# Conclusions

**Source:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk5MpA2ckTI
**Title:** Stop Cold Calling, Do This Instead
**Speaker:** Dan Martell
**Duration:** 4:38

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## Core thesis

Every business either has a **repeatable pipeline** (attention → conversion → customer) or it stops growing. There are only **three ways** to build one — and most founders should stop cold-calling and lean into **partnerships** instead, because it is the fastest and gives you *borrowed credibility*.

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## The only three pipeline sources

| # | Channel | What it is | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | **Publish** | You create content that pulls attention in | Social content, PR, a book |
| 2 | **Paid** | You interrupt people where they already are | Meta ads, billboards, stadium sponsorships |
| 3 | **Partners** | Someone with credibility walks you into their customer base | System integrators, referral partners, alliances |

Rule: **pick one and go all in.** Trying all three at once is why most founders never build a real pipeline.

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## Why partnerships beat cold outbound (especially in enterprise)

- Enterprise sales without a partner is brutal — "you might as well go run an ultra marathon." Dan spent four years in a suit-and-tie at age 24 selling to Fortune 2000 companies and got PTSD from it (why he now refuses to wear button-up shirts).
- Procurement, getting the meeting, getting the deal signed *before someone gets fired or the board reshuffles* — the friction is enormous.
- A single partner walked him into **7 pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey** (Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, etc.) in one shot.
- Partners give you **borrowed credibility** — the buyer is already pre-sold because someone they trust brought you in.

## The economics of the play

- Dan signed **$95K contracts** three weeks after being introduced.
- The **partner (system integrator)** had a **multi-million-dollar contract** with the same account.
- Both sides win — that's why the partner keeps introducing you.

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## The insight: turn one lucky partner into a system

The mistake most founders make: they treat partners as **one-off relationships** instead of reverse-engineering the pattern.

Dan's move: he became a **"professional recruiter of system integrators"** — targeting firms like Tata Consulting and IBM Global Services.

### Reverse-engineering questions to ask about any partner that works

1. Where did we actually meet? (e.g. LinkedIn)
2. What was true about them — role, company type, buyer profile?
3. **How many more people like them exist** on that same channel?
4. Can I create content specifically for that audience?
5. Can I use *their* success story to attract more like them?
6. Can I structure my offer so it's **stupid-easy for them to say yes**?

Answer those and you have a repeatable partnership pipeline — not a lucky introduction.

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## How Dan built the machine (playbook)

1. Identify who *inside the partner org* makes the "who do we bring in" decision.
2. Go to the **events they attend** — not the events your peers attend.
3. Introduce yourself and win the individual over first.
4. Let the partner bring you into their accounts.
5. Deliver — the partner keeps recycling you into more deals.
6. Systematize: content, offer, and story all engineered to attract more of that same partner archetype.

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## Takeaways for founders

- If you can't describe your pipeline in one sentence, you don't have one — you have hope.
- Cold outbound into enterprise is the hardest path. A partner shortcuts months of procurement pain.
- Don't optimize the *deal*; optimize the *partner acquisition system*.
- Ten good partners can replace an outbound sales team.
- Whatever pipeline channel you pick — publish, paid, or partner — commit fully. Half-effort across three channels beats no channel.

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## Who this is for

Founders selling into mid-market or enterprise, agencies, B2B service businesses, and anyone whose deal size justifies a relationship-driven motion (typically $10K+ ACV). Not directly applicable to low-ticket DTC.
