Positioning, Messaging, and Branding for B2B tech companies. Keep it simple. Keep it real.
Last week, Mark Stouse and I continued our Sales Effectiveness discussion and tackled one of the most overlooked aspects of sales effectiveness: people. While technology, process, and efficiency often take center stage in sales discussions, it’s people who drive success—or derail it.
People—not process or technology—are the wild card in sales effectiveness. While process provides structure and technology accelerates execution, it’s our own behavior that makes or breaks success.
AI increases transparency because it forces alignment. In many companies, quarterly reviews expose disconnects between sales and marketing, where each side presents conflicting narratives. AI and analytics provide a single source of truth, cutting through the politics and making alignment non-negotiable.
AI and analytics are already eliminating the gray areas that once allowed for ambiguity and gut-driven decision-making.
The increase in accountability and transparency means business leaders and procurement teams now have deeper insights into a vendor’s performance, trustworthiness, and reliability.
As AI gets better, it will continue exposing inefficiencies and inconsistencies and putting leadership under more scrutiny than ever.
The role of leadership is evolving. The days of managing based on perception rather than reality are coming to an end. Some leaders may need to ask themselves if they’re still qualified to lead.
Mark shared a powerful story of empathy from his former boss, HP CEO, Mark Hurd:
“About 20 years ago, during an interview, a reporter asked Hurd, who was tough as nails, if it was hard to lay off 15,000 employees before the holidays. I’m paraphrasing but Hurd’s response was striking: ‘No, it’s not. In fact. If it were 50,000, it wouldn’t be hard. That decision was based on the best evidence of what needed to happen. But when you start thinking about all the impacts on all these individual families, at that point, it becomes really hard. I’m not exactly a teary guy, but tears kind of came to my eyes. I think that if that doesn’t happen, you’ve lost your humanity.’ Then very quietly and without any fanfare, Hurd allocated all of his roughly $15M HP stock options to improve the severance packages of the most needful people being laid off, some getting as much as $4,000 on top of their severance.”
Great leaders make the hard decisions, but they don’t lose their humanity in the process.
In the next 12-18 months, AI will make the truth undeniable. Organizations that once operated in ambiguity will soon face clear, data-backed accountability.
“Gravity is real. You can jump off a building and say you don’t believe in it, but it won’t change the outcome.”
Mark Stouse, CEO, ProofAnalytics.ai
Watch the full discussion on LinkedIn.
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Chasing efficiency without first ensuring effectiveness is a mistake. Marketing multiplies sales, making it 8x more effective and 5x more efficient. Cutting marketing too soon kills momentum, and short-term thinking leads to long-term failure. Causal AI proves marketing’s impact, helping teams invest smarter. If you want predictable, scalable sales success, focus on effectiveness first, then efficiency.
Last week, Mark Stouse and I dug into a growing issue in B2B sales: why efficiency alone doesn’t achieve sales effectiveness. This is a recap of that conversation.
In a nutshell, you can’t measure efficiency without knowing if what you’re doing actually works.
It’s easy to use “efficiency” as a way to justify cost-cutting. But slashing budgets, laying off employees, and stripping things down without understanding what’s really driving results is not efficiency. That’s just guessing.
“When you hear different leaders talking about organizational efficiency and using AI to become more efficient, for the most part, that is their attempt to reframe a narrative that is really about cost-cutting and has absolutely nothing to do with efficiency.”
Mark Stouse, CEO, ProofAnalytics.ai
If you’re interested, you can watch the LinkedIn Live recording.
Mark and I talked about this before, but it’s worth repeating: marketing is a multiplier for sales.
When done right, marketing makes sales 8x more effective and 5x more efficient, especially in mid-sized, growing companies. Sales follows a linear “value-add” formula. Add more reps, close more deals.
But marketing isn’t linear. It generates demand and builds credibility over time. And when potential customers trust you, selling becomes a lot easier.
