How founders are scaling sales—before hiring reps
AI is reshaping sales—and redefining what great leadership looks like
AI didn’t kill sales—it’s just changing who wins.
This week, I’m breaking down how founders are using AI to generate real leads, write better emails, and lead with more clarity—before they ever hire a rep.
Today’s agenda:
🎯 AI is redefining lead gen—from top to bottom
🪴 Your foolproof, 5-email nurture series
🎙️ Podcast: Modern challenges require modern systems
💼 Briefly: Brand storytelling, faster learning, & Google’s AI Mode
⏱️ Up & coming: The founder’s edge in the age of AI
📈 How founders are scaling sales—solo
Manual prospecting. Cold emails that flop. SDRs spending hours chasing “maybe later” replies.
That’s the old playbook.
👇 In this week’s video, I break down how founders are using AI to flip the script—generating smarter leads and better conversations before they ever hire a sales team (or to make a small team feel 10x bigger).
⚒️ Tools I cover:
🎯 Clay + OpenAI: Build lead lists using real-time signals: funding, tech stack, role changes
✉️ Lavender + Smartlead: Write human-sounding cold emails that get opened (and replied to)
🔮 MadKudu + Leadspace: Score and prioritize leads before you ever reach out
Plus, I walk through the 4-line cold email formula that’s outperforming the usual outreach—and share a ChatGPT prompt I use to uncover objections that shape entire campaigns.
This isn’t the “future of sales.” It’s what’s working right now.
🔁 From cold lead to booked call (in 5 emails)
Most leads aren’t ignoring you—they’re just not ready yet.
This sequence moves them from curious to converted without sounding like a drip campaign. It’s the exact framework I’ve used to warm up cold leads and turn silent inboxes into booked calls.
Here’s the structure at a glance:
Email 1: Set expectations. Offer value. No pitch.
Email 2: Frame the real problem—so they know you get it.
Email 3: Deliver a quick win that builds instant trust (a tip, template, etc.).
Email 4: Show proof your approach works—not just a list of features.
Email 5: Extend a natural next step—demo, call, trial—no pressure.
💡 Pro tip: Each email builds on the last—but Email 3 (the quick win) is where trust really clicks. Make it sharp, useful, and zero-pressure.
👉 See the full breakdown + tips for what to include
🤖 AI helps me hear what I miss
Even high-performing founders miss things.
⬇️ In this short clip from a recent podcast appearance, I share how I use AI to catch what slips through the cracks in 1:1s and team meetings—things like unspoken frustrations, unmet needs, or subtle cues you might've talked right over.
Here’s the three-part play:
👉 Prompt AI to analyze meetings
“What did I miss while thinking about my next point?”
👉 Personalize your leadership
Stay tuned to your team’s real goals, frustrations, and motivations.
👉 Leave room for silence
Most leaders talk too soon. If you wait, people tell you what they really need.
🎧 In the full episode of the Sales Leadership Podcast with Rob Jeppsen, I go deep on how elite leaders use systems to lead better, scale faster, and build real trust inside their orgs. Listen here.
Briefly
🏠 Homepage traffic is up 15% for B2B brands—even as overall clicks drop—thanks to AI Overviews rerouting search behavior. This study breaks down why branded presence now matters more than ranking page-by-page.
📖 Most startups lead with features—but the ones people remember lead with story. This piece explains 10 ways to make your brand stick by turning real problems, customer wins, and cultural relevance into a narrative that actually connects.
📚 Learning everything is slowing you down. This guide offers a smarter way to master new tools and skills without burning out—using micro mastery, strategic constraints, and focused effort to build momentum.
🎨 Creativity isn’t a brainstorm—it’s a system. This article outlines how to keep your team’s creative edge sharp in an AI-heavy world, using structured constraints, reframing, and a culture that celebrates smart risks.
🧭 Google’s AI Mode could cut publisher traffic by 50%—and it’s just getting started. This piece maps out three survival strategies founders should be thinking about now: diversify, go direct, and make your brand unforgettable.
Up & Coming
As AI takes over more tasks, leadership is being redefined. IQ and EQ helped leaders get here—but they won’t be enough to lead from here forward. The edge now is meaning.
When AI can handle the knowledge and assist with empathy, what’s left is purpose—the ability to connect people’s work to something bigger. That’s what drives performance, retention, and culture in this next chapter.
This article makes the case that meaning isn’t just a feel-good bonus. It’s becoming the only part of leadership AI can’t touch.