100x in Online Groups, Finessing The Plug, Promotion Szn, LinkedIn Sales Nav, and Dominating Your First 6 Months.

Before we get into today’s piece, I’m hyped to finally announce something I’ve been working on behind the scenes GTM Mafia is FREE & live on Whop.

If you’re a go-to-market pro in tech, SDR, AE, partnerships, growth, whatever, this is your new spot. We’re building a private group with job leads, referrals, tactical playbooks, comp transparency, ghostwriting sauce, AI tricks, and most importantl, A REAL COMMUNITY of outbound killers.

Welcome to The Pipeline Press, brought to you by Pipeline Papi, Lindy Boy, Quota Cowboy, Rookie Rep, & Ant Calabrese. Every Friday, you’re getting stories, tips, job openings, and a little lifestyle drip to keep the edge sharp and the mission clear. PROMOTION, QUOTA, EARNINGS. Follow us on X if you aren’t already, we are all very active in the tech sales space if you want to continue the convo or have any questions.

Let’s get into it.

You can scroll for years, bookmark every cold call thread, and save 200 quote tweets with “value” but none of it will move your career like being inside the right group chat.

That’s why we launched GTM Mafia this week. It’s for anyone in go-to-market: AEs, SDRs partnerships, growth, marketing. If you work in revenue and you’re trying to break through, this is your spot.

👉 Join GTM Mafia on Whop

Here’s an honest truth that I am starting to figure out:
Online Community is more important than your content

When you’re in a real group, you get to talk things out with people who’ve been there. Whether you're stuck in your role, building something, or trying to make a move, someone else has already gone through it and when you're in the room with them, you move 10x faster.

A good group makes you sharper.
A great one changes your life.

You don’t have to figure this stuff out alone. You just need the right room.

GTM Mafia is that room for you!

Sales gawds, biznez believers, commerce cougars… Lindy boy coming to you live from the gutter. JK, been at a confereence this week, writing this at near midnight on the east coast.

First off, thank you (as always) for supporting this newsletter for the every day low value of free 99. It wouldn’t exist without you clicking “subscribe” and opening these emails weekly. 2nd I need to shout out Ant, first week on the newsletter and he’s an absolute GTM weapon.

What does it mean to “finesse the plug”? Maybe it’s not what you think. My generation (borderline millennial) thinks of the plugs as = somebody who can advance your career forward, or that can connect you.

First things first - go make good connections, go network, rip it on LinkedIn, play golf, all of that. You need to be around winners and champions, full stop. A plant grows based on the environment around it. You need sunlight, water, and nutritious soil, my guy.

Then, you need to convince these mf’s you’re HIM. Why should they help you? Why should they plug you in at their company? You’re a reflection of them, good or bad. You gotta sell yourself to them. Everything is sales, you gotta close the plug.

Once you’re a “made man”, you’re pretty much unfuckwittable. Anyways, that’s my short speal. Go run off on the plug (twice).

What’s up everyone, thanks for reading thus far. We’ll be evaluating a very sensitive topic these days, when to leave your current role.

Let’s be real, promotion season has completely slowed down. You probably work with some of those people who joined Tech during COVID, and are wondering how the hell they moved up the ladder. A lot of it was hard work, but there certainly were people who benefitted from the timing of a hot market where teams were growing in size because of crazy valuations.

The reality today is that most organizations and teams are struggling. Their ARR is slowing, reps have blasted their territories to shreds and leaders may be panicking about hitting future targets. I came from an organization that was like this, and was very quickly churning customers. That was my first glimpse into seeing a dying organization, and that I needed to get the hell out.

There are others signs as well that your organization is dying, AKA it is going to be VERY hard to get promoted. Why? Well, because AE’s are fighting to keep their roles in a team that is lookin to get rid of low performers. You may hear an intitiative that “we are having our AE’s prioritize outbound”. This is a warning sign that not only are you going to have a rough time getting promoted, you may need to be worrying about your job security. Because you just may be at yet another bloated SaaS company.

Lastly, if you see tenured IC’s or leadership deciding to leave the company in droves, that is another sure fire sign that it’s going to take a long time for your company to recover and you to get your promotion.

Next we will focus on what to do after you’ve recognized these patterns. As for now, bon voyage!

-QC

Rookie Rundown: The Easiest Warm Leads You’re Overlooking

Last week I dropped a tweet I thought everyone in tech sales already knew.

Turns out… not so much.

Every sales org is trying to find new ways to source quality pipeline: new tools, new tactics, new automations. But sometimes, the best prospects are hiding in plain sight...

In the “Following Your Company” filter in Sales Navigator.

Here’s why it works:
If someone’s already following your company, they’ve shown some level of interest & they recognize your brand. These leads get even better if you work at an open-source software company and deal with developers, software engineers, etc.

This trick instantly changes the psychology of outreach.

You’re no longer a total stranger & you don't need to explain what your company does, because they likely already have a general understanding.

These prospects reply at a much higher rate - because the trust barrier’s already lower.

Most reps are still playing the numbers game (don't get it twisted this is still important)
The best ones?
They play the awareness game.

Once you go into Sales Nav to find your leads start with this, have them in a special flow, & track how well it does for you.

Until next week.

– Rook ♜ 

X: @rooktorep

When I first got into sales, I didn’t have the perfect script or years of experience but I did have one thing: work ethic.

In my first five months as an SDR, I booked so many meetings that the company moved me into a new vertical early so I could start closing. That success wasn’t luck or talent. It came from doing the work at a level most people avoided.

Every morning I showed up by 8 a.m. often earlier while the office was still quiet. I’d put on my headset and listen to calls until dialing started at 9. Some days I made 200 calls, other days 300, but every day I was learning: what worked, what didn’t, how to handle objections, how to keep someone on the line.

Most reps were satisfied hitting the minimum. I treated it like a competition. Our KPI was three meetings a day. I didn’t leave until I hit three and if I missed, it wasn’t for lack of effort. I rarely went a day without booking at least one.

That volume made me dangerous on the phones. I started to recognize tone, timing, and buying signals instinctively. Week after week, I stayed near the top of the leaderboard usually number one, sometimes number two.

What set me apart wasn’t a secret strategy. It was elbow grease, showing up early, staying late, and being willing to outwork everyone else.

The lesson is simple:
You don’t get good at sales by talking about it. You get good by doing it — over and over until the phone stops being scary and starts being your edge.

Currently hiring for:

Reach out to him here on X if you fit that description.

P.S. The Pipeline Papi SDR Bot is live. Your SDR copilot for custom cold call scripts, objection handlers, discovery questions and more, for EVERY Prospect. Built to make booking meets 10x easier.