Reilly Milton

There's a goldmine of authentic, insightful moments that lie untapped in our daily video conversations. Finding, editing, and using those video clips at scale in GTM campaigns is a heavy lift for sales and marketing teams. That's why I'm pumped to see the launch of Vidoso, an AI-powered video repurposing platform that makes it easy for marketing teams to find those moments and repurpose video content fast. As a long-time friend and advisor to Sharad Verma, I’ve seen firsthand Vidoso's ability to make repurposing video as easy as copying and pasting text. Encourage my network of marketing leaders to check it out and request early access here: www.vidoso.ai

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The biggest mistake marketers are making with ABM? Jumping in before the GTM team is tightly aligned on ICP and the fit + intent signals that matter most. This often comes with additional problems: Letting Sales arbitrarily select target account lists —> we make it much harder on ourselves if we don’t use fit and intent signals to prioritize ICP accounts and prospects that are most likely to buy and get immediate value Spray and pray tactics —> high volume, transactional, low quality, generic outreach just results in your whole TAM blocking and unsubscribing ABM without rigorous data standards —> using dirty/outdated data to multi-thread, to show up everywhere for target accounts, to (gulp) automate any part of your ABM workflows = playing with fire Piping in a bunch of signals without a clear plan of action —> just creating distracting noise (results in wasted $$ and muted Slack channels) Teams taking action on random signals without GTM alignment/coordination = total chaos Sendoso is a direct mail and gifting platform, yes. But gifting is so much more than sending swag or gift cards in exchange for a meeting. It’s a high impact ABM art that helps revenue teams take timely personalized actions with the right people to deepen relationships, increase pipeline conversion rates and speed up deal cycles. To do this well, our team uses a variety of signals to select the right accounts and automate thoughtful, personalized engagement touchpoints across the entire customer journey, from segmented outbound marketing to sales interactions with ABM accounts and creative direct mail campaigns that deliver a delightful experience for buying committees. We’re obsessed with data quality/accuracy, and partnering with the best signal providers is crucial for us. I’m so excited about the UserGems 💎 Signal Platform announcement today! We’re loving their signal library and workflows. If you’re also obsessed with data-driven, account-focused marketing and thoughtfully automated workflows, they’re an amazing addition to the marketing stack.

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Younger Americans are starting to use generative AI in place of search engines, like the traditional Google experience. Most trusting the results. Consumers continue to gravitate to AI tools. Note, this was before Google released Gemini fully to the current search experience, it is obviously growing. When mobile started to take hold as the NEXT platform, builders focused on responsive design for the physical device. We wanted experiences optimized for each platform - mobile, PC, or Tablet. Will generative AI represent responsive design by way of the software experience? Creating personalization truly at scale for every single interaction digitally... by way of context from one search to the next. This fundamentally changes the keyword strategies for SEO and SEM marketers... how do you model conversation? We provided the whole deck in the link below. - Thanks to Andrew Melnizek, Helen Havlak, Jacob Kastrenakes, Kara Verlaney - Design from the awesome Diana Y. - Research and thought leadership from Sebastian Fernandez at The Circus

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Does your CEO really want to know how many MQLs and SQLs your marketing produced this month? Probably not. Today's marketing playbook vastly differs from the one that worked so well two years ago, including what gets reported internally. I was recently invited to speak to the Arizona Innovation Marketing Association, and I chose to discuss how my marketing playbook has changed. In my talk, which I titled, "The Rebellion of ROI: Why It's Time to Throw Out Traditional Marketing Playbooks," I shared five game-changing shifts forcing a complete rethink of the playbooks we used two, even five years ago. And the first big shift is to admit your CEO doesn't care about MQL's or SQL's. I call it a shift because they used to care about them. Not that long ago, marketing teams were being told Sales needs more "top of funnel LEADS." So Marketers created a bunch of gated assets and threw a gazillion "Marketing-Qualified Leads" over the wall to Sales. Except they quickly learned that someone downloading an eBook is almost never ready to book a sales demo. And in the end, while Marketing could claim success by generating thousands of leads, CEO's and CFO's were focused on driving revenue, not leads. This led to questions like "so how many leads do we need to produce $X in revenue?" In Q2 of last year, I stopped reporting lead numbers. The traditional "MQL" was simply too disconnected from revenue. At the same time, we also took the radical step of ungating all of our assets, which naturally caused our lead count to plunge. Instead, I shifted to reporting inbound pipeline and outbound pipeline produced through marketing outreach efforts (our SDR sits in Marketing, not Sales). The only leading indicator we report is inbound demo requests. Guess what? I've not been asked for MQL or SQL counts in more than a year. The reality is investors are no longer funding growth without profitability, so aligning our marketing efforts to revenue helped prove that our modest marketing investments are producing pipeline. Reporting on pipeline also enables us to report Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) tied to pipeline and revenue (10X and 29X respectively for last year). How has your marketing reporting changed in the last two years?

