
- Ehrliche Einschätzungen, nicht Features
- Kunden Case Studies, nicht "Immer 10x"

Ganz ehrlich: CEOs als sichtbare Experten bauen mehr Pipeline auf als jeder Junior SDR mit schlechten Outreach-Sequenzen

Und nein, zum Hörer zu greifen und anzurufen ist NICHT tot.

Aber bessere Opener & Fragen im Call geben bessere Deals.

Und genau das ist der Shift vom Cold Call zum Warm Call
- Gespräche starten auf Augenhöhe
- Inhalte werden aktiv referenziert
- "Einwände" werden zu Dialog

Der Call bleibt. 
Das Telefon bleibt.
Der Mensch bleibt.

Mit "Rückenwind" durch starke Persönlichkeiten & Point of Views.

👉 Hier gerne der gesamte Artikel zum Thema beim aus meiner Sicht #1 Calling-Partner in DACH speziell für B2B Software REP - Revenue Excellence Partners - thanks for having me Julius Dany Robert Borchert Rebecca auf'm Kamp & Felicia Moser & Julius Göllner!

https://lnkd.in/e9xk8SDC

If my CEO asked me as a CRO to 4x scale ARR from 2.5 to 10 Mio. ARR within 2 years with minimal additional headcount, 0 external funding at low risk, here’s exactly what I would do"

First: I would NOT hire 5 more people.

More people on a broken system just create more entropy.

At 2.5M ARR, you typically do not have a growth problem.

You have a focus, process & pipeline problem.

Here’s what I'd do step-by-step:

1/ Pick one "sport", not 2-5.
- Most 2–4M companies try to do
- Enterprise (think 100k ultramarathons)
- Mid-market (think half-marathons)
- SMB (think 5k runs)
- PLG (think 100m)
Usain Bolt does not do Marathons.
Natascha Badman does not sprint.

Here's what I would do instead:
- Define a tight ICP of 2,000–5,000 target accounts
- Align on 1 ACV band (e.g. 30-100k) -> GTM Motion
- Build messaging for Decision Makers & Champions

2/ (Re)Build the revenue engine before pushing the gas
If you cannot answer these 5 minutes, you can't scale:
- Which 20% of channels drive 80% of ARR?
- What pipeline coverage do I need for 10M?
- Where does churn and expansion happen?

What I would do:
- Replace "CRM Theater" with a single source of truth
- Map the full lifecycle: Awareness → SQL → Closed → Expansion
- Track NRR (Net Revenue Retention) as aggressively as New ARR
   (100% NRR at 5M ARR means you only need to add 5M for 10M!)

3/ Scale 3-5x pipeline without 3-5x headcount
Scaling from 2.5 to 10M with 50k ACV means:
- You need ~150–180 active customers.
- That requires 3–5x more qualified pipeline.
- Without adding 250-400k in annual costs.

Here's what I would do instead:
- Define your TAM (Total Addressable Market
- Invest into a solid LinkedIn GTM Engine via content
- Run signal-based outbound, not generic AI spam
(Creating text is free. Losing Trust is expensive. 

Ignore all the "Outbound is dead. Everything is dead."
Outbound still works beautifully, IF 
- It is tied to real, relevant triggers
- It is synced, continuously with CRM
- It is stacked upon high awareness & authority

Not when you send 2,000 "Quick Question" emails.
But when you turn CxOs into KPIs: Key Persons of Influence
CxO-led sales doesn’t scale. But CxO-led trust does.

Here's what I would do:
- Position 1–2 executives as category voices
- Publish 2–3 sharp, buyer-relevant posts per week
- Align outbound messaging around this Point of View
- When a prospect receives an email or LinkedIn DM then
- ...and already knows you from LinkedIn, velocity + win rate works

Your goal is to 
A/ Build the engine within 2-4 weeks
B/ Validate the engine within 2-4 months
C/ Scale the engine within 2-4 quarters

Once you know: "If I put X in, roughly Y comes out."
Then you press "the Fast & Furious NOS button".
Before that, please do NOT press the button.
Because scaling chaos is a death spiral.

Some CROs try to "brute-force" growth from 7- to 8-figures.
If you were a CRO, what would you prioritize first and why:
A) Pipeline, B) Process or C) People?

As a Founder CEO, I get pitched 10+ sales tools a week.
95% are noise. Only about 5 I use +/- daily, like Surfe.

Here is why it "made my 95/5" cut: 0 context switch.

Context switching kills consistent concentration.

