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
------
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.

I used to suck at sales. Especially outbound. Cold calls terrified me. I wasn’t a natural.

At some point, I was simply fed up with the fact that I didn’t have the courage to pick up the phone and generate demand myself. So I decided to change that.

Two things helped more than anything else: 6h of coaching, reading a book on cold calling (Tim Taxis), and training after work in a small outbound call center in Bern, where we raised funds for NGOs across Switzerland.

It became my sales gym, where I built the fundamentals: call structure, humor, confidence, and the ability to separate rejection from self-worth.

Before sales, my curiosity pulled me in all directions at once. Along the way, I became fluent in five languages, lived in Brazil, and connected Swiss entrepreneurs and scientists with partners in Rio at the Swiss Consulate. That was my favorite job, not so different from sales. Just without commission.

In my first year in sales, I explored, failed forward, made tons of mistakes, and realized something important: I want to get better. That meant: learning from others who loved the outbound game.

That mindset led me to Taskbase, where I joined Patrick Trümpi. Last year, I closed 13 logos, one in full founder-sales mode, and learned what it means to sell as a team.

I’m proud of the ARR we closed, and even more of the impact: over 27,000 Swiss students building competencies through hyper-personalized learning with our AI. In one case, Math and German learning sessions are 4× longer now because students are no longer over- or underwhelmed.

I work like a student-athlete: curious, disciplined and hungry to keep improving.
Winning, to me, is helping customers remove one challenge.

Alongside my role as a full-cycle AE, I’m building the Swiss sales community with Stefan Velikov. We connect reps, leaders, and founders who want to grow together.

If this resonates, let’s connect.

Sebastian Zumbühl

My goal hasn’t changed.

Still trying to grow.

Doing stuff that's uncomfortable.

Cold calling… definitely up there.

Feels like a school of life.

And honestly, it gets a lot easier when you’re surrounded by the right people.

People who push you.

Challenge you.

Support you.

And maybe even believe in you a bit more than you sometimes do yourself.

Very grateful for one of them: 

Thibaut Souyris. 

Wouldn’t be here without you man.

In a few weeks, we’ll be in Berlin 🇩🇪

Raising a glass at Revenue Royale with a few hundred people in sales, marketing & customer success.

Small sessions during the day.

Dinner in the evening (10x too posh for me).

And a table with people I’ve learned so much from.

That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.

PS: If I look good at the event, then I've either sent my AI agent or finally got a haircut.

AE @ Taskbase | On a mission to grow 🚀

Remote or office?

The simple answer: I appreciate both.

Even with the Bern-Zurich commute, I value the office.

Mostly because of the team.

Quick, valuable exchanges.
Team spirit.
Conversations with Samuel, Sonja, Christoph or Julia. 

Yesterday, it was something simple:

Fresh fruit arrived in the kitchen.

What’s one thing you appreciate about going into the office?

Sometimes it‘s not a terible idea to reflect. 

Quiet, no noise. 

Happy Friday from Adelboden ✌🏼

No alternative text description for this image

Why does being seen feel uncomfortable?

Because rejection is part of the game.

If you’re cold calling, you know it.

Every dial is exposure.
Every conversation is risk.

Not calling feels safer than calling.
Not posting feels safer than posting.

Typical thoughts:

“What will they think?”
 “What if I fail?”
 “What if nobody cares?”

That’s Kopfkino.
Noise in my head.

Rejection does not kill you.
It’s feedback.

Like training a muscle.

The more you show up,
the better you get.

And on the other side?

Opportunities you created yourself.
From your own action.

If that’s what you want: cross the bridge.

Dial anyway.
Post anyway.

Cold called a Head of Sales at a scaleup.

His objection to continuous coaching based on each rep’s strengths and weaknesses on autopilot?

“Nah.

I’m about activity.
I’m on the sales floor.
I believe in doing more."

Fair.
We talk a bit more.
Disqualify.

Then:

“But I need people.
Outbound reps. SDRs. AEs.
Are you open?”

I laughed.
Thanked him.

And honestly?
I admired it.

That instinct to be always prospecting.

That’s outbound.

And if I’m self-critical, that’s a muscle I’m still building.

Because the best sales leaders don’t just demand activity.

They model it.