“Marketing by definition is leverage. It exists as a non-linear multiplier of the performance of other parts of the business, one of which happens to be sales. Sales without marketing is like fishing without bait. Sure, you might catch something, but it’ll take a lot longer and require a lot more effort.”
Cutting marketing and adding more salespeople won’t solve the problem if the foundation isn’t there. Without strong marketing, closing deals will always be an uphill battle.
There is a common misconception that efficiency equals effectiveness. But there is a difference between doing the right things versus doing things right.
Many companies, especially in tech, prioritize efficiency—often a code word for cost-cutting—without first establishing whether their sales process is actually effective.
Cutting budgets and headcount without knowing what’s driving the outcomes doesn’t just make us leaner, it also makes us weaker. After all, 8 x 0 = 0.
“If you don’t know your effectiveness, there is no way for you to know your efficiency or your cost-effectiveness.”
One of the biggest challenges in tech is short-term thinking. Many startups are built to burn fast and exit fast. VCs pump in money with the goal of flipping a company in 3–4 years, so founders prioritize fast revenue over long-term strategy.
“Some startups fail because they shouldn't have existed in the first place. The market wasn’t ready, and no amount of execution could change that. When a VC tells you to put the pedal to the metal, and if you need more cash to ‘just ask,’ there’s no room for efficiency—just growth at all costs.”
This “growth at all costs” mindset is why 92% of startups have failed since 2007. When the market shifts, companies that ignored building up their brand reputation struggle to survive.
Mark used a great analogy: launching a rocket.
Most of a rocket’s fuel is burned just to get into orbit. Once it’s there, it can stay there with small adjustments. But if you cut the engines too soon, you fall back to earth—and getting back up is 10X harder and more expensive.
“There’s only one shot at a first impression. If the market sees you go up and then come back down, they’ll be skeptical when you try to launch again. Cutting marketing too soon is like taking your foot off the gas in a race and expecting to maintain speed.”
Airbnb learned this the hard way. They built an incredible brand, then cut marketing to save money. When they tried to restart, they had to spend far more just to regain momentum.
Even if you scale back, staying consistent beats turning marketing on and off.
Marketing budgets are always on the chopping block. If you can’t prove impact, expect cuts.
With causal AI tools, like Proof Analytics, companies can measure which activities drive revenue today and tomorrow, making adjustments accordingly.
“If you can’t show how marketing is creating real business impact, expect your budget to shrink. Causal AI is the way forward. Consistency beats the amount of money spent. Radical consistency in marketing wins every time.”
When GTM teams work together, using data to inform decisions, they’re able to prove exactly what drives sales.
To achieve sales effectiveness, we need to know where to invest and why. And the more effective we are, the more efficient we become.
AI and analytics make this easier than ever. Companies that use data-driven decisions to align sales and marketing will win. Those that cut marketing too soon, ignore brand investment, or focus too much on “efficiency” will continue to struggle.
Don’t just do things right. Do the right things.
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B2B marketing, sales, and purchasing cycles vary widely depending on deal size, product complexity, and market dynamics. While sales teams aim to close deals within months, marketing efforts often span years to build credibility and earn trust. Purchasing cycles add another layer of complexity, influenced by internal approvals, budget constraints, and perceived risk. To succeed, B2B leaders must align strategies with these realities.
As a B2B tech founder or marketing leader, you’ve likely asked, “Why isn’t marketing delivering leads fast enough? We’ve invested in demand generation, content, and ads—so what’s taking so long?”
The reality:
If you don’t plan for these timelines, you’ll constantly feel like marketing is failing.
Instead of trying to get water from a rock, set realistic expectations and get aligned with buying behavior.
1. Sales Cycle: The Shortest (3-6 months)
Sales teams focus on converting in-market buyers now. Smaller deals may close within 40 days, while complex solutions can take 6 months or more. But when there aren’t enough ready buyers, the pressure to meet quarterly goals often creates friction with marketing.
TIP: Unearth insights from CRM, causal analytics, and marketing automation tools to identify high-intent leads and potential future buyers. Look beyond contact history by analyzing engagement patterns, attribution data, and brand recall.
