Closed Circuit Selling™ w/ Adem Manderovic + George Coudounaris

Hosted by Adem Manderovic

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104

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Jul 2026

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About the show

Where B2B Playbooks End and The Circuit Begins. Playbooks got us here — but they can’t take us further. They’ve given B2B leaders scripts, tactics, and funnels, but not architecture. And that’s why companies keep burning cash before they make it back. This show is about the shift: from playbooks that patch symptoms, to circuits that fix the system itself. The Circuit is where strategy, timing, product, marketing, and customer success finally connect into one closed loop. If you’ve ever felt that your GTM playbook wasn’t enough — you’re right. The next era of business doesn’t run on playbooks

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July 19, 2026Episode 12755 min

Ep 127 - Why RevOps Fails W/Pasha Irshad & George Coudounaris

In this episode , I sit down with RevOps expert Pasha Irshad to unpack why revenue is really an architecture problem , not just a sales problem. We cut through the AI noise, why your CRM ends up as a “record of optimism,” and what it actually takes to get sales, marketing, and success working as one unit. Why the hardest part of RevOps today is separating what’s real from the AI hype How stacking tools and methodologies on a broken operating system only compounds the mess Why your CRM fills up with inflated pipeline and deals that advance on optimism How misaligned incentives pull sales, marketing, and success in different directions The simple cataloging questions most teams still never ask their buyers Why marketing was never equipped to decide who’s in market — and who should own it instead Practical, bite-size AI use cases that actually move the needle (without adding a 90th operating system) Revenue as an architecture problem and what that changes about how you build your systems Where AI genuinely helps in the sales motion vs. where it just makes better spam How to spot the difference between real alignment and another meeting that changes nothing 00:00 – Cutting Through The AI Noise Without Losing The Plot 00:55 – Welcome Back: Rev Ops With Pasha Irshad 02:48 – The Hardest Thing About Rev Ops Right Now 06:03 – Chasing Tools Versus The Business Fundamentals 07:47 – Why Revenue Is An Architecture Problem, Not A Sales Problem 09:33 – Rev Ops Full Circle: Back To Commercial Management 14:24 – Why Reps Default To Broken Habits Under Pressure 17:14 – How Misaligned Incentives Break Sales And Marketing 20:41 – Can Rev Ops Actually Fix This Or Just Champion It 32:22 – One Source Of Truth That Everyone Muddies 36:12 – Who Really Owns Deciding If An Account Is In Market 42:29 – What It Takes To Get Back To Human Conversations 49:00 – Cool Things Built With Claude Code And AI 52:36 – Wrap Up And Thanks Join our Demand Generation Program : https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School : https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? : https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency Subscribe to the YouTube channel : https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook Subscribe to the newsletter : https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter Get the latest content : https://theb2bplaybook.com/ Partners :https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources Ready to turn revenue architecture into your unfair advantage?

June 19, 2026Episode 12658 min

Ep 126 - Revenue Enablement Masterclass based on 20 years in tech w/Georgia Watson & George Coudounaris

In this episode, George Coudounaris with Georgia Watson, a 21-year IBM veteran, and Adem Manderovic to dig into why sales enablement keeps failing even when companies are spending big on it. We cover: • Why strategy is rarely the problem but execution almost always is • What revenue enablement actually means and why most orgs get it wrong • The real reason AI pilots fail 95% of the time • Why human skills like trust, storytelling and value articulation still win deals If you’re a sales leader, revenue leader or marketer wondering why your sellers still struggle to have commercial conversations despite all the investment you’re making in them. Tune in and learn: • Why tools and training alone don’t move the needle • How incentives and measurement drive the wrong behaviours • What world class enablement actually looks like in practice • Why the best sellers win 88% of the time no matter what they’re handed Links + CTAs Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency SUBSCRIBE to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter GET the latest CONTENT: https://theb2bplaybook.com/ Timestamps: • 00:00 Why Revenue Performance Is an Execution Problem • 00:07 Georgia Watson’s 21 Years at IBM • 00:12 What Revenue Enablement Actually Is • 00:20 The 7-Part Enablement Framework • 00:25 Why AI Pilots Fail 95% of the Time • 00:31 Human Skills AI Can’t Replace • 00:38 Incentives, Measurement and Broken Pipeline Reviews Ready to watch/listen? Drop a comment if you’re tuning in! https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources