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Networking is not sales. Product is not everything. Did I realize this all too late...or...will I reach my goal of securing 500 new customers with just 64 days to go 🚀 Current status 0/500 🙈 (although I did get 10 leads and 2-3 requests for more info in my inbox from the first video). For video #2 - I mark a pivotal shift in my journey as an entrepreneur - from product to sales. I think my investors have been waiting on this one for a while - but I honestly just would not be able to sell something I didn't believe in. I needed to get Worthmore that point first. I feel we have finally arrived. I have so much to learn during this challenging transition, but I am giving everyone a front-row seat to the crazy ride including today's video "Switching gears from Product to Sales," where I talk a bit about the foundations for my plan to secure these initial signups. One thing I talk about is tools that can streamline our sales/lead generation process and social media consistency. Currently I am trialing #MondayCRM and #Sked. Got recommendations on others? Drop them below! By the way - to all the marketing and content agencies that snuck into my DMs :D - if you were thinking we have lots of money and a big team writing our posts, editing the videos, and distributing the content, you would be very wrong haha. Currently - as far as sales and content goes - this is a one-man adventure (although there are some job openings on The Hub to be checked out for those interested). Anyway, thank you for all the support you guys have shown me on video #1. It has led me to my first warm leads, and makes me feel like I am on a good pace for our #ZeroTo500 goal and beyond. Here's to doing the crazy things that don't scale in an effort to win the game one subscriber at a time. #WorthmoreJourney #ImpactfulEntrepreneurship #TechForGood #StartupLife #InnovationInAction #CommunityImpact #TheNordicWay #MondayCRM #Sked

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You can’t create a brand in a vacuum. Companies that succeed align their brand with their customer. Yet so often, companies believe they can simply whip up a positioning out of thin air or invent a new category without doing the hard work to understand who they are and who their customers are. To do this right: 1. Start with questions about yourself: →Who are you? →What do you care about? →What do you stand for? →How are you different? 2. Then, conduct deep research with your customers to discover: →Who are they? →What do they care about? →What do they believe? →How do you resonate with them? 3. Lastly, align 1 & 2 with the following: →Product →Brand identity →Messaging →UX Design →Channel Selection →Customer Success A brand isn’t just a concept that exists on paper. It’s rooted in reality and brought into being by executing at every touchpoint between you and your customer. It takes effort but the clarity you gain from this exercise will yield massive dividends. ✌️

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I am having conversations with marketing leaders daily and I'm worried. You are not ready for ABM 😥 You are REALLY not ready 😫 Your organization is thinking that you can buy a Big Box ABM technology and it will be plug-n-play and the vendor will guide you..... but THEY WON'T 😣 💡 Account-based GTM success, at its core, is about the collaboration of the revenue team strategy to accelerate pipeline and shorten sales cycle by prioritizing your ICP. It's about mutual equal respect and teamwork 😍 💡 Your conceptual understanding of ABM is unfortunately a far cry from reality. Gaining sales' attention and buy-in to such a large paradigm shift is really hard if you are not sure what to expect I know where the ABM spiders 🕷 are lurking in the closet 🕸 . I've stood up 6 ABM environments. I am very knowledgeable about using the Big Box ABM platforms (6Sense, Terminus, ZoomInfo Intent etc) and intent data intelligence (Bombora, TechTarget etc), but my biggest value to you is the business strategy framework, as well as navigating the behavioral and operational needs of ABM (Role of SDR, CRM usage, KPIs, and metrics ). ⭐ Today I am extending myself as your ABM Coach and Advisor⭐ I really care about your business' success and I care that your marketing team feels good about their jobs and that the process is as simple as possible. For that reason, later this week I am launching.... ✨ FREE Account-Based GTM Template Toolkit ✨ I have templates for ICP definition, ICP Tiering, GTM revenue team models, SWOT analysis, Buyer Journey mapping to dictate content strategy, and more. I am also offering.... ✨ FREE Weekly ABM Free Office Hours ✨ As you need more attention I am available as an affordable advisor and coach to derisk and accelerate your ABM GTM. ABM services organizations are offering long engagements with ungodly pricing for consultation and that is NOT ME and NOT my objective. My goal is to empower and enable the people within your organization to have independence and confidence. I want everyone to SHINE ☀ 😎 and be an example that when working together as one revenue team we can go further and faster than we ever could on our own! I have several workshop packages and advisory hours to help reduce the risk, track the right metrics, and create collaborative behaviors to accelerate pipeline and shorten sales cycles. Message me if you are interested and spread the word that help is here! I am also happy to speak with investors, CEOs, and any strategic leader who would like to understand the reality of successful ABM. Please comment with topics that you would like me to address during office hours! I'd love to hear your suggestions! #abm #abx #abmgtm #gtmstrategy

