Tara Kinney

I just read an interesting assessment from Emergence Capital about the evolving nature of SaaS GTM and the influences and changing dynamics of how we grow our companies. It's interesting to see the trends playing out in this report and the way we are feeling them here at Leadspace. 🐝 AI is blazing a trail through our business and our customers' businesses. We are cutting through the buzz and getting to what can impact the efficiency and effectiveness of our business both internally and externally. It's about how to embed new technologies to make our business smarter, faster and drive more customer value. 🏄 The way prospective customers engage continues to evolve in a more intelligent version of the “dark funnel”. It's increasingly easier for prospective buyers to go through the entire buying journey without engaging directly with a GTM team. It will be key to leverage data driven, personalized and adaptive systems that are operating the engagements behind the scenes by connecting data to insights and insights to engagement until the point human beings are ready to interact. ✳️ The role of Sales is changing. In SMB or transactional sales environments, it may be going away as hundreds of agents interact and manage the process. In enterprise, sellers may be most focused on and most valuable in the later stages of the strategic sales motion and throughout the customer lifetime. This further emphasizes the need for a robust agent driven marketing environment as companies need to rethink their entire GTM workflow around AI to focus on the right quality to gain a competitive edge. 📈 If expansion revenue isn't already a core focus of growth, you're probably already behind. We have found that this is a very different motion than the outbound sales motion per se - the expansion motion is most effective when we deliver on promises, make sure the tech delivers measurable outcomes and then with confidence, ask to do more. 🌻 The "grow at all costs" approach is being replaced. Balancing healthy, quality growth and efficiency by acquiring the right customers is what matters for long term momentum and the key to successful short and long term outcomes.

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Price resistance is rarely the real issue when it comes to customer renewals. As a seller, you need to make it clear that value outweighs cost. Learn how to communicate this in your renewal conversations in this article from RAIN Group. https://hubs.li/Q03V19yg0

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Reason No. 4 for why prospects are ghosting you: Irrelevant Content   Hitting the right person with the wrong messaging is definitely not the way to begin a meaningful relationship.   Here’s four things you can do:   ●      Personalize the content to align with the prospect’s vertical industry and persona-based information needs. ●      Create content that answers the questions (i.e., the AI prompts) the prospects are using to research solutions before creating their RFPs ●      Tell them something they don’t know, or otherwise do something to stand out in a sea of generic content. ●      Track prospects’ progress through their buying journeys using all the signals you can pick up (including lead information, intent, technographics, etc…) and retarget them with assets that answer their questions by buying stage.   For tips on the other seven reasons prospects are ghosting you, read this informative report from INFUSE below. #B2BContentMarketing #ContentAdvice #INFUSE

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Big news from Vistage! 🎉 We just launched Strategic Planning by Vistage — a powerful new tool designed to help CEOs sharpen their thinking, deepen their insight, and lead with confidence. Built by and for the Vistage community, it’s a game-changer for members looking to make their next move with clarity. Check out the video to see how it works 👇 #StrategicPlanning #Leadership #Vistage

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Big news from Vistage! 🎉 We just launched Strategic Planning by Vistage — a powerful new tool designed to help CEOs sharpen their thinking, deepen their insight, and lead with confidence. Built by and for the Vistage community, it’s a game-changer for members looking to make their next move with clarity. Check out the video to see how it works 👇 #StrategicPlanning #Leadership #Vistage

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Winning a national MSA should unlock growth - but too often, revenue stalls once execution shifts to the field. The contract provides access.... Activation is what actually drives results. Our latest Executive Briefing - License to Hunt: Turning Large Business Services Account Wins into Actual Revenue - explores why two-stage sales models break down and how to close the execution gap between national sales teams and local branches. Without alignment on incentives, account planning, and sales capability, the “license to hunt” rarely turns into growth. In the briefing we explore: • Why national wins stall locally • Two proven execution models that close the gap • How companies unlock 20–50% revenue growth from existing accounts For business services companies - the upside is significant - faster time to value, stronger top-line performance, and a more scalable commercial engine heading into exit. If this dynamic sounds familiar, connect with Brad Wilsted or reach our Blue Ridge Partners Business Services team at info@blueridgepartners.com. #PrivateEquity #RevenueGrowth #SalesExecution #ValueCreation #BusinessServices

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Almost every new, and even not so new, fractional executive or consultant I speak with has made this error. My new article on Substack addresses how to avoid - or get off - that Revenue Roller Coaster.

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Just read the latest BizBuySell Insight Report. The market isn’t dead — it’s unforgiving to both sides. Deal volume is still moving. Buyer demand is still real. But something has changed: the days of sloppy sellers and low-risk buyers are over. What this reveals about SMB M&A right now is uncomfortable but accurate: The market isn’t broken — the habits are. Here’s where deals are actually dying: For sellers: • Messy financials • Thin margins • Vague value stories • “Someone will pay more” optimism For buyers: • Perfectionist due diligence • Obsessing over every $10K issue on 5 million deal. • Treating cash-flowing businesses like fragile startups • Forgetting the only question that matters: “What’s my ROI in 3–5 years?” Both sides are burning time and leverage arguing over pennies while the real dollars slip away. The winners don’t posture — they move. Sellers get their house in order and price with clarity. Buyers assess risk like adults and close good deals. Markets change. Discipline wins. Here’s the data: https://lnkd.in/gSE5TA-C