2. Marketing Cycle: The Longest (12-48 months)
Marketing’s job isn’t just generating leads. You have to keep building credibility and earning trust with the 95% of buyers who aren’t in-market. Research shows marketing’s impact compounds over time, with only 37% of revenue influenced in the first quarter of a campaign and 50% after six months (Dreamdata).
TIP: Use marketing automation platforms to track buyer journeys, identify opportunities for personalization, and deploy retargeting campaigns that reinforce trust. Integrate data from CRM, email marketing, and social media platforms to maintain long-term brand building.
3. Purchasing Cycle: The Slowest (12-24 months)
Buyers move at their own pace. They take as little or as long as they want. Remember, only 5% of your market is in the process of considering a new solution or replacing the one they already have. And if they don’t remember you when the time comes, you won’t make their Day 1 list.
Purchasing cycles often stall due to internal factors like stakeholder alignment, budget approvals, compliance checks, and risk aversion. Larger organizations with complex solutions face even longer delays. And don’t forget: the safest decision is no decision.
TIP: Causal analytics like ProofAnalytics.ai can map bottlenecks in the purchasing process. For example, you can pinpoint where most deals stall (e.g., legal review, procurement) and provide pre-built templates, tools, and “what-if” scenarios to streamline steps and forecast potential outcomes.
Typical B2B tech purchases are influenced by many factors, including:
Here’s how these three timelines compare:
Explanation:
Here’s how time lag affects ROI:
Explanation:
The time lag means you’re investing in future growth. Expecting short-term campaigns to deliver immediate or long-term results is a fool’s errand.
Long-term results cannot be achieved by piling short-term results on short-term results.
Peter F. Drucker
The complexity of the solution directly impacts timelines for sales, marketing, and purchasing.
Simple B2B Tech (SMBs, Plug-and-Play SaaS)
Mid-Tier B2B Tech (CRM, Security, Custom SaaS)
Enterprise B2B Tech (Hardware, ERP, IT Services)
Explanation:
TIP: Simplify whenever possible. SMB buyers expect faster results, while enterprise buyers require detailed due diligence and customization.
So, what do you do as a founder or marketing leader?
It’s easy to get trapped in short-term tactics because we think they’re either working or not based on the immediate results we get back. But markets don’t shift on a dime and future buyers only remember us if we keep showing up.
For the 5% who are actively looking for a solution, yes, we should target them with lead generation and demand generation initiatives; absolutely.
Sustainable success, however, lies in playing the long game.
Data Sources
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Marketing in B2B tech isn’t a linear process like sales. While sales focuses on immediate outcomes, marketing builds long-term value by creating credibility, building mental availability, and earning trust. This non-linear approach requires patience and consistent effort over time to yield results. Augmenting short-term lead generation with long-term brand-building helps you to stay top of mind and reduce risk.
In B2B tech, Marketing often gets treated like an extension of sales—a linear process where input equals output. Generate leads, qualify them, and close deals. Simple, right? Unfortunately, that’s not how marketing works because buyers care about different things at different times and, therefore, make different choices.
Unlike sales, marketing is a non-linear multiplier where various factors, like market conditions and perceived risk, play a massive role in purchasing decisions. Brands that maintain consistency and frequency, even during downturns, typically stay top of mind and come out ahead of brands that constantly react, switch gears, and change their tune.
This is common in B2B, especially tech. Organizations double down on sales activation tactics like lead and demand generation and then measure against sales results. And because time lag makes it feel like things are taking too long, many marketing programs are nixed and chalked up as failures.
And so the vicious cycle continues. We stop THIS and start THAT. Rinse and repeat.
All this just adds to more needless frustration and pressure for B2B tech founders and marketers alike. When marketing efforts don’t produce immediate ROI, they’re often seen as failures. The truth is, marketing’s power lies in its ability to multiply how brands build credibility and earn trust. It doesn’t show up instantly on a balance sheet but it’s essential for sustaining growth.