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Your TAM isn't as big as you think If you're a founder, founding AE or just an early sales rep. Remember, not every SMB in North America can use you your product... Most GTM teams get this wrong. Especially at the early stages. The harsh reality is that your TAM is typically a fraction of what you think it actually is. But this is ok... The earlier you are, the smaller it should be. Narrow the focus WAY in and go really hard into a sub-vertical. Your marketing, product and engineering team will love you for it. Get some traction, then slowly expand the scope. Doing too much too soon will break you and leave you spinning your wheels.

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I'm doing yet another product hunt launch: https://lnkd.in/esHrd4hX CalendarHunter helps you discover hidden meeting scheduling links like Calendly. CalendarHunter can help you find leads on Linkedin, Twitter, and Reddit. The tool is still early stage so any feedback is welcome. #ProductHunt #GrowthHacking

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🔥 Say goodbye to the spreadsheet grind! 🚀 With @ZoomInfo, I'm unleashing my team's potential by ditching the manual contact hunt. No more wasted hours! Get streamlined, get focused, get ZoomInfo! 💪 #NoMoreSpreadsheets #ZoomInfo #SalesSuccess

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Here’s a recent timeline of the types of CMO darlings. Which one are you? 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟖-𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟐: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟 🤫 After the economic crash, companies were in dire straits and marketing was one of the teams most impacted by layoffs. So execs wanted CMOs who could still get things done even on shoe-string budgets and tiny staffs. And definitely don’t ask for more money because it’s simply not there. Unless you’re in engineering. 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟐-𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟕: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 ✍️ The rise of content marketing and emotional brand commercials. Execs wanted CMOs who could translate their cold, boring, tech into heart wrenching, engaging narratives. This is when many companies started claiming to change the world with their widgets. It was all about backgrounds in brand. And it wouldn’t hurt if you were great at building internal company culture too! 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 📈 Especially on the startup world, money was flowing to companies who could prove their ability to grow at all costs. Execs wanted to hire CMOs who could make that hockey stick happen for their revenue. They needed aggressive growth hackers, savvy digital marketers, and performance-minded demand generators. Having a background in analytics > brand. 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟 (𝑎𝑘𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑒 𝐺𝑜𝑎𝑡) 🧙‍♂️🐐 As the economy slowed and companies in every sector took a hit on their P&L, execs looked to CMOs who promised to buck the trends and still drive growth but at lower costs. Profitability is the name, making money without spending it is the game! Most CMOs who understood the impossibility of the ask were either fired for not promising the impossible; or, used the time to clean up the inefficiencies left by The Grower. And ultimately, they still faced the question “why aren’t you growing the business by 50%+ YoY despite an across-the-board economic pull back?” 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝: 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐷𝑜𝑡 𝐴𝐼 🤖 I’m looking into my crystal ball🔮 what’s next? As consumers begin reopening their wallets, they’re doing so with much more critical eyes. While they used to be swayed by The Storyteller’s emotional taglines, then The Grower’s compelling discounts, now they want to know that the product they are buying is the best fit for their specific needs AND budget. They won’t be bamboozled. Plus the market is crowded with choices so they want to know what the differentiation is. We are going to see the rise of the PMM oriented CMO. But that’s not all! We are also in the midst of the AI evolution. And CEOs will want to know that their marketing execs are leveraging all the cost savings and scaling greatness that AI unlocks. So in many ways the next gen CMO will need to be the Termintator version of all their predecessors, combined! #cmo #careeradvice #marketing

