Brendan Hufford

Director of SEO

Growth Sprints

We Help Take SaaS Companies From $10M to $100M ARR. Using our SaaS Growth Sprint Framework, we help Saas companies increase revenue from Google through short, focused marketing sprints.

Founder

ALL IN (allinhouse.co)

The #1 community for career-focused in house SaaS marketers.

Founder & Community Lead

Growing Up

A weekly SaaS marketing newsletter curing CMO FOMO for current and future marketing leaders.

Navattic

Advisor

SEO for the Rest of Us

Banzai

Strategic Advisor

Copy.ai

Adobe

This diverse group includes top executives, industry experts, major media correspondents, contributing journalists and pioneers in technology.

Adobe Insider

SparkToro

Interim Head of Marketing

The Blueprint Training

Head of Agency Coaching

Exploring how SaaS companies *actually* get customers

Getting results via my 4-part SaaS growth framework is what I do.

Having led and scaled growth teams at two agencies, most of the clients I worked with didn’t want (or need) 6-12 month marketing engagements. I knew there was a better way, so I created this service.

My best clients could be incredibly successful if only they just had a little help guiding them along the path of making sure they had a strong website and were perfectly positioned to rank in Google.

It’s why so many of them double, or even triple leads and MQLs after working together:

📈  +2,750% MQLs for ETL Software company

📈  Launched content marketing campaign that brought in 100k site visitors, 1,000 new backlinks and  $130,000 in monthly traffic value for Cloud Operations software company

📈  Led strategy for a multi-pronged SEO and content marketing campaign for an established software company resulting in +100% website traffic in only 3 months.

Sam Altman just asked for enough money to buy Japan.
He wants...

$7 trillion (more than Japan's GDP).

The biggest financial ask in human history.

And we don't even know... why?

Here's what's breaking my brain:

Kennedy's moon money? Gotta beat the Soviets.

The Manhattan Project? End the war.

Bank bailouts in '08? Prevent collapse.

$7 trillion. For what enemy? What crisis? What future are we building?

"AGI will change everything."

Cool story, bro. Change it how? For who?

And when Altman gets pressed on it in interviews?

He defends it with the arrogance of a Gringotts goblin.

This is me handing my kid 13 bucks for allowance and him holding out his other hand for 7,000.

Stone-faced. Like it’s normal.

Also a 13X multiple (Google is only 6x).

But we're not united around... anything.

Not a mission. Not a villain. Not even a clear promise.

Apple said "1,000 songs in your pocket."

Google said "organize the world's information."

OpenAI says "give us $7 trillion or get left behind."

Venture capital fanfiction.

At this scale, real marketing HAS to do one thing: unite us.

⚡️

PS - What's the Content IP (named problem) for OpenAI?

I genuinely can't think of it without drifting into Theranos/WeWork/FTX territory.

For those of us bad at math (me), 7 trillions would end world hunger for the next 175 years.

So the problem's gotta be bigger than that?

SaaS Marketing - Content, AEO & SEO | Newsletter: How SaaS companies *actually* get customers

Middle school. Elementary. Preschool. 4 kids. 3 schools. 1 dad slowly losing his mind.

7:42am - Drop off oldest at middle school. He forgot his project. Again.

8:20am - Preschool drop-off. Different school. Different side of town. "Dad, you're going the wrong way."

8:46am - Elementary. Third school. Third parking lot. Third sign-in process. I've written the wrong kid's name twice this week.

9:23am - Finally at my desk. Call in 7 minutes. Would've loved more prep time.

Here's what you see on LinkedIn:

Me at conferences. Speaking on stages. "SaaS marketing" in my bio.

48K followers watching me share frameworks and hot takes.

What you don't see:

My wife, Liz, does the above routine 99.999% of the time.

Liz handling the 12:30pm classroom party I didn't even know existed.

Liz managing three different school calendars while I'm "building my brand."

The 47 text messages she sends daily coordinating our chaos while I worry about clients.