The sales process is relatively straightforward. Almost every CRM follows a clear, measurable path from prospects to leads to opportunities to closed deals. Add more salespeople, expect more sales, right? This linear logic feels intuitive and controllable, making it the dominant framework in many organizations.
But applying the same approach to marketing doesn’t work. Marketing doesn’t push leads through a funnel or pipeline. Good marketing builds up appeal when the timing is off (95% of the time) and demand when the timing is right (5% of the time). It’s a lot like farming: planting and tending to seeds, not merely harvesting crops.
Instead of following a predictable input-output model, marketing builds mental availability—the likelihood that your brand comes to mind when a buyer has a need. This process doesn’t happen overnight, nor does it follow a straight line. That’s because buyers care about a diverse range of emotions and inputs. It’s non-linear by nature, requiring consistent and frequent effort over time to achieve results.
Think of marketing like investing in a savings account. Each campaign, blog post, or ad deposit builds on the last, compounding over time. But if you’re expecting an immediate payout—like using an ATM—you’ll be disappointed. Marketing’s impact is cumulative, not transactional.
“Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem. It’s a chance to serve. The magic of ads is a trap that keeps us from building a useful story.”
Seth Godin
The stories Seth is talking about don’t convert instantly. They build familiarity and earn trust, leading to conversions later. This is an important point because when we’re ready to buy, we always think of the best brands—the best for us.
Adding to this, buyers define “the best” based on what aligns with their unique worldview. For some, it may be something like convenience; for others, status. Marketing’s non-linear nature gives us a chance to build mental availability to meet these diverse preferences when the time comes. And that equates to invaluable air cover for your sales team down the road.
One of the biggest impacts on measuring marketing that often gets overlooked is Time Lag. For example, the marketing effort we created in Q1 won’t be realized until Q3 or Q4, or possibly later. And if we sell expensive, complex enterprise solutions, it can take years.
This lag is especially pronounced where long sales cycles and high-stakes decisions mean buying teams need time to evaluate options and reduce perceived risk. Over 50% of B2B decisions result in no decision because that is typically the safest option. Buyers are often paralyzed by fear of making the wrong choice, especially when their reputation or job security is on the line.
Consistent brand-building reduces this perceived risk, positioning your solution as the “safe bet” when the buyer is ready to act.
For example, a consistent brand-building campaign might not generate immediate leads, but it creates the conditions for future success.
A good example is SAP’s “Best Run” campaigns. The initial campaign, “The Best-Run Businesses Run SAP” ran for over 10 years. Variations like the one below ran for another 10 years. SAP is a B2B Marketing case study in consistency and frequency.
When buyers recognize and trust your brand when they are not ready to buy (95% of the time), they’re more likely to engage when they’re ready to make a decision (5% of the time). Without that foundation, you’re constantly climbing a steep hill, competing on features and price alone.
This time lag also explains why correlation doesn’t imply causation in marketing. Just because a specific campaign didn’t directly lead to a sale doesn’t mean it wasn’t instrumental in building the awareness and earning the trust that made the sale possible.
Measuring marketing’s non-linear nature requires a shift in thinking.
IBM’s legacy—No One Ever Got Fired for Buying IBM—is another great example of how a strong brand reputation can provide sales teams with invaluable aircover.
Decades of consistent brand building made IBM the “safe bet” for decades, reducing perceived risk and earning trust. Startups and smaller companies can’t replicate this overnight, but consistent messaging and a focus on building credibility will achieve similar results over time. Where most startups and scaleups fail is a lack of commitment and patience. Without consistency and frequency, a brand’s reputation will always be behind the eight ball.
“But we need leads now!” Yes, of course. Short-term sales tactics and long-term brand-building can coexist. SAP and IBM implemented both. You can also run performance campaigns to generate quick leads while laying the groundwork for future growth through consistent brand-building efforts.
