onboarding-insights-luke

Onboarding Insights: Robert & Luke Conversations

Source: Onboarding call transcripts between Robert (CEO/Sales Leader) and Luke (GTM Lead) Date: January 2025 Purpose: Extract actual BDR tactics, sales process, and GTM strategy from real conversations

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Key Insights Overview

Critical Finding: Robert explicitly states that connecting services to ICP is the missing piece - “that’s still very much a work in progress… I haven’t mapped that to the ICP yet.”

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🎯 ICP Strategy & Segmentation

ICP Focus

Primary Target for Luke: Scale Ups ($30M-$100M)

• Focus on one ICP at a time, not all at once
• Most companies they work with now are in this stage
• Content/outbound strategy primarily targets this stage

ICP Stages (from Robert’s explanation):

1. Startups - Early stage, directional insights, feature launches, user trends

   • Robert played here when he met Utam
   • More clients, smaller deals, cycle through faster
   • Don’t need more content for this (already saturated)

2. Scale Ups ($30M-$100M) - Product fit achieved, building scalable foundation

   • Need data engineering team (typically 3 people, $500K/year)
   • Brainforge can do it faster, lower price point
   • Primary focus for Luke’s outreach

3. Enterprise ($500M+) - Mature, shaky foundation, lost team members, cleanup needed

   • Less interesting work but easy to take on
   • Not found via LinkedIn - found through referrals, conferences, alliances
   • ABC example: 50-year-old family business, relationship-driven, friend intro

4. Seasonal Champions - Not fully detailed in transcripts

Acquisition Methods by Stage

Scale Ups: LinkedIn, content, outbound (Luke’s world) Enterprise: Conferences, in-person events, exclusive alliances (BDO Alliance), referrals Key Insight: “Our buyers are not on LinkedIn at that size” (Enterprise) - that’s fine, not how they acquire them

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📧 Outreach & Campaign Strategy

Campaign Types (Robert’s Experience)

1. Event-Based Activations (Previously used, exhausted)

   • Scrape all signals on people talking about events
   • Hit them with connection messages
   • Example: Event mentioned → connection request with event context

2. Regional-Based Growth Executives (Exhausted)

   • Sales Nav searches by region + role
   • 1-2 message sequence to get them on LinkedIn
   • Saturated this approach

3. Job Posting Outreach (Not explicitly exhausted, still viable)

   • Someone posting a job → outreach about opportunity
   • Connection request → intro blurb → resource alignment

4. Mutual Intro (Best performing playbook)

   • Leverage 1st/2nd degree connections
   • Strategic network expansion

Outreach Volume & Process

Volume Targets:

• 30 messages/week via HeyReach per campaign
• List should be 100-150 people max (more than that = not filtering enough)
• 4-5 new logos per week target
• 20 active leads at any given moment

Account Usage:

• Use Robert/Utam’s accounts (6,000-7,000 connections)
• Luke’s account can be added later when launching new campaigns
• 1st degree connections have better response rates (no waiting for connection request)

Process:

1. Build lead list (Sales Nav)
2. Pre-qualify (ICP fit check)
3. Outreach via HeyReach (30/week)
4. Track in HubSpot
5. Follow-up sequences

LinkedIn Engagement Strategy

Table Stakes (should be happening):

• Reply to every comment on posts
• Connect with everyone who comments
• Follow up with profile viewers (connection request + message)
• Use content as re-engagement tool: “Hey, we recently posted about [topic] we discussed”

Engagement Metrics (from forecast):

• ~100 profile views/week (Robert + Utam)
• Conversations referencing content
• Comments, likes, shares
• 50% multiplier on profile views = other engagement types

Advanced Engagement:

• Comment on Tier 1 influencer posts (10K+ followers in niche)
• Engage with people who engage with you (reciprocal engagement)
• Strategic commenting (1 hour/day for Ryan or Jed)

Key Insight: “People need to see you three times before they remember you” - multiple touchpoints matter

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💼 Sales Process & Qualification