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Big news from Vistage! 🎉 We just launched Strategic Planning by Vistage — a powerful new tool designed to help CEOs sharpen their thinking, deepen their insight, and lead with confidence. Built by and for the Vistage community, it’s a game-changer for members looking to make their next move with clarity. Check out the video to see how it works 👇 #StrategicPlanning #Leadership #Vistage

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#39 Why More Leads Are Making Your Consulting Business Worse In this episode, I explain why most consultants are solving the wrong problem. They think they need more leads, more clients, or better marketing. In reality, their delivery model is broken. Adding more clients to a messy, custom, duct-taped business only creates more pressure, more decisions, and less freedom. I share how I learned this the hard way while running agencies and why bigger revenue didn’t give me more freedom, it gave me a bigger cage. I break down why custom work creates hidden costs, why hiring too early increases complexity, and why freedom comes from constraints, not scale. I also explain why clients don’t actually want customization the way consultants think they do, and how productized and group consulting models create leverage without sacrificing results. Finally, I walk through the three core things I would fix in any consulting business: the offer, the delivery model, and client selection. This episode is about stepping back, questioning how your business really works, and building something that supports the life you actually want. https://lnkd.in/e5F4AWHY

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 "𝐇𝐨𝐭 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝": 𝐖𝐡𝐲 90% 𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 You know how many coaches, consultants, and CFOs sometimes get frustrated by engaging with seemingly "qualified" leads that never convert into high-value clients? They’re concerned about inconsistent client acquisition or a low return on strategic investment, and they're worried about the resources wasted on prospects who aren't ready to commit. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. The problem isn't your marketing efforts; it’s your intent. We've been taught that business growth is a volume game. That if we just fill the pipeline, profitability will follow. But what if that belief is the very thing preventing you from closing premium deals? #leadgeneration #contentmarketing #business #growth

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Announcing a business sale can be tricky. 🤝 One wrong move might disrupt trust or hinder deals. Learn how to communicate effectively. Check our blog for insights! https://lnkd.in/emHxPvnA #BusinessAdvice #Communication #tworld

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Big news from Vistage! 🎉 We just launched Strategic Planning by Vistage — a powerful new tool designed to help CEOs sharpen their thinking, deepen their insight, and lead with confidence. Built by and for the Vistage community, it’s a game-changer for members looking to make their next move with clarity. Check out the video to see how it works 👇 #StrategicPlanning #Leadership #Vistage

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Struggling to turn founder-led wins into a repeatable #GTM? Hiring your first AE is a critical step, and they need to be more than just a closer. The ideal first AE is your true builder, partner, and strategist. He turns the founder’s early wins into scalable processes and wears multiple hats, from SDR to account manager, without missing a beat. They analyze every #deal to refine your #ICP and help create a sales motion that actually grows your #pipeline, rather than adding noise. Dear #Founders, I'd love to hear how you're vetting that pivotal first sales hire? #B2BSaaS #StartupSales #SalesTips

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Just got back from the Vertex Conference - one theme kept coming up in nearly every conversation: how vertical SaaS companies are rethinking defensibility in the age of AI. When a model can replicate workflows or generate insights on top of commoditized data, the question becomes: what really sticks? Distribution is back in focus — as product differentiation compresses, how you reach and lock in customers matters more than ever.

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This Week’s Growth-Drive Insights: Elevate Your Advisory Impact 🚀 This week’s roundup delivers three high-value resources designed to help business advisors deepen client trust and win more engagements: 🎧 New Hot Seat Episode — Change Doesn’t Have to Be Hard Tim Rhode shares practical frameworks for driving alignment, accountability, and growth with your business clients — a must-listen for advisors focused on real execution and results. 🎥 Can I Borrow Your Car? — Why Most Advisors Stall (And the Elite Don’t) Sales expert Mike Garrison breaks down how to deliver ROI from the very first conversation. Instead of leading with services or credentials, Mike teaches advisors to lead with outcomes — measurable growth, profitability, and business value. When you frame conversations around ROI, you position yourself as a strategic partner, not a vendor. ☕ Coffee Klatsch Now a Podcast — Biz Dev & Immediate ROI Catch the latest open-forum discussion on business development, client discovery tools, follow-up strategies, and creating immediate client value. 👉 These stories all reinforce one powerful theme: Lead with ROI. Lead with value. Lead with outcomes. That’s how you win trust, deepen engagements, and grow your advisory practice. #BusinessAdvisors #ROI #ClientValue #GrowthDrive #SalesStrategy #ProfessionalGrow https://hubs.li/Q0452Ql-0

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In this episode of Scaling in Public, Lee Kantor and Stone Payton, with special guest Trisha Stetzel, conduct a live coaching session focused on expanding their network of “studio partners”—coaches and consultants who use their methodology to grow their own practices. The team discusses refining their partner profile, leveraging interviews as a marketing tool, and prioritizing outreach to coaches affiliated with larger brands. They set clear targets and actionable steps for the next quarter, emphasizing strategic focus, relationship-building, and the importance of nurturing partnerships for sustainable business growth. #Coaching

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