AI Sales Podcast

SalesDuo

Tune in to SalesDuo's podcast, where we share the latest AI sales strategies designed for B2B businesses to accelerate their sales pipeline and close more deals! salesduo.substack.com

  1. Mar 8

    The Future of Outbound Sales

    Episode Summary In this episode, Anuj Kapoor, the Director of Business Development at Finmo, discusses the evolution of outbound sales, the impact of AI, and the importance of building relationships in sales. Anuj shares his experiences in the sales landscape over the past decade, highlighting the changes in buyer behaviour and the tools available for sales professionals today. He emphasises the need for a multi-channel approach, including cold calling and leveraging LinkedIn, while also discussing the cultural differences in sales across the APAC region. Episode Chapters * 00:00 Introduction to Anuj Kapoor and Finmo * 03:02 Outbound Sales Methodology and Evolution * 05:53 Challenges in Modern Outbound Sales * 08:43 The Role of AI in Sales * 11:36 Multi-Channel Outreach Strategies * 14:40 Localising Sales Efforts in APAC * 17:47 Future of Sales: AI and Human Interaction * 20:40 Final Thoughts and Advice for Startups More About Anuj Kapoor Anuj Kapoor is the Director of Business Development, Pre-Sales & Onboarding at Finmo. He’s worked on local and cross-border solutions across APAC, EU, UK, and US. His work sits across business development, GTM strategy, presales, and implementation, giving him a unique view of the entire customer journey. Connect with Anuj Kapoor * Connect with Anuj on LinkedIn * Visit Finmo’s website This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit salesduo.substack.com

    36 min
  2. Navigating Sales with a Technical Background

    Jan 30

    Navigating Sales with a Technical Background

    Episode Summary In this episode, Jozsef shares his extensive journey from a technical background in IT to a successful sales career in the technology sector. We discussed the nuances of transitioning from technical roles to sales, the importance of understanding market dynamics, and how AI has transformed his approach to selling. He emphasises the significance of cultural nuances in different markets, the importance of building relationships, and effective research strategies for engaging with executives. Jozsef concludes with insights on the importance of intent in sales and offers valuable advice for those looking to thrive in the sales landscape. Episode Chapters * 00:00 Journey from Tech to Sales * 02:58 Navigating the Sales Landscape * 05:50 Understanding Market Dynamics * 08:48 Role Evolution at ESGpedia * 11:43 Strategizing for Expansion * 14:37 Cultural Nuances in Selling * 17:34 Leveraging AI in Sales * 20:49 Building Relationships in Sales * 30:37 Leveraging AI for Sales Efficiency * 38:38 Researching for Effective Meetings * 46:12 The Importance of Understanding Clients * 46:56 Advice for Navigating Startup Environments More About Jozsef Acabo Jozsef Acabo is the VP of Regional Sales at ESGpedia, with 19+ years of experience in technology, governance, and sustainability with prior roles in companies like Oracle and Diligent. Currently, he’s leading the growth and partnerships in the region to help enterprises accelerate their sustainability journey. Connect with Jozsef Acabo * Connect with Jozsef on LinkedIn * Visit ESGpedia’s website This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit salesduo.substack.com

    53 min
  3. Our automated email campaigns booked us 8 meetings in 14 days

    Jan 26

    Our automated email campaigns booked us 8 meetings in 14 days

    It’s been 16 days since I last reviewed my stats, and this is how we’ve fared since then: LinkedIn Total outreach: 59Total positive replies: 4Positive reply rate: 6.78%Meetings booked: 4No. of clients: 0My LinkedIn numbers have dropped because I've been spending more time on client delivery, as well as the limitations on my first-degree connections. Email Total positive replies: 13Meetings booked: 8No. of clients: 1We secured our first client through email. Inbound Total positive replies: 3Meetings booked: 2No. of clients: 0Haven't prioritised content for inbound, but might need to ramp up efforts soon. Thankfully, even though my LinkedIn prospecting efforts have dipped, our email campaigns are picking up. It’s the only reason why I still have a decent pipeline. As I reflect on the decent traction on our email campaigns, 2 key factors come to mind: 1. Good Targeting We have a better idea of our ICP now, and we make sure we're only reaching out to the most qualified prospects.There's still things we need to work on here, but it's a good start. 2. Good Lead Magnet This is the biggest differentiator in my opinion.Our offer is intriguing enough for people to want to find out more.Interestingly, people that didn't respond to me on LinkedIn replied me via email instead.We still haven't incorporated signals into our campaigns, which we expect to improve our results even further. Now, our priority is to continue improving our client delivery, while exploring alternative channels like WhatsApp DMs to improve our pipeline. Have you tried it before? Would love to get your thoughts if you have! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit salesduo.substack.com