Sales Funnel Stages

1. Account (Not yet a lead)

   • Researching prospects, interested in contacting
   • Only Robert does this (lead research)
   • Example: Scoped different accounts on LinkedIn → first convo with YouVersion

2. Lead (After outreach)

   • Message sent = lead created
   • Inbound message = lead
   • One way message = lead (starting paper trail)

3. Qualification Call (Networking with intent)

   • Sometimes just networking, not clear if opportunity exists
   • Trying to be helpful + look for opportunity
   • Can be same as discovery (blurry lines)

4. Discovery Call (Clear opportunity)

   • Real opportunity to assess
   • Ideally already qualified before this stage
   • Robert/Utam take all calls currently (no one else can qualify effectively yet)

5. Proposal (Waiting on us)

   • Put together proposal after discovery

6. Demo (If needed, especially for AI engineering work)

   • Second follow-up call
   • Not always needed

7. Proposal Review (Nudging)

   • Back and forth on proposal
   • Until they commit

Drop-Out Reasons

• Go with competitor
• Get ghosted (happens a lot)
• Decide to hire internally
• Budget doesn’t work
• Timeline doesn’t work

Qualification Criteria

What Robert Looks For:

• ICP Fit: Size, stage, industry
• Budget Signals:
  • “What’s your timeline for addressing [challenge]?”
  • “Have you allocated budget for [solution type] this quarter?”
  • Can infer from context (e.g., server-side tracking = spending $50/hronfreelancers=$5K project)
• Decision Maker: Role, authority
• Pain Point: Clear problem they’re trying to solve
• Tech Stack Compatibility:
  • Edge activation example: Need Cloudflare (or managing multiple domains)
  • Need to understand their current setup

Qualification Scorecard (mentioned but not detailed):

• Leads scored on ICP fit
• Robert building this into HubSpot workflow

Key Learning from Transcript:

• Budget qualification is critical - Luke missed this on one call (“didn’t get budget information out of him”)
• Can estimate from context (server-side tracking, freelancers, team size)
• Ask: “Who does he have on staff now? What systems? How long have they been doing this?”

Questions Robert Asks to Size Budget:

• Team composition (3 people working with agency vs solo person)
• Maintenance vs build (build costs more)
• Tech stack signals (Cloudflare = more advanced, likely bigger budget)
• Domain management (multiple domains = more sophisticated)

Edge-to-Activation Service Qualification Example:

• Question: “What share of customers do you feel you’re able to identify currently?”
• Industry standard: 60-80%
• If they’re at 70% with server-side already = probably fine
• If below 60% = clear opportunity
• Value prop: Get to 90%+ customer identification

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🎨 Content Strategy

Content Volume & Process

Target: 4-8 posts/week to start

• 2 posts for Robert, 2 for Uttam (can repost same thing)
• Content should speak to different stages of buyer journey

Ryan’s Process (AI-generated content):

1. Gets ideas (random messages, inspo posts)
2. Ideas go somewhere (not clear where)
3. Runs through prompts → draft
4. Zero-shots first thing (doesn’t look at multiple drafts)
5. Pastes into Assembly → asks for review
6. Takes feedback → runs through prompt again → new version

Robert’s Preferred Approach:

• Write hook himself (20% of work)
• Define pivot points in outline
• Let AI fill in the rest (80%)
• Feels more relevant/authentic

Luke’s Role:

• Provide structure/strategy (Ryan is pure execution)
• Build content matrix: topics, formats, ICP stages
• Give Ryan formats to test (not just random AI output)
• “If you want to go after Stage A, here is format 1, 2, 3 - iterate on those 3 things”

Content Structure & Format

Hourglass Approach (Robert’s framework):

• Top: ICP, vision, categorical things (defines these)
• Bottom: Every lane for content (long-form, LinkedIn posts, medium-form)
• Middle: Speaking to 5 different stages for a lead (awareness → consideration → etc.)

