Stacie Sussman

CRO l We're the all-star team that'll actually increase your bottom line revenue l Business Strategy l Operations l Sales l Marketing l Revenue Growth

After 17 years in media sales, I thought success meant grinding harder and steering the ship alone.

Then I looked around at the CROs I admired—brilliant, well-paid executives who looked… haggard. Burnt out. Like they’d lost their spark somewhere between board meetings and impossible targets.

That’s when it hit me: the system was broken. And I’d lived it.

I spent those 17 years running into obstacles that shouldn’t have existed, feeling like a one-woman show when sales should have been a team sport. I watched talented leaders march in place, trying the same patch-job solutions while the real problems—misaligned departments, broken attribution, CROs and CMOs working against each other—went unfixed.

For the past 7+ years, my team and I have been fixing foundations, not symptoms.

At RevUp Advisory, we take B2B businesses from duct-taped growth to marketing and sales alignment that actually works. We create cohesion between departments that have been at war, align everything with executive vision, and build operational excellence that turns chaos into consistent revenue.

Here’s the truth: we often rip out bad consulting work first. Everyone says they can drive more sales. But saying it and delivering sustainable results? Two very different things.

The transformation? Those scathing emails from bosses stop coming. Pipeline reports finally line up. Attribution makes sense. And instead of being seen as “that hopeless department,” you’re respected as the strategic partner you always were.

Because here’s what I’ve learned: companies should work smarter, not harder. And when you fix the foundation instead of patching the cracks, everyone gets their spark back.

Ready to stop the patch-jobs and actually scale? 

Let’s talk: stacie@revupadvisory.com

CRO - Revenue - Sales - Marketing - Operations - Business Strategy - Growth Plans - Customer Journey - Salesforce - HubSpot - Enablement - Training - OKRs - KPIs - Tech Stack - Pipeline - Forecasting - Sales Operations - Marketing Operations - Revenue Operations- B2B - Founders - CRO - CMO - CRM  - Pricing - Revenue Modeling - Sales Funnel - Marketing Funnel - Customer Success - Foundational Structure - ICP - CAC - LTVC - ARR - MRR - Fundraising - Leadership Consulting - Management Consulting - Sales Coaching - Compensation Planning - Workshops - Training - AI Agents - Process Optimizations - Flows - Automations - Tech Stack

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Yesterday was International Women’s Day.
I spent mine at my first hackathon, n a swanky Miami tech office, laptop open, a few business cards in my pocket, not knowing a single person in the room.

I’d seen that Lovable was hosting SheBuilds events globally and thought, “Why not show up?” 

So I drove over an hour on a Sunday to do exactly that.

What happened next? I got to build alongside engineering legends and AI innovators. I had conversations about the sustainability of AI that stretched my thinking. I met women who were creating, sharing, collaborating and genuinely lifting each other up.

I have a motto in life and in work. ABL—Always Be Learning.

If I’m going to help my clients navigate what AI and emerging tech mean for their marketing and sales systems, I can’t just read about it or theorize from the sidelines. I need to get my hands dirty. I need to understand how these tools actually work, what’s possible, and where the gaps are.

So yesterday, I built a marketing engine diagnostic using Lovable’s vibe coding platform. 

Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But it’s real, it’s functional, and it represents what I believe. You can’t connect the dots for others if you’re not willing to connect them for yourself first.

This work and these platforms are changing how businesses operate. 

The CMOs and revenue leaders I partner with are facing these shifts every single day. My job isn’t to have all the answers. It’s to show up, learn alongside them, and bring back what I discover in the field.

That’s the commitment. That’s the work.

Grateful for the incredible humans I met yesterday. 

Grateful for Thalía Diedrick  and the GoTu Team for hosting. And grateful to the Loveable team for building tools that make this kind of exploration possible.

And lastly there’s a Link to our marketing engine  diagnostic in the comments. 

CC: Noelle R.

RevUp Advisory | We fix broken systems so CMOs can prove ROI | Systems & Revenue Alignment l AI Acceleration l Podcast Host, C-Suite Strategies

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This week, I judged Harvard Business School’s 6th annual pitch competition for the South Florida Alumni Angels. 

4 presentations back-to-back showed me exactly what separates founders who get funded from those who don’t.

First pitch: The founder owned that room. Knew her numbers cold. Answered tough questions without flinching. Her deck told a clear story, and she made eye contact with every single judge. When we asked about competitors? She rattled off three and explained exactly why her approach was different. Her financials weren’t just pretty slides—they actually made sense.

Confidence wasn’t arrogance—it was preparation meeting opportunity.

Next pitch: Brilliant subject matter experts. Solid tech. But they were reading off notes, couldn’t hide their nerves, and when we offered feedback? You could feel the resistance. Their competitive analysis was thin, and the financial projections felt more like wishful thinking than strategic planning.

Here’s the thing about pitch competitions—judges give feedback whether you want it or not. That’s literally the point.

The gap between these two wasn’t talent or even the quality of their ideas.

It was readiness.

If you’re going to compete for funding, here’s what “ready” actually looks like…

• Know your story arc cold. Problem, Market, Solution, Team, Traction. In that order. No stumbling.
• Your financials need to make sense. Not aspirational math—actual strategic projections we can believe in.
• Research your competitive landscape. Know who else is playing in your space and why you’re different. Saying “we have no competitors” is a red flag.
• Your deck is visually clean and your narrative is tight. No mental gymnastics required for judges to follow along.
• Show traction. Even early MVP wins matter. Revenue matters more.
• Be open to feedback. Especially when it stings. That’s how you get better.
The founders who get this? They don’t just present well. They make you want to write the check.