April 20, 2026Episode 1251 hr 18 min

Ep 125 - Why Most B2B Sales Methodologies Fail (And What Architecture-First Selling Looks Like Instead) with Kieran Longhurst & George Coudounaris

Most B2B sales methodologies fail for the same reason. Not because the methodology is flawed but because it sits on an operating model never designed to support it. Your team trains on MEDDIC, tweaks CRM fields, and runs Friday scorecards. Six weeks later, everyone is back to booking meetings with the 5% of the market actively buying while the other 95% of your target accounts remain untouched. That silent leak is quietly killing B2B revenue engines. Closed Circuit Selling solves it the next evolution of Predictable Revenue, built from 24 years of frontline B2B selling across 12 industries. A sales methodology only works when architected around the buyer's timeline , not your quarterly targets. It must give reps a reason to engage the 95%, a structure for timing circle-backs, and a closed feedback loop that funnels intelligence back to marketing, product, and leadership. Why most methodologies break There's no shortage of strong frameworks MEDDIC, Challenger, SPIN, Sandler. Yet in nearly every B2B organisation, the methodology lives in a training deck while daily behaviour looks nothing like it. The bottleneck isn't execution. It's architecture . When sales is measured on meetings booked, that metric warps everything: reps skip discovery to hit activity numbers, qualification happens inside the meeting, and marketing gets reduced to feeding MQLs over the wall. The 5% Problem At any moment, roughly 5% of your addressable market is actively in-market. The other 95% are not they're mid-contract, pre-budget, or not ready. When your motion revolves around booking meetings, you disqualify 95% of your future pipeline before the first dial. Every skipped conversation is market intelligence your teams never receive. The 95% aren't refusing to engage they're refusing to take a meeting. They'll share who they use, what they like, when their contract ends, and what would make them switch if you're not trying to sell them in the next ten seconds. Closed Circuit Selling fixes the operating model with four pillars: 1. Catalogue the Market Reps call to understand, not to book meetings. Five questions cover current vendor, desired improvements, contract end date, evaluation timing, and switching triggers. No pitch just structured curiosity. This turns every rep into a live sensor and opens conversations with the 95%. 2. Timing Is Everything Tag every catalogued account into four buckets: Now (0–90 days), Soon (90–180 days), Later (6–12 months), Not Yet (12–24+ months). Engage 3–6–9 months before their window opens so you're the default option when they're ready. 3. Close the Feedback Loop End every catalogue call with: "Can I circle back when you're closer to renewal?" Then route the intelligence: marketing gains competitor insights, product gets roadmap signals, CS improves handovers, and leadership receives market truth. 4. Architecture Over Frameworks Once the first three pillars are running, any tactic (phone, LinkedIn, email, video) works inside the same structure. The architecture carries the team. The book https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/ Partner page https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources More about our programs https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

February 16, 2026Episode 1241 hr 6 min

Ep 124 - Why Revenue Enablement Fails Without Commercial Architecture w/Phil Cleary & George Coudounaris

Your Pipeline Isn’t Unpredictable. It’s Unvalidated. Revenue leaders across SaaS and enterprise sales are describing the same tension: Pipeline coverage looks fine. CRM stages are full. Forecast calls still run. Yet confidence feels thinner than it used to. Close dates slip. Deal sizes shrink late. Forecast conversations rely more on narrative than proof. In a recent discussion, Phil Cleary , who spent over two decades leading revenue enablement at Salesforce , described the issue clearly: “The realness of the pipeline… how much of it is fabricated.” Fabricated doesn’t mean dishonest. It means structurally unvalidated . Deals can progress through stages without being stress-tested for viability. Confidence rises faster than evidence. Stage movement becomes a substitute for truth. That gap is where predictability erodes. When validation isn’t enforced by the system, pipeline can look stable while remaining fragile. Coverage ratios stay healthy. Forecasts still get submitted. Leaders still feel exposed. As Phil Cleary surfaced, the uncertainty many leaders feel isn’t coming from effort or intent — it’s coming from a validation gap . The system allows opportunities to advance without consistently proving they deserve to. At scale, this creates what many leaders call fake pipeline . Not invented deals — unproven ones . A viable deal has evidence behind it. Not enthusiasm. Not activity. Not good discovery calls. Viability requires clear answers to simple questions: Who is driving this internally — and do they have influence? What triggered urgency? What alternatives are being considered? What could stop this? What defines success post–go-live? What is the real decision path? Why now? When is the renewal or contract event? When those answers are missing, the opportunity may be real. It just isn’t forecastable. This is where Adem Manderovic and George Coudounaris introduced cataloguing within Closed Circuit Selling™ . Cataloguing isn’t CRM hygiene. It’s capturing buyer truth in plain language so the organisation stops guessing. It doesn’t speed buyers up. It stops probability inflation. Phil Cleary also highlighted a critical shift in buyer psychology: Fear of Messing Up now outweighs Fear of Missing Out. When buyers fear personal or reputational risk, decision cycles lengthen, committees expand, and scrutiny intensifies. From the outside, this looks like unpredictability. Inside the system, it exposes weak validation and poor continuity. Better questioning frameworks don’t solve that. Visible commercial continuity does. Revenue volatility isn’t a skills problem. It’s a system design problem . Closed Circuit Selling™ is not a sales methodology. It is a commercial architecture. When validation, handover, delivery, and retention aren’t governed by a unified system, volatility is inevitable. When they are, confidence compounds. Your pipeline isn’t unpredictable. It’s unvalidated. Pipeline Volatility Is a Validation ProblemWhat Viability Actually MeansFOMO vs FOMUThe Bottom Line The book ⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/⁠ Partner page ⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources⁠ More about our programs ⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school