Post Types to Develop:

1. Problem posts - Pain points, challenges
2. Solution posts - How Brainforge solves it
3. Service posts - Specific offerings
4. Story posts - Client wins, case studies
5. Educational posts - Demystifying concepts

Content Strategy Priorities:

1. Turn content back on (volume first)
2. Get feedback loop going
3. Dial in quality over time
4. Test different formats
5. Map to ICP stages

Key Insight: “I wouldn’t expect you to zero-shot create posts… You just need to build the structure that Ryan can produce it once you give him the format.”

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🔗 Service-to-ICP Mapping (CRITICAL GAP)

Robert’s Explicit Statement:

“There’s still stuff that’s this is all stuff of what we do, that’s not really… I don’t have the angles to give you on how to pitched these to ICP yet… That part is still a very… it’s a dance that nobody… it’s not scripted, trying to make this a little bit more digestible for someone you to come in and understand how we do that.”

What This Means:

• Services exist (services page)
• ICP exists (ICP doc)
• Missing: How to connect services to ICP in conversations
• Robert does this intuitively in calls (“services page pulled up, navigate around based on what I’m hearing”)
• Need to make this teachable/mappable

Services Mentioned:

1. Edge-to-Activation (tagging/tracking service)

   • Client: Zoran call example
   • Need: Cloudflare-compatible, server-side tracking
   • Pain point: Customer identification, attribution
   • Budget signals: Freelancers, server-side work, team size

2. DBT Audit

   • Clarence doesn’t fully understand it
   • Focus: Metric standardization, version control, software engineering practices
   • Theme: Standardization

3. AI Engineering Work

   • Often needs demo
   • Second follow-up call sometimes needed

4. Data Platform Implementations

   • Unified data platforms
   • Multi-source integration

Robert’s Advice: “You don’t have to become the Brainforge expert… Just focus on one service a week to launch and get out, then you can iterate on what you need to learn about that service. Our services stack on top of each other and it’ll train how you strengthen positioning with complementary services.”

Full Feedback Loop for Services:

1. Scope out service (understand it)
2. Talk to lead (position it)
3. Deploy in campaign (test it)
4. Get on call (sell it)
5. Learn from call (what questions? objections? what worked?)
6. Iterate (create resources, adjust positioning)
7. Test again

Example from Transcript (Edge-to-Activation):

• What worked: Technical approach, embedded team model
• What didn’t work: Not enough technical detail, didn’t handle objections well, didn’t qualify budget
• Next iteration needed: Technical doc OR Loom recording (substitute for demo), better objection handling, budget qualification questions

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🎯 BDR Tactics & Personalization

Research Process

Don’t Get Stuck in Planning:

• Robert’s advice: “Just push to the finish line earlier than you think you should”
• “You just need more reps. You should just be trying things before you feel ready… Just jump on more calls with people”
• “You’re not gonna be able to cover all your bases before you jump on a call… You just have to go get stumped on a call, then learn, iterate from there”

What to Research:

• Company size, stage, industry
• Tech stack (if visible)
• Recent news, funding, growth
• Team size/structure
• Job postings (hiring data engineers?)
• Mutual connections

Time Investment:

• Not specified, but emphasis on speed over perfection
• Robert spends 15 minutes/week on content ideas
• Focus on high-value research, not exhaustive

Personalization Approach

Company-Level:

• Industry-specific case studies (CPG → Eden Health/Insomnia Cookies, SaaS → Stackblitz)
• Size/stage-specific pain points
• Recent news (funding, hiring, milestones)

Role-Level:

• CMO → marketing attribution, customer data
• VP Data → data platform, standardization
• Growth → product analytics, user behavior

Individual:

• What they asked about/discussed
• Their specific pain points
• Their insights/perspective
• Event context (if applicable)

Key Principle: “Even if it’s just general attendee, mutual attendance, potential mutual connections, retail tech focus” - use whatever context you have

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📊 Pipeline Management & Metrics

Pipeline Health Metrics

Inputs (logged in HubSpot):

• New leads added (weekly)
• ICP conversations (need automated screener)
• Qualified discoveries (from Google Calendar)
• Deals stage changes (from HubSpot)

