The Biggest Myth in Sales and Marketing

I had a great conversation today with a friend who is in B2B sales, we haven't spoken in years. But I remember how good he was. He brought in tens of millions in ARR.

You know how you feel you're speaking the same language with a like-minded thinker? That's what it felt like.

He told me something I think is still true.

Too many B2B leaders think that growth is just picking up the phone and cold calling. The Rolodex. The follow-up. The chase.

It got me thinking why this myth still persists.

It persists because it's partially true, meaning it works until it doesn't.

There is a network of people a salesperson will reach just by calling them, and they will pick up. That network has limits.

And more importantly, a call is almost never enough to convert them.

Big B2B decisions are never made on a whim, they take time. It's a journey.

The journey never looks like this:

But looks kinda like this:

We learned this the hard way at Novus, the FinTech portfolio intelligence platform I co-founded in 2007 and later sold to SEI.

How do you expand your reach beyond your current network? How do you increase your conversion rates? Create thoughtful content and engage your customers. Mind the journey.

The ultimate result of this journey will depend on how many touch points you control, and how well you engage your target persona at each touch point.

I know, it's marketing jargon, but that is the language I had to learn.

You should too, if you want to grow your FinTech!