Timeline is The New Resume, Aura Farming, Lead Setting Courtesies, The Right SDR Role, Closing Like an AE, & a GUEST POST

There’s a visceral, lightning connection to a man’s soul when the long nails of a short woman get a deep scratch going on your scalp. In our corner of the world, there’s a call to prove our power and masculinity with every choice we make. When it comes to haircuts, the natural choice in this line of thinking is to hit the barber shop and bro out.

But - here’s the deal with barber shops: You walk in, a familiar old barber greets you in a Paulie Walnuts-esque way, points to the mini-fridge, you grab the same 78% cold Miller Light you grab every time, you sit (there’s hair in your beer), chop it up with Paulie while you scroll Twitter and wait your turn (more hair in your beer), sit in his chair and adjust the cape (hair in your shirt), get the same GTA preset haircut you get every time, and live out the rest of your afternoon with velcro on your back.

Now, that’s not to say that the experience is not valuable in its own right. It’s communal, camaraderie driven, a band of brothers under the blade of a barber. White barber shops, Black barber shops, Mexican barber shops, all critically important watering holes for male communities and ethnicities alike.

But that’s not why I’m writing this article.

You’re different, anon. You’re esteemed. You make tactical choices and float above the norm. You might even make decisions in full confidence you know your buddies would shit on you for.

Like go into a salon.

But - here’s the deal with salons: You walk in, a mousy Zooe Deschanel-esque brunette greets you like that chick you ran into at some parties in college but never pursued, asks if you’d like anything to drink (of course champagne is okay), you look around (there’s 3 rockets with curlers in and a soccer mom), neg Zooe about her pink highlights while she gets your chair ready (you don’t wait long here - you’ve got an appointment) sit down as she buttons your cape (not one hair will slip below your neck), gives you a haircut a woman would like while you hold court with her and the whole shop, and then, the grand finale: a deep scalp shampoo and massage.

Walk out with a great haircut, more confidence, no itch, and more trackwork laid for a mutually beneficial relationship with Zoe and her salon patronettes.

I’m not saying to rip up your barber shop habit immediately. All I’m saying is, scope out some salons around you, make a few calls, see which receptionist sounds the cutest and book a session.

If you hate it, Paulie’s always there to take you back.

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.

I had my first 1:1 with my manager last week, and the first thing he said was:

“I can’t believe I’m talking to Pipeline F*cking Papi”

We ended up talking about how wild it is to go from posting on X to landing at what’s arguably the best tech company in the world. And he said something that stuck with me:

He’s right. And it’s already happening.

You never know what kind of opportunity can come from this app. Side work. A job offer. A referral. A connection that changes everything.
That’s why your timeline is your résumé.
Every post either adds credibility, or chips away at it.

That doesn’t mean you need to sound like a consultant on every post. Don’t be afraid to have some fun. Get creative. Add personality. Most of the guys around here are tech bros and sales bros, so it’s cool to be yourself. Be interesting. Be sharp. Be someone people WANT to follow.

And keep this in mind: don’t get too into the political weeds. That kind of energy is a waste of time and is always going to piss someone off. If you need to let it fly, make another burner. That’s what they’re for.

So with that in mind: tweet like someone’s watching… because they are.

Papi had a tweet this week about SDR Success Maxxing and it really inspired me to add it. What a damn list though brotha, have to give you some props ((Big James Bond MAXXXR)):

Yo, pull up a chair, ‘cause Daddy Lindy’s dropping some knowledge.

Never get mogged in a Zoom meeting with your SDR or sales team. Step one: don’t look rough on camera. Rock a clean shirt, comb your hair, and skip the hat (not never, but hoodies and caps daily? Nah, anon). Good lighting, camera on. You can’t aura-farm or handsome-maxx with a blank screen.

Bring the vibes: smile, exude energy, and small-talk like a pro. Ask your manager, “Yo, boss, break that course record this weekend?” Chat about golf, football, or stocks, trust me, it pays off. Your team will crown you the “Ball Knower.”

Guess who the VP of Sales doesn’t chat with? The dude who spent all weekend gaming. Don’t be boring. You’re in sales—obsess over aura. Try this:

Your manager and VP need to know you’re hungry for that bag. You love nice dinners, rock a sharp watch, and yeah, you’ve got a Peter Millar shirt for every day. Aura and rizz? Non-negotiable in sales. That top-performing AE who seems to coast? There’s a reason… people buy from folks they like (and, yeah, maybe wanna vibe with, professionally).

Be the sports guy. Be the vibes guy. At the company offsite? Order that martini “shaken, not stirred” wink at the bartender, CEO watching.

