I'll cold call for you.

Try me out for £1,000.

30-50 conversations with your target market.

I'll provide the list, mobile numbers, and reporting.

All I need to know is the problems you solve, who you solve them for, and why they'd be motivated to solve them.

If it goes well, we keep working together.

If not, you walk away.

Mark Bangs

“Just pick up the phone to grow your business.”

It’s ok advice, but it misses most of what actually makes outbound work.

Before a single dial happens, you need to:

- Build a quality list without Sales Nav sprinkling in Yoga Instructors and Chemistry Professors

- Find reliable data that isn't full of wrong numbers

- Set up a CRM so you can stay on top of tasks

- Choose and configure a dialler so you're not manually calling everything

- Write and refine messaging that doesn't make you sound like a call centre in Bangalore

- Track follow ups (it takes us 4.2 dial attempts on avg to get a conversation with someone)

- Work the list consistently

That’s a big ask for a founder who’s already wearing five hats.

What usually happens is this:

A few good sessions, a few missed ones, and that non-negotiable “prospecting time” ends up being quietly removed from the calendar.

At that point, most revert back to relying on referrals or inbound,  neither of which are scaleable or consistent.

The truth is, cold calling works.

But it only works when it’s done systematically, every day, at volume, by people who live and breathe it.

That’s why founders outsource it.

Not because they can’t do it but because it's a ballache.

I book qualified meetings for founders and MDs 📞

Spoke with a company recently who said they don’t cold call as they know everyone in their market. 

Yet I routinely see their MD twerking on every teenager's post to get their super secret AI prompt or n8n workflow for lead gen.

Maybe he just didn't like me.

Or he’d spoken with Céan.

That’s more likely.

🚨 Comment "BRO" to boost my reach. 🚨

If your outbound sales efforts aren’t landing, it might not be your pitch or your people.

It might be your list.

If you’re calling people who don’t feel the pain you solve, or who aren’t motivated to fix it, you’re probably wasting time and money.

Before you invest in outsourcing or hiring salespeople, make sure you know your target market inside and out.

If you don’t, that’s fine.

Just recognise that your goal shifts from selling to learning.

Use outbound to validate your assumptions.

Every “no,” “maybe,” and “tell me more” gives you clues about your market.

The wrong list makes sales impossible.

The right list allows you to learn exactly what matters to your ICP, what questions/objections they're likely to raise, and ultimately what will motivate them to spend money with you.

LinkedIn engagement ≠ quality service

Instead of paying someone to do your outbound sales because their posts get loads of likes and comments, think about:

1. What are their clients saying about them?
(If anything)

2. How many will actually vouch for them?
(We can point to several)

3. What is their overall retention rate?
(Ours is 92.3%)

The "fractional SDR" space is getting more popular as people realise they can just post selfies on LinkedIn and work for themselves.

It's important to vet these people and ask what kind of results their clients are seeing.

If you've got monkeys dialling for you, don't be surprised if it ends up being a banana skin for your business (yeah I know, terrible...)

🙈

The list is the foundation of any outbound campaign.

If the list isn't right, everything else falls apart.

You can have great messaging delivered expertly, but it's all for nought you’re not speaking to the right people.

By “the right people,” I mean those who actually have the problem you solve, and who are motivated to solve it.

This is why clarity on your ICP isn’t optional.

If you’re not clear on who you help and why, you’re probably not ready to hire an outsourced sales agency.

And hiring internally could be disastrous.

That said, outbound can still play a role in finding that clarity.

If you have a working hypothesis of who your ICP is and what your value proposition might be, cold calling is the fastest way to test it.

Every conversation is a data point.

Every objection, question, or nugget of feedback helps you refine your message and/or targeting

By having live conversations you’ll very quickly know whether to pivot or double down.

I'd never do "brand partnership" posts.

Mainly cos I never get asked.

Researching prospects before cold calling can be a waste of time.

Hypothetical A:

+ 6 hours of dialling time
+ 5 mins of research per call
+ 2 min avg. call duration
= 51 dials (assuming you don't eat, drink, or pee)

15% connect rate = 8 connects
80% connect to conversation rate = 6 conversations

Hypothetical B:

+ 6 hours of dialling time
+ 2 min avg. call duration
= 180 dials

15% connect rate = 27 connects
65% connect to conversation rate = 18 conversations

So for all you hyper-personalisation "warm call" advocates, a genuine question:

Is the quality of your 6 conversations higher enough than my 18 conversations to justify having 1/3 as many?

Could it make more sense to build a list and go after it with a relevant message?

Founder of Flexiwork Services 💼 Marketing Engine Builder 🔍 Founder of Good Business Karma Network ♻️ Loves opening doors to fellow entrepreneurs❤️

Are you struggling to keep up with your marketing needs without hiring a full-time team?

↳ I’m John – Your On-Demand Marketing Partner.

↳ When I started working with businesses, I saw a common challenge:

They either:
 ❌ Spent a fortune on in-house marketing teams.
 ❌ Tried to do it all themselves—wasting time and missing opportunities.

But then I noticed something…

Some businesses were scaling efficiently without the overhead of a full-time team.
- They had marketing support exactly when they needed it.
- They were launching campaigns without getting overwhelmed.
- They were growing without burning out.

That’s where I come in.

I help startups, agencies, and growing businesses get the marketing support they need—on demand.

➞ Here’s How I Can Help You:

✅ Flexible Marketing Support – Scale your marketing up or down as needed, without long-term commitments.
✅ Marketing Automation with Getem Deals CRM – Streamline and simplify your marketing efforts with one tool.
✅ Done-for-You Campaigns – High-impact strategies, executed flawlessly.

➞ Why I Do This?

Because no business should have to choose between breaking the bank on a full-time team or struggling to do it all alone.