Last week at Adobe Max, someone said: "Must be nice having that flexibility."

I laughed.

Because at that exact moment, Liz was simultaneously:

- At a parent-teacher conference
- Coordinating tomorrow's early dismissal  
- Explaining to our 5-year-old why dad's in LA again

Behind every thought leader is someone actually leading the thoughts at home.

I talk about work-life balance.

While my partner actually creates it.

Perspective is a hell of a drug.

Bad news: I don't have a framework for this.

Just a partner who makes my "flexibility" possible.

Who never gets the credit she deserves.

Who somehow makes three schools, four boys, and one chaotic business look manageable.

While I get the LinkedIn likes for talking about it.

⚡️

PS - Liz doesn't have LinkedIn. Probably because she's too busy actually running things while I'm here talking about running things. If you see her, tell her she's the real MVP. She already knows, but still.

I turned down 3 clients last month. Not because I don't need the revenue (I do).

But because they failed my 3-question test.

(note: your entire marketing team should also know the answers to these - make sure they do)

Here's the framework that saves me (and clients) from checkbox marketing doom every single time:

1. Do you know your ICP?

What did they do at work yesterday?

If you can't picture their actual workday, you're guessing at their problems.

2. Do you know their pain?

Can you tell me what keeps them stuck at work at 5pm when they wish they were with their kids?

The problem they can't quite articulate but know is slowly ruining their work

Last week a founder told me their customers need "better ROI."

That's not a pain. That's a checkbox.

The pain? Their CFO just cut their budget by 40% and they're trying to hit the same targets.

See the difference?

3. Are you willing to own one problem?

This is where 90% bail.

"But we solve 17 different problems!"

Cool. So does everyone else.

Content IP isn't about being everything to everyone. It's about being THE solution to one specific problem.

Sendoso owns digital fatigue.

UserEvidence owns the evidence gap.

One problem. Deeply owned.

Honestly, these aren't just client qualification questions.

They're the difference between content that changes businesses and content that just... exists.

Between building actual authority and playing checkbox marketing games.

So before you hire anyone (including me), ask yourself these 3 questions.

Because if you can't answer them clearly, no amount of content strategy will save you.

⚡️

PS - Marketers: Bookmark this. 

Next time someone asks you to "just create more content," run them through these questions first. 

Watch what happens.

Boomers got pensions.
Gen X got stability.
Millennials got gaslit.
Gen Z went, “lol never again.”

We labeled an entire generation "entitled" without asking the one question that matters.

And that question is: Where did that come from?

I worked my butt off, then asked for a job - or a raise.

Their generation asks for the raise upfront.

And we're shocked.

But here's what the boomers missed:

Gen Z watched their parents get laid off from profitable companies.

Not for screwing up. 

Because they only grew +28% that quarter, missing projections by 2%.

Gen Z saw "shareholder value" become the only value.

Gen Z learned loyalty was a one-way street.

Company demands it. Offers none.

The gold watch became a pink slip.

Job security? Never heard of him.

So when they say "pay me first, then I'll show you what I can do"...

They're not entitled.

They're adapting.

To the world we built.

So do I love it?

No. But i can sure empathize with it and realize whose fault it is.

I get being cynical - thinking working hard guarantees nothing and Excel decides your fate.

Corporate execs burned the social contract and wonder why they won't sign the ashes.

So they're playing by the new rules.

And I gotta be honest...

I respect that.

⚡️

PS - I really hope this helps marketing leaders navigating hiring young talent right now.

They aren't entitled.

It's just my job, your job, OUR job... to make sure we attract and retain them better than anybody else.

The debate about SEO vs AEO is missing the point entirely.

For software buyers, Google search starts are UP from 42% to 79% year-over-year.

Meanwhile, AI tool usage sits at 58%.

You know what that math tells me?

People are using both.

Not either/or. Both.

Yet every week I see another "SEO is dead" post or "AI search will kill Google" prediction.

