Keith Laughner

Invoca

Director of Sales Development

Digital Divide Data (DDD Kenya)

Outbound sales process design, message & system development.

Strategic Advisor

Sama

Built and scaled the global outbound SDR motion where I developed scalable and repeatable processes, implemented playbooks, talk tracks, skills matrix,' and an objective hiring process.

During my time, I was able to improve meetings set by 916%, sales qualified opportunities by 450%, and SDR pipeline generation by 1,500%

TigerGraph

Led the US SDR team for TigerGraph where my focus was on hiring, process, improving efficiencies, implementing metrics & reporting, coaching, mentoring, and preparing SDRs for promotion into sales, marketing, CS, engineering, etc. In 6-months I improved meetings set by +329%, completed meetings by +330%, and meetings converted to the funnel by +317%.

Manager of Sales Development

Led a team of 30+ SDRs that managed large enterprise companies, launching the team's first data analyst group to improve efficiency and streamline communication. I built playbooks and talk tracks that increased SDR productivity by over 60% during the pandemic despite a remote environment & a reduction in force.

Manager, Sales Development

Team Lead, Enterprise Sales Development 

Strategic Account, Enterprise Sales Development

Tapjoy

Account Executive, Mobile Ads

FTI Services

Account Executive, Network Managed Services

United States Marine Corps

Infantry, Scout Sniper/ Combat Swimmer 🎖️

I simplify the sales process | FOLLOW for tips & tricks

Some of the best advice I've ever received and continue to pass along to the people I work with is, "figure out what you love, and then find a way to get paid for it." Since I can ever remember, I've always gravitated towards and been fascinated by coaching and building teams - I legitimately love watching someone become successful by implementing a skill that I taught them. 

I've been fortunate enough to "get paid for what I love" by building teams across the startup world since 2015. I'm most proud of doing so from scratch, where I can take an environment with minimal momentum and hire smart people, implement scalable processes, train, coach, and watch these teams excel in their space. I've helped multiple companies improve all of their productivity metrics by well over 300%, and I don't see myself letting down anytime soon - did I mention that I love this stuff :)

If you'd like to drive more pipeline and close more business this year, here are ways I can help:

→ Playbook design 
→ Talk track creation
→ Hiring processes that will ensure you're hiring  top performers over-and-over
→ Group Coaching
→ 1:1 Coaching
→ Send me a message to work together!

Phone: 805.729.3105
Email: keith@kmlsales.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laughnerkeith

Stop trying to finish every book you start.

Most people treat reading like a chore.

Which is why you hear people say, "I'm not a reader," or "I don't like reading." 

The only reason anyone would say that is if they're reading the wrong books.

Instead:

1. Read what interests you.
Not what you think you "should" read. 

2. When the core idea lands or your interest drops, move on.
The goal is to learn, not completion.

3. Pick up the next book and repeat.
Follow your curiosity.

Keep this in mind:

- Your brain retains what it’s genuinely curious about.
- When you bounce to the next book (right at the peak of interest), you reinforce learning instead of forcing it.

Do this for a month and you’ll learn more than most people do in a year.

Consistent curiosity → constant growth.

Read bc you want to, not because you think you have to. 

Maybe you do enjoy after all :) 

Happy Selling!

P.S. - Anyone reading anything good? I could use some new material.

--

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Keith M. Laughner

Netradyne

Enterprise Sales Manager

Commsor 🦕

Head of Mid-Market & Enterprise Sales

Salesroom 

Sales Director

Falkon

Head of Enterprise Sales

Jamf

Strategic Enterprise Account Executive

A lot of places

Career in Physical Fitness and Rehabilitation

Bob the Builder of Pipeline | Cold Calling Mercenary | Sales and Humor | Voted “#2 Best Parent” - by my 2 year old 🤷🏻

Welcome to my page - where you’ll find my best attempt at bringing some humor along with some fun facts and GTM tips and tricks!

We can all agree that life is typically too serious and stressful, especially on a professionally based platform, so I enjoy breaking that norm with some laughter in both my content and sales process.

Professionally: I specialize in building and refining sales motions and top of funnel processes, bringing a unique twist that “breaks through the noise” of the modern day dreaded norm of what people believe is good revenue generation.

Before moving to Sales, I had the pleasure of coaching and treating thousands of clients through rehabilitation and personal training for almost 10 years, where I now channel the same energy and passion in leading GTM teams.

You’ve scrolled this far, we might as well get to know one another.

