Merry Christmas! To celebrate this festive season, we’re offering to help B2B SaaS and Services firms build their outbound sales systems for FREE.

Option 1: SDR/BDR System Optimisation

This is best for companies who are already doing outbound.

The goal here is to make your BDRs and SDRs more efficient and effective with their outreach.

(watch the video at 00:20 for full details)

Option 2: Automated Outbound Campaigns

This can be implemented for your Tier 2 and 3 target accounts, to automate outreach sequences via email and LinkedIn.

We will help you set up everything — from the strategy, to tech stack infrastructure, to messaging and sequences.

Why Are We Doing This?

Justin and I realised that we're best at helping companies set up systems, instead of providing services like most agencies do.

We get bored of the repetitive tasks very easily, and we believe companies should own their outbound system instead of relying on agencies.

That's why we're offering to help companies set up their system for free, to prove that we can bring value before exploring longer-term partnerships.

Who Is This For?

* B2B SaaS or Services

* 11-50 employees OR $1-5M revenue

* Preferably already doing outbound

* If not doing outbound yet, at least have a working channel that's not referrals

Our Projects So Far:

* HR Services

* YouTube Services

* Recruitment Services

* Recruitment B2B SaaS

* Construction B2B SaaS

* Insurtech B2B SaaS

* HRMS B2B SaaS

* CX B2B SaaS

This offer will stay available until we cap out on our capacity (around 3-5 more clients).

If you're interested, DM me "outbound system" and let's see if we'll be a good fit.

Merry Christmas!

Today is day 23 of our “$10k in 30 days” challenge — 19th December 2025.

Here’s the breakdown of our inputs so far:

* Day 1: 100 voice notes sent

* Day 2: 100

* Day 3+4: 21

* Day 5: 11

* Day 6: 32

* Day 7: 22

* Day 8: 72

* Day 9: 25

* Day 10: 0

* Day 11: 63

* Day 12: 36

* Day 13: 3

* Day 14: 41

* Day 15: 17

* Day 16: 15

* Day 17: 11

* Day 18: 3

* Day 19: 2

* Day 20: 20

* Day 21: 33

* Day 22: 4

* Day 23: 39 (today)

Total no. of outreach: 670

Total no. of replies: 94Reply rate: 14.03%

Total no. of positive replies: 50Positive reply rate: 7.46%

Total no. of meetings booked: 21Booking rate: 42%

Total no. of clients: 6Conversion rate: 28.57%

As we started onboarding clients and having to take more calls, my outreach numbers dropped. Surprisingly, my reply rates have gone up (watch the video at 01:25 for the stats comparison between days 1-8 and days 8-23).

I can confidently say we've made more progress in these past 3 weeks than the previous 3-6 months, so here are my top 3 lessons I've learned from this period:

Lesson 1: Focus on actions over results

In the past, I got too caught up with trying to get the perfect business model and results, than I ended up not taking much action.

Now, I just focus on taking fast actions instead of overthinking things.

For example, I would spend hours writing my outreach script before reaching out to anyone in the past. Now, I just whip something up in 5mins, start my outreach, and fix it on the fly.

I've probably only done 3 revisions since my first script and I'm still getting 7.46% positive reply rate (industry average is probably 1% or less).

Lesson 2: Importance of a good offer / lead magnet

Our current initiative involves us building outbound sales systems for companies for FREE - no monthly retainers, no hidden fees, and they own the system after we help them set it up.

We're doing this to gather more case studies, while validating the use cases for our product.

Sure, it's not scalable, but it's already given us a ton of market feedback that's helping us iterate our solution.

We're optimising for speed, not scale.

Lesson 3: Standing out from the market

One prospect I reached out to mentioned he receives 50-100 LinkedIn DMs a day, yet mine was the only one he replied to (and we hopped on a call within 30mins).

That's because I spent the time to send a personalised voice message (and it happened to be the right timing).

We adopted the same approach for our service offering - while others are charging monthly retainers, we're offering to help businesses set up a system they can own.

Now, we've even extended it to our list building product.

While others are paying monthly subscriptions and hiring GTM engineers to stitch together different tools, we're offering an on-demand, fully-custom, credits-based model where people just tell us:

* What list they want to build

* What data points they need

* What data points they already have

And we’ll return them the exact list they need, wherever they want it (CRM, Clay, n8n etc...)

It’s all about standing out in the market.

Now, it’s figuring out how we can 10x this!

Today is day 8 of our “$10k in 30 days” challenge — 4th December 2025.

