audience & revenue growth tips for B2B startups and creators

My mission is to build predictable pipelines for B2B startups. I share what I learn along the way. 

Read more if you are ready to build your pipeline 👇

💡 I am super relevant if you are:

→ Indie Hacker
→ Freelancer
→ Early Startup Founder
→ B2B Sales Person
→ Creator (any profession)

✍️ I write about:

→ B2B sales
→ Go to market strategies
→ Signal-based prospecting

Little more about me:

Cryptocurrency Investor. SaaS Enthusiast. Agriculture Business Owner. 

Lived in 3 countries.

I'm a T-shaped growth person who has experience in sales, content marketing, and growth.

Drop me a LinkedIn message if you need any help.

We will keep it simple.

Twitter: @sehaokudan

https://calendly.com/sehaokudan/30min

Seha Okudan

Sales is stressful.
Turkey built an industry around it.

Every job is stressful. 

I get that.

But the stress of a salesperson is different.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲:

- Pressure
- Rejection
- Judgment
- Uncertainty
- Expectations

Still not convinced?

Every deal can die last minute.
Every “maybe” keeps your mind busy.
Every quota resets the clock.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼:

-Detach from outcomes
-Handle rejection calmly

Don't lose your hair.

If this was your reality in 2025, I’ll see you in Istanbul this year.

I'm sure Turkish Airlines can help. 😅 

Jokes aside, what part of sales stresses you the most?

--
Inspiration: Tosin Jan

Building Outbound & RevOps systems for B2B companies

Prospects hate to give bad news.
(And it costs you time)

They don’t reject you.
They delay you.

They hope the problem fades.
They hope you stop following up.

Most sellers miss this.

You chase wrong deals for months.

Hoping to get positive news.

Bad discovery hides the truth.

One "I'm interested." costs you months.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼:
-Get to “no” fast
-Pressure-test intent
-Disqualify with care
-Learn to walk away early

Money is in the follow-up. That's 100%

Not in chasing the wrong deals.

Bad news early saves months.
Good sales feels honest.

Agree or disagree?

Video Credit: @sales_humor /Instagram

BANT is outdated.
Here’s why 

BANT is a sales qualification criteria. 
Budget, authority, need, timing. 

Especially if it is outbound, the budget is rarely allocated for outbound as an example.

Last week, I saw someone in my network say,
 “BANT is the key to winning deals.”

Coming from an Enterprise C level, you'd believe.

Maybe 10–15 years ago, it was a silver bullet.

Today? 
Buying processes are no longer as simple as they used to be.


BANT is problematic because:

1️⃣ 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱

BANT was built for sellers, not for buyers. 
Buyers don’t want to be qualified for you
They want to be understood by you.

2️⃣ 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿

Buyers move in and out of priorities fast.
Your job is to show impact and move the solution up in the list.
Not learning if it's the right time.
It is rarely the right time.

3️⃣ 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆

If there’s real pain, the budget appears.
If there’s no pain, no number will matter.
Show how much their pain is costing them.

4️⃣ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱

Usually, there’s no single decision-maker anymore.
Users, champions, legal, finance, etc.

Modern frameworks, such as MEDDPICC, shift the focus from qualification to alignment.

But religiously following a framework is a mistake.

Sales involve psychology and emotions.

Never forget that.

How do you qualify prospects?

Build quality lists.
(Or outbound fails.)

Outbound is harder now.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲:

-Good offer
-Great copy
-Reliable infra
-Warmed up emails

None of this works if three things are wrong.

- Bad timing
- Wrong people
- Old contact data

You waste time.
You hurt deliverability.
You miss opportunities.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀:

1️⃣ Pick intent that matters
2️⃣ Build pre-verified lists
3️⃣ Find real decision makers
4️⃣ Sync natively with your sequencer
5️⃣ Launch without cleaning chaos

I was part of the Prospeo V2 beta program, tested with one of my clients, and we LOVED it. (thanks for inviting me, Matthew!)

It did what outbound tools should do.

No hacks. No patchwork.

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀:
99% contact data accuracy, up to 30% call connect.

That changes outcomes.

If lists are weak, outbound dies.

Check out Prospeo.io V2, you won't regret it.

----
PS: Clay ranks Prospeo as the most accurate data provider. Not a surprise.

Sales is easy.
(is it?)

"If the product is good, it'll sell itself."

Ok, fair enough.

If you're not in sales, it is easy.

- You send a message
- Book a meeting
- Send your pitch deck
- Impress with your product
- Send the quote
- Get the money

Oh, sometimes they even come to you to buy!

