Sam Jacobs

Founder & CEO

I build elite, modern GTM operators - CROs, CMOs, CCOs, and Revenue Operations leaders - who drive growth at the world’s fastest-growing B2B companies, including Salesforce, Hubspot, Stripe, Oracle, Snowflake, Clay, Klaviyo, Xero, Upside, Owner.com, Otter.ai, and Square

That’s the mission behind Pavilion, the leading global community of over 10,000 high-performance go-to-market executives. We exist to help ambitious professionals unlock and realize their full potential—not just as employees, but as leaders, thinkers, and builders.  

Pavilion is a paid membership for GTM leaders at every level. We provide tactical support, advanced education - incorporating financial literacy, advanced AI-powered GTM motions, and modern leadership tools - career acceleration, and a powerful peer network to help Members perform better in their roles and grow into the next. We operate in every major global hub and represent a new way of thinking about career development—community-powered, principle-led, and relentlessly practical.

This all started with a belief: that greatness exists within all of us. Sometimes it just needs the right mechanism to bring it forth.

To learn more, visit: www.joinpavilion.com

I also co-host the Topline Podcast with AJ Bruno and Asad Zaman.

And I wrote a bestselling book, Kind Folks Finish First, about building with kindness at the center.

Host, Sales Hacker Podcast

Host of The Sales Hacker Podcast featuring interviews and discussion with leading sales practitioners from high growth companies around the world.  

Learn more here: https://www.saleshacker.com/podcast-announcement/

I thought AI SDRs were a gimmick.  I no longer think that.  I do think that if you have a team of poorly trained people sending thousands of crappy emails, having a bot replace them won't do very much.

But, I can also recognize that an agent sending thousands of emails is cheaper than a team of humans sending thousands of emails.

And I also appreciate instant follow-up.

We've long discussed the exponential half-life of lead value as response time increases.  

Following up within 1 minute is 10x more valuable than an hour which is 10x more valuable than a day.

So there is definitely a place for AI SDRs.

But I think benchmarks and standards are important.  

That's why I partnered with Otter.ai to put together a new guide for B2B sales leaders on how to unlock the potential of AI SDRs.

What you’ll learn:

- Benchmarks that matter: See how AI SDRs outperform traditional reps with 10x outreach, 3x faster replies, and 50% lower cost per meeting.

- Key advantages: AI SDRs persistently follow up and boost meeting conversion rates from 15% to over 25%.

- Common pitfalls: Learn what to watch out for from over-automation to data accuracy and how to balance AI efficiency with human insight.

- Measurement framework: Know which KPIs every sales leader should track, including qualified meetings, cost per meeting, response time, and lead quality.

- Ethical and operational best practices: Maintain transparency, protect data, and know when to hand the conversation back to your rep.

AI SDRs are booking twice as many qualified meetings at half the cost. 

This guide shows you how to get there faster: https://lnkd.in/ezn6i-Vy

Data in the table below provided by Otter.

#sponsored

CEO @ Pavilion | Co-Host of Topline Podcast | WSJ Best Selling Author of "Kind Folks Finish First"

There's a pipeline crisis happening right now in B2B tech. Which means there's a growth crisis.  

And while this website is full of a lot of very talented people who can get a lot of likes and engagement on social media posts, 

Communities are where the real operators are spending time.

Real operators don't have endless hours building their brand on social media.  They're too busy running their teams to try and master the ever changing algorithm.  

But they do have time to talk to each other, share ideas and best practices, and try and find strategies that unlock growth.

This was one of my favorite such conversations this past week in Pavilion.  

And the best part was 15 different CROs, GTM operators, and true practitioners leaning in to share real stories from the front lines.  

The way we're going to navigate our new persistent state of uncertainty is through a community of diverse vetted expert opinions in constant dialogue.  

There is no single framework that will save you.

Nor one single thought leader (including me).

It's going to be about you and your engagement with a group of fellow practitioners.  

We've built the very best GTM community in tech over the past 10 years and I'd be honored if you joined us and contributed to the conversation.  

Click here: https://lnkd.in/gtYxeg7J

We're heading for a crash.  Unit economics was the unlock that drove 20 years of software growth.  Once people understood the basic math, we could confidently invest in GROWTH.  But when a new generation of AI founders don't understand that math, everything breaks.

