Developing a Sales Playbook

In 2 years, we cut Aligned’s sales cycle from 75 to 22 days, while moving up market and increasing ACV 44%. The key? Our team meets EVERY WEEK to optimize our sales playbook. Here’s our end-to-end workflow: 1. Playbooks get old within a few months—Build a regular update cadence How buyers evaluate you and make decisions constantly changes as your product, market, competitors, and economy change. Discussing these changes weekly forces us to adapt. We figure out if we need new enablement assets, training, or if our workflows need a refresh. 2. Most playbooks are “Set & Forget”—Build a system to monitor & analyze At Aligned, we use Deal Rooms to run our playbook. We analyze our best and worst-performing rooms weekly based on buyer engagement. This helps us understand what aspects of our process are effective and identify gaps. For example, an AE might create a new tab to run competitor comparisons or a business case framework that drives more exec engagement. 3. Most wait too long—Quickly turn gaps into sales or buyer enablement assets Most teams lack a routine to find OR fix gaps. Also, most teams put too much weight on sales enablement assets like scripts or training materials. Last week, Kevin "KD" Dorsey told me he sees deal rooms as an excuse for constantly creating buyer enablement assets like ROI calculators and guides. He said, “Investing in buyers must become a habit, or you’re not going to get far”. I couldn’t agree more. 4. Most skills stop at training—Embed every new skill into a dedicated template I’m a 4x sales leader. One thing I was NEVER able to do right is to get the team to consistently follow the playbook. At Aligned, we’ve tackled this by updating all customer-facing workflows in our deal room template (e.g. How we run MAPs, POCs, Business Cases...). We then use the internal-only view to templatize resources like discovery and demo frameworks. Centralizing it in one place makes it easier for the team to follow our processes. 5. Over-standardization is as bad as winging it—Encourage breaking your process A sales leader’s dream of having the ‘perfect’ process executed by their team can also be their worst nightmare. Yes, you want AEs to see what good looks like and follow what works. But do it too often, and you end up killing intuition and creativity. THE essence of what makes complex selling work is knowing how to dance. That's why our biggest updates to our template come from our team on the front line, not top-down. TAKEAWAY: There’s no quick fix for improving Deal Velocity metrics. Simply increasing price 15% won’t magically solve ACV. There are multiple potential root causes to identify. And multiple ways you can address them. But what you truly need… Is a structured way to enhance your process. Monitor, Analyze, Iterate, and Scale. That’s what has worked best for us. You have to be strategic about it. EDIT: People asked—Aligned is the Deal Room we use. It's 100% free to try https://lnkd.in/dwX_Zizk

Is it possible the playbook never actually worked? What we’ve long called a “tried-and-true” GTM strategy might’ve just been a byproduct of a growth-at-all-costs era—one we’ve clung to far beyond its expiration date. The reality... Today, most marketing teams are scrambling. GTM motions are in shambles. Channels that once felt like cheat codes? No longer delivering. Tactics that used to scale? Now barely move the needle. So why are we still pretending those were ever the answers? The environment shapes the strategy—and we’re in a completely new one: AI dominates. Differentiation is minimal. Channels are saturated. There’s no single playbook left to follow. It's time to stop tweaking the old model. It’s time to flip the script entirely. Here’s where I believe modern marketing should focus next: 🔁 Feedback Loops > Funnels Stop optimizing for a static funnel. Build dynamic, real-time loops between product, marketing, sales, and customers. Fast iteration beats perfect planning—every time. 🎯 Hyper-Relevance and Targeting Over Reach Mass reach is dead. Precision wins. Own one narrative for one audience and say it louder, smarter, and more personally than anyone else. Incorporate voices from your existing customers, your dream customers, and everyone else in-between. 🧠 AI-Augmented Creativity Don’t just use AI to scale content. Use it to amplify creative thinking, simulate campaigns, and uncover new angles. The future isn't less human—it’s more amplified. 🤝 Build Communities, Not Campaigns Trust doesn’t come from impressions. It comes from consistency. Long-term relationships > short-term spikes. 📈 Revenue-Centric GTM Vanity metrics are easy to inflate. Revenue impact is not. Align GTM efforts directly with sales and customer success. These teams should be more integrated than ever. ⚙️ Engineer for Adaptability You don’t need more tools—you need more flexibility. Modular stacks, agile workflows, and cross-functional teams that can move fast together.