Here's what's actually happening:

Your buyers aren't choosing sides. They're doubling up.

They ask ChatGPT for recommendations.

Then verify on Google.

They Google for options.

Then ask AI for comparisons.

They find you through SEO.

Then ask AI about your competitors.

I use Ahrefs Brand Radar to measure AI discovery and visibility.

It shows you how your brand (and your competitors) appear in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot… right alongside the Google data you already track.

The smart play isn't picking a lane.

It's owning both highways.

YOU HAVE TO OWN BOTH, PEOPLE.

Because while everyone's debating which one wins, your buyers are already using both to make decisions.

And if you're only optimizing for one?

You're invisible to half your market.

The brands winning tomorrow aren't choosing between SEO or AEO.

They're dominating both.

Simple as that.

⚡️

PS - If you haven’t checked how AI already describes your brand, Brand Radar will probably surprise you.

Value Inspiration

I work directly with Sales-led SaaS CEOs to fix the positioning that’s holding back their win rates.

Here’s what’s happened after we’ve worked together:

Sana Commerce – Before: Seen as “nice to have,” stalled deals, missed targets.
After: Win rates up, cycles shorter, +20% deal size.

Arrow Labs – Before: Noisy pipeline, no repeatability, weak forecasting.
After: Win rate 30% → 60%, cycles 3–4× faster, scalable GTM in <12 months.

SwipeGuide – Before: Hard to attract qualified leads, long cycles, high-friction deals.
After: 2× more deals closed, ideal buyers book demos, faster cycles.

Wolters Kluwer – Before: Ghosting, heavy discounting, losing to weaker vendors.
After: Win rate doubled YoY, +42% deal size, 30% shorter cycles.

What changed?

Not features. Not more reps.
We fixed the real bottleneck: SaaS product positioning that wasn’t doing its job.

And that’s exactly what we do in ⚙️ The Growth Catalyst – A 3-phase transformation for SaaS CEOs when growth stalls — but the product shouldn’t be the problem:

1️⃣ Value Foundation – Reposition your SaaS product as the only logical choice with a value proposition your team can use in sales conversations.
2️⃣ Volume Accelerator – Embed positioning into sales enablement, discovery calls, and closing so reps qualify faster, lead stronger conversations, and close with confidence.
3️⃣ Viability Multiplier – Align product, marketing, and sales so positioning drives predictable growth and long-term momentum.

💬 “Hands-on. Sharp. Outcome-focused. Ton doesn’t stop until it works.”
💬 “From 5% to 40% win rate. Doubled our revenue.”
💬 “We now get shortlisted — and close faster, with fewer discounts.”

Curious if this could work for your SaaS scaleup?
📩 DM me the word RESULTS or visit → valueinspiration.com/growthcatalyst

Seedstars

Mentor to founders of Sales-led SaaS scaleups in the Seedstars portfolio, helping them overcome growth stalls by diagnosing positioning gaps, clarifying ICP, and embedding go-to-market strategies that scale.

Mentor Seedstars

Techstars

Advise Techstars SaaS founders on positioning, market entry, and scaling sales-led go-to-market models — with a focus on increasing win rates and accelerating revenue growth.

Mentor Techstars

Palo Alto Strategy Group

Provide strategic advisory for portfolio companies, with a focus on differentiation, market positioning, and scaling revenue operations.

Executive Strategist

Unit4

Led strategic evangelism for Unit4’s enterprise solutions, shaping positioning and market perception across global markets.

Chief Evangelist

Directed global product marketing strategy, aligning GTM execution across 25+ countries.

Global Head of Product Marketing

Oversaw product strategy and marketing for a global ERP portfolio, driving competitive differentiation and market share growth.

VP Product & Product Marketing

Product Marketing Manager Agresso

Product Marketing Manager Multivers

Dealermanager

Positioning for Sales-Led SaaS companies | My clients win 6+ out of 10 deals, in 3x less time, at 40%+ higher value using my 4-week "Pressure Cooker" program.

