The Modern B2B Growth Stack: Visibility, Focus, Founder Selling
In this issue:
Detailed channel breakdown of a $120K MRR B2B (a masterclass in testing marketing channels)
Stop being the best-kept secret: 4 ways to fix the visibility problem that’s killing your pipeline
The founder’s first job is to sell (don’t outsource sales early on)
Bonus: Charlie Munger’s “inversion” framework applied to B2B
1. Detailed channel breakdown of a $120K MRR B2B (a masterclass in testing marketing channels)
Breaking B2B with Sam Dunning, Episode: I Hit $119k MRR in 19 Months Using These B2B Marketing Strategies (Oct. 15, 2025)
TLDR
Bootstrapped B2B SaaS SEO agency from $0 to $119K MRR in 19 months with only one full-time employee
LinkedIn founder brand drove $43K MRR (36% of revenue) by posting daily mix of education, entertainment, and memes
Building in public with clients (like RB2B at $6.3M ARR) drove $14K MRR and massive trust with prospects
Most B2B founders spend months perfecting their product before launching. Sam Dunning did the opposite. He launched Breaking B2B, a B2B SaaS SEO agency, with zero domain authority, zero clients, and zero team. 19 months later, he's at $119K in monthly recurring revenue.
The channel breakdown: where every dollar came from
LinkedIn founder brand: $42.7K MRR (6 clients) - The biggest driver. Sam posts daily on LinkedIn mixing tactical SEO tips, entertainment videos asking strangers "What is SEO?", memes about whether SEO is dead, and building in public.
Public client work (RB2B): $14K MRR (2 clients) - Sam partnered with Adam Robinson's RB2B (at $6.3M ARR) to build their SEO engine and shared everything publicly. Full transparency on strategy, tactics, results.
YouTube & Podcast: $16.5K MRR (3 clients) - Weekly episodes with B2B marketing leaders sharing tactical advice. Some guests become clients. Others refer friends.
Partnerships & Referrals: $16K MRR (2 clients) - Connected with complementary agencies (video marketing, ads agencies) serving the same ICP. They refer SEO clients for a 10% kickback. Zero acquisition cost, faster close rates from warm intros.
SEO (own website): $10.1K MRR (2 clients) - Practice what you preach. Ranking #1 for "SaaS SEO agency" and similar terms drives steady inbound. Started getting leads within 90 days of launching the site.
Cold Email: $8.7K MRR (1 client) - Sent short, curiosity-driven emails offering custom Loom video reviews. One client from this channel became their longest-serving customer. This channel eventually burned out but proved effective early on.
Podcast Guesting: $6.6K MRR (1 client) - Reached out to B2B marketing podcasts with custom Loom videos pitching specific episode ideas. Does one interview per week. Free PR and direct leads from engaged audiences.
Google Ads: $5.4K MRR (1 client) - Recent experiment focusing only on bottom-funnel keywords like "SaaS SEO agency." $2-2.5K monthly spend. Too early to judge but showing promise.
Total: $119K MRR from nine channels, with two channels (LinkedIn and public client work) driving nearly half the revenue.
The LinkedIn strategy that generated $42.7K MRR
Sam's LinkedIn approach breaks every rule in the traditional B2B playbook. Instead of polished corporate content, he posts:
Video skits asking random people on the street "How do you get top of Google?"
Memes about whether SEO is dead
Behind-the-scenes building in public with RB2B
Genuinely useful tactical tips about ranking in ChatGPT and Google
"My main focus is to get attention first, then link it back to our solution," Sam explains. "That's why I'm doing funny video skits asking the public questions. Hence why I'm doing memes. Hence why I'm doing slightly unusual stuff so they first think, 'What the heck is this? Oh, this guy's talking about B2B SaaS SEO. That could be useful for our business.'"
