audience & revenue growth tips for B2B startups and creators

My mission is to build predictable pipelines for B2B startups. I share what I learn along the way. 

Read more if you are ready to build your pipeline 👇

💡 I am super relevant if you are:

→ Indie Hacker
→ Freelancer
→ Early Startup Founder
→ B2B Sales Person
→ Creator (any profession)

✍️ I write about:

→ B2B sales
→ Go to market strategies
→ Signal-based prospecting

Little more about me:

Cryptocurrency Investor. SaaS Enthusiast. Agriculture Business Owner. 

Lived in 3 countries.

I'm a T-shaped growth person who has experience in sales, content marketing, and growth.

Drop me a LinkedIn message if you need any help.

We will keep it simple.

Twitter: @sehaokudan

https://calendly.com/sehaokudan/30min

Seha Okudan

Helping B2B founders turn LinkedIn into deals | GTM Strategist

5 worst discovery questions:

5 difficult scenarios for salespeople:
(Even for the top ones.)

5 difficult scenarios for salespeople:

Stop trying to fake urgency in B2B. 
(it doesn't work)

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁:

→ Knowing pain
→ Understanding the impact of pain

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝟮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀:

1️⃣ Not every problem is worth solving

Trying to create an urgency won't work if they don't have something that is worth solving.

Nobody will buy a strong painkiller for a mild headache, even if it’s the last day of a 20% discount.

If the impact of the pain is close to zero, no urgency will stick.

2️⃣ A problem can have different solutions

Even if the pain is real, buyers still have options.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻:

•⁠ ⁠Build in-house
•⁠ ⁠Pick a cheaper workaround
•⁠ ⁠Wait until the budget frees up

Both a raincoat and an umbrella protect you from rain.

If you don’t show why your path is better, faster, or safer;

Urgency dies.

𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥

𝗧𝗼 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆:

-⁠ ⁠Find the pain that matters most
- ⁠Show the true cost of doing nothing
- ⁠Prove why solving it now beats later
- ⁠Position your solution as the safest path

Deals move when urgency is real. 

Not when it’s forced.

How do you create urgency without sounding pushy?

5 Unexpected Things in Sales
(hope they happen to you today)

5 Unexpected things in sales:

Contact data is out of control.
(for real)

Don't get me wrong.

I don't mind people pitching me.

I do it every day, too.

BUT

Every single week, some people:

- Add me to lists I never joined.
- Drop me into random waitlists.
- Email me again after I unsubscribe.
- Promise what no one can deliver.
- Sends emails written with poor prompts.
- Message me on WhatsApp out of nowhere.

I block them. They switch mailboxes.
I say, “I’m not a fit,” they keep texting.
I say it on the phone, they keep selling.

“I want to tell you about a promo…”
 “There’s a new offer…”

I don't want to click on report Spam.
I don't want to be rude.
I get it, we all try to make a living.

But this is not outreach.
This is not marketing.

This is SPAM.

Are some people ruining the industry?

Bad contact data can kill your business.
(real examples)

Your data provider is the most important part of your tech stack.
It is non-negotiable.

If your data is bad, you lose.
Simple as that.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝟭:
Picked the best provider, tested ICP coverage.
Checked accuracy and verified test emails.
Only had HubSpot + the data provider (not ideal).

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀:
Hit targets.
Scaled the team.
Added new tools later.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝟮:
Paid for expensive tool stacks for sequencing, etc.
Then, they selected the most cost effective data provider.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀:
High bounce rates.
Burned mailboxes.
Low call connect rates.
The team missed targets.
The company started downsizing the sales team.

𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀:
1.  Build a sample list. Verify it.
2. Check coverage across your ICP + regions.
3. Choose tools that use waterfall enrichment.

If your data provider is wrong, nothing you do will work.
You cannot afford bad data.

How do you choose your contact data provider?

12 mistakes that cost you deals:

Grow Your Career 1% Daily - I’ll Show You How | Follow for Tips on Learning, Professional Development, and Productivity | Professor | MBA + JD

Is this the part where I talk about brand voice, distribution, and storytelling across the funnel? Or say we “help companies scale content that converts”?

𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.

But what we really do is write content your team doesn’t have to worry about, so you can stay focused on strategy, not sentence structure.

𝗛𝗲𝘆, 𝗜’𝗺 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻. 👋

And my path here hasn’t exactly followed a playbook:
Banking → Law School → Teaching → L&D → Content

(Yeah… it’s been a ride.)