Tired of losing to better-funded US competitors? 
Stuck at 20–30% win rates? 
I help Sales-led SaaS scaleups reach 60%+ — without new features or price cuts. Unlike consultants who deliver frameworks and disappear, I stay until your revenue proves it works

The symptoms I fix:
- Sales teams explain features, not why you're the only logical choice
- Losing to "do nothing" more than competitors
- Discounting because you can't create urgency

If you're closing less than 60% of qualified deals, we should talk.

Like Arrow Labs CEO Rami Darwish:

"My mind was stuck on the solution. Ton kept reframing me out of it by constantly asking 'who cares? Why is that important?'
It was annoying. It pissed me off several times. But that's exactly what I needed.
Win rates jumped from 30% to 60%, cycles were 3-4× faster. Now there are fewer competitors because we're his people, not just another option."

The root cause? 
Almost always the same: positioning confusion.

After 30 years in enterprise software, I've codified what separates remarkable companies from the rest in my book The Remarkable Effect.

From "just another option" → must-have choice for the right customers.

Not with decks. Not with theory.
With positioning your sales team wants to use — because they can confidently explain how you're different, why that matters, and close more deals.

I stay until your revenue proves it works. 
That's why my fees are tied to your actual growth, not just deliverables.
Because outcomes > input.

What your peer CEOs say:
- "No BS. Outcome-obsessed."
- "Laser-sharp pipeline. Doubled our win rate."
- "Not just advice — Ton stays until it works."

I'm Ton — son of a Dutch tulip farmer who believes in funding freedom over funding desperation. Now based in sunny Jávea, Spain.
Host of the weekly Remarkable SaaS podcast and creator of the Growth Catalyst Program.

Start here → valueinspiration.com/growthcatalyst
Or DM me for a no-pitch sanity check.

Ton Dobbe 🔆

Same price. Same demo. Two completely different reactions.

First CEO: "Too expensive."
Second CEO: "That's cheap."

What changed?

The first thinks you're replacing spreadsheets.
The second knows you're preventing $2M mistakes.

Your pricing isn't the problem. 
The clarity of your problem definition is.

Losing to better-funded US competitors? I help SaaS scaleups 2x win rates—with shorter sales cycles and zero discounting → valueinspiration.com/growthcatalyst

"Why are most SaaS companies afraid of guarantees?" Mark Stiving, Ph.D. asked me.

Standard answer: "Because implementation might fail."
Real answer: "Because it would expose that your company isn't aligned."

Sales sells what you can't prove. 
Marketing attracts who you can't serve. 
Implementation cleans up the mess. 
R&D builds without knowing the target.

Put in a guarantee, and all of that stops working.

Not because your product is weak.

Because a guarantee forces everyone to agree on what you can actually deliver.

Sales can only sell what you can prove. 
Marketing can only attract who you'll serve. 
Implementation knows exactly what to build toward. 
R&D has a clear target.

The whole company sharpens.

Average software companies see guarantees as risk. 
Remarkable software companies see guarantees as moat strengtheners

How did we go from losing to Oracle and SAP... to having them qualify themselves OUT of deals? 

In this short video, I share a lesson from my ERP days about how we turned an "unfair" battle into an 8/10 win rate against tech giants. 

It wasn't about bigger budgets. 
It was about sharper positioning. 

Still one of the most important lessons I carry with me today.

Mariano García-Valiño bought companies when his investors told him he was too small for M&A.

"No company in your stage does acquisitions."

His response: "90% of companies at my stage fail. Why would I copy them?"

Result: Built a healthcare business model no one else was targeting. 100,000+ lives under management in 4 years.

Average software companies try to beat competitors at their own game.
Remarkable software companies play a different game entirely.

This is Trait 3 from The Remarkable Effect: Be different, not just better.

New logo.
New colors.
New website.
New tagline.

The board loved it.
The team was energized.