Outputs (results):

• Proposals sent (weekly)
• MRR added (lumpy, not weekly)
• Close rate
• Time to close

Key Results:

• Expected revenue per lead (estimated vs actual)
• Revenue per new lead (should be above certain amount)
• Pipeline value vs actual revenue (variance should be <25%)

Targets:

• 20 active leads at any time
• 4-5 new logos per week
• Average deal: $30K($10K/month for 3 months)
• Close rate: 15-20% (up from 10%)
• Time to close: 30 days (trying to shorten)

Lead Scoring

Current State: Manual, Robert/Utam assess Future State: Automated ICP screener (once ICP doc is finalized)

• Every active lead scored for ICP fit
• Filter conversations to ICP-matched leads

Scoring Dimensions (inferred, not explicit):

• Company fit (size, stage, industry)
• Decision maker (role, authority)
• Pain point (clear, urgent)
• Budget (signals, willingness)
• Timeline (urgency, project readiness)

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🏢 Vertical Specialization

Current Focus: Home Services

Example: ABC (Texas home services, 50-year-old family business)

• Relationship-driven, not LinkedIn-found
• Friend introduction (retired CEO advisor → ABC intro)
• Different motion than SaaS/tech companies

Robert’s Approach:

• One vertical per month (test approach)
• Home services = bet for this month
• Develop repeatable process for testing verticals

Vertical-Specific Considerations:

• Pain points vary by vertical
• Qualification questions vary
• Messaging varies
• Case studies vary (CPG vs SaaS vs Services)

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🤝 Partnerships & Ecosystem

Partnership Types

1. Ecosystem Partners (Snowflake, Salesforce, Mixpanel)

   • Snowflake focus (Utam is expert, half clients use Snowflake because of them)
   • Want to be featured more (Typhi example - Shopify Platinum Partner)
   • Approach: Specialize in vertical → get platform attention → get promoted

2. Alliances (BDO Alliance)

   • Fortune 500 companies post projects
   • Bidding process (long cycle)
   • Oracle project example (wouldn’t have gotten directly)

3. Co-Marketing Events (Mixpanel event in Austin)

   • 30-50 people
   • Partner pays bill (food, etc.)
   • Generate leads for co-selling
   • 6 months planning cycle

Partnership Motion

Different from Direct Outreach:

• Longer cycles (6 months planning)
• More organic/relationship-driven
• Indirect (build relationship with vendor → do something together → generate leads)
• Luke won’t own this yet (future: Maya or partnerships person)

Key Insight: “Partnerships are a lot longer… It’s a little… It’s a lot more organic, and… But the cycle’s a lot longer… Whereas what you’re doing is a lot more in our control.”

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💬 Messaging & Positioning

How Robert Describes Brainforge

Universal Value Prop:

“We’re able to serve clients at every stage in their cycle… We know what data needs are for every one of these”

The Problem They Solve:

• “You’re gonna sign up for Salesforce if you’re a small business, and you’re gonna use one feature while paying ridiculous prices”
• Product companies promise everything but don’t help you figure out what to use
• Brainforge = bridge understanding needs → figuring out what features/capabilities to use for current stage

Differentiation:

• Not a product company (they don’t sell platforms)
• Services company that helps you actually use the tools
• Embedded partnership model (senior operator + specialist team)
• Move at partner speeds, not employee speeds
• 25% of expected time (cut through excuses)

Vertical Positioning:

• CPG: Lifecycle marketing, customer data, Shopify/Amazon/retail
• SaaS: Product analytics, user behavior, Amplitude/Mixpanel
• Services: Multi-location, operations, logistics

Content Themes

What They Clarify/Demystify (not teaching new things):

• Difference between early-stage vs mature company data needs
• Why you don’t need same chops as big guy (needs are different)
• BS of products promising everything (“Uber runs on us, so should you”)
• Stage-appropriate tooling

Key Insight: “We’re not teaching new things… We’re just in the business of clarifying or demystifying things in the content that we put out.”