↳ Let’s turn your marketing into a system that works for you!
↳ Check out my Featured Section below to book a 1:1 call.

John Javier

Jon Logan showed our Good Business Karma Network how to build a marketing system that truly delivers.

The Game-Changer? Stop thinking about marketing as scattered tactics and start building a system with five key components:

✔️ Your Engine (team + tools)
✔️ Your Steering (strategy)
✔️ Your Driver (leadership)
✔️ Your Fuel (budget)
✔️ Your Tires (content, website, funnels, CRM)

Most businesses are running on one overinflated tire and three flats. The fix is simple: balance all four. Then add clear messaging, improve the customer experience, build systems and automations, plan strategic sprints, and create content that actually converts.

As Jon said: "Content is last, ads are last, SEO is last. Everything else needs to come first. If you don't build the infrastructure, you're not going to go very far."

Join us Monday, December 1st for our next Good Business Karma Network event!
📅 11 AM EST | 8 AM PST
🔗 https://lnkd.in/gxdsC_Gm
Come network with business owners ready to scale smarter. 
#GoodBusinessKarmaNetwork #MarketingStrategy #GrowthMarketing #BusinessGrowth #MarketingMachine #SmallBusiness

Had the pleasure of Mike McQuillan joining our Good Business Karma Network yesterday—on his birthday, no less! 
He shared his FIT system for presentations that really resonated with our community.

Key Takeaways:
We all have misconceptions in our businesses. Mike's approach? Don't tell people "forget everything you know." Instead, acknowledge the grain of truth in their beliefs and build from there.

The FIT system is brilliantly simple:
✔️ Filter misconceptions from background knowledge
✔️ Address the truth within the myth
✔️ Confess your own past misconceptions first

When you show modesty and admit you've been wrong about something, your audience becomes more receptive. They contribute to the conversation instead of feeling lectured.

Mike's words that stuck with me:
"Your knowledge is like this glass of water. It has the hydration you need, but it also has impurities in it."

Join us next Monday, December 8, 2025, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST for another inspiring session. Let's continue building good business karma together!
And Mike, belated happy birthday! Thank you for spending it with us and sharing your wisdom🎂
#GoodBusinessKarmaNetwork #BusinessNetworking #PublicSpeaking #PresentationSkills #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship

Silence kills sales.

If you’re not consistently showing up for your brand.

Prospects won’t just disappear; they’ll forget you exist.

In today’s noisy digital world, out of sight really means out of mind.

While you’re busy serving current clients, someone else is showing up for your future ones.

The solution is simple: consistent, strategic visibility.

→ Be present, always.

Don’t post only when you’re selling. Share insights, experiences, and helpful lessons that

position you as a resource, not a salesperson.

→ Engage, don’t broadcast.

Conversations build trust faster than promotions. Reply, ask, discuss — don’t just announce.

→ Show, don’t just tell.

Use visuals, short videos, and real examples to demonstrate your impact.

Let your audience see your value, not just hear about it.

Your social feed isn't just an ad platform; it's a relationship-building tool. Use it to stay

top-of-mind, stay visible, and stay relevant.

What's your biggest challenge in maintaining consistent social media engagement?

Share your thoughts! 👇

No alternative text description for this image

The best sales strategy your business can have isn't a salesperson on your payroll.

It’s a system.

The kind that never forgets to follow up, never calls in sick, and never sends a “just checking in” message again.

Because founders don’t fail for lack of hustle

they fail for lack of consistency.

And no human can out-hustle a machine built to follow through flawlessly.

The “always-be-closing” mindset died the moment automation learned how to always-be-nurturing.

→ Build a CRM that remembers every lead better than you possibly can.

→ Automate 80% of follow-ups, personalize the rest.

→ Let your humans handle relationships, not reminders.

Delegating the repetitive parts of nurturing to technology frees your team up for high-touch sales calls.

Imagine how much productivity would skyrocket with more time and mental bandwidth for execution.

That’s how you scale without the chaos.

So, what’s one task you’re still “hustling” through that your CRM could easily handle?

3 crucial steps you could leverage today to close deals effortlessly

Everyone’s obsessed with the best ways to “close the sales call”.

But sales calls don’t necessarily create the sale; it just confirm it.

By the time you’re on that call, the prospect has already formed their perspective on you.

They’ve Googled you.

Scrolled your LinkedIn.

Read your reviews.

Maybe even stalked your competitors.

So when they join that call, they’re looking for more proof, not a pitch

Where the real selling happen?

📍Before the call:

 → Your digital footprints:

Is your website crystal clear? Are your social media profiles showcasing expertise? Are you consistently providing value through content?

 → Pre-Call Engagement:

Are you nurturing leads before the call? insightful emails, helpful resources, or engaging social interactions.

 → Understanding Their World:

Have you done your research on their pain points and specific challenges, so you can speak directly to their needs, not a generic pitch?.

📍After the call:

→ The Thoughtful Follow-Up:

No generic "checking in" emails, personalized and value-driven. Keep reiterating the problem and solution?

→ Seamless Onboarding:

Make it simple, efficient, and delightful. Let them feel supported from day one.

→ Ongoing Value & Support:

Deliver on your promise. Checking in, provide additional resources, and be available to support. This builds loyalty and fosters referrals.

→ Turning Clients into Advocates:

Happy clients become your best salespeople. Empower them to share their success stories?

📍Sales calls are crucial, but a small piece of a much larger, continuous value-delivery system.

P.S. What’s one thing you could optimize in your current sales process?

taplio

The Battle

Mark Bangs

John Javier

Followers

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Performance ScoreMark Bangs's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJohn Javier's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Mark Bangs

John Javier

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);}Mark Bangs's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreJohn Javier's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreMark Bangs's LinkedIn Performance