December 15, 2025Episode 1231 hr 12 min

Ep 123 - Why the funnel is breaking your go to market and why closed loops are the answer (Closed Circuit Selling) w/Charles Needham & George Coudounaris

Closed Circuit Selling: Why the Funnel Is Breaking Your GTM Most go-to-market teams aren’t failing on effort. They’re failing on architecture. In this episode, we sit down with Charles Needham (co-author of Cold Call Algo) alongside Adem Manderovic (CRO School) to break down why the linear funnel is the biggest sacred cow in sales, and why Closed Circuit Selling is the better model for modern outbound. We unpack incentives, silos, CAC payback insanity, and why “meetings booked” became a broken religion. Then we get practical. How to run outbound as market learning. How to capture timing signals. And how to build feedback loops that actually make marketing, sales, and customer success stronger together. Tune in and learn: Why buyer journeys are non-linear, and funnels create blind spots How to shift from meetings quotas to conversation-driven market validation Why intent data can’t replace first-party conversations If you’re a B2B marketer or revenue leader, this is the blueprint for building a GTM system that compounds instead of churns. 🔗 Links + CTAs 🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school 🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-gen... 💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-a... 🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses 📺 YouTube: / @theb2bplaybook 📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/ 📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/ 00:00 The “Sacred Cow”: Why the Linear Funnel Breaks Reality 01:00 Who’s Charles Needham (And Why He Thinks Like a Quant) 04:30 From Mortgage Bonds to CRMs: Seeing Sales as a Database 07:00 The Moment He Realised “Meetings Booked” Is a Trap 09:10 Closed Loop Continuity vs Funnel Checklists 11:40 What Silos Destroy: Feedback Loops That Never Make It Back 14:10 CAC Payback Madness: When “Growth” Becomes Insanity 17:10 The Conversations Model: Comp People for Learning, Not Meetings 20:05 Predictable Revenue Misread: “Market Development” Got Lost 21:00 VC Algebra vs Real Buyers: “The Customer Doesn’t Exist” 28:10 The 2008 Analogy: Incentives Create Fragile Systems 32:20 Intent Data Hot Take: “Or You Could Call Them” 36:00 The Guitar Demo: What “Cataloguing” Really Means 39:00 “Talk to Everybody”: The Outbound Belief Most CROs Don’t Hold 41:45 Fixing the Root: Change Comp, or Nothing Changes 48:10 Market Validation vs Cataloguing: The Language Problem 56:35 AI Didn’t Fix Outbound. It Scaled the Spam Cannon 59:30 What Works Next: Follow the Underpriced Channel (Then Move) 1:06:00 Cold Call Algo: The “Unplanned Communication” Thesis 💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??) Get the: 🔹 strategy 🔹 templates 🔹 tools So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand. https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-gen... ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/closed-circuit-selling⁠⁠ The book ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/⁠⁠ Partner page ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources⁠⁠ More about our programs ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school⁠

December 8, 2025Episode 12256 min

Ep 122 - Why Sales & Marketing Broke (And How to Rebuild a Modern Revenue System) ft. Tony J Hughes & George Coudounaris