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PitchBook is *the* source for meaningful capital market data for private equity, venture capital, and M&A. That’s why it’s so incredibly rewarding that Gong has been able to help them turn their own unstructured sales data into highly actionable insights. They’re able to onboard reps quickly and convert pipeline, all while also exceeding their customers’ expectations. PitchBook and Gong, both helping people do their jobs better — together. 🤝 Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/gG9EKDjv

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Meet the people-first GTM funnel. Mark and I were having dinner together last week and mapped out this entire model (a lot more to come), but I think it represents how people buy today. All right, let's break it down... There are two things to think about first before getting into the funnel. • Qualification: Meet your ideal customer profile through firmographic, demographic, and psychographic rules. • Intent: Understand signals from subscribers, members, and customers for better sales and marketing actions. Subscribers: Capture your ideal audience with high-value content. Aim for qualified subscribers who fit your customer profile. Subscribers are the new leads. Owned at the forefront vs rented. Members: Build an engaging, free, or paid community to network and discuss. Aim for members who meet your criteria. Customers: Offer tailored products and services to fit customer needs and increase usage and retention. Turn customers into advocates. So there you have it—a real and tangible way to measure whether you're doing and following People-first GTM. Much more to come on this. What do you think? Disagree? Agree?

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Yesterday, I ran a GTMsession for GTMfund portfolio company founders and their executive teams with the brand and content marketing legend, Udi Ledergor 🏳‍🌈. (🤔 GTM what now? GTMfund… GTMnow…) Yes, we have more words attached to the acronym GTM, though not widely talked about since they’re internal. GTMsessions are monthly private digital live sessions on various go-to-market topics, led by an executive operator who is an expert in the field. They’re available to GTMfund portfolio companies and their executive teams. Being closed-door and not open to the public, these sessions allow any and all questions to be comfortably asked, the conversation tailored to be hyper-specific to startups and their current concerns, questions, etc. We didn't even get through half of the moderated points that I had prepared because the questions for Udi just kept rolling in (a good thing, that's the point of these sessions). Udi dropped some 🔥 insights that we’ll share more on later, but for now, Stan Rymkiewicz nailed summarizing key takeaways on how Gong thinks about content creation and distribution that I've dropped in the comments. One key pain point discussed in the session was the challenge of keeping up with the ever-changing landscape of content marketing. It often feels like by the time one strategy is implemented, its effectiveness has already diminished. So, what’s next? How do you stay ahead of the curve? Since GTMsessions are private, their recordings aren’t shared openly. However, the feedback was so phenomenal that we knew other revenue leaders could benefit from the conversation. If you’re a revenue leader looking to understand the future of content marketing and stay ahead of the curve: Join me for a GTMnow digital live event with Udi Ledergor 🏳‍🌈 , Jon Miller, and Pete Lorenco. You'll learn from them how to stay two steps ahead and walk away with content tactics and inspiration. 🗓 June 18th at 10:00 AM PST / 1:00 PM EST 👉 To register: https://lnkd.in/gsdsai23 (pictured here: two passionate hand talkers 👋 )

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Ditch the Ads, Get Real People! Why Influencer Marketing Crushes Google Ads Ever feel lost in a sea of search results? Google Ads can be great, but they don't build relationships. ‍♀️ Influencer marketing taps into trust and authenticity. Influencers your target audience already follows and admires are recommending your product? Now that's powerful! Here's why influencers win: Real-life experience: People trust people, not faceless ads. Influencers showcase your product in action! ‍♀️ Targeted reach: Find influencers whose audience perfectly matches yours. Engagement boost: Influencers spark conversations and get people excited! Influencer marketing feels less like selling and more like a friend's recommendation. So ditch the impersonal ads and try the power of influence! ✨ #InfluencerMarketing #MarketingTips #GrowYourBusiness