Building in public: the trust multiplier
Sam's partnership with Adam Robinson demonstrates a strategy few agencies attempt: complete transparency on client work. Every month, Sam and Adam share exactly what they're doing for RB2B's SEO – the strategy, tactics, content created, technical updates, backlinks earned, and results gained.
"It's like a live case study," Sam says. "Both Adam will talk about it, we'll talk about it. We'll share walkthroughs, screenshots, videos, and much more."
This approach generated two clients directly ($14K MRR) plus uncounted brand awareness and credibility that influences deals across all channels.
The YouTube strategy
Most B2B companies treat YouTube like a dumping ground for webinars and random podcast interviews. Sam takes a YouTube-first approach, creating content specifically designed to perform on the platform.
Each week, Breaking B2B publishes either a solo episode (Sam sharing SEO strategies, case studies, experiments) or an interview with a B2B marketing leader (sharing exactly how they're driving growth today, step-by-step, no fluff).
The content serves multiple purposes:
Builds trust at scale (watching someone for 30-40 minutes creates deeper connection than reading an article)
Ranks in Google search (YouTube videos can outrank websites)
Gets picked up in ChatGPT and Claude (AI tools surface video content too)
Provides replay value (podcast version, clips for LinkedIn, newsletter distribution)
"I believe YouTube is a seriously untapped market, especially in the B2B marketing space," Sam says. "So many companies use YouTube as a dumping ground instead of taking a YouTube-first approach."
Three clients and $16.5K MRR came directly from the podcast, plus countless brand awareness from guests sharing episodes with their networks.
The cold email approach that worked at first
Before Sam had SEO traffic or LinkedIn reach, he needed clients fast. Cold email was the fastest, lowest-cost option. His approach:
Build a list of Series A/B funded B2B SaaS companies. Target marketing leaders (VP Marketing, CMO). Send painfully short emails: "Hey [Name], most marketing leaders tell me pipeline is down. Had a couple weird ideas to scale leads with SEO. You against me sending a quick video review?"
Most who replied positively said, "Yeah, send it over." Then Sam would record a custom 3-4 minute Loom reviewing their website and SEO with specific actionable tips.
This approach landed one client who became Breaking B2B's longest-serving customer, adding $8.7K MRR. The channel eventually burned out (domains got flagged), but it proved effective for bootstrapped customer acquisition.
What didn't work (and what's still experimental)
Not every channel succeeded. Cold email burned out after one client. Google Ads and LinkedIn Ads are still experimental (under 3 months of data). Some channels like partnerships took months of relationship building before generating revenue.
The lesson isn't that certain channels don't work. It's that B2B founders need to test multiple channels simultaneously, measure results ruthlessly, and double down on what works for their specific business.
2. Stop being the best-kept secret: 4 ways to fix the visibility problem that’s killing your pipeline
The Advanced Selling Podcast, Episode: Stop Being the Best-Kept Secret: How to Get Found by Your Ideal Clients (Sept. 22, 2025)
TLDR
80% of sales success is getting the meeting, not what happens in the meeting – but most training focuses on the wrong 20%
The universal problem isn't finding customer pain, it's becoming visible so customers can find you first
Interview your prospects for articles to get instant C-suite access without cold calling
For professional services firms and B2B companies, there's a painful irony: you're the best kept secret in your market. You have deep expertise, proven results, and happy clients. But potential customers have no idea you exist.
Why getting the meeting trumps everything else
You can master objection handling, perfect your discovery questions, and nail your pitch. But if you can't get in front of prospects, all that training is worthless. "You can train someone till you're blue in the face for dozens and dozens of hours on how to ask questions, but if you can't get a meeting with someone, it's all futile."
The old playbook of cold calling is dead. Buyers don't answer unknown numbers. They don't respond to generic outreach. And they certainly don't gameplan anymore. The shift requires rethinking how 80% of your sales effort should be spent: on becoming visible, not on perfecting meeting skills.