I’m a redneck working a white collar job living in a blue collar state 🥔

“When you turn a passion to a profession and truly love what you do, then you don’t work a day in your life.”

💥I’ve been lucky enough to do that twice💥


↙️“About me”↘️

Mission 1: To push past the “limitations” that your mind sets whether it be physical or mental.


Mission 2: To build my career in Sales and build a bridge between my old world of fitness and apply those principals to the business world.


- Constantly looking to learn. Go spark up a conversation and learn something about them and that little conversation could change your life. 

- “You don’t know till you try” I find to many people (myself included) stay comfortable and are afraid of breaking complacency.

- There is no greater feeling being coached or better yet, coaching someone else, and watching them succeed.

Eric Iannello

I instantly lose trust to any person who exercises during a work trip


“Were you able to snag a few hours of decent sleep at the hotel last night?”

Oh yeah it was great! I got up early, went for a run, had a good meal and got to the office early. How about you?

“What’s wrong with you? I barely slept because I stayed up all night watching what ever movie I wanted without my wife or kids fighting me. Then I took a bath this morning for no other reason than I could. And I hate baths! I almost missed the complimentary breakfast but still managed to squeeze in 3 servings simply because it was a hot meal, hence why I got here 15 minutes late”

Umm, ok then

“Wait…does that mean you consciously packed workout clothing?”

Yeah, I’m on this super strict plan that…

“Get the hell away from me Stuart”

0x PClub | 0x Exits | Voted “#2 Best Parent” - by my 4 year old 🤷🏻

When they know their written content sucks

No alternative text description for this image

Everyone: Parenting is the hardest job 

LinkedIn: Well you clearly have never tried cold calling during the holidays…

My morning routine in order to achieve peak mediocrity:

4:29 wake up from kid crying
4:35 realize I’m up for the day
4:40 make coffee with my tears
4:48 head to 🚽 after coffee hits
5:10 try to get the feeling back in my legs after sitting for to long
5:26 pour second cup of coffee with a dash of whiskey
5:27 laugh at people posting their mourning routines on LinkedIn 
5:45 walk to fridge and contemplate having Dino nugs for breakfast because, f*** it
6:02 hear second kid wake up and realize its about to get real
6:11 pour glass of whiskey with dash of coffee
6:30 contemplate becoming a forest ranger in shower
6:48 hide in closet till family goes downstairs
7:02 begin writting resignation letter
7:06 delete resignation letter after hearing kids laugh and begin to regain hope
7:23 walk down stairs and begin the day



Course link in bio

This may ruffle some feathers

But you know who’s not going to get hired?

The folks who treat their job search the same as they did 2-3 years ago

It’s so sad to log on here and see people post that they’re about to lose their house after submitting 600+ applications

*Also why everyone should work in hospitality and sales at least once in their life
Boy, do they prepare you for the real world between understanding a grind and how to sell a product…or yourself*

In order to land a position today, at a minimum, you need to:
- Connect like a sales person at a convention
- Constantly build and engage with a network 
- Attend events and be apart of communities
- Be the first one in line but also stay after closing 
- Be creative and make yourself stand out
- Be a step ahead and lead the process
- Ask the dumb questions and let curiosity leave no stone unturned
- Be resilient beyond belief and dont let the “no’s” knock you down
- Prepare for anything

And above all, lead with confidence

*whispers nicely so to not hurt people’s feelings* kind of like sales today…

If you’re just submitting a resume, what does that show the hiring team?


Sincerely,

Someone who has been through 2 org closures, 1 RIF and 1 product rebuild, all within the last 3 years, which has left him with a resume that looks like Nicholas Cages acting career

Bob the Builder of Pipeline | Sales & Humor | Voted “#2 Best Parent” - by my 4 year old 🤷🏻

I love it when I see people put their achievements in their heading

14x presidents club

Top 2500 Sales Leader to follow

$1M-$2B ARR in 42 days


I’m going to start walking around with medals around my neck with all my achievements 

“Voted #2 Best Parent”

“Saved more than 15% on my car insurance”

“Put clothes in dirty hamper x5”


Next im going to have a name tag with all my {ex’s-name} on it

I may need some more name tags…




Course link in bio

Just when you think you’re on top of your game

Rippling goes and shows you how to really troll

 
Well played team

Absolutely well played



Your move Deel…

Do you feel stupid when you leave a comment and they don’t DM you the secret?