Here’s the breakdown of our inputs so far:

* Day 1: 100 voice notes sent

* Day 2: 100

* Day 3+4: 21

* Day 5: 11

* Day 6: 32

* Day 7: 22

* Day 8: 72 (today)

Day 3 and 4 were the weekends, so numbers dropped.Day 5 I had a summit, so the whole day was gone.Day 6 and 7 I struggled with the lists.Today is day 8, and I failed to hit 100 as well.

And here are the results:

* 21 positive replies

* 8 meetings

* 1/10 free setup confirmed

The complete numbers breakdown is as such:

* 358 voice notes sent

* 21 positive replies (5.9% positive reply rate)

* 8 meetings booked (38% booking rate)

* 1 client onboarded (3 pending)

Experimenting with New Offers

Initially when we first started the challenge, we reached out with the proposition to help B2B sales teams set up their outbound sales systems for free, in exchange for a case study.

Over the weekends, we went to revisit the initial traction we got for our product when we first pivoted months ago, and realised list-building was the one thing we hated the most during our agency days.

So we spun up a list-building offer towards agencies and reached out to agencies to validate the offer.

Interestingly, the responses have been pretty encouraging with 6/21 positive replies coming from this segment even though the volume is way lower.

We even had one immediate enquiry, which is a good sign.

My hypothesis on this is because we felt the same pain ourselves, so our messaging resonated with the agencies themselves.

3 Lessons I Learned

i. The list is the most important

With a targeted and qualified list, it’s way easier to both craft messaging for outbound campaigns, or to do manual outreach.

Without a proper list, more time is spent on cleaning the list than on prospecting itself.

ii. It’s easiest to solve your own pain points

When we came up with the messaging to agencies, it was easy because we felt the same pain.

I believe that’s why it’s translating into better results from our outreach to that segment.

iii. Follow-ups are important

Many of my replies came from the follow up messages, not the initial voice note.

Currently, I’m manually recording the first voice note, before pushing them into HeyReach for the automated follow-up campaigns.

The early signs are encouraging, but we need to do a better job with our own list-building to improve our efficiency and effectiveness with our prospecting efforts.

If you hate list-building like us, check out our website for our new approach and angle to list-building.

The past month has sucked.

I fell sick on 2 separate occasions — once with HFMD, another with influenza.

It made me spiral into a cycle of self-doubt (and little action).

Circumstances have made me need to prioritise revenue generation over product development.

So here’s what we’re planning for the next 30 days:

$10k in 30 Days

Given that I have financial commitments to fulfil, we need to prioritise profitability and cash flow. That means that I can’t wait for our product to be ready.

Therefore, I’m pivoting back into a services model.

(I’m saying “me” because Justin will still continue building the product)

It’s funny how we pivoted away from our initial services model into building the product, but now we need to get back into the service model.

(s**t happens…)

“AI Sales” / “AI Outbound”

Given our expertise, it only made sense that we focused on “AI sales” or “AI outbound”.

However, my priority will be to build outbound engines that B2B companies can own as assets, not so much the lead generation model we were doing previously.

With our limited exposure in this field, I want to make sure we’re able to deliver results and have solid case studies to back us.

To get us off the ground, I will be running FREE offers to help 10 B2B companies set up or optimise their outbound pipeline generation engine.

At that point, we should have good case studies that we need to secure paid clients.

Back to Basics — Outbound Prospecting + Content

I’ve got a habit of overthinking and over-systemising things before they’re required.

This time, I’m making sure I’m prioritising the right actions.

From an acquisition standpoint, I’m focusing on:

* Cold outreach via LinkedIn and email

* Inbound via LinkedIn content

Everyday, my goal is to hit 100x manual outreach messages — initially with voice notes via LinkedIn.

I’m not expecting much traffic or inbound interest from LinkedIn at the beginning, so I will only do it when I have spare time after I’ve hit my 100x outreach.

Building-in-Public & Documenting My Journey

Again, I don’t want to overcomplicate things here.

My main objective with these content is to keep me accountable, and have a record for me to look back on.

Secondary would be lead generation.

I hope that by sharing my journey in public, it will:

* Keep me accountable (most important)

* Audience can learn from my lessons

* Audience recognises commitment

I know the authority will only come after I’ve posted use cases and case studies, and given that we don’t have any now, the leads won’t come yet.

So I’m not pinning too much on the content bit.

Next Steps

I’m writing this post after my first day of this new commitment.

And I’m proud to say that I’ve already sent out 100 voice notes.

Now I just need to stay consistent and let the results compound.

If you run a B2B company and outbound is one of your acquisition channel, feel free to reach out if you’d like our help to audit and optimise your system for FREE, in exchange for a case study.

Otherwise, I’ll do my best to keep up these updates and keep stacking those actions.