If you're on the buyer side, it is even easier to say it is easy.

"They just show the product, send a quote, anyone can do it"

But here is the part they don't see:

- You get rejected every day
- You lose deals to competitors
- Prospects ghost you after 4 calls
- Legal stalls your contract for weeks
- Champions go silent before signing

Competition is bigger than ever.
Everyone is building fast now.
Buyers have more power than ever.

Sales isn’t easy.

It just looks that way when it’s done right.

What part of the job do people underestimate the most?

The biggest sales mistake is simple.
(but still overlooked)

Talking too much about yourself.

Everyone knows this.

Some still forget it.

𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁:

- Your offer
- Your service
- Your product
- Your new feature
- How great you are

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴:
Does this help me hit my goals?

You learn that by talking less and by asking clear questions.

Sales gets easier when it is about them.

Not you.

Agree or disagree?

Selling a no-product market fit SaaS?
It is not a sales job.

It is a founder job without equity.

In those companies, your role is not just closing.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼:

- Find the real ICP
- Fix weak positioning in live calls
- Turn vague value into clear outcomes
- Surface feedback no one wants to hear

You'll face blockers that kill deals before they start.

Especially if you're working with a founder who loves the product.

They're going to blame you when you can't sell.

They’ll defend features.
They’ll call it a “sales problem.”
They'll call prospects stupid for not getting it.

Sellers can't sell a product nobody needs.

Only the founder can sell to his/her network.

Sellers don’t fail here.

The product does.

Is your problem a “sales problem” or a product problem?

Never pitch the solution first.
-here's why

Problems have many fixes.

An umbrella works.
A roof works too.

Both protect from rain.

But only one fits the buyer’s world.

If you pitch early, you guess.
Guessing kills trust.

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴:

-Fear they want gone
-Desire they want fast
-Challenge blocking progress

Then do one more thing.

Show the impact.

What breaks if nothing changes?
What slows down?
What costs them money, time, or status?

When they feel the impact, they pull the solution from you.

Not the other way around.

Sell less.
Diagnose more.

➡️ How do you diagnose before you pitch?

Sales sucks.
(It is true.)

Closing, prospecting, the whole thing sucks, too.

- You’re ghosted after a “great” call
- Quota pressure eats at your sleep
- You’re rejected 13 times before lunch
- People assume you’re pushy before you speak

All true.

The worst part? 

Some people see you as order takers.

Send email → show product → send quote → done

But here’s the thing.

It’s also a life skill.
There’s no way around it.

Start shifting your perspective.

Because it is also awesome:

- It can get very lucrative
- You meet cool people every day
- You get paid to solve real problems
- It’s the fastest path to building a business
- You build grit that most jobs will never teach
- You learn to read people better than a therapist

Most people can’t handle both sides.

But if you can?

Sales will change your life.

Be honest, do you love it or hate it?

Just "do more” is lazy manager advice.
Here's why:

Just do "do more" is a lazy manager advice.

5 difficult scenarios for salespeople:
(Even for the top ones.)

5 difficult scenarios for salespeople

5 worst sales discovery questions:

Outbound is changing.
Before 2019, spray & pray worked.

Send thousands of generic emails → get leads.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴:

- Deliverability got stricter
- Prospects got smarter (sales methods)
- Email channels got flooded

Now, in 2025, we can create high-quality emails in bulk.
With AI.

And yes, it still works for now.
(If your deal size is small + TAM is huge.)

You can also have the best cold email infrastructure.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻:
It is getting easier to create mass email campaigns,

So history will repeat itself.

-Buyers will get “immune”
-ESP rules will tighten (even more strict)

Even good emails will start to see fewer replies.

For me, sending mass messages isn’t sales. It is a form of marketing. And it’s starting to look a lot like paid ads, only through inboxes.

I think email service providers will regulate and monetize it pretty soon.

LinkedIn avoids spam as much as possible with InMail ads, Sales Navigator credits, message limits, and verifications.

What are your thoughts?

How are you future-proofing your outbound?

-
𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲:

Signal-based, hyper-relevant, multichannel approach. 

8-13 step sequences - 40-50 business days.
(cold call, LinkedIn, email)

And leveraging referrals, my network, and multithreading when/if needed.

Sales skill is a life skill.
(not just for more revenue)

Sales is not just a revenue skill.

It can help you:

- Negotiate better pay
- Build trust with people
- Sell ideas to your team
- Get buy-in from your boss
- Handle rejection with grace
- Build better personal relationships

Most importantly:
It helps you communicate with intent.