    8 min
  4. Jan 13

    How Mark Deacon Used AI to Achieve 50%+ Demo Win Rates

    Episode Summary In this conversion, Mark Deacon, Chief Commercial Officer at Canibuild, shares his entrepreneurial journey from door-to-door sales to leading a tech company. Mark discusses the importance of AI in sales, how it can enhance efficiency, and the balance between human and AI roles in sales teams. He emphasises the need for businesses to focus on specific customer segments and the evolving landscape of sales strategies as technology advances. The conversation concludes with practical advice for entrepreneurs and sales leaders. Episode Chapters * 00:00 Introduction to Mark Deacon’s Journey * 06:02 From Architecture to Entrepreneurship * 10:46 Current Role and AI Integration at Canibuild * 20:19 Balancing AI and Human Sales Teams * 21:28 Identifying Pain Points for AI Solutions * 24:01 Implementing AI: A New Approach to Sales Challenges * 26:54 The Organisational Shift: AI and Sales Teams * 29:18 Future Trends: Embracing AI in Sales * 32:16 Leadership in the Age of AI * 33:53 Continuous Learning: Staying Ahead in Sales * 35:51 Final Thoughts and Quickfire Round More About Mark Deacon Mark Deacon is the Chief Commercial Officer at Canibuild, with a proven track record scaling SaaS, AI, and Digital Marketplace businesses across PropTech, MarTech, VR/XR, and the AEC sectors. With deep experience in go-to-market strategy, commercialisation, and cross-functional leadership, Mark has helped businesses scale from zero to nine-figure valuations — leading diverse teams across sales, marketing, customer success, operations, and product. His notable achievements include being nominated as a top 40 GTM leader, SmartCompany Hot 30 Under 30, and Business News Australia Top 40 Under 40. Connect with Mark Deacon * Connect with Mark on LinkedIn * Visit Canibuild’s website * Listen to Mark’s podcast This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit salesduo.substack.com

    45 min
  5. 761 outreach, 8.54% positive reply rate, 8 clients

    Jan 10

    761 outreach, 8.54% positive reply rate, 8 clients

    My last update was on 19th December, and our channels have diversified since then. LinkedIn Total outreach: 761Total replies: 120Total positive replies: 65Reply rate: 15.77%Positive reply rate: 8.54%Meetings booked: 26Booking rate: 40%No. of clients: 3Conversion rate: 11.54%(dropped from 6 because some deprioritised the project and are pending reactivation) Email Total positive replies: 8Meeting booked: 3Booking rate: 37.5%No. of clients: 0We only just kickstarted our email campaigns, so I haven't pulled the positive reply rates.Some of the meetings are scheduled for the upcoming week as well, so the conversion rate is irrelevant for now. Inbound Total positive replies: 14Meeting booked: 7Booking rate: 50%No. of clients: 5Conversion rate: 71.43%This is our best-performing channel by far.However, it's unpredictable so we're taking inbound leads as a bonus. Pipeline Pending Opportunities: 17Our LinkedIn conversion is relatively low now because a lot of discussions are still ongoing, so we're hopeful that it will increase when some of the deals convert. Current Challenges While we’re getting some good initial traction, I'm running out of first-degree connections to send voice notes to. That's why my outreach volume is dropping.To tackle this, I'll be:1. Testing Loom video outreach via Sales Navigator2. Improving my connection request sequence (better targeting and adding "active on LinkedIn" filter to boost acceptance rates)We're also ramping up on our email campaigns to see if we can replicate our manual efforts in a more automated fashion. Reflecting on Initial Traction I'm thankful we're starting to build a bit of momentum, and I believe a huge part of it was gaining clarity on our ICP: * B2B SaaS * $1-5 million * 10-50 employees Our pitch is simple: we set up your outbound system for free. No retainers, no hidden fees. You own it after we build it.We want to deliver value first, before exploring longer-term partnerships.If you're keen to explore, DM me "outbound system" for more details. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit salesduo.substack.com