Six months later:

Win rates still dropping.
Sales cycles still long.
Discounts still climbing.

The rebrand made confusion prettier.
It didn't fix it.

Here's what nobody wanted to admit:

If your ICP is blurry, even the best rebrand can't save you.
If 10 people in your company give 10 different answers to "why are we the only logical choice?" - a new logo won't change that.

You can't design your way out of a strategy problem.

Your ICP drift didn't start at €20M.
It started with customer #29.

Three years ago. €45K ARR. 
"Close enough" to your ICP. 
Sales needed the deal to hit quarterly target. 
Board was pushing for €5M.

You debated it. 
Then you said yes.

Here's what happened next:

Month 1: They needed one custom workflow. Sales promised it. Product built it.
Month 3: You closed 3 more like them. Now you have a "mini-vertical" that wasn't in your strategy.
Month 6: Your roadmap has 8 items for this segment. Your original ICP gets 3.
Month 12: You hire a salesperson who's good at selling to this segment. They bring more.
Month 18: Two different value propositions. Two different sales pitches. Nobody can explain what you actually do anymore.
Month 24: €15M ARR. Strategic clarity gone.

One "close but not quite" deal.
Three years later, the building collapses.

Average software companies say yes to revenue.
Remarkable software companies protect their foundation.

Their focus: Trait 1 of 10 - Remarkable software companies acknowledge they cannot please everyone.

Rex Kurzius 🐼, Founder of Asset Panda, spent 13 years building without investors.
No board pressure. 
No artificial timelines. 
Just customer revenue funding each next step.

Rex embodies Trait 7 from The Remarkable Effect: Focus on the essence.

Here's what that actually looks like:

- Pivoted three times based on customer needs—not investor demands
- Stopped tracking asset value, started measuring time saved (what customers actually care about)
- Rejected the "48-month exit window" to stay pure solving customer problems
- Calls himself "the turtle in the race" while competitors chase funding rounds
- Built a business that funds itself instead of pitching for the next round

The pattern: While competitors optimize for investor milestones, Rex optimizes for what moves the needle with customers.

Average software companies build for the next funding round. 
Remarkable software companies create funding freedom.

This is one of 10 traits that create software companies we just keep talking about. The traits compound - CEOs who master multiple traits create exponential value.

Links in the first comment.

Published proof: 20% cost savings. 18% mortality reduction. Peer-reviewed study. 

Couldn't sell a single dime for a year. 

Mariano García-Valiño, CEO of Axenya had the clinical results. He had the technology. He had the science. 

What he didn't have: someone who actually cared enough to pay for it. 

- Insurance companies? "We won't benefit in our coverage window." 
- Patients? "Don't trust our employer with health data." 
- Doctors? "Not our budget decision." 

He found employers in Brazil. 
They pay for insurance AND benefit from healthier populations. 

100,000+ lives under management in 4 years. 

Average software companies solve problems people agree exist. 
Remarkable software companies solve problems someone will actually pay to fix. 

This is Trait 2 from The Remarkable Effect: They offer something valuable AND desirable. One of 10 traits that compound to create exponential value. 

Full conversation with Mariano: link in first comment

"Rami, your pipeline looks healthy. What's the problem?" 

His board kept asking. 

Plenty of demos. Plenty of proposals. 
But every deal was a fight. Five competitors on every shortlist. 

So Rami did something that made everyone nervous. 

He started saying no. 
Pipeline vanished. Millions gone. 

"Nerve-wracking," he told me. 

But then: 

Win rate doubled. From 30% to 60%. 
Sales cycles 3-4x shorter. 
Closed the biggest retailer in his region. 

And the best part? 

"No one else was even talking to that guy. We were his people." 

No competition. Because he stopped fighting for deals everyone fights for. 

Average software companies do everything to be better. Remarkable software companies commit to being different - so they become the only logical choice.

Stop asking “What’s our SaaS product worth?”

Start asking “What outcome would make this price feel like a bargain?”