"I'm sorry, but we've decided to go with a competitor." The words no sales rep wants to hear. I asked why. "Their solution seemed more transparent. We felt like we understood exactly what we were getting." This confused me. I had sent: - Our most detailed product sheets - Multiple case studies - Comprehensive pricing information What was I missing? Later that week, I watched the competitor's demo recording. I noticed something immediately: They didn't just talk about transparency. They demonstrated it. Their follow-up wasn't a flood of attachments. It was a single space where the prospect could: - See who viewed what information - Track exactly where they were in the buying process - Access only what was relevant to their specific challenges - Control how information was shared internally I realized my mistake: I was hiding behind documents. They were building an honest relationship. For my next opportunity: I created a digital room that showed the prospect EVERYTHING: → Who from my team had accessed their information → Which implementation resources they hadn't reviewed yet → Honest timeline expectations → Both the strengths AND limitations of our solution The prospect messaged me: "This is refreshing. For once I don't feel like I'm being 'sold to'." They signed within a coupla weeks. The truth: Modern buyers don't lack information. They lack trust. Old sales playbook: Send impressive materials that hide potential issues. New sales playbook: Create transparent spaces that address concerns head-on. Your prospects can sense when you're hiding something. Even if you're not. Stop treating sales like a magic trick. Start treating it like an open book. Agree?

Most companies suck at launching products. They’re like Alice in Wonderland — chasing shiny objects and getting lost along the way. Here’s the 11-step process we perfected after 25 years of product launches (in a collaboration with Jason Oakley): 1. Competitive Research The key to great strategy is to look externally. Take notes on competitor's features and how they grow. Build a database so you can counter-position appropriately. 2. Segmentation A launch aimed at “everyone” will miss everyone. Instead, build a laser-focused Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Follow this chain of thought: What are they craving? → What frustrates them daily? → What job are they trying to accomplish? 3. Pricing & Packaging Even the smallest feature can have a ripple effect on your pricing and packaging. Don’t wait until launch week to figure this out. Before launching, assess things like: Will this be a paid feature or free? Who will get access? What’s the plan for feature gating? 4. Positioning Now it’s time to craft a message that resonates. Speak to their deeper desires, not just their immediate problems. Communicate the outcome your product delivers and why you’re different from the rest. 5. Assemble Your Launch Team You can’t do it alone, and you shouldn’t. A successful launch involves stakeholders across the company. Use the RACI framework to assign clear roles. 6. Clear Objectives Too many teams dive into a launch without defined goals. And that’s why they miss the mark. Set clear objectives and key results. 7. Distribution Channels Many teams fall into the trap of trying to be everywhere; LinkedIn, email, ads, you name it. Reality check: Most startups only have 1-2 effective distribution channels. Find yours and double down on it. 8. Launch Milestones Planning your entire launch around individual tasks will overwhelm you. Instead, focus on major milestones and build a work-back plan. Some key milestones to include: Early access launch → Customer launch → Kickoff meeting. 9. Bill of Materials Your Bill of Materials is the content engine of your launch. Focus on: → Writing the message they want to hear → Designing visuals that captivate and appeal to them → Creating email sequences tailored to every user flow 10. Sales & Customer Success Teams Too many launches fail because these teams are looped in at the last minute. Enable them early with a messaging deck, internal FAQs, and demo materials... And they’ll become powerful advocates for your product. 11. Launch Day Make sure everything is launched smoothly and on time. If you achieve early wins, be the first to celebrate them and rally the team. And don’t forget to keep pushing the momentum forward. There's much more in the deep dive: https://lnkd.in/eB7s6umA If you don't plan your launches, even the best products will fail.

Last week we launched Mutiny and got over 1M views and 5x'd our users. And it only cost us $14k. If you're a founder or marketer, here's our product launch playbook: Startup launches have become their own micro industry. We were quoted (twice) $100k for video and $50k+ for influencer amplification to hit 1M views on social. We decided that was insane, so we did it ourselves. Here's our playbook: 1. Nail the narrative before anything else. We were launching a new agent to help GTM teams create anything customer-facing. But people are inundated by launches, so we needed a stronger hook. We had killed our flagship SaaS product to go all-in on AI, a story that was genuinely different. So we led with that hook, while making sure the details and the video were all about the new product, not the past. 2. Create a killer video. Two rules going in: clarity is king, and pain is relatable. If someone watches and still doesn't know what we do, we failed. And if they can't see themselves in the first 30 seconds, we lost them. We knew you had to see the product in action to understand it, so we were really hands on about which 3 examples we can include. Shout out to the Represent team for helping us make an amazing video on a tight deadline. 3. Customer amplification. 6 weeks prior to launch, we made it our #1 goal to make great companies like Rippling and Snowflake genuinely successful. Then we turned those wins into stories we could share on our channels. When people saw brands that they recognized getting real results, it created FOMO that’s hard to manufacture. Next, we identified a wide number of active users and asked them to share their own posts. We created notes and asset screenshots to make it easier. 4. Ecosystem amplification Investors have large networks and a vested interest in our success. We reached out to every investor to ask for their support and sent them all the calendar invite! We also asked the CEOs and teams at our favorite tools and asked them to amplify our launch. Framer, Pylon, Momentic, and others used our launch buzz to write about their role in our story. 5. Plan a rolling thunder We planned activities for the following 4 weeks, one big splash a week. For example, today we launched on Product Hunt (go check us out!) and next week we are launching a big case study with Anthropic. What would we do differently? Influencers were a new area for us. I was skeptical of paying $50k to buy posts, so we dabbled a small amount in paid posts. The results were mixed. A few drove good impressions but overall, we don’t think they were super impactful. Next time, we want to pick influencers with relevant followings and get them to know and love our mission. The results from the launch: 1M impressions across all posts. We 5x’d daily active users and tripled MRR in a week. And we ended up on TBPN because the post went viral. We're live on Product Hunt today. If you want to support us, please go check us out over there.