You can be a teacher, designer, engineer, or founder.

You’ll always move faster if you know how to sell.

Investing.
Copywriting.
Communication.

All life skills.

What life skill paid off most for you?

“Do you have a budget?”
(don’t ask this)

Yes, budget matters.
Every sales framework says so.

But asking it directly is lazy and self-serving.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝟮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀:

1️⃣ Outbound:

No one has a budget for something they just heard about. They didn’t plan for you. They didn’t ask for you.

So the answer is probably “no”, even if the pain is real.

2️⃣ Inbound:

Asking about budget too early kills momentum. You turn discovery into a price check.

𝗠𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲:
If there is a big pain, a budget can be found.

---

Asking “Do you have a budget?” is really asking:

“Do you have money for me?”

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱:

“Why hasn’t it worked?”
“Who is affected by this?”
“What have you tried so far?”
“What happens if this stays unsolved?”
“What does success change for the business?”

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝗸:

“What priority would this have if it worked?”
“How do you usually fund problems like this?”
“Who would need to be involved to move forward?"

When the pain is clear, the budget becomes a logistics problem.

Budget is usually the outcome of good discovery.

How do you uncover budget without asking for it?

Objections are opportunities.
Many feel bad after an objection

I was like this back in 2018.

Telling myself:
"Not going to happen again."

I was terribly wrong.

You should feel good about objections.
They help you close.

𝗢𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻:

-Real interest
-Serious buyer
-Active thinking
-Risk awareness

Gives you a chance to discover more.

And SOLVE.
(or disqualify fast)

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲:

Asks nothing
Shows no concern
Says "great product
Says yes to everything

I learned this two months later. A prospect said they would buy. - “100% sure.”

Then they vanished.

Waste of time...

Handle objections well.

This gives you a chance to solve. Or disqualify fast.

Focus on better-fit clients.

Agree or disagree?

Ideas are worthless.
(until someone pays for it)

Building products is easy now.

Every day, we see a new SaaS project.

“Let’s build first. We’ll sell later.”
“People loved the idea.”

That is how you burn resources.

Selling is the only real validation.

7+ years in B2B sales.
One failed micro-SaaS.

Almost nobody told me that my product/idea is bad.

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴:

1️⃣ Sounds like a great idea, we'll consider it when you build the product.
2️⃣ We'll subscribe when it is ready!
3️⃣ We'll try it once it is live!

None of this is validation.
None of it is good news.

Because people hate to give bad news.

𝗠𝘆 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Make people take their credit cards out in advance.

Is it easy? Absolutely not.

This is why you can ask people to make small commitments first.
(Waitlist, for example)

Yes – people can buy later too, but that’s a big risk.

You might waste your time, energy, and resources.

𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿:
Money is proof. Everything else is just talk.

If the money is not in your account, there is no deal.

If you don't have any sales before building;
Don’t build it.

How do you get real commitments from prospects?

What is one thing AI will never be able to do? 
(In sales)

Lindsay Rosenthal

Founder | Creator | Strategist | Building AI, Leaders, & Ideas That Move Markets

For sponsorships + booking + speaking: hello@cred.marketing
------
I build AI, leaders, products, and ideas that move markets.

As a founder, creator, and strategist, I’ve taken products from concept to market, scaled sales engines, built teams, and created campaigns that drive both revenue and cultural relevance. Deeply integrating AI in every step of the way. 

My experience spans SaaS, AI, B2B, and beyond, working alongside the companies and executives shaping tomorrow’s most important industries. (Would love to work with yours!)

I operate where innovation meets execution. 
Blending the reach of a creator, the precision of a strategist, and the perspective of an AI founder who has built and scaled from the ground up. 

The result: content, campaigns, AI, and go-to-market strategies that cut through the noise and position brands at the forefront of their markets.

Founder

1 month of content in 1 hour

The playbook I use to see trends early:

(my unfair advantage going into 2026)

I’ve led top brand campaigns w/ some of the coolest companies.
And right now, I’m deep in planning mode for what’s next.

A huge focus for me is spotting where trends actually start.
Then plugging campaigns into those moments.
Cutting in while people are still deciding.

Cause this messy middle (where Q’s repeat, opinions clash, community hangs) is where the real signal lives.

That’s why Reddit for Business is ranking at the top for me right now.
I use Reddit to:

- uncover golden audience insight from authentic convos
- activate audiences before they’ve made up their minds
- carry signal all the way through the funnel without losing trust

One example: I used Reddit Pro keyword tracking to spot a pattern forming across multiple communities. That signal showed up weeks before it appeared on other platforms.

