Hey, 👋 Scott from The Sales Mastermind here.

Today’s edition only takes 3 minutes.

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Last week, we had an issue with the email provider. About 25% of you didn't get the email, and about 40% of you got it twice. At least it must have been a good one, as none of the second group unsubscribed ;)

If you're in the first group - here is last week's newsletter on True Differentiation and the Tour de France.

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The best sellers thrive in the "Hero to Zero" dynamic of a new month, quarter, or year. Every time, there is a new chance to be the top dog.

However, founders who sell often hate having to start at zero.

What if there was a sustainable path for founders? Keep reading and see.

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Today's topics:

• The Lindy Effect
• Sustainable Lead Generation
• Rule of Thumb
• Examples

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The Lindy Effect

Nassim Taleb explains the Lindy Effect in his book Antifragile:

And his example:

Using music as another example. The Lindy Effect means we can assume people will still be listening to:

• Taylor Swift's 2014 song "Shake It Off" in another eight years
• The Beatles' 1969 song "Here Comes the Sun" in another 55 years
• Beethoven's 1824 "Symphony No. 9" in another 200 years

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Sustainable Lead Generation

Outbound activities like cold calling, cold email, and cold LinkedIn take only a little time to start and always work. However, when you stop, the leads stop.

Sustainable lead generation is like a flywheel. It can be exponentially more challenging to get going, but once moving, it requires dramatically less effort to keep producing leads.

If we apply the Lindy Effect to sustainable lead generation, the best approach is to find things that have worked for years (even decades) and replicate them for us.

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Where to Focus

The sooner you start sustainable lead generation, the faster your flywheel will get up to speed. But it takes time, effort, and energy away from cold leads, which all have an immediate effect.

If you need cash today to survive, focus on cold leads. If you can invest a little time, focus it on sustainable leads. Your time horizon for new revenue determines how to split your effort:

• I need money YESTERDAY - 100% cold, 0% sustainable
• I need revenue this quarter - 90% cold, 10% sustainable
• We're planning for next quarter - 80% cold, 20% sustainable
• My sales team needs a mix - 20% cold, 80% sustainable
• Sustainable leads are all we care about - 0% cold, 100% sustainable

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Examples of Sustainable Lead Generation

Podcast Guesting

• What it is: Going on someone else podcast.
• Pros: Someone else does most of the work. It's low commitment per episode.
• Cons: Difficulty tracking individual effort to specific results. Expensive in time (or money) to get consistent bookings.
• Remember: Have a specific, targeted bonus or call to action for the listeners.

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Content Marketing for SEO benefits

• What it is: Creating content, such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts, newsletters, etc., with the intention of people finding you by searching online.
• Pros: Simple to get started - just start writing. Infinitely scalable once you get traction.
• Cons: Takes 9-18 months to see direct revenue. Search engines are constantly changing their algorithms.
• Remember: Play the long game with content. It is not a quick fix.

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Partners and Referrals

• What it is: Ask people with access to your intended audience to recommend, refer, and otherwise prompt your product/service.
• Pros: One partner can dramatically accelerate your business. A diversified list of partners can make this method infinitely sustainable and scalable.
• Cons: Building trust with a referrer can take a long time. One burnt relationship can have an outsized effect.
• Remember: Anyone with an audience gets regular offers for "partnership." Stand out by being absolutely clear on the ask (what you want) and the offer (what they get).

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Are any of the tactics resonating with you? Have you had success with any other sustainable lead-generation strategies?

I'd love to hear about them. Hit reply and let me know :)

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Until next week,
Scott Cowley

PS Looking for the backlog? You can find it here.

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