Why Sales & Marketing Broke (And How to Rebuild a Modern Revenue System) ft. Tony J Hughes Most teams feel the symptoms — pipeline gaps, misaligned targets, MQL chaos, sellers chasing “now or never” deals. But those are signals of a deeper problem: the revenue system itself is broken. In this episode, we sit down with Tony J Hughes and Adem Manderovic to unpack why sales and marketing drifted apart… and how to rebuild a modern revenue system that actually matches how buyers make decisions today. We get into: Why predictable revenue models collapsed How sales stopped validating the market How marketing lost strategic direction to MQL targets And how to replace the old funnel with a closed-circuit GTM system that creates control and credibility again. We also talk ICP, cataloguing, air cover, performance gaps, and Tony’s new book Sentient — plus what AI means for the future of selling. Tune in and learn: Why the old sales & marketing playbooks broke How to build a shared ICP that actually aligns both teams Why cataloguing is the foundation for a modern GTM system How to create air cover that supports real sales cycles The future of selling in a world of advanced AI If you’re a B2B marketer or sales leader stuck in the old predictable-revenue logic, this episode is your blueprint for rebuilding alignment and revenue performance from the ground up. 🔗 Links + CTAs 🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school 🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-gen... 💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-a... 🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses 📺 YouTube: / @theb2bplaybook 📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/ 📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/ 00:00 Why sales & marketing broke 01:02 Where misalignment actually began 03:10 Why inbound intent pushes sellers into a red ocean 06:20 How sales used to validate the market (and why it matters) 08:45 The ICP framework sales & marketing should share 11:15 Turning sales discovery into marketing air cover 13:55 How MQL targets fractured GTM 17:20 Cataloguing: foundation of a modern revenue system 20:05 Why frontline sales leadership is the weakest link 23:40 When sales & marketing target different lists 27:05 When to run a sales-led vs marketing-led motion 31:40 Talk to more of the market (not just in-market buyers) 34:05 Why feature-selling kills deals 38:35 RSVP vs BANT: a smarter way to qualify 42:10 What CMOs actually respond to in outreach 46:15 Adem’s journey to Closed Circuit Selling 50:05 Tony’s research: AI, AGI & the future of selling 53:40 Why every seller becomes a cyborg 55:05 Where to find Tony J Hughes ----------------------------------------------------- 👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team?? 💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??) Get the: 🔹 strategy 🔹 templates 🔹 tools So you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand. See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-gen... Learn everything you have seen, and heard here? The book ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/⁠⁠ Partner page ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources⁠⁠ More about our programs ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school⁠

November 17, 2025Episode 12158 min

Ep 121 - What’s Next for Outbound Sales? Aaron Ross (Predictable Revenue) & Adem Manderovic (Closed Circuit Selling)

What’s Next for Outbound Sales? Aaron Ross (Predictable Revenue) & Adem Manderovic (Closed Circuit Selling) Outbound sales is at a crossroads. Automation is everywhere. AI is flooding inboxes. Meetings are harder to book than ever. So we sat down with Aaron Ross, author of Predictable Revenue and From Impossible to Inevitable , to ask one question: What’s next for outbound sales? Alongside Aaron, Adem Manderovic (Closed Circuit Selling, CRO School) breaks down why GTM teams misread Predictable Revenue, how outbound drifted into “meetings at all costs,” and what a modern outbound system actually looks like. We dig into market validation, cataloguing timing signals, emotional intelligence, relationship systems, and why AI is forcing teams back to fundamentals. If you sell, market, or run a revenue team, this conversation will change how you think about outbound. Tune in and learn: • Why Predictable Revenue was never meant to be a “meetings engine” • How outbound broke — and how to rebuild it around market validation • Why the future of outbound is more human, not more automated Links + CTAs 🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school 🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2playbook.com/demand-generation-course 💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency 💼 ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theb2bplaybook 📬 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/ 📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/ Timestamps 00:00 What’s Next for Outbound Sales? 01:00 How Predictable Revenue Was Misinterpreted 03:00 Why Meetings Became the Wrong Metric 05:00 Outbound as a Market Validation Engine 08:00 Inbound vs Outbound: Why the Debate Won’t Die 11:00 The Anxiety Economy: Overreacting vs Fixing GTM 14:00 When Leaders Do More of What Doesn’t Work 17:00 Relationship Systems: The Missing Link in Outbound 20:00 The Most Underrated Outbound Move: Talk to People 23:00 When Sales Stopped Validating Markets 26:00 Adem’s Closed Circuit Selling: Timing & Cataloguing 29:00 Aligning Sales, Marketing & CS Under a CRO 32:00 Why AI Makes EQ and Creativity More Valuable 36:00 Sales as a Communication Channel 40:00 Intent Data vs Real Customer Conversations 45:00 Aaron Ross’ New Books: Income Systems & AI Selling 50:00 Winners vs Losers in the AI Revenue Era 53:00 Final Takeaways for Modern Outbound 👥 Are you responsible for revenue in a small or midsize or enterprise B2B team? Do you feel the pressure to generate more , with fewer resources, tighter timelines, and rising expectations from sales and leadership? 💰 You don’t need more noise — you need alignment. CRO School gives you the architecture , not just tactics: 🔹 Strategy — grounded in market validation, not guesswork 🔹 Templates — built for Closed Circuit execution, not funnels 🔹 Tools — that create consistency, clarity, and compound revenue When marketing, sales, product, and success operate as one system , revenue stops leaking — and starts scaling. This is why marketers, founders, and revenue leaders around the world are shifting to Chief Revenue School to learn the modern commercial operating system. The book ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/⁠⁠ Partner page ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources⁠⁠ More about our programs ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school⁠

