Predictable Revenue

Predictable Revenue Framework

A systematic approach to building a scalable, predictable B2B sales machine — the outbound prospecting system that helped Salesforce add $100M in recurring revenue.

Core Principle

Predictable lead generation drives predictable revenue. The biggest mistake in sales is having the same people prospect AND close — specialization creates a repeatable, scalable machine. Traditional cold calling is dead; Cold Calling 2.0 (mass, personalized cold emails that generate referrals to the right person) is the new outbound.

Scoring

Goal: 10/10. Score a sales process 0-10 by awarding 2 points for each of the five Quick Diagnostic rows it satisfies (prospecting/closing separated, defined outbound process, 3-month pipeline predictability, known lead-type mix, standardized SDR→AE handoff). Bands: 9-10 = role separation plus a repeatable process that predicts pipeline; 5-6 = some specialization but ad-hoc prospecting or unpredictable pipeline; ≤3 = one person prospects and closes, revenue depends on heroics. Always give the current score and the specific diagnostic rows blocking 10/10.

The Three Types of Leads

Not all leads are equal — treat them differently.

Key insight: Most companies over-invest in nets and under-invest in spears; seeds are the best but can't be manufactured quickly. Invest accordingly — customer success and referral programs (seeds), content and paid acquisition (nets), SDR team (spears).

See references/lead-types.md when deciding where to invest — it sizes the seeds/nets/spears budget split by company stage.

Sales Role Specialization

The #1 principle: separate prospecting from closing. When AEs prospect and close, they hate prospecting and pipeline becomes feast-or-famine.

SDR (Sales Development Rep)

Generate qualified pipeline: research target accounts, send Cold Calling 2.0 emails, get referred to the right person, qualify with ANUM, pass to AEs. Not their job: closing, inbound leads, or existing customers. One SDR typically generates 10-20 qualified opportunities per month — measure opportunities, response rate, meetings booked, and pipeline value.

AE (Account Executive)

Close deals from qualified pipeline: run discovery, demo, negotiate, close, hand off to CSM. Not their job: prospecting (SDR), inbound qualification (MDR), or post-sale management (CSM). Measure revenue closed, win rate, average deal size, and sales cycle length.

CSM (Customer Success Manager)

Retain and grow accounts: onboard, drive adoption, surface expansion opportunities, prevent churn. Measure net revenue retention, churn rate, expansion revenue, and NPS/CSAT.

The virtuous cycle: SDR generates pipeline → AE closes → CSM retains/grows → happy customer refers (Seeds).

See references/roles.md when defining a new role or org chart — it has full charters, career paths, and hiring profiles for each role.

Cold Calling 2.0

Outbound prospecting that replaces traditional cold calling, which fails on every front: 1-3% connection rate, gatekeepers, brand damage, no scalability.

1. Build list → 2. Send mass email → 3. Get referral → 4. Call the referral → 5. Qualify

Step 1: Build Target Account List

Define your Ideal Customer Profile (company size, industry, tech stack, geography, pain points), then build the list via LinkedIn Sales Navigator, ZoomInfo/Apollo/Clearbit, or industry directories. Target 200-500 accounts per SDR per quarter.

Step 2: The Referral Email

The core innovation: don't email the decision maker — email above them and ask for a referral down. Senior people forward emails, and referrals get 3-5x higher response because the introduction comes from inside the company. The email asks one thing — "who is the right person?" — under 100 words, no pitch, no attachments, no links, easy to forward. Response rate: 9-15% vs. 1-3% for traditional cold emails. For the verbatim template, subject-line open-rate table, and the full Day 1/3/7/14/30 sequence bodies, open references/cold-calling-2.md.

Step 3: Follow Up

The break-up email on Day 14 often draws the highest response in the sequence — people respond to losing the opportunity (scarcity).

Step 4: Qualify with ANUM

Call structure: rapport (2 min) → set agenda ("understand your situation, see if there's a fit") → discovery questions with ANUM built in (10-15 min) → next steps (if qualified, schedule AE demo).

Step 5: Hand Off to AE

Include account background and ICP match, contact details and role, pain points, ANUM notes, agreed next steps, and competitive intel. SDR introduces AE on a brief 3-way call or email, then drops off.

Ethical boundary: Comply with spam laws (CAN-SPAM, GDPR) and honor opt-outs immediately — including removing a hostile "stop emailing me" from the sequence on the spot, not at the next scheduled touch.

See references/qualification.md when running the ANUM discovery call — it has the full discovery question bank per criterion.