Or just watch Casino Royale and Skyfall. Channel 007. Do what James would do. You’re welcome. Until next time, keep enjoying life.

What’s upppp my people. Been a long, long week and I’m unda the weather. No need to fret, we are going to hash over a very simple topic that is really easy to fudge up as a new BDR.

When you are a BDR, you have a quota of meetings that you have to hit - usually. When it’s high, some BDR’s rely on booking trash leads for demo’s.

We all know we’ve had a couple *winkwinks to your AE to get you a last meeting for the month, but you have to earn that right. If you are a BDR that is saying “I don’t care who they are, if they show and I get paid it’s all good”….

You probablyyy aren’t going to climb the sales ladder. You are going to get sniffed out at some point (the larger the org the more these folks are prevelant). How to spot this: show rate.

You want your show rate - the number of people who show to a demo divided by overall demo’s booked - to be over 70% as a standard metric. If a reps show rate is below that, you have an idea they book **** for their AE’s.

And guess what? Those AE’s are not gonna want you to be their BDR. That is the worst point to be at with an AE, them wanting literally anyone but you. As covered in our previous newsletter, having your AE’s LOVE you is absolutely key to your success.

So as a courtesy, make sure you are not just trying to get Anyone on a demo, you are taking your job seriously and qualifying each lead you speak to. If you become known as the BDR that only delivers

leads and your AE’s rave about your ability to do so, you are going to get a lot of love by your team. And if you’re not, refer to my other write-up on when to know you need to leave your Org ;)

Have a killer weekend everyone! I am going to Nash to go see my Pats live, it’s the little things in life!

-QC

Breaking into tech sales is hard - especially now, as more people chase it and the job market gets tougher.

But saying yes to the wrong SDR role can kill your momentum before you even start.

Trust me - I almost accepted a role at a different org, and I can promise you I wouldn’t be where I am now if I had said yes just to say yes.

Here’s the reality: getting an offer isn’t the finish line.
It’s where the real decision starts.

So before you accept that first SDR offer, ask yourself these four questions:

Are reps actually hitting numbers?
If no one’s hitting quota, that’s not a you problem - that’s a company problem.
Talk to current reps and ask what % of SDRs hit quota last quarter.
Then go check the data yourself on RepVue.

2. Product-Market Fit

Is the product a “must have”, or just a “nice to have”?
You’ll feel the difference on every cold call.
Outbound sales is already a grind - selling something with weak PMF makes it 10x harder to succeed.

Go on LinkedIn.
Are SDRs getting promoted, or do they leave after 6–9 months?
Worse yet - are they stuck in the same role for 18+ months?
That’s your red flag.

This one’s underrated.
DM someone who works (or worked) there. Ask what it’s really like.
I once turned down an offer after talking to a current SDR who told me how bad management was.
Best decision I ever made.

Getting your foot in the door is huge - you should be proud of that.

But don’t say yes out of desperation.

The goal isn’t to land any SDR job. It's to land the right one.

Until next week.

– Rook ♜
X: @rooktorep

When I first started out as an AE, I was doing okay.
Like, I was hitting quota, running around 30 demos a month, and closing maybe two or three deals each month. So on paper, it looked fine but deep down, I knew I was leaving a lot of deals on the table.

Looking back, it’s obvious why.
I was just reading the company script, asking all the pre-written questions, following the same demo flow every time. I wasn’t really selling. I was basically just talking at the prospect for 75% of the call.

And you could tell, people would zone out halfway through the demo, nodding along but clearly not that interested.

Then by month three, I was like, “You know what, I’m doing this my way.”
I stopped reading the script. I stopped forcing the deck. I just started talking to people like a normal human being.

Every demo, I’d pull up their website and say,

“Hey man, tell me a little bit about what you’ve got going on what are you trying to do right now?”

And that one change made all the difference.

My close rate went from around 10% to 20–30% in the next few months. I even had a couple months where I sold literally 80%+ of my self booked demos (small sample size, was only about 5-10 demos those months, but still pretty good). I was finally having real conversations, like, actually going back and forth with people instead of just reciting features and benefits.

When I started being curious, asking better questions, and making the demo about their business, everything clicked. People stopped ghosting me. Follow-ups turned into deals. And honestly, it just became more fun.

So if you’re a new AE, yeah, you’ve gotta learn the STRUCTURE first. Know the process, understand the flow. But once you’ve got that down, drop the script.

Be curious. Be yourself. Make it about them.
That’s when you’ll actually start closing deals.

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.