We realised we’ve never really sat down to talk about why we started SalesDuo, so we sat down today and talked through our entire thought process:

* What we learned from running our GTM agency previously

* Why we decided to shift away from our agency and build an AI startup

* Why we decided to focus on account research for B2B sellers

* Our perspectives on the future of sales

* How we’re different from existing options

* Our plans moving forward

In the new age of AI-native startups, a good product is no longer sufficient.

You need good distribution.

That’s why we’re doubling down on our build-in-public journey to share more about what we’re hoping to achieve, and the lessons we learn along the way.

If there are certain things you want us to cover, DM us and let us know.

It’s been 118 days since we started building our startup, but progress has been slow.

Wayyyy slower than we’d like.

Given that we’re a bootstrapped startup, we don’t have much room for slow growth.

We need things to work, fast.

Cold Calling — A Failed Experiment…

Last week, I decided to start cold calling to get a faster feedback loop, because when I don’t get responses from emails and LinkedIn messages, I don’t get any feedback.

However, it’s been a while since I did cold calls, and I’m BAD at it.

I’m overthinking things and doing too little dials.

I thought I’ll get better at it faster, but it’s not a skill I can develop overnight.

Then Justin called me out — “I don’t think you should continue doing this… it’s not your strength”

I thought about it, and what he said is true.

Why am I starting a new acquisition channel when I haven’t even mastered our existing one?

Furthermore, I’ve got better results from other channels. I should be doubling down on those instead of starting a new one.

After reflecting on it, I believe this is the right way to go.

I shouldn’t obsess over what’s the “right channel” to focus on, but more so what’s the “right channel FOR ME”.

At this point in time when we need things to work FAST, I can’t afford to waste time learning and mastering a new channel.

I need to leverage what I already know to get things off the ground before I try something new.

Back to Basics: The “Allbound” Methodology

That’s why we’re getting back to basics and adopting the “allbound” methodology:

* LinkedIn content to drive awareness and eyeballs — “inbound”

* Warm “outbound” to those who engage with our content to spark conversations and book meetings

Instead of building a new skillset around cold calling, I should focus on:

* Improving quantity + quality of my LinkedIn content

* Improving quantity + quality of my LinkedIn DMs

Anything else is a distraction.

LinkedIn will be the main channel I focus on before moving on to any other channel.

Writing Valuable Content for Our Audience

When I consider my own buying behaviour, I realised socials are the new platform for discovery. The tools that I often end up buying — I often found them or heard of them first from LinkedIn.

If I reflect on why our progress have been slow, I realised we haven’t talked much about how we’re different, our story or inspiration for starting our startup, and what we stand for as a company.

It basically means one thing — at this point, we’re just blending into the crowd. We’re not standing out.

In a world where product features are no longer a differentiation or viable moat, distribution is key, and to have meaningful distribution, you need a strong brand and community supporting you.

That’s why I’m going to put more attention into creating more valuable content and more importantly, sharing stories of how we’re helping our customers in a differentiated way from our competitors.

Time to stay focused and execute on this new strategy!

This is part of our CyberGrowth series, an initiative we started while we were running our agency, before we pivoted into building our AI Sales Intelligence platform. In the CyberGrowth series, we discuss proven strategies and tactics to help cybersecurity sales and marketing leaders accelerate their business growth.

Episode Summary

In this conversation, Dean Charlton, Managing Director of DC Cybertech, shares insights into his journey in the cybersecurity industry, the evolution of networking, and the importance of building relationships over hard selling. He emphasises the need for a human element in sales and networking, especially in a post-COVID world where technology has taken precedence.

Dean discusses the significance of trust in partnerships and how he approaches working with companies. He also highlights the exciting future of cybersecurity, driven by the next generation of professionals and emerging technologies.

Episode Chapters

* 00:00 Introduction to DC Cybertech and Dean's Journey

* 02:56 The Evolution of Networking in Cybersecurity

* 05:51 The Importance of Human Connection in Sales

* 08:46 Building Trust and Value in Partnerships

* 12:03 Navigating Competition and Loyalty in Business

* 14:46 The Future of Cybersecurity and Emerging Trends

More About Dean Charlton

Dean Charlton is the Managing Director of DC Cybertech. With a background in technology recruitment and security engineering, Dean has built a vast global network and advocates for a people-first business model.

Connect with Dean Charlton

* Connect with Dean on LinkedIn

* Visit DC Cybertech website

This is part of our CyberGrowth series, an initiative we started while we were running our agency, before we pivoted into building our AI Sales Intelligence platform. In the CyberGrowth series, we discuss proven strategies and tactics to help cybersecurity sales and marketing leaders accelerate their business growth.

Episode Summary

In this conversation, James Alliband, head of marketing at Risk Ledger, shares his journey from technical roles to marketing, emphasising the importance of collaboration between sales and marketing teams.