one of the best salespeople i know told me last week that everything he learned in the last 20 years has to be thrown out. he's not bitter about it. he's energised. but the framing stuck with me. his old playbook: build a list, work the list, follow up consistently, hit the numbers. volume of touches drove pipeline. the people who showed up the most won. it was a war of attention paid in cold emails and phone calls. that playbook is dead. not dying. dead. the reason isn't ai writing better cold emails. ai writing more cold emails is what killed the old model. once anyone could spin up a thousand personalised messages a day, the inbox stopped being a useful channel for people who relied on inbox volume to win. what's replacing it is signal-based selling. you don't reach out because it's tuesday and tuesday is your outreach day. you reach out because something happened. a hire. a funding round. a product launch. a comment in a public thread that tells you the buyer is actively thinking about the problem you solve. the work moves from send more to notice more. the tool stack moves from sequencers to listening systems. the skill moves from cadence discipline to pattern recognition. what struck me wasn't the strategy shift. it was how comfortable he was throwing out twenty years of muscle memory. he said the playbook that built his career would actively hurt him now if he kept running it. most of the sales leaders i talk to are still trying to graft ai onto the old motion. faster sequences. better personalisation tokens. more list segments. they're optimising a model that the market has already moved past. the ones who win the next cycle won't have the biggest lists. they'll have the best filters.

Sales teams often build from the top down. That’s why they break. I’ve spent decades studying what separates consistent performers from one-hit wonders. It comes down to this pyramid. Start at the foundation. Habits. Three clear priorities every morning. Follow up with purpose, not just to check in. Maintain clean systems. Build momentum through small daily wins. Consistent structure beats motivation every time. Next level up. Skills. Discovery that uncovers real impact. Objections handled early, not late. Negotiation anchored on outcomes. Demos that show value created, not features listed. The best sellers talk less, listen more, and guide with intent. Then comes Mindset. Treat rejection as feedback, not failure. Build confidence through preparation, not personality. Stay curious. Optimize for learning first, outcomes follow. Growth-oriented sellers outperform those chasing quick closes. Now you’re ready for Process. A predictable pipeline rhythm. Templates that move fast but personalize where it matters. Measure what converts. Forecast with evidence, not optimism. Disciplined process closes more deals than instinct alone. Finally, Edge. Build a reputation that precedes the meeting. Share wins and playbooks internally. Run experiments, not guesses. Coach others. Visibility and credibility create warmer referrals and more inbound.

I was ready to quit.  My startup was flatlining.  Sales were a rollercoaster—one month we were celebrating, the next we were scrambling to make payroll.  Then, everything changed.  We discovered a systematic sales approach that transformed our struggling venture into a thriving powerhouse.  𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴:   ↳ It wasn’t flashy.   ↳ It wasn’t revolutionary.   ↳ It was just consistent, measurable, and repeatable.  𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝘁:  1️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 We defined our ideal customer profile and launched targeted campaigns.  2️⃣ 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 We built a scoring system to prioritize high-value leads.  3️⃣ 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 We created templates for every touchpoint—cold emails, follow-ups, you name it.  4️⃣ 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 We developed a framework to uncover customer pain points.  5️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 We standardized our pitch decks and demo scripts.  6️⃣ 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 We set clear guidelines for discounts and terms.  7️⃣ 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 We implemented a smooth handoff process to customer success.  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀? ↳ 37% shorter sales cycles   ↳ 52% higher conversion rates   ↳ 215% revenue growth YoY   ↳ 28% lower customer acquisition costs But the real win?  Predictability.  We could forecast with accuracy, scale efficiently, and sleep at night knowing we had a repeatable path to success.  𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱: Consistency > Charisma   Data > Gut Feelings   Process > Luck This systematic approach didn’t just save our startup—it became our competitive advantage.  👉 Want to transform your sales?  Stay tuned for the launch of “The B2B Sales Playbook”—a step-by-step guide to building a scalable, predictable revenue engine.  P.S. What’s your biggest sales challenge? Drop it in the comments, and let’s brainstorm how a systematic approach could help.  #SalesTransformation #StartupGrowth #B2BSales

