Thinking
Writing worth reading.
On revenue, sales leadership, and the uncomfortable truths about founder-led growth. No filler. No 10-part LinkedIn threads turned into posts. Just things I actually think.
The Fullstack Salesperson Returns: How AI Reshapes B2B Sales by 2030
The SDR / AE / AM split was an industrial-era response to scale problems AI is about to solve. Here's what B2B sales teams will look like in five years — and what to do about it now.
Read the piece →The AI-Augmented Sales Manager: Systemising FAQs So Managers Solve Novel Problems
Most sales managers spend their week answering the same questions over and over. AI can absorb that work — freeing managers to do the cognitive work the team actually needs from them.
From Meeting to Proposal in Hours: AI Plus Brand Skills for B2B Sales
The gap between a strong discovery call and a sent proposal is where most B2B deals lose momentum. Here's how to compress it from days to hours without dropping quality.
Building a Business Development Claude Project: Sales Collateral to Prospecting Engine
How to build a Claude project that uses your existing sales collateral and real interactions to drive signal-led prospecting — without losing the human judgment that makes it work.
What Is Clay and Why B2B Teams Talk About It
Clay went from niche GTM tool to mainstream outbound infrastructure in two years. What it actually is, what it does, and whether it's right for you.
How to Build a Signal-Based Outbound List in Clay
Signal-based outbound targets accounts when they're most likely to buy. Here's how to build it in Clay — and why it outperforms static list prospecting.
HubSpot Implementation Cost UK: What You Pay
HubSpot licence costs are published. What you pay for implementation and configuration is less clear. An honest breakdown for UK B2B businesses.
HubSpot CRM Review for B2B Founders
HubSpot is the default CRM for B2B growth-stage businesses. An honest review of what it does well, where it falls short, and who it's actually right for.
How to Set Up Apollo.io (And Why Most Don't)
Apollo.io is one of the most capable outbound platforms available. It's also one of the most commonly misconfigured. What a proper setup actually involves.
Clay + Apollo + HubSpot: The Outbound Stack
Three tools. One connected prospecting motion. Here's how Clay, Apollo, and HubSpot fit together — and what it takes to get the integrations right.
Clay Alternatives: Waterfall Enrichment Tools
Clay is the default enrichment layer for B2B outbound. Here's what else exists, the genuine alternatives, and how to pick what's right for your stage.
Apollo Deliverability: Domains & Mailboxes Setup
Getting Apollo deliverability wrong is easy and the damage lasts. Complete setup: domains, DNS, mailboxes, warm-up, and sending limits — done properly.
How to Onboard and Ramp a New AE
Most B2B companies onboard sales hires slowly and haphazardly. A 90-day ramp plan that gets new AEs to productivity without founder dependency.
Best Apollo.io Alternatives for B2B Outbound (2026)
Apollo is the go-to for B2B outbound at the growth stage — but not right for everyone. An honest look at the main alternatives and who they actually suit.
What to Audit Before You Hire a RevOps Consultant
Getting value from a RevOps engagement depends on what you bring. Here's the diagnostic to run first — and what it tells you about where to start.
Outbound Prospecting for B2B Founders
Cold outreach earns its bad reputation. Here's a practical framework for outbound that generates real pipeline rather than burning your domain.
AI Won't Fix a Broken Revenue Function
Every sales team is being told to adopt AI tools. Most of them have more pressing problems. Here's how to tell which situation you're in.
When Is It Too Early for a Fractional CRO?
Not every business is ready for fractional commercial leadership. Here's how to tell if you're at the right stage — and what to do if you're not there yet.
How to Run a QBR That's Actually Worth the Time
Most QBRs are glorified recap meetings. Here's how to structure one that moves the business forward rather than reviewing what already happened.
Build a Sales Commission Structure That Works
Most commission plans either overpay for mediocre performance or fail to motivate the people you want to keep. Here's how to design one that does neither.
How I Actually Use AI in RevOps Work
Not the theoretical version. The specific ways AI tools (Claude primarily) show up in my day-to-day RevOps and fractional commercial leadership work.
