growth @ Selzy // paid social @ FirstPour

I’ve been in digital marketing since 2017, and I kept seeing the same pattern: fuzzy results and no clear ROI.

I always wanted one thing — direct, measurable impact.

In 2022, I moved to a new country, started freelancing, and then built Dedicado Agency. Survival was simple: make marketing work.

I went all-in on B2B, tested multiple channels, and found outbound to be the most effective. For the first time, I saw Sales truly respect Marketing — we generated enough qualified leads to sign 3 new clients within a couple of months.

Since then, I’ve replicated the same playbook for multiple clients and for my own agency. It wasn’t easy: long days, heavy tooling investment, documenting processes from scratch, and building a team — with more than one moment of considering a return to full-time employment.

But it paid off.

Today, I know which projects can win with outbound — and which can’t. And I’ve gone beyond outbound to build full GTM systems (outbound + paid ads + organic content) that don’t just generate leads, but also build trust and awareness within a clearly defined audience — and turn that into demand.

If you’re building B2B and want a repeatable way to generate demand and pipeline, feel free to connect or DM.

Evgeny Kotelevskiy

After 4 years of working 100% remotely, I realised one simple thing:


This is the ideal work format for me.

Why ideal:

↳ You can focus 100% on work, eliminating water cooler small talks, coffee runs, and the like.

↳ The number of useless meetings decreases significantly.

↳ You choose where to work; in my case, the bike replaced the subway, and instead of the soulless skyscrapers of an office center, I started working in a cozy coworking space with a garden where roses bloom year-round 🌹.

↳ Conveniences like dress codes are a thing of the past - I never understood the relevance of clothing to professionalism.

I see two main advantages of remote work:

↳ Development of independence: there's no Maria or Peter sitting near you to give you hints or do something instead of you; you have to figure it out yourself.

↳ Considering all the above, your professional growth happens much faster.

What are your thoughts on the 100% remote format?

#remoteworker #remoteworklife #remotework

I created Dedicado Agency in 2024. The goal behind it was simple: prove to myself that I can make marketing work and make it clearly measurable.

Why this idea?

Before that, I’d seen so many teams (including myself) doing so many things that didn’t produce results:

- Generating reports for the sake of reports, full of BS
- Infinitely forwarding emails back and forth to approve one simple thing that could’ve been approved in 2 minutes
- Burning budgets on channels that didn’t generate any profit and inventing metrics to "prove" they actually bring results

The more I run my agency, the more I understand this story is less and less about money for me, and more about finding the connection between business results and marketing activities. And for that, I can tolerate a lot:

- Spending more and more money on tools, even if projects can go unprofitable
- Working with "hard clients" who aren’t very friendly, if I see they have product-market fit
- Focusing 100% on my work and on nothing else

That’s why the agency is called Dedicado [Dedicated].

Go all the way to the end.

I’d like to say this is a joke, but there’s zero irony here. I’m pretty damn serious.

🤑 How much does DIY outreach cost?

Last week I did a quick exercise to understand how much money you need for lead gen tools to launch properly on your own — and I was kinda shocked 🤪.

Let’s use our starter plan at Dedicado Agency as a benchmark.

2,000 contacts: 5,000 emails + 1,000 LinkedIn connections for $1,990/month

Let’s go:

↳ Lemlist (2 seats) — $198 (LinkedIn + email sender)
↳ Apollo — $100 (contact source)
↳ LinkedIn Sales Navigator — $120 (LinkedIn contact source)
↳ OpenAI API — $50 (to plug AI into spreadsheets, etc.)
↳ Apollo scrapers — $30 (so you don’t hit limits)
↳ MillionVerifier — $30 (email verification)
↳ Catch-All Verifier — $20 (to double-check emails after MillionVerifier)
↳ GetProspect — $50 (Sales Navigator scraper + email finder)
↳ Make.com — $19 (automations)
↳ Domains (10) — $130 (one-time payment)
↳ Google Workspace via Zapmail (12) — $70
↳ Apify — $100 (scrapers)

Then you choose:

🔴 Budget option:
GPT for Sheets — $30 (data work)
Perplexity Pro for 3 accounts — $20 (website research)

🟡 Optimal option:
Clay Explorer — $349 (data work)

🟢 Recommended add-on:
+ MasterInbox — $299 (reply management)

What you get in the end to launch your campaign:

🔴 Budget option:
$967 [$817/mo + $150 once a year]

🟡 Optimal option:
$1,317 [$1,167/mo + $150 once a year]

🟢 Optimal option with the recommended add-on (MasterInbox):
$1,616 [$1,466/mo + $150 once a year]

Writing this not only for you, but also for myself — to understand where the money is actually going. 😂

Outbound should work like this:

- A steady flow of interested leads
- Converting into meetings
- Meetings turning into sales

Yes, there can be nuances:

- The % of interested people can vary a lot
- You may need 2-3 follow-ups before someone agrees to a call
- The deal cycle can stretch out, and it’s not guaranteed a deal happens within a month

But the main thing is this:

!! Understanding that people are replying and that there’s interest. !!

