A guest keynote + day of workshops won't fix your pipeline problem

As we head into SKO season, remember that a guest keynote + day of workshops won't fix your pipeline problem.

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We have to STOP treating pipegen like an afterthought.

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You wouldn't expect win rates to increase by 20% by bringing in a guest speaker for the day.

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The outbound process deserves just as much care, effort, and attention as the sales process.

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Here are a few areas to reflect on heading into 2026:

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✅ Reevaluate & trim down your tech stack

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At a minimum, every rep needs this:

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- Sales engagement platform

- Call recording

- Data provider

- AI (e.g. Gemini or ChatGPT)

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Don't start investing in any automation, AI coaches, etc. if you're not even willing to get every rep (SDR, AE, AM) that's required to outbound access to a sales engagement platform.

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Everything else is a nice-to-have:

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- Dialer

- AI coach

- AI list builders (e.g. Clay)

- Gifting (e.g. Sendoso)

- Video Messaging

- Sales Navigator

- Partner/channel (e.g. Crossbeam)

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And intent data is the biggest waste of sales tech spend...get rid of it.

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✅ Fix the cold call connect rate problem

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Sure, your reps could use a motivational talk to pick up the phone more. And maybe a workshop on how to make better cold calls.

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But you know what would help more?

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Getting more at-bats for your reps.

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150 calls per week = 1 hour of calls per day x 30 calls per hour

5% connect rate = 7-8 conversations

10% booked meeting rate = <1 meeting

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No AE is going to sign up for that.

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Look into TitanX (I don't get paid to recommend them) to increase connect rates to 25%+

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✅ Develop a strong offer for taking a meeting

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Effective offers increase email reply rates by 28%. Our study of 85M+ cold emails with Gong and 30 Minutes to President's Club showed this.

Ideas:

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- If reps can be a customer of the product/service, have them experience the brand

- If you can show the problem, send a video

- Sell the expertise of the person they'll be meeting with

- Do a free audit or assessment

- Give away free stuff (data, a sample, etc.)

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There are hundreds of offers you can make.

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Think about how to make it worth the buyer's time even if they don't purchase your product/service.

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~~~

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A killer keynote isn't going to help your reps create more opportunities in 2026.

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You have to make serious investments in pipegen to build a repeatable system and change your culture to be more outbound-centric.

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