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Who's headed to Vegas next week? If you're there for a final farewell to the Mirage (RIP volcano, Seigfried and Roy), that's great. Even better — let's meet up at the Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference (Gartner for Sales). Here are a few of the sessions I plan to check out. What on your list? What else should I add to my agenda? - How Intelligent Sales Apps Turn Reps into Experts with Tony Kavadas & John Heald of SAP — May 21 at 11:45 am - How to Win Over Elusive Economic Buyers with Value Selling with Steve Richard — May 22 at 10:00 am - The Top 5 Technologies CSOs Need to Invest in to Improve Buyer Engagement and Experience with Melissa Hilbert — May 21 at 04:00 pm - The Balanced Sales Playbook: Blending AI and Conventional Techniques with Adnan Z.. — May 22 at 10:30 am I'll also be hanging at the Mediafly booth ready to talk all things value selling, enablement, content management, coaching — most importantly revenue growth. #GartnerSales https://lnkd.in/guU6kk47

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Sell something people want to buy. 5-years ago a few former SDRs and Santa Barbara Vaqueros/Gauchos convinced a couple Stanford Engineering adjunct professors to help them build a dream product for salespeople. The world's first AI sales phone system built specifically for the SDR / outbound workflow. Something to help us hit our goals as SDRs. We had all felt the grueling work needed to succeed as Sales Professionals. The day in and day out with no guarantee you will make 50% of your salary as a commissioned rep. How can we make that life easier? How can we help ourselves and our peers impact our markets more? Let's build something we would want to buy and improve our own lives. 5-years later and thanks to the 130+ people and 1k+ customers who have joined to make this happen, we're once again named a G2 Market Leader for B2B Sales Phone solutions! Go Orum, Go! And we're just getting started!! #ColdCall #sales #Prospecting

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Let’s get your organization out of the GTM slog and onto a growth trajectory! If your company’s GTM strategy is ad hoc & reactive, you’re rolling in the slog. To escape & get on a trajectory of growth you’ll have to move your GTM program’s maturity to a level of >2. So can you still have success in the slog? Sure! Sometimes. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Our ultimate goal here is to build a GTM ‘machine’ that can have repeatable success. Here’s a breakdown: 🌱 GTM Level 2: Emerging At this stage, GTM efforts are often unstructured & reactive: Inconsistent Processes: Marketing & sales activities lack standardization Limited Market Understanding: Basic knowledge of the target market Ad Hoc Campaigns: Sporadic marketing efforts, not part of a cohesive strategy Isolated Teams: Sales & marketing operate in silos Basic Metrics: Performance measurement is rudimentary & often not actionable 🌳 GTM Level 3: Defined Here, the approach becomes more structured & proactive: Standardized Processes: Defined & documented marketing & sales activities Deep Market Insight: Thorough understanding of customer segments & needs Coordinated Campaigns: Integrated marketing efforts aligned with business goals Collaborative Teams: Enhanced collaboration between sales & marketing Measurement: Detailed & actionable performance metrics to inform strategies 🌉 Key Challenges in the Chasm Navigating this transition involves addressing several critical challenges: Scalability: Moving from ad-hoc processes to standardized, scalable operations. Robust systems & infrastructure are essential Process Standardization: Establishing clear GTM processes, including sales methodologies & marketing campaigns Cross-Functional Alignment: Ensuring all departments work towards common goals. Clear communication is key Data-Driven Decision Making: Shifting from intuition-based decisions to data-driven strategies. Implement analytics tools for insights Resource Allocation: Efficiently allocating resources to areas driving significant impact. Prioritize scalable growth & customer satisfaction Customer Experience: Enhancing interactions across all touchpoints. Refine the customer journey & ensure teams deliver exceptional service Market Understanding: Deepen knowledge of market dynamics, customer segments, & the competitive landscape. Crucial for refining GTM strategies 🌟 Start Your Engines! Successfully crossing the GTM chasm enables companies to achieve a mature, efficient, & scalable GTM program. This transition is critical for sustainable growth & long-term success. By crossing this chasm, companies can: -Move from reactive & tactical to proactive & strategic -Position for accelerated growth -Establish themselves as market leaders Understanding & addressing the chasm is essential for achieving GTM fit & maximizing market potential. Are you ready to take your GTM to the next level? 🌐 #GTM #GoToMarket #Marketing #Sales #Growth #Strategy

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