As Jim Collins wrote in Built To Last, don’t get trapped in the “Tyranny of the OR.” The “Genius of the AND” lies in using short-term and long-term strategies together.
Marketing’s non-linear nature is its strength, not its weakness. Performance marketing can be attributed to sales outcomes in the short term. But brand building helps us earn trust and build credibility over the long term.
We need to rethink how we measure ROI because linear and non-linear outcomes are not the same. When both are done right, both support each other and provide priceless air cover for future deals.
Imagine being able to say “No one ever got fired for buying [your solution].” That hill is way easier to climb than always having to start every sales pitch from scratch to prove your value.
Dive Deeper: If you want to see how I helped a B2B tech company do much of what is covered in this article, check out the BELLIN Treasury case study. It’s a good example of how maintaining consistency and frequency can grow a business exponentially.
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The Smallest Viable Market (SVM) is specific. It’s as important for growth as the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). When we focus on the smallest, most specific group of people who truly care about our stuff, we can tailor our message, build loyalty, and drive word-of-mouth. But that requires bravery and accountability.
Anyone on the Product team knows all about the Minimum Viable Product (MVP). It’s the simplest, most useful version of a product. It’s the version that works, even if it’s not perfect. MVPs get the core idea out into the world quickly and continuously improve based on customer feedback.
But what about GTM teams? What about the Smallest Viable Market (SVM)?
Are you as focused on the right people you’re trying to serve as the product you’re trying to build? The SVM is the marketing equivalent of the MVP, and it’s just as essential for growth.
We’ve all heard it: “When you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being nothing to anyone.” That’s because it’s too ambitious. Too universal. Too big. It’s impossible.
The fear of missing out (FOMO) drives this urge. We’re afraid that if we narrow our focus, we’ll lose potential customers. In reality, the opposite happens. A broad, vague message blends into everyone else. Nobody cares because nobody notices.
People don’t buy your product just because it exists. They buy it because of how it makes them feel and how it solves a specific problem they care about. And the only way to show them you can solve their problem is to get specific.
The Minimum Viable Product works because it’s focused. It’s the simplest version that solves a problem. The Smallest Viable Market works the same way. It’s the smallest group of people you can serve and still grow your business.
This isn’t about making compromises or limits. It’s about starting in the right place. When you focus on a small, specific group, you can:
Growth doesn’t come from trying to serve everyone. It comes from serving the right people—the ones who will love what you’re doing and talk about it. That’s how movements start. That’s how momentum builds. That’s how confidence catches on.
So, how do you find your SVM? Seth Godin offers a great answer with another question, “Who’s it for?”
Not “everyone” or “anyone who needs X.” Be brave enough to get specific. Who will get the most value out of what you’re offering? Who is most likely to care? Who will talk about it?
Imagine your first 1,000 true fans. These are the people who love your product so much they can’t stop telling others. Focus on them.
Ask them: What do you really want? Instead of saying, “Here’s what I made. Do you like it?” start by listening. Build something they need. Make a promise they care about.
Being specific is hard and scary. It’s much easier to be vague. If you’re trying to serve everyone, you can always find an excuse when it doesn’t work. But when you focus on an SVM, there’s nowhere to hide. You’ll know if it’s working or not.
That’s why specific marketing is brave marketing. It forces accountability. It demands clarity. And it creates the kind of trust that builds strong brands.
What if your whole business embraced the SVM mindset? What if GTM teams taught the company—including the C-suite—to think about customers the same way product teams think about MVPs?
When everyone is aligned around the smallest viable market, we’re not just building products. We’re creating change for the people we seek to serve.
If you‘ve ever ridden a motorcycle, you know that push-steering is counterintuitive. You push left to go left, not right. That’s inertia at work. MVP and SVM have a similar inertia.
It feels counterintuitive, but starting small leads to big results. SVM doesn’t limit growth. It enables it.
When you focus on serving the right people, you build something that sticks. Sticky things get attention and create buzz. And when people talk, you grow.