The golden strategy: interview prospects for your articles
This tactic is criminally underused. Instead of cold calling a CFO to pitch your services, call them to interview them for an article you're writing. For example: "Hey, I'm writing an article about tax strategy for publicly traded REITs and I'm interviewing CFOs. Would you be available for 10 minutes to answer three questions?"
Suddenly, you're not a salesperson – you're a journalist. You're giving them a platform, not asking for something. The conversation happens naturally. They might not ask what you do, but you're building a relationship that would have been impossible through a cold call.
After you publish the article featuring their insights, you send them the link. They feel spotlighted. You've just created a warm relationship with a C-suite executive.
Three more visibility plays that actually work
First, write useful content that solves real problems. Not blog posts about your company – actual guides, white papers, or frameworks that demonstrate your expertise. Then share them directly with prospects: "Hey, I wrote something on reducing corporate tax exposure. Would you like a copy?"
Second, show up where your prospects already are. Ask yourself: where do CROs of manufacturing companies hang out? What conferences do they attend? Then go there. You don't even need to be a speaker initially – just being in proximity to your target buyers creates opportunities.
Third, host your own events. If you can't find where prospects gather, create the gathering. Host a breakfast series, a quarterly executive roundtable, or even a simple meetup. No fancy agenda needed – just get people in a room. Being the host automatically positions you as the connector and thought leader.
The bottom line
Stop optimizing your sales process and start optimizing for visibility. The companies winning today aren't the ones with the best pitch decks. They're the ones their prospects already know when a problem arises. Interview prospects for content, write valuable resources, attend their events, and host your own. Visibility isn't a nice-to-have anymore. It's the entire game.
3. The founder’s first job is to sell (don’t outsource sales early on)
The B2B Playbook podcast, Episode: Outbound Is Breaking – Here’s the Network-Led Playbook for 2026 (Oct. 19, 2025)
TLDR
The old B2B playbook of cold outbound volume is collapsing because buyers don't trust it anymore
The future belongs to founders who combine back-to-basics selling, AI tools, and creative new channels like in-person meetings and referrals
Scott Leese has helped scale 160 companies and advised 12 unicorns through his company, Scott Leese Consulting. He's watched the B2B sales playbook break in real time. After two decades of founders relying on brute force outbound – more dials, more demos, more pipeline pressure – the model is collapsing. Cold calls fall flat. Buyers are skeptical. And entire revenue systems fail before they even start.
Why most founders aren't really founders
A real founder doesn't just have a cool idea and a pitch deck. They get their hands dirty. They understand how to build profitable businesses, develop people, create winning cultures, and figure out how to actually acquire and serve customers. But increasingly, founders just know how to raise money and build product.
As Scott bluntly puts it: "They're hobbyists. They think sales and revenue will take care of itself if they build a good product. They don't want to develop people or build a supportive culture."
The result? A jaded workforce, startups that burn through funding without finding profitability, and founders who celebrate raising rounds instead of building sustainable businesses.
Why can't founders just hire someone to handle sales?
Because in the early days, the founder is the only person who truly believes in the vision. No one else will do the dirty work of figuring out who the customer is, what they'll pay, and what the actual value proposition should be. You can't outsource the learning that comes from those first 100 conversations.
Founders who skip this step end up with broken go-to-market strategies because they never understood the customer journey themselves. They hire expensive sales leaders who inherit a mystery instead of a repeatable playbook. The founder's job isn't to avoid sales – it's to figure out the sales motion first, then scale it.
Scott's advice for navigating this shift
First, go back to basics with selling skills. That means live selling – not sending proposals into the void. Stay on the phone while the contract comes through. Walk through pricing together in real time. Don't send and forget.
Second, lean into AI so you're not steamrolled by the technology shift. Use the tools available to automate repetitive work, but don't let them replace the human relationship-building that still wins deals.