He discusses the challenges of building a marketing function in a startup, the significance of field marketing in cybersecurity, and the need for a strong content strategy to nurture leads.

James highlights the importance of brand messaging and the future trends in cybersecurity marketing, advocating for better brands and a focus on storytelling over jargon.

Episode Chapters

* 00:00 Introduction to James Alliband and Risk Ledger

* 03:00 James's Journey from Technical to Marketing Roles

* 06:03 Transitioning to Marketing: Insights and Experiences

* 09:57 Building the Marketing Team at Risk Ledger

* 12:49 Sales and Marketing Collaboration: A Key to Success

* 15:50 Field Marketing: Building Relationships in Cybersecurity

* 19:55 Nurturing the 95%: Strategies for Engagement

* 23:50 The Importance of Brand Storytelling in Cybersecurity

* 27:58 Final Thoughts and Future Trends in Cybersecurity Marketing

More About James Alliband

James is an experienced marketer leader with a background in product marketing. He has a proven track record of building strong go-to-market strategies and marketing campaigns in various leadership roles, each contributing to the companies’ increased demand, advocacy, and brand awareness through creative marketing campaigns, product positioning and messaging, and go-to-market enablement.

Connect with James Alliband & Risk Ledger

* Connect with James on LinkedIn

* Visit Risk Ledger website

This is part of our CyberGrowth series, an initiative we started while we were running our agency, before we pivoted into building our AI Sales Intelligence platform. In the CyberGrowth series, we discuss proven strategies and tactics to help cybersecurity sales and marketing leaders accelerate their business growth.

Episode Summary

In this conversation, Kristian shares his extensive journey through the technology and managed services industry. He discusses the evolution of his career from graphic design to IT support, and eventually to cybersecurity.

Kristian emphasises the importance of adapting to technological changes, particularly the impact of AI on business operations and marketing strategies. He highlights common mistakes made by MSPs, effective sales channels, and the need for continuous learning and adaptation in a rapidly changing market.

Kristian also shares insights into the future of cybersecurity and the initiatives enhanced.io is pursuing to support MSPs in their growth.

Episode Chapters

* 00:00 Introduction to Kristian and His Journey

* 06:32 The Evolution of Enhance.io and Cybersecurity

* 12:36 The Impact of AI on Business and Cybersecurity

* 19:27 Common Mistakes MSPs Make and Growth Strategies

* 26:20 Effective Marketing Channels for MSPs

* 31:57 Future Initiatives and Trends in Cybersecurity

More About Kristian Wright

Kristian Wright is the CEO of enhanced.io and a longtime MSP growth strategist. He helps MSPs close the security gaps endpoint tools miss — unlocking new revenue with Open XDR, 24/7 SOC, and compliance-ready reporting.

Kristian’s work has generated over $100M in sales for MSPs worldwide by turning visibility into value, not noise. Named GTIA’s Cybersecurity Leader of the Year in 2025, he’s focused on helping MSPs scale security services without adding complexity.

Connect with Kristian Wright & enhanced.io

* Connect with Kristian on LinkedIn

* Visit enhanced.io website

This is part of our CyberGrowth series, an initiative we started while we were running our agency, before we pivoted into building our AI Sales Intelligence platform. In the CyberGrowth series, we discuss proven strategies and tactics to help cybersecurity sales and marketing leaders accelerate their business growth.

Episode Summary

In this conversation, Ronan Lavelle, CEO of Validato, shares insights into the journey of building a cybersecurity technology company from a service-based background.

He discusses the importance of a channel-first approach, the challenges faced in establishing partnerships, and the criteria for selecting the right partners.

Ronan emphasises the significance of trust and relationship-building in the cybersecurity industry, as well as the future impact of AI and quantum cryptography on digital security.

Episode Chapters

* 00:00 The Genesis of Validato

* 03:01 Navigating the Channel First Approach

* 05:47 Building Strong Partnerships

* 08:43 Challenges of a Channel First Strategy

* 11:49 Selecting the Right Partners

* 14:46 The Dynamics of Partner Acquisition

* 17:44 The Importance of Networking and Trust

* 20:44 Final Thoughts and Future Trends

More About Ronan Lavelle

Ronan is the co-founder and CEO of Validato, a cyber threat simulation platform vendor that simulates cyber attacks to test the effectiveness of cyber defences without actually being under attack.

Ronan is also the co-founder of Elasticito, a managed service provider and reseller of cyber risk and threat based technologies to customers throughout the EMEA region.

Connect with Ronan & Validato

* Connect with Ronan on LinkedIn

* Visit Validato website

* Download Validato whitepaper on cyber threat testing