How to Fix a Broken Sales Forecast
If you can't predict next quarter's revenue within 20%, your forecast is broken. Here's why that happens and how to fix the underlying problem.
HubSpot vs Salesforce for B2B Startups
The wrong CRM choice costs more than the licence fee. Here's an honest comparison for B2B founders at the stage where this decision actually matters.
Hire Your First AE (Why Founders Get It Wrong)
Hiring your first AE before the process exists is one of the most expensive mistakes in B2B sales. Here's how to do it in the right order.
Seed to Series A: Revenue Function Changes
What works at £500k ARR stops working at £2M. Here's the specific infrastructure you need to build before (not after) you raise a Series A.
How to Write a Sales Playbook (That Gets Used)
Most sales playbooks live in a folder nobody opens. How to build one your team will use — and why the process of building it matters as much as the output.
AI Sales Tools: What Actually Matters
Every week there's a new AI tool promising to transform sales. Most teams are getting distracted. A framework for deciding what's worth your attention.
B2B Sales Metrics That Actually Matter
Most B2B founders track activity metrics and hope they translate. Here are the metrics that tell you what's actually happening — and what to do about it.
Fractional vs Full-Time CRO: Real Cost Comparison
The numbers look very different once you account for employment cost, time-to-value, and what you're getting. How to think about the comparison honestly.
How to Define Your ICP (Without Making It Up)
Most B2B businesses have an ICP document that doesn't match their actual best customers. Here's how to build one from the data you already have.
RevOps vs Sales Ops vs Marketing Ops: The Difference
Three terms often used interchangeably, and shouldn't be. What each one actually means, how they relate, and why the distinction matters for your business.
Series A Sales Infrastructure Checklist
What your revenue function needs to look like before and immediately after a Series A. A practical checklist for B2B founders.
Founders Are the Worst Salespeople
Not because they can't sell — they're often brilliant at it. The problem is they're too good, and the business has organised itself around that fact.
The Founder Extraction Playbook
How to systematically remove yourself from the day-to-day of sales without revenue dipping. The steps, the sequence, and what makes it hard.
How to Qualify Beyond BANT (And Why You Should)
BANT is a 60-year-old framework that was designed for transactional sales. Here's what to use instead for complex B2B deals, and why it matters.
How to Build a Sales Process From Scratch
Most B2B businesses don't have a real sales process, just a founder who sells. Here's how to build one that works without them.
HubSpot for B2B Founders: What to Actually Set Up
Most founders set up HubSpot badly and then blame the tool. Here's what actually needs configuring, and what you can ignore until later.
Pipeline Stage Definitions with Exit Criteria
Vague pipeline stages are the root cause of most forecasting problems. Here's how to define them properly, with exit criteria that mean something.
Fractional CRO Cost in the UK (And What You Get)
Fractional CRO pricing in the UK varies widely and isn't always transparent. Here's what the numbers actually look like and how to think about the return.
Fractional CRO vs Head of Sales: Which Is Right?
Two different solutions to the same problem. Here's how to tell which one your business actually needs, and which one tends to go wrong.
What RevOps Actually Means (And What It Doesn't)
Revenue Operations is one of the most used, least explained terms in B2B. What it is, why it matters, and what founders usually get wrong about it.
Signs Your Sales Process Is Founder-Dependent
Most founders don't realise how dependent their revenue is on them personally. Here are the signs, and why they matter more than the pipeline number.
What Is a Fractional CRO? When You Actually Need One
The term is everywhere. The explanation usually isn't. Here's what a Fractional CRO actually does, who it's right for, and what it's not.
Why Your CRM Is Lying to You (How to Fix It)
The pipeline number your CRM shows you is almost certainly wrong. Not because the tool is broken, but because the system around it is.
The Case for Fractional (And When It Isn't)
Fractional commercial leadership is having a moment. Some of the enthusiasm is justified. Some of it isn't. Here's how to tell the difference.