Every time you need to jump LinkedIn x CRM x Gmail:
- You lose momentum
- You delay follow-ups
- You forget tasks
- It sucks energy

Surfe fixes 3 common issues here:

1/ Fill the CRM from LinkedIn without leaving LinkedIn
- Create a Contact, Company and/or Deal in seconds
- Assign a task to myself or a colleague quickly
- See context such as existing deals instantly

2/ Instant contact creation + enrichment
- Add a LinkedIn profile to HubSpot in one click
- Find the right email directly within seconds
- Write an email after sending a connect/DM

3/ Better CRM data = Better Deal Flow
- Deals in 2026 fail because the rep only knows 1-2 contacts
- I now add +3-5 Budget Holders + Influencers to my Champion
- In this way, I map the full buying center to my deal at the start

👉 Connect to David Chevalier if this makes sense for you as well?

(And yes, you get my email address + even mobile phone no.
Send me that Loom video if you can truly solve a problem for me...)

"Dad, humans & guinea pigs are obviously not animals, because they have no tails!" - "KI: Koala Intelligence" aka Matteo (my 4-year-old).

OK, let's rewind time to 5 minutes before that statement.

Matteo: "Dad, are we also animals?"

Manu: "Matteo, what do you think, and why?"

Matteo: "NO dad, we are OBVIOUSLY not animals!?!"

Manu: "OK, you told me your opinion. So why not then?

Matteo: "Because all animals have tails, and we do not."

Manu: <Thinking, actually for quite some time...>
           <Thought many animals have no tail...actually not>
           <Scanning fish, birds, reptiles, insects, mammals....   >

Manu: "Hmm...interesting statement indeed. 
           So anyway, tell me, if a living being had no tail...
           ...would it then not be an animal, according to you?"

Matteo: "Yes dad, as I already told you, of course!"

Manu: <"ManuGPT", belated result : Guinea Pigs!>
           Guinea pigs have no tail, so they are no animals then?

Matteo: "Yes, obviously dad, humans and guinea pigs then!"

Manu: "Amazing son, I truly love your thought process here!"
----
"BONUS Dialogue"
Matteo: "Dad, do I know get a guinea pig as a pet?

Manu: "If you still want, maybe once you go to Kindergarten"

Matteo: "So when can I go to Kindergarten?!?"

Manu: "This summer, upon Mid-August."

Matteo: "When is this summer, Mid-August?"

I will always love dialogue with my kids more than any AI ever!

(Yes, this post was pre-scheduled since Wednesday=Dad Day.
Yes, I will most probably reply to 0 comments here today.)

I’ll take 1 view from a committed DACH B2B Software CRO triggered to have a deep conversation over 100,000 views from "influencers" any day.

Every. Single. Time.

Look, I am perfectly happy on a personal level without LinkedIn.

I posted 0,0 times during my 10 weeks paternity leave.

The whole point of this platform is (or was?) 
to help fellow professionals elevate their game
learning from trusted advisors about their expertise.

Not to amass followers.
Not to bath in impression screenshots.
Not even "Comment Below" engagements.

It has always been about scaling B2B Buyer Trust.

Here is an uncomfortable truth:
100k view posts often have LESS impact than 1k views.
Because "the nerdy, but useful stuff" is less "click-baity".

So I will remain adamant of rarely posting that stuff:
- "Everything is Dead, AI solves everything"
- "Unrelated Selfie meets shallow GTM stuff"
- "VCs are evil and the world is a tough place"

But I will keep posting about what revenue leaders care about:
- How to scale B2B Buyer Trust
- How to solve the right problems in the right sequence
- How to avoid 6-figure pipeline, process & people mistakes
- How to leverage tech to buy back your time to be a human

If this resonates, I would shift your strategy:

1. Write for the 5 "Economic Buyers" who can actually say yes
- Use their CxO/VP language, not "creator-influencer-speak"
- Address board-level pressure, not surface tactics
- Talk in revenue, costs, profit, risk & proof

2. Signal depth, not popularity
- Share a sharp Point of View, not copied frameworks
- Show trade-offs and second-order effects
- Be so specific that consumers tune out

3. Measure the right leading indicators
- Profile views from ICP titles, not impressions
- Inbound from decision-makers, not "influencers"
- Conversation & pipeline quality, not comment count

The LinkedIn algorithm rewards dopamine attention.

Revenue rewards deep authority & trust.

Scale authority & trust?

----
Thanks for Diego Sosa for sharing the table and Shield for creating it.

AE @ Pleo || Interested in meaningful outreach 🤝 || Sales Leader of the Year 2023

HEY YOU! 👋

Today, I’m a Senior Strategic Account Executive at Pleo, working with some of our largest customers across Central Europe and DACH.