If you have replies and you have interest, you can:

- Scale volumes multiple times
- Fine-tune your offer to make it more attractive
- Add extra channels (LinkedIn, WhatsApp, etc.)

But if you don’t have that, you need to think about 3 key things:

- Who you’re pitching
- What you’re pitching
- Do they actually need it

Because if at scale (1,000+ contacts) you’re not getting replies, most likely you’re not hitting the right audience with the thing they actually want.

Because if you are hitting it, people will forgive you for:

- Not-perfect deliverability
- AI-generated profile pics
- Domains that lead nowhere
- Your non-native or ChatGPT-ish English

All of that matters and affects conversion rate. But it’s not the core thing.

The core thing is understanding what your audience needs and communicating value that can actually satisfy that need.

That’s it!

Helping Founders Scale, Prepare, and Exit | Value & Profit Growth | Live Streaming Business Development | Buying & Selling Businesses | Chief Exit Officer | LinkedIn Live Stream Host

Running a business was supposed to give you more freedom, not take it away.

But somewhere along the way, growth slowed. The work got heavier. You’re buried in day-to-day decisions, your team is busy, but results aren’t where they should be. Instead of scaling, it feels like you’re stuck.

That’s not failure. That’s a business plateau. And it’s more common than most business owners are willing to admit.

I help fix that.

For more than 25 years, I’ve worked with owners and leadership teams in manufacturing, ecommerce, and B2B services to help them grow businesses that run better, generate more value, and eventually become sellable when the time is right.

Through Exit Your Way, I guide B2B companies to build systems, elevate teams, and create exit options, even if they don’t plan to sell for years. Through our work at B2Btail with the Digital Game Plan strategy development/execution process, we help companies stop being the best kept secret by creating marketing foundations that attract their ideal customers and position them for long-term success.

My focus is simple: helping you build a business that works, whether you’re in the room or not.

Common challenges I help solve:

Low visibility: Your best customers don’t know you exist. We fix that by aligning messaging, strategy, and marketing assets to bring them to you.

Owner overload: If everything depends on you, growth hits a wall. We help build teams and systems that keep moving, even when you step away.

Exit confusion: You want out someday, but the path forward is unclear. We build companies buyers want and owners are proud of.

When it works, here’s what changes:

Customers find you because your message finally speaks their language

Your team handles the day-to-day, freeing you to focus on higher-value work

You move from reacting to leading, and from being stuck to scaling intentionally

I’ve built and sold companies, led investor-backed teams, and helped founders grow from $5 million to $30 million and beyond. I bring the tools, perspective, and calm needed to lead through messy growth and prepare for clean, profitable exits.

But this isn’t just about growth or selling. It’s about control over your time, your team, your income, and your future.

If you’re ready to lead again instead of constantly catching up, I’d be glad to talk.

damon@exityourway.com

425-654-7757
exityourway.com | b2btail.com

You’ve built something great. Let’s make sure it works for you.

Damon Pistulka √

Digital transformation is critical in business today.


This journey can be daunting, but it's worth it.


Here's a simple checklist:

🔷Define what expanding your market reach your digital transformation will improve in your business .

🔷Evaluate and select strategies that help you achieve these goals.

🔷Encourage your team to embrace digital change by creating an environment where experimentation is welcomed.

Digital transformation unlocks new opportunities and addresses challenges head-on that will significantly improve your business.  Just like the caterpillar turning into the butterfly so it can fly north and return.


⚡Digital transformation is about taking calculated steps towards a better business.⚡


How is your business taking the digital leap?

⭐ Helping owners grow their businesses with coaching, training, systems, and a supportive community. ⭐

👉Subscribe to "The Best Kept Secret Sauce" newsletter for strategies that turn whispers into conversations. (link in my profile)

🔔 Follow me for thoughts on business growth, leadership, and life.


Video credit - benjaminhill

#DigitalTransformation #SmallBusiness #Innovation #Technology #Growth

Helping Business Owners Achieve Significant Profit Growth | Transformative Business Development | Transaction Advisory | LinkedIn Live Stream Host

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Damon Pistulka √

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