GrowthRise Mastermind Recap Nov 4, 2025

Here is a recap of what we talked about on today’s GrowthRise Mastermind call (for B2B Marketing Leaders).

You can join the weekly call on Tuesdays at 11am PT on Zoom.

Topic 1: SDR versus AE Role Structure

Challenges:
• Deciding whether to separate SDR and AE roles at smaller company size
• Balancing relationship continuity versus specialized skill sets
• Planning for future growth and lead volume increases

Advice given:
• Consider SDRs for high-volume inbound lead qualification
• Use combined roles when doing limited outbound prospecting
• One SDR can support multiple AEs effectively
• Hire based on pipeline needs (4-5 meetings per AE daily)

Key Takeaway: Role separation depends on lead volume, outbound efforts, and company size rather than following a universal model.

Topic 2: Cold Email Infrastructure Setup

Challenges:
• Choosing between in-house setup versus agency management
• Managing technical complexity and time requirements
• Tracking metrics and campaign performance effectively

Advice given:
• Use Instantly for all-in-one solution (domains, mailboxes, warm-up, outbound)
• Implement AI personalization through Clay for data enrichment
• Sample email quality regularly rather than reviewing each one
• Consider agencies due to significant management overhead

Key Takeaway: Cold email infrastructure requires substantial ongoing management and is often better outsourced to specialized agencies.

Topic 3: Organic Lead Generation Strategies

Challenges:
• Identifying effective organic channels beyond SEO
• Understanding target market size and audience
• Competing in mature markets with limited keyword opportunities

Advice given:
• Build comprehensive target audience lists using Apollo or similar tools
• Focus on long-form content for AI engine indexing
• Implement retargeting across multiple channels with small budgets
• Combine SEO with email distribution of content

Key Takeaway: Organic success requires understanding audience size and systematically reaching prospects through multiple touchpoints.

Topic 4: Digital versus Offline Marketing

Challenges:
• Low conversion rates from trade show booths
• High costs with minimal ROI from conferences
• Finding effective offline alternatives

Advice given:
• Focus on speaking opportunities rather than booth presence
• Host educational webinars with existing clients as speakers
• Use conferences with networking apps for pre-event outreach
• Consider in-person representatives for targeted conversations

Key Takeaway: Traditional trade show booths are ineffective; educational content and digital provide better results

Tools Recommended:

• Instantly - All-in-one cold email platform for domains, mailboxes, warm-up, and outbound campaigns
• Clay - Data enrichment and AI personalization for email campaigns
• Apollo - Building target audience lists and contact data
• HubSpot - CRM for managing positive email responses and lead tracking
• Meta/Facebook - B2B advertising platform often more effective than LinkedIn
• Vova networking app - Conference networking and pre-event outreach
• Data broker contact (Amin from Bangladesh) - Discounted Apollo data at roughly $600 per 100,000