Chat app ads 💬 Email reality check 📧 AI’s big payday 🤖

Sales is changing fast. This week, we look at why your cold emails are actually failing (it's not the medium), how AI is rewriting the rules of B2B buying, and the etiquette secrets of Silicon Valley. Plus, a look at why "channels" don't save bad stories.

The Art of the Deal: Tactics & Psychology

#123: Cold Email isn't dead. You just suck at it

It is easy to blame the channel when results dip, but this piece challenges the notion that cold email is obsolete. The author argues that the bar has simply been raised; generic outreach no longer survives the inbox filters or the prospect's attention span. This is a wake-up call for SDRs and AEs to audit their technical setup (deliverability) and, more importantly, their relevance. The article provides resources to move away from "spray and pray" toward precision targeting that actually converts.

Source: Florin Tatulea | Prospecting from the Trenches

Strategy, Narrative & Brand

Robinhood ignored the fear and finally joined Reddit

Robinhood faced a massive reputation challenge on Reddit, with thousands of users discussing them in uncontrolled threads. Instead of hiding, they launched their own community to regain control of the narrative. This is a vital lesson for social selling and reputation management. B2B sales reps often fear entering communities where prospects are critical, but this case study shows that engaging directly and owning the space is the only way to turn detractors into users.

Source: Foundation

What Founders Need to Know for 2026

Selling to founders requires understanding their world. Mark Goldberg discusses the investment philosophy for the coming years, focusing on conviction and building a "real edge" at the earliest stages. Sales professionals targeting startups can use these insights to align their pitch with what founders are currently stressing about: proving unique value and securing runway for 2026. Speaking the language of investor expectations makes you a strategic partner rather than a vendor.

Source: GTMnow by GTMfund

Growth Guide: How to Acquire More Users

While this is a marketing-heavy guide, it provides a full-funnel view that every modern sales leader needs. It covers competitor analysis, messaging testing, and retention—areas where sales feedback is critical. Understanding how marketing acquires users allows sales teams to provide better feedback loops. If you know how the lead was acquired and what message they saw, you can tailor your opening discovery questions to match their specific entry point.

Source: Demand Curve

AI's Impact on Revenue & Retention

IBM Study Finds Executives Expect AI to Drive Revenue Growth by 2030 Despite Uncertainty

A new global study from the IBM Institute for Business Value reveals that 79% of senior executives expect AI to be a significant source of revenue by 2030. For B2B sales professionals, this highlights a massive shift from AI as a cost-cutting tool to a primary driver of top-line growth. However, only 24% of leaders have a clear roadmap for this revenue, suggesting a major opportunity for sales teams to lead the strategy on AI integration. The report also notes that organizations scaling AI across multiple workflows anticipate 55% higher operating margins. Sales leaders should focus on integrating AI into core business activities rather than keeping it as a siloed experiment to avoid the 68% failure rate predicted by worried executives.

AI Trends for Sales and Marketing in 2026: The Core of Retention

This analysis highlights that by 2026, AI will no longer be an isolated module but an integral part of CRMs, connecting marketing, prospecting, and post-sales information in real-time. This integration is designed to reduce silos and increase the accuracy of business decisions, particularly in customer retention and account expansion. For B2B sales, the opportunity lies in 'AI-guided operations' where data from the entire customer lifecycle is used to predict churn and identify upsell opportunities. Companies that master AI as infrastructure rather than a complement will gain a significant competitive advantage in maintaining long-term revenue stability.

A Business That Scales with the Value of Intelligence

OpenAI's leadership outlines their focus for 2026: closing the gap between AI's potential and its daily practical use in the enterprise. They highlight that revenue growth is now directly tracking with available compute power, and as AI moves into financial modeling and scientific research, new economic models like licensing and IP-based agreements will emerge. B2B sales teams should prepare for 'outcome-based pricing,' where the value created by the AI is shared between the vendor and the customer. This represents a fundamental shift in how revenue is negotiated and maintained, moving away from flat fees toward a partnership model based on the 'value of intelligence.'

Market Watch & New Channels

Ads in your chats

With OpenAI's revenue skyrocketing, the conversation is shifting toward how these platforms will monetize further—specifically through ads in chat interfaces. This represents a potential seismic shift in digital advertising inventory. For sales and marketing professionals, this opens up a new frontier for paid acquisition. Just as Google Ads defined the last two decades, "Chat Ads" could define the next, offering a new way to intercept high-intent buyers during their research phase.

Source: ben's bites

ChatGPT apps are about to be the next big distribution channel

This guide explores how building apps on the ChatGPT platform can serve as a massive distribution channel. It's not just for devs; it's a strategic play to get your product embedded in the workflows of millions of AI users. Tech sales professionals should view this as a partnership and integration opportunity. If your product can live inside ChatGPT, you reduce friction and increase discoverability, potentially bypassing traditional sales hurdles.

Source: Lenny's Newsletter

How to Build Lasting Buyer Momentum in B2B Marketing

This article explores the concept of 'mental availability'—ensuring your brand is the first one a buyer thinks of when a specific trigger occurs. For B2B sales professionals, this means moving away from short-term, high-pressure campaigns and toward a strategy of persistent presence. By identifying specific buying triggers through data and analytics, sales teams can deliver personalized content that resonates at the exact moment of need. The strategy requires tight alignment between marketing and sales to create a seamless buyer experience. By focusing on long-term momentum rather than immediate conversion, sales teams can build the trust and credibility necessary to win in a market where buyers prefer self-guided, rep-free journeys for the majority of their research.