That shift is the difference between defending your price and making it irrelevant.

When you anchor to outcomes instead of features, sales conversations change from negotiation to urgency.

Ask yourself: What would your best customer say your solution is actually worth if they achieved what they’re trying to accomplish?

Last Tuesday's leadership meeting went exactly like the previous six. 
Everyone with a different diagnosis on why growth stalled.

VP Sales wants to restructure comp plans. Add two more AEs.
CFO says the problem is pipeline hygiene and forecasting discipline.
Head of Product says sales just needs better training on the new features.

Everyone pointing at someone else's department.

One CEO ran a simple test.

He asked 10 people privately: "Why are we the only logical choice for our biggest fans?"

He got 10 different answers:

Sales rep #1: "We're for teams who need to move fast" 
Sales rep #2: "Better customer support than alternatives" 
VP Sales: "We're built for compliance-first organizations" 
Marketing: "We democratize access for small teams" 
Product: "We're enterprise-grade infrastructure" 
Customer Success: "We integrate with everything"

Two answers directly contradicted each other.

They were telling some prospects they're fast and lean. 
Telling others they're built for enterprise compliance.

No wonder deals stalled in legal review.

Three years ago, everyone in the company gave the same answer.
Nobody noticed when it changed.

If your team can't agree on what makes you special, 
your prospects won't figure it out for you.

Page three of your roadmap.
That's where the features that would make you incomparable sit.
Always pushed back.

Page one is full. 

AI-powered this. 
Integration with that. 
The module every RFP asks for.

You're building what your biggest competitor is building. 
Except they have 100x your R&D budget.

Every feature you ship, they ship too. 
Every box you check, they check faster.

Six months later: 60 boxes checked. 
Zero competitive advantage gained.

You can't out-feature a competitor with 100x your resources.
But you can out-focus them.

Remarkable software companies focus on the essence - Trait 7 out of 10

You got funded 2 years ago. 
The deck was strong. The vision clear. Investors saw it. 
Now they expect +30% growth for their exit in 2027. 

Not impossible. Not easy. 

You look at your pipeline. Enough volume. But every deal is a fight. 
You look at your win rate. Not bad. But not good enough either. 
You look at your team. They're working hard. Harder than ever. 

And yet you know - without saying it out loud - this isn't going to cut it. 

Not because you're bad. 
But because you're good enough to compete. Not different enough to win. 

You're stuck in the middle. Where everyone fights for the same deals. 

Deep down, you already know what needs to change. 

Average software companies do everything to be better. 
Remarkable software companies commit to being different - so they become the only logical choice.

I recently wrote a long-form essay on how SaaS scaleups drift as they grow - often without even realizing it. 

And then suddenly, it starts to show in the numbers.

Revenue growth slowing from 34% to 21%.
Win rates down from 43% to 19%.
Sales cycles stretched from 3 months to 7+.
Discounts climbing from 8% to 27%.

The odd thing is then that everone has a different opinion on what needs changing.

Your VP Sales says restructure comp plans. 
Your CFO says pipeline hygiene. 
Your Head of Product says better training.

Everyone has a different diagnosis. 
And worse - everyone pointing at someone else's department.

Here's what's often missing:
These number shifts don't indicate you have a sales problem. 
More often than not they indicate you have a strategy problem.

And it started way before the metrics forced you to look.

You're about to sign a big deal. 
But something feels off. 

That addendum with the features they negotiated. 
That "small customization" that'll need your best developers. 
That implementation you already know will be a drag. 

You can see it coming: 

Customer success will lose sleep over them. 
Support will have someone dedicated full-time. 
The renewal? They'll negotiate like their life depends on it. 

Margin killer. 
Focus killer. 

You know all of this. 
You sign anyway. 

Because the number looks good. 
Because the logo looks good. 
Because saying no feels like losing. 

The most expensive deal is the one you should never have signed. 

Remarkable software companies know this. 

They've accepted they can't please everyone. So they don't try.

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