Today, I run a B2B content agency with my wife. We keep it lean and personal — just the two of us, plus our kids and a couple barky mini schnauzers. 

At Damn Smart Marketing, we give marketers writing they can trust and results they can stand behind.

✓ Content that sounds like you (not a template, not bland AI)
✓ Full support from idea to publication
✓ A partner who gets content
✓ Zero fluff, zero hand-holding
✓ More time to focus on what matters

In other words: you get to 🚀 while we handle the ✍️.

𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿? 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸:

1️⃣ 𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
Blogs, LinkedIn posts, newsletters, case studies. If it’s got words, we’ll write it. You get to run the show without sweating every sentence.

2️⃣ 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀.
We’ve built an AI-assisted workflow that makes posting easy, effective, and actually worth reading.

If you're curious, DM me. 

No cold, hard pitch, I promise. Just a real convo about where you’re headed and whether some damn smart content can help.

Stephen 😀

Stephen Mostrom

I'm 36 years young today. 🥳 

Insanely grateful for...
- Donna, who runs our agency and our home like she’s got two full-time jobs (because she does).
- Two boys who’ve never met a quiet morning... or an off switch.
- Clients who think bold, talk straight, and pay on time.  

Doubling down on...
- Writing that sounds human, not “brand-optimized.”
- Saying “no” faster so I can say “hell yes” louder.
- The quiet stuff that compounds: relationships, reading, reflection.

Time to stop...
- Letting perfect get in the way of done.
- Underestimating the compounding power of showing up.
- Thinking about the next moment instead of living the current one.

And finally, my ONE BIG WISH. 

→ That we look out for each other.
Because it’s rough out there. Layoffs, burnout, uncertainty everywhere.

A quick intro.
A check-in text.
A “hey, you’d be great for this.”

The small stuff reminds people they’re not alone.
We need it more than ever. 

❤️

Writer for B2B Tech & Finance ✍️ | Running a content agency with my wife (and yes, still married) | Human words, AI workflows | JD & MBA

Finally got my hands on Brianna Doe’s new book. 

I’m *unapologetically* a fan. 

After years of admiring Brianna’s work from afar, I’ve gotten to hang with her twice in the last month. She’s exactly who she seems online — smart, grounded, and allergic to fluff.

So yeah, I ordered her new book the second it dropped.

The Unapologetic Professional?
Yes please!

My 3 favorites from a first read: 

1. Battle imposter syndrome with a brag book and better questions

Brag book = your personal highlight reel
Better questions = reframing those nasty “what ifs” into “what’s true.”

2. Community, community, community

Brianna makes the case that a small, intentional circle of mentors and peers does more for your career than any blog post or podcast ever will.

Find your community. Or build your own if you have to. 
Then go all in. 

3. Shift from job security to skill security

As Brianna puts it, real security comes from "knowing that no matter where you work, what industry you're in, or how technology evolves, you bring something to the table that will always be valuable." Truth.

Bottom line:

If you care at all about taking control of your career, The Unapologetic Professional is a must-read. 

5 stars. Highly recommend.

LinkedIn organic reach is ☠️... right?

I synced up with my favorite career coach, Julia Korn, to share 5 pro tips from the 1000+ LinkedIn posts I wrote for execs this year. 

And the 10M+ impressions and 20K+ followers they drove. 
... Organically. 

1. Write like you talk
2. Get real
3. Subtract
4. Where's the proof?
5. Post, adapt, repeat

The article is LIVE (!)

If you're looking to grow on LinkedIn, don't miss this.
→ https://lnkd.in/eZj-25AS

1. There’s NOTHING like in-person. I love meeting folks on LinkedIn, coffee chats on Zoom. But the energy, the spark, the serendipity of in-person… priceless.

2. AI or human creativity? AI and human creativity? It’s the great debate at DigiMarCon Las Vegas. And I feel like I’ve seen every angle. Tomorrow: my thoughts on “how to out-write AI.” 

3. Case studies over hot takes. The talks that stood out came from practitioners. Folks in the trenches. They’re sharing what worked, what didn’t, and why.

4. Marketers are crushing it… even in a brutal environment. So much change, so much pressure. And still, there’s serious innovation and a can-do attitude. Refreshing.

5. Still can’t believe I’m emceeing. The shy, back-of-the-room introvert now standing on the stage in front of hundreds. Pretty sure that if you’re willing to push through and look like a newbie, you can do almost anything.