    9 min
  6. FREE Outbound System Setup *Christmas Giveaway*

    12/25/2025

    FREE Outbound System Setup *Christmas Giveaway*

    Merry Christmas! To celebrate this festive season, we’re offering to help B2B SaaS and Services firms build their outbound sales systems for FREE. Option 1: SDR/BDR System Optimisation This is best for companies who are already doing outbound. The goal here is to make your BDRs and SDRs more efficient and effective with their outreach. (watch the video at 00:20 for full details) Option 2: Automated Outbound Campaigns This can be implemented for your Tier 2 and 3 target accounts, to automate outreach sequences via email and LinkedIn. We will help you set up everything — from the strategy, to tech stack infrastructure, to messaging and sequences. Why Are We Doing This? Justin and I realised that we're best at helping companies set up systems, instead of providing services like most agencies do. We get bored of the repetitive tasks very easily, and we believe companies should own their outbound system instead of relying on agencies. That's why we're offering to help companies set up their system for free, to prove that we can bring value before exploring longer-term partnerships. Who Is This For? * B2B SaaS or Services * 11-50 employees OR $1-5M revenue * Preferably already doing outbound * If not doing outbound yet, at least have a working channel that's not referrals Our Projects So Far: * HR Services * YouTube Services * Recruitment Services * Recruitment B2B SaaS * Construction B2B SaaS * Insurtech B2B SaaS * HRMS B2B SaaS * CX B2B SaaS This offer will stay available until we cap out on our capacity (around 3-5 more clients). If you're interested, DM me "outbound system" and let's see if we'll be a good fit. Merry Christmas! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit salesduo.substack.com

    5 min
  7. 23 days, 21 meetings, 6 clients

    12/20/2025

    23 days, 21 meetings, 6 clients

    Today is day 23 of our “$10k in 30 days” challenge — 19th December 2025. Here’s the breakdown of our inputs so far: * Day 1: 100 voice notes sent * Day 2: 100 * Day 3+4: 21 * Day 5: 11 * Day 6: 32 * Day 7: 22 * Day 8: 72 * Day 9: 25 * Day 10: 0 * Day 11: 63 * Day 12: 36 * Day 13: 3 * Day 14: 41 * Day 15: 17 * Day 16: 15 * Day 17: 11 * Day 18: 3 * Day 19: 2 * Day 20: 20 * Day 21: 33 * Day 22: 4 * Day 23: 39 (today) Total no. of outreach: 670 Total no. of replies: 94Reply rate: 14.03% Total no. of positive replies: 50Positive reply rate: 7.46% Total no. of meetings booked: 21Booking rate: 42% Total no. of clients: 6Conversion rate: 28.57% As we started onboarding clients and having to take more calls, my outreach numbers dropped. Surprisingly, my reply rates have gone up (watch the video at 01:25 for the stats comparison between days 1-8 and days 8-23). I can confidently say we've made more progress in these past 3 weeks than the previous 3-6 months, so here are my top 3 lessons I've learned from this period: Lesson 1: Focus on actions over results In the past, I got too caught up with trying to get the perfect business model and results, than I ended up not taking much action. Now, I just focus on taking fast actions instead of overthinking things. For example, I would spend hours writing my outreach script before reaching out to anyone in the past. Now, I just whip something up in 5mins, start my outreach, and fix it on the fly. I've probably only done 3 revisions since my first script and I'm still getting 7.46% positive reply rate (industry average is probably 1% or less). Lesson 2: Importance of a good offer / lead magnet Our current initiative involves us building outbound sales systems for companies for FREE - no monthly retainers, no hidden fees, and they own the system after we help them set it up. We're doing this to gather more case studies, while validating the use cases for our product. Sure, it's not scalable, but it's already given us a ton of market feedback that's helping us iterate our solution. We're optimising for speed, not scale. Lesson 3: Standing out from the market One prospect I reached out to mentioned he receives 50-100 LinkedIn DMs a day, yet mine was the only one he replied to (and we hopped on a call within 30mins). That's because I spent the time to send a personalised voice message (and it happened to be the right timing). We adopted the same approach for our service offering - while others are charging monthly retainers, we're offering to help businesses set up a system they can own. Now, we've even extended it to our list building product. While others are paying monthly subscriptions and hiring GTM engineers to stitch together different tools, we're offering an on-demand, fully-custom, credits-based model where people just tell us: * What list they want to build * What data points they need * What data points they already have And we’ll return them the exact list they need, wherever they want it (CRM, Clay, n8n etc...) It’s all about standing out in the market. Now, it’s figuring out how we can 10x this! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit salesduo.substack.com

    8 min

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Tune in to SalesDuo's podcast, where we share the latest AI sales strategies designed for B2B businesses to accelerate their sales pipeline and close more deals! salesduo.substack.com