Or just when you do get it and realize it’s worthless

Lately it’s been feeling like I’m lost for answers

My oldest recently turned 4 and is becoming amazingly more aware…and curious

Most questions having simple responses like

“Why is the sky blue?”
- well, the earth is made up of mostly water and it’s a reflection of all the oceans

“How fast can a person run”
- Somewhere between 15-20 mph but your dad can run 30 mph!


But then there are those that just make me sit there, lost, trying to find the answer myself

“Hey dad, where does pipeline come from?”

….

Remember kids

It’s not the algo

Your content just sucks

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey Chat GPT, give me a post that’ll generate a ton of engagement

“Hold my beer”

Steps to writing a post that’ll feed your dopamine craving

1.) victimized story
2.) half baked correlation to profession
3.) selfie 
4.) offer a course

What selfie should I choose?

“Pull open your camera feed. Close your eyes and scroll. Count to 3 and then stop and place your finger on one. That’s the one”

That’s it? That’s all I have to do?!

“Yup”

What about creativity?

“Ha”

Ok, anything else?

“You should tag someone popular on here too, just in case”

What if I don’t know them?

“So…you’ll get so many ‘this is gold’ comments it’ll make your hair grow back”

Wow, thanks chat! I guess I’ll be back tomorrow for another

“I got you fam”

I built an AI agent that scans all of LinkedIn and downloads every course offered

It then scans the course

Summarizes the content 

And then builds a GTM motion according to its instructions

I haven’t booked a single meeting or closed any deals with it…

But it took me just shy of 32 hours to build but you can have it for free!

Just comment “we are doomed” and I’ll drop you the link

You must first be connected with me and my neighbor Stuart in order to get it

But before that, make sure you’ve tickled a pandas big toe on Sunday and then counted to 735 while in a head stand

Didn’t know I had a newsletter?

Idiot 

Of course I do and it’ll change your life

Follow Eric Iannello for more useless tips

I’ve been on LinkedIn consistently for 2 years now

These are the facts Ive come to learn about this platform


- Networking is the single greatest thing you can do for your career, no matter the industry 

- Most who post are looking for validation rather than trying to deliver value or teachings

- There is a ton of great learnings on here, hidden deeep down in the scroll

- Follower count is an illusion. Between automated sequencing tools and engagement bates, follower count usually just points to the fact that they post stuff that drives vanity metrics

- People need to go outside and take a big breath of reality before posting

- Free courses and selfies are mainly useless ploys to drive your attention, not value

- Agree in public but disagree in private 

- We have no idea what we’re doing but we sound good

- Cut all result “claims” in half, maybe more

- They aren’t dumb, just disconnected

- It’s not a podcast, just a Zoom call with a fancy mic and a lot of head nodding

- Everyone has an angle

- “Qualified” to write on a topic is a manner of interpretation - check your receipts! 

- It is was you make it. You treat it like a networking platform, it will be. If you treat it like social media, it will be.


Any I missed?

This time last year, right before Thanksgiving and my second kid was born

I was laid off 

No warning or severance

Healthcare was shut off the next day

“We’ve run out of runway”

I thought you told me I had 4 more months?!

“Today is sadly your last day…”


And then again, the November a year before

“We’re not going to be able to cover this month’s pay period, we’re still waiting for investor funds to clear”

It’s been 3 months since we’ve been paid! This is insane, I’m a single income family, come on {CEO}

“You think you’re hurting?! I have $1M of my own money invested in this company! You knew what you were signing up for when you accepted a position at a start up!” 


And then the year before that…

Yup, you guessed it

“Eric, we’re going to move back to founder sales”

Wait what, why?! I just hired another team after you let the last one go?

“Please start to conduct their exit interviews and yours will be held shortly after. You’ll be covered for 2 weeks following your departure…”


I’m sure there’s a lesson in here, somewhere 

Wouldn’t be a LinkedIn post without one

Something like:
- do the deepest due diligence you can into the company you’re joining
- always be prepared for the door to get unexpectedly closed on you
- build a network strong enough to shorten the gaps between employments


Q4 is the “weirdest” time of year for sales people

You get happy holidays vs missed annual benchmarks vs possible layoffs

If you have a twitch in your eye or some weird heart palpitations because 69% of sales people are due to miss quota on an annual scale this year

You’re not alone

If you choose to conduct staff reductions during the holiday season

You should also choose to kick the corner of the couch with a barefoot

…repeatedly

I think we should do a few conferences and really build the brand

“Wait, what?”