We shaped the campaign around that language. Message landed immediately. Performance followed.

My 2026 system looks like this:
listen first → identify repeated intent → shape the narrative → then distribute.

The real edge now isn’t louder marketing. It’s understanding people earlier andddd meeting them while they’re already deciding.

That’s the playbook I’m building around.

Reddit is such an unfair advantage.

You can even sign up here with Reddit Ads to earn $500 in ad credit when you spend $500!!

LINK: https://lnkd.in/ghXdVeB6

feeling overwhelmed with content for 2026?

it might not be a content problem
but an AI tool stack problem.

too many tools, tabs, workflows would drive anyone crazy.

more AI hasn’t made content better.
it’s made it heavier.

the best creators I know aren’t running massive stacks.
they’re using 4 tools max.

because fewer decisions means more brain space saved.

here’s the stack to simplify your workflows:

𝟭. 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿
something to help you pressure-test ideas, structure thoughts, sharpen voice, get unstuck.

𝟮. 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹
used sparingly for clarity and flow.

𝟯. 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘀
catch thoughts fast!

𝟰. 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺
a calendar, checklist, or light scheduler to help you stay consistent + intentional.

that’s it.
everything else is complexity disguised as productivity.

AI should reduce friction, not add it.

if your stack feels heavy, that’s the signal.
simplify!!

how to prevent scaling the wrong ideas:

(despite what AI tells you!)

AI is making bad ideas scale faster than ever.
but the problem isn’t AI’s.
it’s us hitting publish too fast.

something sloppy, half-baked, or just wrong can now reach hundreds, thousands, even millions, before anyone notices.

so how do you avoid amplifying mistakes?

pressure-test your thinking first.

here’s how:
1. slow it down
don’t hit publish right after generating a post.
take a breath. review. reconsider.

2. read it out loud
does it sound like you?
does it convey what you actually mean?

3. flip perspectives
what would a critic say? 
what would someone outside your industry think?
(critics aren’t the end-all, but can be worthy of thought)

4. share with another human
even one person spotting a gap can save you a lot of trouble.

your job isn’t to make more content.
it’s to make better content.

slow down.
pressure-test.
then scale.

I’m revealing my 3 layer storytelling strategy:

(copy my hack for better, more human outputs!!)

AI can generate words, but it can’t automatically tell your story the way your brand does.

to get consistent, on-brand output, teach the model your narrative in 𝟯 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀:

𝟭. 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀
define the principles your brand stands for.

 • write 2-3 sentences describing your values.
 • prompt AI: “use these beliefs as the foundation for all messaging”
   example: “we believe marketing should build trust, not just clicks”

𝟮. 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀
collect stories, case studies, or examples that capture your voice.

 • list 3-5 recurring stories or wins.
 • prompt AI: “reference these examples to illustrate points naturally”
   example: “highlight how brands scale with AI while keeping human creativity central”

𝟯. 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲
document recurring phrases, terminology, and tone.

 • compile 5-10 phrases or words you always use.
 • prompt AI: “write content using this tone, language, and style consistently.”
   example: “always lowercase, concise, educational, with punchy takeaways”

𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀𝗲:

 1. feed all three layers to the model before generating content
 2. ask AI to produce the first draft
 3. review, tweak, and add new examples to refine outputs

the better you teach, the less editing you need.
and AI becomes a true storytelling partner.

everyone’s asking how to use AI for content in 2026.
but that’s not really the question.
the real advantage is knowing what AI can’t do.

AI can generate ideas but it can’t live the moment that led to them.

AI can summarize what happened but it can’t show the tension while it was happening.

AI can clean up copy but it can’t recreate the back-and-forth, the second guessing, the almost wrong call.

that gap is where the human opportunity is.
in 2026, the content that actually works will be more real.
really, truly, real.

what to share instead of generic AI content:
• the decision you went back and forth on
• the thing that didn’t work + why
• what surprised you this week
• how something actually got approved
• what you changed after seeing real results
• the part of the process you normally skip over
• your real personality and human-ness

so show the tradeoffs, constraints, the imperfect execution.
what makes us truly humans, all giving our best go at this.

bc people don’t trust you because you sound smart.
they trust you because they understand how you think.

AI will keep raising the baseline.
but ultimately humans still win on depth and being real.

taplio

The Battle

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Lindsay Rosenthal

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taplio

The Battle

Seha Okudan

Lindsay Rosenthal

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Posts

Engagements

Likes

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