Oh, and if you’re in Vegas, hit up Esther’s Kitchen. Best focaccia and pasta on the planet.

No alternative text description for this image

Donna (extrovert): Let's be room hosts at MarketingProfs B2B Forum!
Me (introvert): ahahaha cool cool cool 😅 😱 ☠️

But where else can you hang with hundreds of B2B diehards?

Where else can you get a front-row seat to the sharpest voices in marketing and walk away with a dozen lines you wish you’d written?

Where else can you see Ann Handley dance alongside a marching band?

So yeah… 
This guy’s a room host. 

If you need me, I’ll be by the door acting like I didn’t rehearse my “welcome everyone!” a dozen or more times. 

And apparently I’m doing it again tomorrow. 🤷

Took me 2 years and 1000s of prompts, but I finally figured out how to get ChatGPT to kill clichés and vanilla writing.

The trick’s embarrassingly simple (can’t believe it took me this long).

→ Ask for the unexpected.

LLMs are trained to be average.
They scrape billions of words and learn to play it safe. Right down the middle of the bell curve.

For writing, that means:

- Exhausted metaphors
- Safe, recycled phrasing
- Copy that sounds like an intern with a thesaurus

Not how you stand out in a crowded feed.

When you ask for the unexpected, you pull Chat out of the center and into the edges where the interesting stuff lives.

Try prompts like:

“Swap this bland word for something unexpected. Give me 5 options.”

“Give me 3 unexpected examples that prove this idea.”

“What are unexpected ways to start this paragraph?”

Fewer filler words.
More scroll stoppers.

Hope this helps! ✌️

The *hot take* has officially joined the LinkedIn cliché hall of fame.

Why you should ditch it (and what to do instead) ↓

1. Most takes are lukewarm at best. 
If you're calling out a problem everyone in your industry knows, what's hot about that take? You're more likely to get a "duh" than a "wow!"

2. Most takes point an ugly finger. 
Your reader should be the shining knight of your content. But most hot takes treat them like the stable boy (and not the Princess Bride type). That's not cool.

3. Most takes offer exactly *zero* solutions. 
Great, it's broken. Tell me something I don't know... like how to fix it. Or where to go for answers. Or, idk, a way to make my life better, not just swim in the sea of negativity. 

It's time to retire the hot take and replace it with something better. 

I call this the "Hot Give." 

The Hot Give still brings the energy, but it leaves your reader with something useful. It’s not about outrage. It’s about outcomes.

The formula...

1. Share a scalding, fiery take.
Put in the work. Unearth something your reader has been feeling and living and wrestling with for years, but has never had words for. See Brendan Hufford's "Checkbox Marketing" for an A+ example. 

2. Point at the problem, not your reader. 
Your shining knight needs a dragon. Aim your ire at that. Instead of "manager, do better," say "manager, let's knock out this productivity dragon that keeps devouring your calendar." 

3. Offer real solutions for real people. 
Sure, use your hot take to pull someone in. But pay off their attention by giving them immediate, actionable, and targeted advice. Something that turns their "ugh" moment into a "oh yeah." 

Bottom line: 
The hot take had a good (?) run. 

But if we're serious about LinkedIn being more than just clickbait, it's time to evolve. 

Scalding take.
Attack the problem.
Deliver value.

That’s bringing the real heat. 🔥

I sat at the bar at Esther’s Kitchen in Vegas, chatting with the bartender for a half hour before she dropped the bomb that she was a trained pastry chef. 

“Don’t know if I’m allowed to ask this,” I said. “But what’s your secret ingredient... the one nobody knows about?” 

She looked around. Then leaned forward and replied…

“I put freshly-ground cracked pepper in my cinnamon rolls.” 

A few days later, I'm in my kitchen hand-grinding pepper into my banana bread mixture, and you know what?

👨‍🍳 💋 

In the right amount, this spicy source — that's usually reserved for steak and avocado toast — pulls every flavor forward. 

And I never would've guessed it in a million years. 

That's the beauty of the insider secret. 
The kind you don't get by asking ChatGPT for tips. 

It's battle-tested by experts and shared in quiet conversations. Most of the time, all you have to do is ask. 

So here's a little practice for the next time you're talking to someone who *knows their stuff*...

Ask: "What's your secret ingredient?"
Then start taking notes.

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Seha Okudan

Stephen Mostrom

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The Battle

Seha Okudan

Stephen Mostrom

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