My head shot up concerned and reminded the CEO of a $15M seed round org

“We have 8 months of runway left!”

Yeah, but we need more pipeline

“Totally agree but events aren’t where we should be investing for new pipeline, especially ‘imeddiate’. How much are they going to cost?”

About $75k total…

“Wow, that’s almost an entire month’s burn! How much pipeline have you converted from past events?”

None but that was before our pivot

*VP of Demand Gen chimes in

There’s a few great logos registered to attend like Figma and Wells Fargo…

“Ok, wait a second, let me play this out. You’re wanting to sell to major accounts by meeting them at an event, then close them - pending that they want to talk - all within a 4-5 month window? How?”

Well that’s why we hired you, you’re the enterprise sales guy

“Why are we even targeting large orgs like that right now?”

That’s what investors want to see, good ARR and stable logos

“And how many do you currently have?”

None…

The harsh truth: hiring a founding sales leader as your emergency button doesn’t restart a dead GTM; it just makes the crash more expensive

If pipeline, positioning, product-market fit, and a pulse on reality is broken, no one person can sell your way out of the inevitable 

That’s why over 93% of startups fail: they wait until they’re almost out of time, then ask sales to perform CPR on a body that’s already gone

Afraid you might miss quota this year?

Here’s advice I’ve seen given on here to help


Create a brand and generate a side hustle of partnerships and sponsored posts

Buy a small business with massive margins and let your debt compound to wealth

Hire a coach from an industry leading org who pushes a product that sells itself

Subscribe to a newsletter created by the same rep who’s offering coaching at astronomical prices 

Watch a day in the life video so you can understand what successful people do before their 9-5

Comment something specific below the post so you can get access to their lead magnet that’ll unlock the secrets to increasing performance 


Man I tell ya, it’s a real head scratcher why people aren’t crushing OTEs anymore…

You know you’re a work from home parent when


You show up to a customer call with banana in your beard…and you never ate a banana 

Don’t break concentration during a conversation when you hear your kids getting in trouble and you’re next

Play customer call recordings on loud so your wife thinks you’re in a meeting

Get the left over chicken nugs slid under the door when you are heads down

Kid runs into your office butt naked while on a customer call


Keep it going

Early stage CEO told me I NEED to hire a SDR on my first day

“Love the idea, but let’s get me onboarded first and after we’ve finished building, testing and then deploying, we can tackle that head on.”

No, we need them now. Investors have come back stating they want more revenue in order to feel good about contributing money to our A round

“Ok, totally hear you, but that’s why you’ve hired me and brought in your own AE was to begin building the motion from scratch. Will this be your first BDR?”

Yup

“Awesome, but safe to assume you don’t have a system they can follow already built out?”

What do you mean? We just need someone to go out and dial.

“Dial who?”

Engineers

“Why?”

Because that’s who our solution serves to, what are you getting at here Eric?

“Sorry, not trying to press your buttons but hiring a SDR isn’t a plug and play like it once may have been. 
Who they are reaching out to vs who you serve vs who buys is all different. Have you began tiering out different ICPs and trying to optimize various channels?”

Yeah we take care of anyone who handles code deployment and Ive heard cold calling works with them

“Let me stop you right there, that isn’t an ICP definition. That’s a vision. What about demand? What is your marketing focused on and how is your inbound flow?”

We need pipeline, hence why I need a SDR

“Hang on for a second. A SDRs job is not to generate demand, it’s to isolate and capture it. How do you foresee them pin pointing the 3% in market to buy and then expanding to the 7% of the market primed to learn?”

Well we can figure that out with them

“Oh, so you’ll be ok with structuring the comp plan to exclude success criteria while we test and build?”

Ok, ok, where should we begin then


More bodies doesn’t equal more pipeline 

Generating revenue isn’t a “dial and they will come” motion

I love seeing SDRs in demand again but the founding role is quickly dwindling to a >10 month average tenure

Where most fail is they think they can hire their way into pipeline

-Let me get a SDR to generate pipeline and then have them feed it to an AE to close it and then leadership to monitor performance-

Rinse then repeat because thats considered scaling…

Build, test, deploy, validate - then hire

Isn’t it interesting that those who usually sign off their posts with

🔔 Ring the bell for more 

Or

♻️ Repost this if you found it useful 

Are the same ones lecturing reps for having quota breath


Kettle meet pot

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Eric Iannello

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The Battle

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