BACKGROUND

Unit economics describe the relationship between:

- How you much you spend to get a customer
- How much they pay you back
- What it costs you to service them
- How long they stick around

The basic assumptions are:

- It's expensive to change someone's mind (CAC)
- Once they change it, they stick around for awhile (Retention, GRR)
- It costs little to service them (Gross Margin, Cost of Service)

So ... 

- Even if it's expensive to acquire a customer
- Because they stay for a long time and it's cheap to keep them
- You can spend more than you make today knowing they'll be around for a long time and pay you back

THE AI HYSTERIA BREAKS THE MATH

Fast forward to today.

- Is it still expensive to acquire a customer?  YES and it's getting more expensive all the time

- Is it still cheap to service them? NO most AI companies have manufacturing-like gross margins. Replit has negative gross margins.  Meaning they lose money every time they make a sale.  So AI companies don't look like traditional software.

- Do they stick around a long time? Probably NOT.  If you can grow that quickly on Experimental Revenue you have no idea if those people are going to stay.  And you need them to stay MUCH longer because your margins are so terrible. 

The entire equation is broken.

Once the equation breaks, you eventually hit a wall, run out of money, and shut down your company.

As long as investors will underwrite bad math, you're safe.

The minute the winds change direction, you're screwed.

So what do you?

Don't listen to me, I'm just over here trying to teach people to how to build long term businesses.  I'm probably doing it wrong :)

But if you do want to survive the chaos, DM me and we can talk about the little community I'm building to empower GTM operators of the future to flourish in a new world of persistent uncertainty.

Grainger

Strategic Accounts Executive

Responsibility for multi-national sourcing operations team consisting of 4 leaders and 50+ team members across the US & Canada.

Sr. Manager, Sourcing Operations; US & Canada

Tasked with financial turnaround of large geographic sales territory while leading sales execution efforts across 8 team members to maximize market share, profitability, and revenue growth.

District Sales Manager - AZ,TX,NM

Responsible for managing and negotiating approximately $750M+ in sales contract and compliance opportunities. This included leading the deal development process while leveraging cross-functional resources to ensure ROI.

Areas of focus included:
2015-2017: National Accounts; Deal Capture
2013-2015: MFG/Oil & Gas
2011-2013: Mid-Market/Territory Sales

Customer Lifecycle Project Manager

Developed 2010 Segment Strategy for Grainger Healthcare, a $500M+ vertical business unit. Tasked with capturing the Voice of Customer while analyzing, validating, and communicating industry data, market forecasts, and key business issues to internal and external business partners. Partnered with various internal/external resources to build relevant customer offer and go-to-market strategies. 

• Key cross-functional leader in developing business road maps, strategy, and communication plans
• Developed and deployed strategic framework to support short & long-term business team objectives
• Provided “state of the business” assessments for Sr Leadership 
• Established segment mission, vision, priorities, and critical success factors

Segment Strategy Manager

Served as the Sustainability subject matter expert for all Grainger Sales & Service Channels. Tasked with increasing brand awareness via Catalog, Direct Mail, e-Marketing, while delivering $200M+ in top-line sales/$88M+ in contribution margin.

Marketing Manager - Sustainability

Managed a portfolio of accounts while effectively serving as a Business Solutions Consultant. Developed Strategic Sales Plans focusing on new business development, customer relationship management, and driving revenue.

Target segments included: 
Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Manufacturing, and Contractors.
Sales Expertise included: Sustainability, Emergency Preparedness, and Business Continuity

• 2008 Achievement: Promoted to Corporate role 
• 2007 Achievement: Grew portfolio 24.4% vs PY
• 2007 Recognition: Apex, Navigator & Annual Achiever
• 2006 Achievement: Grew portfolio 15% vs PY
• 2006 Recognition: Top Performing District (Team Award)

Account Manager - MFG & Contractors

CBRE

• Taken on full-time while in pursuit of a Bachelors Degree as an undergraduate 
• Assisted in the Valuation & Advisory process for hundreds of commercial properties throughout the Midwest
• Utilized advanced databases to help Leadership & Senior Appraisers complete reliable high-profile commercial valuations 
• Developed, Managed, and Deployed Valuation & Advisory information for Cross-Functional Business Partners

Research Analyst

Driven and accomplished servant leader with 20+ years of progressive professional experience across multiple disciplines, including Sales Management, Strategic Marketing, Segment Strategy, Deal Capture, and Sourcing Operations. True passion for building and serving high-performing teams.

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Sam Jacobs

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The Battle

Sam Jacobs

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Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Sam Jacobs's LinkedIn Performance

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