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🎓 Learning & Onboarding Approach

Robert’s Philosophy for Luke

Bottoms-Up + Tops-Down:

1. Bottoms-Up: Pick one service (edge-to-activation), build from ground up, deploy in workflow

   • “That’s important… It’s a way for you to go through the reps of… I built out the service offering. I’ve talked to a lead, I have some understanding of how to position this.”
   • Go end-to-end (scope → sell → deploy → learn)

2. Tops-Down: Continue learning business broadly

   • Sales call transcripts
   • Technical team conversations
   • Client conversations
   • Robert/Utam (primary sources, limited time)

Learning Sources (tiered):

1. Primary: Robert & Utam (best but limited time)
2. Secondary: Sales calls, technical staff, Clarence
3. Tertiary: Docs, Notion, Slack (paper trail doesn’t go very long)

Learning Process:

• “You’re getting bits and pieces from different people, Which… is… it’s a needle in a haystack”
• “I’ve been asking for this executive GPT for a while… Everything that Utam and I have said can just go in… go in a place, and… people can just chat with… with that LLM trained on our material”
• Best proxy right now: Read transcripts, ask questions

Key Principle: “The more you understand what we do from one side, and then you’re talking to people within this ICP, I’m hoping that you’ll be able to draw those connections yourself… That’s the only way for you to really learn it.”

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📝 Next Documentation Priorities

Based on these transcripts, here’s what should be documented next:

1. Service-to-ICP Mapping (CRITICAL - Explicitly Missing)

• For each service (Edge-to-Activation, DBT Audit, AI Engineering, etc.)
• Map to ICP stages (Startup, Scale Up, Enterprise)
• Map to verticals (CPG, SaaS, Home Services, etc.)
• Qualification questions per service
• Objection handling per service
• Budget sizing per service
• Tech stack requirements per service

2. BDR Tactics & Outreach Process (High Priority)

• Campaign types (event-based, regional, job posting, mutual intro)
• Lead list building process (Sales Nav searches)
• Pre-qualification checklist (before adding to HubSpot)
• Outreach volume and sequencing (30/week, 100-person lists)
• Account usage strategy (whose account, when)
• Follow-up sequences (what to send, when)

3. Sales Process & Qualification (High Priority)

• Funnel stages (Account → Lead → Qualification → Discovery → Proposal → Demo → Close)
• Qualification questions by service
• Budget qualification process (how to ask, how to estimate)
• Tech stack compatibility checks
• Drop-out reasons and how to handle

4. Content Strategy & Format (Medium Priority)

• Content matrix (topics × formats × ICP stages)
• Post format structure (problem, solution, service, story, educational)
• ICP-based content themes (what resonates with Scale Ups vs Enterprise)
• Content calendar and volume targets
• Ryan’s process (how to work with him effectively)

5. Campaign Playbooks (Medium Priority)

• Event-based activation playbook
• Regional-based growth executive playbook
• Job posting outreach playbook (already documented)
• Mutual intro playbook (already documented)
• New campaign ideas to test

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🔍 Key Quotes for Documentation

On Service-to-ICP Mapping:

“There’s still stuff that’s this is all stuff of what we do, that’s not really… I don’t have the angles to give you on how to pitched these to ICP yet.”

On Qualification:

“I’m not… robotic about it, and I’m not going down a checklist. I’ve always hated talking to reps that felt they were just qualifying me through a list.”

On Learning:

“You just need more reps. You should just be pushing… Just jump on more calls with people… You’re not gonna be able to cover all your bases before you jump on a call.”

On Content:

“I wouldn’t expect you to zero-shot create posts… You just need to build the structure that Ryan can produce it once you give him the format.”

On ICP Focus:

“I’d rather you just pick one and start to build this feedback loop for yourself… You figure out how you want to learn this ICP, and then how you’re gonna tie the things that you’re learning about the business and the offerings to this ICP.”

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Last Updated: 2025-01-16
Source: Onboarding call transcripts, Robert & Luke, January 2025