Just like the MVP helps you build better products faster, the SVM helps you grow your brand reputation in the right way. It’s not about reaching everyone. It’s about making real connections with the right people.
The Minimum Viable Product is a proven tool for innovation, and the Smallest Viable Market deserves the same level of attention. Both require clarity, courage, and a willingness to focus on the essentials. It’s about progress, not perfection.
To put this into action, identify the smallest group of people who care a lot about your solution. Who are they? What keeps them up at night? Be brave enough to say, “It’s not for you” and specific enough to make a real difference for those you seek to serve.
Dive deeper:
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Struggling to stand out in B2B tech marketing? Start by asking better questions. Here are 12 essential questions to help you uncover real insight, sharpen strategy, improve execution, and measure what matters in 2025. If you’re frustrated by sporadic wins and invisible branding, these questions will help you create clarity.
“We’ve poured our hearts into building a product that truly makes life easier for our customers. What used to take a week, our solution can do in a day. Yet despite all the effort, we’re struggling to get leads. The big brands always get shortlisted. It’s an uphill battle to book demos. Conversion rates are low. Marketing doesn’t seem to work.”
It’s not that your product isn’t good enough. It’s more likely that you are:
Not to mention that 95% of the folks you’re after are not in the market to buy—and likely won’t be for a while.
Plus half of the remaining 5% end up ghosting you and do nothing (because that's way less risky).
This is a good time to rethink, readjust, and get rid of old baggage. There’s no point in continuing to do the same things if they’re not working. That’s insane.
Let’s go back to the beginning and find out what’s causing all the frustration.
Got a marketing problem? Chances are you have an insight problem.
Everything starts with insight (some folks call it diagnosis). The better the insight, the better the outcome. It creates clarity and has a ripple effect:
Better Insight > Better Strategy > Better Execution > Better Metrics to Report.
The foundation for addressing this problem is understanding why these challenges exist.
1. How did our brand progress in the past year?
2. How can we prepare for and leverage the potential of AI, specifically Causal AI, in our GTM strategies?
3. Which relationships (clients, partners, employees) matter most for our brand, and how will we invest in them?
Without a coherent strategy rooted in solid insight, GTM efforts become scattershot.
Reactive, short-term tactics rarely work and only end up frustrating your audience. Remember the 95:5 Rule: Only 5% of your market is actively in the process of acquiring something from you. If you want to get on their Day-1 list, you have to ask the tough questions.
1. What marketing strategies or tactics are we leaving behind?
2. What core GTM strengths can we double down on?
3. How do we define GTM success beyond just leads and revenue?
Unfortunately, most B2B tech companies insist on focusing almost entirely on short-term execution without a guiding strategy.
A recent Deloitte study showed that short-term performance marketing is up from a 60% investment in 2023 to almost 70% in 2024 over long-term brand building. All the while, short-term tactics like lead gen and demand gen have not delivered on the promise for over 15 years.
It’s a headscratcher that needs rethinking.
1. What daily habits can we upgrade to improve our marketing focus and results?
2. Where do we need external support to boost B2B tech marketing?
3. What bold marketing risks will we take to stand out?
Much of the frustration with sporadic wins and poor conversion in B2B tech stems from measuring the wrong metrics or measuring Marketing (a non-linear multiplier) like Sales (a linear multiplier). Even things like revenue and sales velocity are forecasted, not measured.
We need to ask better questions: Are we measuring? Or forecasting? The difference matters.
1. How much did our marketing investment multiply Sales effectiveness and efficiency?
2. How long does it take for our marketing investments to improve Sales performance?
3. What metrics matter most to measure the success of our marketing?
Addressing the challenges of B2B tech marketing requires diagnosing the real causes, not just treating the symptoms.
If we’re invisible, it’s likely because we haven’t invested enough in customer research and long-term brand building.
If we’re stuck with sporadic results, it’s often due to a lack of alignment between insight, strategy, execution, and metrics.
Questioning all these areas helps us move from frustration to clarity, build a stronger brand, and a more effective GTM engine.
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