November 12, 2025Episode 12011 min

Ep 120 - What Most Teams Got Wrong About Predictable Revenue (and the Fix for Outbound for 2026)

Most teams blame Predictable Revenue for broken outbound. The truth? The model wasn’t wrong — the market’s interpretation was.In this 5-minute Mid-Week Musing, we unpack why Predictable Revenue went off track and show how small B2B teams can fix outbound in 2026 through market validation — not meetings.You’ll learn: Why Predictable Revenue got misused as a meeting-engine, not a validation system How to catalogue your market to uncover real buying signals A simple way to align sales and marketing around timing and handoffs Perfect for small-team marketers and sales leaders ready to modernise outbound and build predictable revenue the right way.-----------------------------------------------------🔗 Links + CTAs-----------------------------------------------------🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school 🎓 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-gen... 💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-a... -----------------------------------------------------🧑‍🎓ACCESS our B2B COURSES: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses 📺 YouTube: / @theb2bplaybook 📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/ 📚 Latest content: https://theb2bplaybook.com/ ----------------------------------------------------- 00:00 Why Predictable Revenue Wasn’t Wrong 01:14 Market Validation: The Fix for Outbound in 2026 03:12 How to Catalogue Accounts (Instead of Chasing Meetings) 05:08 Why Timing Beats Pressure in Modern Outbound 08:45 Systemising the Handoff: Turning Validation into Revenue-----------------------------------------------------👥 Are you a B2B marketer in a small team??💰 Need to bring in more revenue for your company (so sales and your boss love you??)Get the:🔹 strategy🔹 templates🔹 toolsSo you have everything you need to drive more revenue for your brand.See why other B2B marketers like you love The B2B Incubator The book ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/⁠⁠ Partner page ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources⁠⁠ More about our programs ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school⁠

November 10, 2025Episode 1191 hr 2 min

EP 119 - Outbound Sales Strategy 2026: The Evolution of Predictable Revenue w/ Collin Stewart, George & Adem