Most creators obsess over the product. Few obsess over the rollout. The release is part of the art. Not an afterthought. Taylor Swift understands this. Midnights hit 1.4 million equivalent album units in 5 days. Fastest-selling album of 2022. Spotify record for most-streamed album in a day. Radiohead proved it differently with In Rainbows. Pay-what-you-want strategy. Made $3 million instantly. Sold 3+ million copies total. Compare this to most launches: Only 40% of tech products hit their launch goals. Companies that run pre-launch campaigns see 30% higher engagement. Yet 68% of creators launch with less than 2 weeks of planning. The difference? Strategic rollouts. Here's the 7-step framework that turns launches into breakthroughs: 1. Build anticipation, not just awareness Swift's cryptic countdown posts drove millions into detective mode. Create mystery before revelation. Tease features, don't announce them. Let your audience solve the puzzle. 2. Treat timing as a creative choice Radiohead released when the industry said "impossible." Their timing made a statement about value. Your launch date is part of your message. Choose it like you choose your words. 3. Plan for the long arc Most creators go silent after launch day. The best ones create seasons, not moments. Map content for 90 days, not 9 days. Think campaign, not event. 4. Map your content ecosystem One launch needs multiple content formats. Behind-the-scenes videos for YouTube. Process breakdowns for LinkedIn. User stories for testimonials. Each piece feeds the others. 5. Build community before you need it Swift had Swifties before she had albums to sell. Start building relationships today. Engage in comments, not just posts. Your launch audience should already know you. 6. Design feedback loops Launch, listen, adapt, repeat. Every comment is data for your next move. The best launches become conversations. Plan how you'll respond, not just how you'll speak. 7. Create momentum multipliers Design each piece to generate the next piece. User-generated content campaigns. Media coverage from early adopters. Referral programs that reward sharing. Success should snowball, not plateau. Your creative work deserves a creative launch. Stop treating the rollout like an obligation. Start treating it like an opportunity. ♻️ Share this with someone ready to launch their work strategically 🔔 Follow Kabir Sehgal for frameworks on creativity

This is the most underrated problem I've seen when trying to build or expand partnership GTM: Leadership is initially fully behind a new partnership, excited about its potential, but that enthusiasm never makes its way down to the sales teams who are expected to execute. Without alignment, even the best partnership can stall before it has a chance to succeed. Why does this happen? Sales teams are often focused on their core products, and if a partnership doesn’t clearly benefit them or fit into their day-to-day operations, it becomes an afterthought. To turn things around, you need to make sure your partnership incentives, compensation, and training are in lockstep with the teams that will be selling your product. Here’s how to align incentives and drive results: 1. Ensure your incentives are compelling enough for frontline teams. It’s not enough to excite leadership—sales teams need a clear, tangible reason to sell your product. - Introduce a financial incentive or bonus structure that’s competitive with what reps earn on their core products. This could be a one-time bonus for the first sale, or an ongoing commission that rewards consistent effort. -Tie the incentive to their existing sales goals. If your product helps them hit their targets more easily, they’ll naturally prioritize it. 2. Structure partner compensation to motivate co-selling. If your partner compensation doesn’t align with their core goals, they won’t push your product. - Design a compensation plan that aligns with both the partner’s and your business objectives. For instance, if your partner’s core offering is hardware, incentivize bundling your software as part of the sale to create a win-win situation. - Offer performance-based incentives that reward partners for hitting key milestones—whether that’s a certain number of units sold, a specific revenue target, or even customer engagement metrics. Keep it simple and measurable. 3. Provide consistent training and engagement so your product isn’t just another checkbox. Sales teams won’t advocate for your product if they don’t fully understand its value or how to sell it. - Develop ongoing, bite-sized training sessions that fit into their schedules. Instead of overwhelming them with lengthy sessions, focus on 15-minute, high-impact trainings that teach them how to identify the right opportunities. -Pair training with real-time support. Join sales calls, offer one-pagers, and provide direct assistance during key customer engagements. When they feel supported, they’re more likely to feel confident pushing your product. This kind of alignment can make the difference between a stalled partnership and a thriving one. When sales teams are motivated, equipped, and incentivized to sell your product, the partnership stops being just another checkbox—it becomes a key driver of growth.