Author: Michael Schiltz
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Claim Central bet nearly $1M that rebranding could cover cracks in their US expansion. They renamed themselves Wilbur, aiming for Wilbur Wright but evoking Charlotte’s Web instead. It became the perfect case of lipstick on a pig: flashy brand identity masking a confused business identity and a product with no real market fit. TL;DR Results…
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What is Conversion Optimization?Conversion optimization is the practice of increasing the percentage of visitors or prospects who take a desired action—signing up, booking a demo, or making a purchase. What is Brand Identity?Brand identity is the way your company defines and presents itself—everything from logo, colors, and messaging to values and personality. It’s how you…
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Sell urgency, not price The fastest way to move deals forward isn’t pressure or discounts—it’s clarity. Buyers stall when they don’t fully understand the pain, the value, or the path to decision. Here’s how to speed up deals (without being pushy): “Deals don’t die from objections—they die from indecision.”— The JOLT Effect, 2022 Pro tip:Use…
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Brand identity isn’t a logo or color palette — it’s the system of visual, verbal, and strategic elements that define how your company is perceived in the market. For early-stage B2B companies, brand identity is not a “nice-to-have.” It’s the foundation that makes you memorable, trustworthy, and selectable before buyers ever engage with sales. Research…
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Stop describing what you do—start describing what they feel Most startup messaging falls flat because it talks about features, not feelings. Buyers don’t care how your product works. They care about solving the problem that’s keeping them up at night. To improve your messaging: “Companies using VoC-aligned messaging see up to 50% more SQLs and…
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You’ll feel it—and you can measure it Product-market fit (PMF) isn’t just a vibe, but it often starts as one. Before you scale your go-to-market (GTM) strategy, you should see clear, repeated signs that your product solves a painful problem—and buyers are pulling it from you. Here’s what to look for: “Product-market fit is when…
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Business identity is the internal clarity about purpose, problem solved, and customer understanding that forms the bedrock of revenue growth. Brand identity is how that clarity shows up externally in messaging, perception, and design. Aligning the two creates organizational cohesion, sharper positioning, and measurable GTM results. TL;DR Results at a Glance 📊 The Data 🏢…
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For your first Sales Playbook, just start with what’s already working A sales playbook doesn’t have to be a 100-page manual. If you’ve never had one before, think of it as a living guide that helps your team sell the way you do—without guessing. Here’s what to include in a first version: “A playbook turns…
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You need a system—before you hire a seller If you’re the founder and still closing every deal, you don’t have a sales team—you have a bottleneck. Scaling revenue means building a repeatable process others can follow, not just finding someone to “take over sales.” Here’s how to start: “Founder-led sales is a phase. Repeatable sales…
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A Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) is the executive who unites sales, marketing, partnerships, and customer success under one revenue strategy. In B2B companies, the CCO drives growth by aligning go-to-market functions, building scalable systems, and ensuring customer value translates into predictable revenue. This guide covers what a CCO does, how they compare to CROs and…