Outbound Sales Strategy 2026: The Evolution of Predictable Revenue w/ Collin Stewart, George & Adem Guests: Collin Stewart (CEO, Predictable Revenue) & Adem Manderovic (Closed Circuit Selling™) Description: Outbound sales has changed — and so has Predictable Revenue. In this episode, we sit down with Collin Stewart, CEO of Predictable Revenue, and Adem Manderovic from Closed Circuit Selling™, to unpack how outbound has evolved, what the market misunderstood, and what’s working for 2026 and beyond. We explore how outbound is shifting from brute-force prospecting to a smarter, signal-led strategy. You’ll hear the inside story behind Predictable Revenue, how SDR roles were originally designed, and why “market validation” is now the key measure of success. Tune in and learn: • Why Predictable Revenue was never just about meetings • How to rebuild outbound around timing, trust, and signals • The 4-Funnel System that helps sales and marketing stay aligned If you want to future-proof your outbound strategy for 2026, this episode is a must-watch. 🔗 Links + CTAs 🧠 Learn how to drive revenue across your organisation with CRO School: https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school 🎯 Join our Demand Generation Program: https://theb2bplaybook.com/demand-generation-course 💼 Need help running your own LinkedIn Thought Leadership Ads? https://theb2bplaybook.com/linkedin-ads-agency 📩 Newsletter: https://theb2bplaybook.com/newsletter/ 📚 Access all courses: https://theb2bplaybook.com/courses https://theb2bplaybook.com/closed-circuit-selling ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 — The Flaw That Broke Outbound: When Predictable Revenue Lost Its Way 01:00 — How Predictable Revenue Changed SaaS Forever 03:00 — The Untold Story: From Voltage CRM to Predictable Revenue 06:00 — Cold Email in 2012: When 40% Reply Rates Were Normal 09:00 — What Problem Predictable Revenue Was Really Built to Solve 11:00 — The Email Revolution: How the Market Misread the Book 14:00 — SDRs, Specialization & The Original Intent Behind the Model 17:00 — Why Outbound Broke: Misuse, Metrics, and “Growth-at-All-Costs” 20:00 — From Prospecting to Market Validation: A Smarter Measure for 2026 23:00 — The Lazy SDR Problem — And How to Fix It with Better Habits 26:00 — How to Replace “Closed Lost” with a Real Nurture System 30:00 — Building the Four-Funnel System That Actually Works 33:00 — Why CRMs Became a Nightmare — and How to Rebuild Them for Sales 37:00 — AI, Clay & n8n: The New Tech Stack Powering Smart Outbound 41:00 — How Founders Can Build VC Lists & Market Maps with AI 44:00 — Humanic + Clay = Next-Gen Market Intelligence 46:00 — Why Collin Shut Down Predictable Revenue’s Sales Floor 50:00 — The Brutal Truth About Agency Models and Churn 54:00 — Writing “The Terrifying Art of Finding Customers” 57:00 — Product-Market Fit as the Real Multiplier of GTM Success 1:00:00 — Closing Thoughts: How to Rebuild Outbound for 2026 The book ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/⁠⁠ Partner page ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources⁠⁠ More about our programs ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school⁠

October 23, 2025Episode 11829 min

Ep 118 - Predictable Revenue Feat w Collin Stewart A New Sales Paradigm with Adem Manderovic & George Coudounaris

Closed Circuit Selling™ (CCS) and the category we architected Revenue Alignment Architecture™ featured on the Predictable Revenue™ Inc. Podcast with Collin Stewart 🙏 🤩 This isn’t just another GTM episode. It’s a signal that the industry is shifting from frameworks to architectures. from silos to circuits. from guesswork to timing intelligence. With the team that helped revolutionize modern outbound, we just laid down the blueprint for how commercial operating systems will work from here on. In this episode of the Predictable Revenue Podcast, host Collin Stewart speaks with George Coudounaris and Adem Manderovic , co-founders of CRO School , about innovative approaches to sales and marketing. They discuss the challenges of scaling companies , the limitations of traditional sales playbooks , and the importance of building relationships first . The conversation delves into the concept of Closed-Circuit Selling™, market validation , and the need for alignment between sales and marketing teams . They also explore the future of outbound sales and the significance of understanding market dynamics . Highlights include: • Understanding Closed Circuit Selling (03:17) • Qualifying Opportunities Through Discovery (07:01) • The Evolution of Cold Calling (09:55) • The Pillars of Effective Selling (15:07) • Aligning Sales and Marketing (19:27) • Impact of Methodology on Client Success (27:02) • And more… Stay updated with our podcast and the latest insights on Outbound Sales and Go-to-Market Strategies! ⸻ Chapter Markers (Full Segment Index) • Unpacking CRO School and New Sales Paradigms — 00:00 • The Origins and Mechanics of Closed Circuit Selling — 03:12 • From Cold Calls to Relationship-First Selling — 07:01 • Embracing a Relationship-First Sales Approach — 12:38 • Core Pillars for Revenue Alignment Architecture™ — 15:07 • Achieving Sales-Marketing Alignment Through Cataloging — 19:23 • Evolving Outbound Sales and New Metrics — 24:47 • Discover CRO School and the New Sales Paradigm — 27:19 The book ⁠⁠https://www.amazon.com.au/Closed-Circuit-Selling-Predictable-Unpredictable/dp/B0GQ2YV52Y/⁠⁠ Partner page ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/ccs-resources⁠⁠ More about our programs ⁠⁠https://theb2bplaybook.com/cro-school⁠