Third, find new and creative channels. In-person meetings are making a comeback because everyone else is hiding behind email. Referral-based selling works because warm introductions cut through the noise. Physical gifting might be the next underutilized channel. The pattern is simple: find channels that aren't saturated yet, and dominate them before everyone else catches on.
The bottom line
The old playbook is broken. Founders who treat building a company like a hobby will fail. The winners will be those who do the dirty work of selling first, build real relationships, and combine old-school tactics with new tools.
4. Charlie Munger’s “inversion” framework applied to B2B
Seeking Wisdom, Episode: Charlie Munger: Invert, always invert (Oct. 4, 2023)
TLDR
Munger credits his success not to extreme intelligence but to learning "tricks" like inversion – thinking about problems backward
In business, instead of asking "How do I succeed?" ask "What would guarantee failure?" – then systematically avoid those things
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's longtime business partner and one of the most successful investors in history, has a surprising confession: "I'm way short of prodigy." Despite having what he calls just "a good mind," Munger achieved prodigious results. His secret? A bag of mental tricks he learned early in life, with one standing above the rest: inversion.
"I invert all the time," Munger says. "It's like a lot of practical problems in algebra – if you invert, you can solve it easily. And if you don't, you can't solve it easily."
Most people ask the wrong questions. They ask, "How do I succeed?" Munger flips the question: "What would prevent my success?" By approaching problems in reverse, he gets better results. Not because he's smarter, but because he's thinking differently.
The weather forecaster who asked the wrong question
When Munger was assigned to be a weather forecaster in the Air Force, his job was making predictions that pilots would rely on for their lives. Most forecasters would ask, "How do I make accurate predictions?" Munger asked something completely different: "How could I kill these pilots?"
That's not the question most people would ask. But Munger wanted to know what ways could kill pilots so he could avoid them. After thinking it through in reverse, he realized there were only two ways he could kill a pilot as a weather forecaster: getting them into icing conditions their plane couldn't handle, or getting them somewhere they'd run out of gas before landing because all airports were socked in.
"I was just fanatic about avoiding those two hazards," Munger recalls. By focusing obsessively on what could go wrong instead of what could go right, he kept pilots safe.
The lesson is about identifying failure modes before they happen. Munger's grandfather taught him a version of this: "Swim as long as you want, but stay near the shore."
How to apply inversion in B2B growth
For B2B founders, inversion can be a superpower. Most founders ask:
How do I acquire customers?
How do I increase retention?
How do I improve our product?
How do I scale revenue?
Munger would flip these questions:
What would guarantee I lose customers?
What makes customers churn fastest?
What product decisions would kill the business?
What would prevent us from ever scaling?
Once you identify these failure modes, avoid them obsessively.
For example, if you ask "What would guarantee customer churn?" you might realize: slow onboarding, unresponsive support, and overpromising during sales. So you build your operations around making onboarding fast, support responsive, and sales honest – not because these are "best practices," but because their opposites are failure modes you've identified.
The same thinking applies to hiring. Instead of asking "How do I find great employees?" ask "What hiring mistakes would destroy this company?" Maybe it's hiring fast and firing slow. Maybe it's prioritizing credentials over demonstrated ability. Maybe it's not checking references thoroughly. Identify the failure modes, then avoid them religiously.
Why this works better than positive thinking
The reason inversion works is simple: it's easier to identify what kills businesses than what makes them successful. There are thousands of ways to succeed but only a handful of ways to fail catastrophically. If you avoid the failure modes, success becomes more likely by default.
Most business advice tells you what to do: Build a great product. Hire talented people. Focus on customers. Move fast. All true, but not actionable enough.
Inversion tells you what to avoid: Don't build products nobody wants. Don't hire people who can't execute. Don't ignore customer feedback. Don't move so fast you break critical systems.
The negative framing makes decisions clearer. When you're evaluating a hire, it's hard to predict if they'll be great. But it's much easier to spot red flags that indicate they'll be terrible. Inversion helps you screen for those red flags.
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