In sales we talk a lot about controllables.

Dial more.
Refine your opener.
Handle objections better.

Especially in cold calling.

All good.

But let’s not forget something:

Some things aren’t in your control.

If cold calling was surfing, those things would be the size of the wave.

Demand.
Problem awareness.
How painful the problem you solve actually is.

Sometimes the wave is tiny.

Sometimes it’s huge.

Our job isn’t to control the ocean.

Our job is to stay in the water long enough to catch the bigger waves.

Consistency makes sure we don’t miss them.

And today might be one of those days.

PS: Julius Dany shared an observation, now that the sun’s out in Europe, he saw performance go up in his team over at REP - Revenue Excellence Partners. 

Better mood → better energy → better conversations.

Looks like a good day to surf. 🌊📞☀️

To call or not to call.
That is the question.

"Waiting for Godot" was probably the most painful book I’ve ever read.
 Because freaking nothing happens.

The entire story is about waiting.

Now, I do believe patience can be a virtue.
Paired with persistence: gold.

But honestly: when was the last time waiting filled your pipeline?

Go chase your dream.
Or perhaps: pick up the phone.

In sports, talent alone doesn’t win championships.
Systems do.

I’m learning it’s no different in sales.

Hungry reps often go for effort.

More calls.
More energy.
More follow-ups.

There’s nothing wrong with that at the start.

Drive and grit obviously matter.

But without structure, effort doesn’t compound.

I try to apply a student-athlete mindset:

① 🎯 Qualify first
 → Not everyone is a fit (even if you want to win everyone, that’s normal).

② ❓ Ask questions before pitching
 → Understand the problem in their world first.

③ 🤝 End consistently with an agreement on a next step
 → No vague “I’ll follow up.” 

Consistency is hard.
But consistency is the win.

You booked the meeting…
 …and they still don’t show up?

Most no-shows happen after the call, not during it.

Here are 2 simple ways to reduce no-shows after cold calls.

Context: You’re right at the end of the call, after agreeing to meet.

While still speaking, you send the calendar invite IMMEDIATELY.

Since I already have the verified email from Prospeo, I can send it instantly without asking for it.

Then I do this 👇

1️⃣ Ask:

“Who else would feel excluded if we didn’t invite them?”

This does two things:

 • Reveals the buying center early
 • Buys you time to verify the calendar invite live in step two

Often the prospect replies:

“Let’s keep it bilateral.”

Perfect.

2️⃣ Then say:

“Makes sense. Just to be sure the invite landed at the right address, would you mind accepting it quickly? You should have it by now.”

Simple.
Polite.
Effective.

I learned this from Manuel Hartmann.

Grazie mille, grandmaster!

Curious, what helps you to reduce no-shows?

PS: One reason I like using Prospeo.io is that the emails are triple-verified and refreshed every 7 days. Feels good to be certain your invite lands where it should.

Brand partnership • AE @ Taskbase | On a mission to grow 🚀

Open article: Prospeo - Find Verified Emails & Phone Numbers for Outreach by prospeo.io

Prospeo - Find Verified Emails & Phone Numbers for Outreach

Winning System #5 is still under construction.

It’s about self-reflection.

Everyone says we learn from our mistakes.

But that only works if we actually take the time to reflect.

And that’s exactly what I often neglect.

Reflection is the first thing that disappears between calls, meetings, prep work… running late for training, or simply being too tired in the evening.

One thing that helped me for a while: social accountability.

During my first quarter at Taskbase, every Friday I sent our CEO Samuel and CRO Patrick a short email with:

• 3 wins of the week
• 1 pain point that needed attention
• My focus for next week

It forced me to stop and think.

But after a while, I stopped doing it.

Mostly because it didn’t feel productive in the moment.

And honestly, it just takes effort.

Still, I’m convinced reflection is one of the most underrated habits in sales.

So I’m curious:

Have you built a consistent reflection habit?

What have you tried that worked and what didn’t?

taplio

The Battle

Manuel Hartmann

Sebastian Zumbühl

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreManuel Hartmann's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreSebastian Zumbühl's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Manuel Hartmann

Sebastian Zumbühl

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);}Manuel Hartmann's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreSebastian Zumbühl's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreManuel Hartmann's LinkedIn Performance