If you’re gearing up for a pitch competition, don’t just apply and hope for the best. 

Get pitch-deck ready first. The difference shows up in the room, and it shows up in the outcomes.

It was a pleasure to meet you: Sertaç Oral, Tupa Gomes, Antonio Vasaiely and Danilo "Danny" Castillo.

I left at the top of my sales game because I was winning at the wrong thing. 

PIcture this…I was crushing it in Manhattan sales. Big brands. High-paid role. Racing between Midtown and the Lower East Side, Tribeca to Soho and back again—subway tracks were my office. 

From the outside? I was winning.

But here’s what nobody saw, I was being measured on outcomes I couldn’t fully control.

I’d pitch programs I knew were wrong for the client. 

Quote pricing I knew was too high to close. 

Chase business from clients I knew were bad bill payers. 

And when things didn’t work out? 
When I didn’t hit quota? 

It wasn’t because I failed, it was because the SYSTEM was broken.

I could see exactly what needed fixing…

The pricing strategy that was killing deals
The program offerings that didn’t match market needs
The client vetting process that set us up to fail
The operational chaos that made everyone’s job harder

But I “only had control over so much.”

So I’d speak up. “I have ideas about how to fix this.”

And I’d hear some version of, “That’s not your job. Just focus on your quota.”

Here’s what I finally realized, I wasn’t failing. I was succeeding at something too small for what I was capable of doing. 

I didn’t leave because I couldn’t hit numbers. I left because I wanted to build something where FIXING THE FOUNDATION was the whole point—not a side conversation nobody wanted to have.

That’s why I built RevUp Advisory. Because CMOs and revenue leaders deserve a partner who doesn’t just help them hit their numbers within broken systems—but actually FIXES the systems so success becomes sustainable.

You don’t have to keep playing someone else’s game by someone else’s rules.

Sometimes the bravest thing you can do is build the game you were meant to play all along.

Quick question, when’s the last time you Googled yourself? Now here’s the better question.When’s the last time you asked an AI about yourself?

Because your buyers aren’t just Googling anymore. 

They’re asking ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity—and getting synthesized answers before they ever visit a website.

And if you’re not showing up in those answers? 

You don’t exist in their consideration set.

I recorded this quick episode for every B2B leader who’s been following our SEO → AEO conversation on our podcast, C-Suitr Strategies. 

Listen to it. Watch it. Then actually DO what I’m asking.

Because what you’re about to discover isn’t just a marketing problem—it’s an attribution crisis that’s making your dark funnel even darker.

Listen to our 15 minute solo episode and let me know what you find.

And yeah, if you’re driving… keep going but do this later. I’m serious.

So you tested it. You asked the AI tools about your company, your category, your competitors.

Now here’s the question that matters…

Why did some names show up… and others didn’t?
It’s not random. And it’s not just about who has the best SEO.

AI-powered answer engines use completely different criteria to decide whose content gets cited. 

And if you’re still optimizing for the old SEO playbook? You’re invisible.

In this video, I break down what answer engines are actually looking for—and why keywords alone won’t cut it anymore.

This is where it gets interesting.

(And yes, my nerdy brain is very excited about this. You’ve been warned.)

Listen to our full episode below for more details.

🔥 Tom Slocum

Your Future Homie- In- Law | Founder @ The SD Lab | Sales Consultant | 7x Strategic Advisor | 4x Sales Leader | SDR Coach | #empathyactivist

Hey I’m Tom I help B2B leaders, SDR teams and founders fix broken outbound when pipeline is dry and reps are stuck spinning

After 18 years in sales from 400+ daily cold calls in a cubicle to building $3M+ in pipeline from scratch I’ve built a repeatable system that gets outbound back on track

Here’s how I help

Weekly workshops (theory + tactical execution)

Rebuilt call flows, messaging and targeting

Sequencing + workflow installation

Call reviews with live coaching + scorecards

Fast performance gains tied to KPIs

Client Wins

Kustomer → 50%+ lift in meetings → 100% SDR attainment in 3 months
ServiceChannel → 30% SQL lift with sharper messaging + coaching
Rockledge, Distran → 10–20 meetings/month booked after outbound reset

I’ve also worked with brands like ServiceChannel, Kustomer, Apollo, ZoomInfo, Smartlead, Surfe and more to coach teams and represent their tools

Outbound isn’t dead it just needs fixing

👉 Want sharper messaging, predictable pipeline and reps who book meetings?

Book an Outbound Strategy Tour (Featured below)

Or join my newsletter (7K+ readers) for free outbound playbooks (below)

Founder

The SD Lab is a top-of-funnel sales consulting agency. The SD Lab offers customized services to help businesses optimize their sales process and achieve measurable results. The SD Lab offers a 14-week Revenue Acceleration program, Custom Sales Playbooks, and Team Coaching packages that cover all things Top of Funnel. If you're looking to optimize your sales process and achieve sales success, The SD Lab is here to help. Let's work together to transform your sales approach

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Stacie Sussman

🔥 Tom Slocum

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