But my SaaS story didn’t start with President’s Club or record months.

For my first six months in sales, I struggled hard.
Missed numbers.
Doubted myself.
Questioned if enterprise sales was even for me.

It was frustrating and ultimately the most important phase of my career.

Instead of quitting, I went deep:

Studied top performers
Rebuilt my habits
Refined my process
Learned to truly own my pipeline

And slowly things started to click.

Fast forward to today 👇

Promoted from Enterprise AE to Senior to Strategic in record time
Back to back President’s Club winner
Highest banker across Central Europe and DACH
Closed a 405% month setting a regional record
Ranked #1 Closer multiple times
First AE in 3 years promoted into a Senior role

But what matters more than the numbers is how they happened:

Consistency. Resilience. Strong relationships.
Long term value over shortcuts.


Because I know how hard the beginning can be, I started sharing my journey openly on LinkedIn. Wins, losses, and everything in between.

That community has grown to nearly 50,000 people, which I’m incredibly grateful for.

I also write a newsletter:

Sell It Like You Mean It

Where I go behind the scenes of enterprise SaaS sales:

President’s Club strategies
Missed deals
Mindset shifts
Small habits that compound into big results

No fluff. No bro energy.
Just tactics that actually work.


A bit about me 👇

Ex hockey player turned SaaS enthusiast
Passionate about developing people and lifelong learning
Usually running or rowing
Listening to podcasts
Reading history
Watching field hockey

All things that keep me curious, disciplined, and grounded.

If you’re in sales and struggling at the start,
I’ve been there.

And if you’re curious about enterprise SaaS or modern selling,
let’s connect or check out Sell It Like You Mean It in my Featured section.

JBM

Jan Benedikt Mundorf

Working in tech is hard. Being a woman in tech is even harder.

And that's not a gut feeling. It's facts.

- Women in Sweden are paid 82% of what their male counterparts earn

- 72% of women in tech report feeling outnumbered by men in meetings and projects, which contributes to feelings of exclusion

- Only 5% of leadership positions in tech are held by women globally, despite them making up a third of the total workforce in some regions

And the list goes on.

Unsurprisingly, companies with higher gender diversity in leadership are 25% more likely to outperform financially than those with lower diversity.

This means we need to uplift diversity. Not tomorrow. Now.

Here are some women that deserve more credit and have impacted, inspired or influenced me personally:

Millie Hanson 💬, Tara Jackson, Olivia Carpenter, Melissa, Lena Theres Zimmermann, Becca Burns, Mattia Schaper, Lea A Buecker, Carolina Bräuninger, Helena Klaus, Valentine Dahmen, Svenja Erbrech, Sophie Allen, Sophie Smikalla, Anica Borgloh, Marie Weidmann, Susana Davila, Nia Secker, Holly Allen, Laura Prats Prats, Sara Schelin, Karolina Adamus, Elisabet Dahlman Löfgren, Meine Schwester, Mama, Oma.

...and so many more.

My take:
The data is clear. 
Diverse teams win. 
And the women on this list don't just show up. They show others what's possible.

Happy International Women's Day.

(Source: Bridging the Gender Gap in Tech: The WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2024)

Helping sales teams win without the bro-energy || 2x President’s Club Winner || Senior AE @ Pleo

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It took me 4 years to (finally) feel confident as a seller. Here's what changed everything.

When I started, I thought confidence came from knowing every feature.
From having the perfect pitch.
From never showing doubt.

I was wrong.

Real confidence came when I stopped pretending to have all the answers.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟰 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁:

𝟭. 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁
Early on, I'd pretend to know things I didn't.
It killed trust instantly.
Now? I say "𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵."
Prospects respect honesty more than BS.

𝟮. 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 "𝗻𝗼"
I used to chase every deal.
Even the ones that made no sense.
Confidence came when I started disqualifying bad fits early.
It freed up time for real opportunities.

𝟯. 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳
Watching top performers hit quota every month killed my confidence.
Until I realized: they've been doing this for years.
I focused on my own progress instead.
That changed everything.

𝟰. 𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲
I tried copying the "bro-energy" sellers.
It felt fake.
Confidence came when I sold like myself - curious, direct, no games.
Turns out, buyers appreciate that.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁:
- Better relationships with prospects
- More deals closed
- President's Club (2x)

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲:
Confidence isn't about being perfect.
It's about being real, learning fast, and trusting your process.

Happy selling.

𝗣𝗦. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀? 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀.

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The Battle

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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);}Manuel Hartmann's LinkedIn Performance

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