What's up, it's Zayd.

While you slept, your competitors created a 13-step GTM tech stack with weighted formulas, custom Clay tables, and automated data enrichment pipelines that would make a Silicon Valley engineer proud.

Does that make you feel bad?

It shouldn’t, because it's probably not getting them any more meetings than a simple, focused approach.

I'm seeing this everywhere lately—founders and sales leaders spending weeks connecting 17 different point solutions, crafting elaborate workflows, and building dashboards that would make McKinsey consultants weep with joy, all while actual pipeline generation grinds to a halt.

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Zayd’s Picks

My favorite finds of the week.

• 2 decks to share with prospects (link)

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• Leverage free trial sign-ups and shatter company records (link)

• Why you should use videos in tech sales (link)

• The right way to hire salespeople (link)

The Tool Trap

I saw a tweet last week from a founder showcasing his "signal-based outbound engine" that involved:

• 3 different data providers

• Custom scoring algorithms

• 2 separate enrichment tools

• A middleware integration layer

• 4 different outreach channels

• Custom webhook configurations

What was missing from the thread was…any mention of actual results.

This is what I call the "Tool Trap"—when building the perfect system becomes more important than booking actual meetings. It feels productive, but it's just expensive busywork.

While you're trying to figure out how to connect 13 different data providers and add formulas for qualification, Valley users are generating $100k+ in pipeline within the first 90 days with a radically simpler approach.

The Minimalist Stack That Actually Works

Here's what I'm seeing actually deliver results in 2025:

1. Source Intent, Not Just Contacts

Start with intent signals, not random lists. The highest-converting outreach almost always starts with:

• Website visitors (we're seeing 1:25 conversion rate to demos)

• Recent funding announcements

• Job changes in the last 90 days

• Companies growing 30%+ in headcount

These signals outperform any randomly sourced list by 5-10x. If you're still starting with "Let me build a list of all VP Sales in SaaS companies," you're already losing.

2. Conduct Real Research, Not Mad Libs Personalization

The era of "[First_Name], I noticed [Company] recently..." is dead.

How would a top 1% SDR would operate if they had unlimited time? They'd research across three levels:

• Individual: LinkedIn posts, Twitter activity, podcast appearances, YouTube videos

• Company: Funding history, competitor moves, strategic initiatives, job postings

• Industry: Regulatory changes, market trends, growth forecasts

This is what separates average outreach from exceptional outreach—depth not complexity.

3. Focus on One Channel That Works

Throwback to my LinkedIn vs. email test—

• Email: 0.8% reply rate

• LinkedIn: 11% reply rate

Same prospects. Same message. Different channel.

LinkedIn consistently outperforms email for three reasons:

1. Trust and credibility (your profile proves you're real)

2. Social proof (mutual connections)

3. No deliverability headaches (no domains to warm, no spam filters to battle)

Seven founders told me last week they're abandoning email completely. If you're still prioritizing email over LinkedIn, you're fighting with one hand tied behind your back.

4. Simplify Your Workflow

Most "signal-based" stacks are so complex that no one actually uses them. Here's what should happen:

1. Find the right ICP filters in Sales Navigator

2. Paste the URL inside your engagement tool

3. Let AI fetch prospects, score them, conduct research, and craft personalized messages

4. Review, approve, and send

5. Follow up based on engagement signals, not arbitrary timelines

That's it. Five steps to pipeline, not fifty.

The Real Cost of Complexity

Every integration point in your stack is a potential failure point. Every tool adds:

• Another monthly subscription

• Another login to remember

• Another UI to learn

• Another system to maintain

• Another place for data to get lost

The most successful teams I work with are using fewer, better tool.

Questions To Ask Before Adding Any Tool

Before you add that shiny new tool to your stack, ask yourself:

• Will this directly generate more meetings or is it just making me feel productive?

• Is this solving a real problem or creating new ones?

• Could I achieve the same results with tools I already have?

• Will my team actually use this consistently?

• Is the time investment worth the potential return?

Nine times out of ten, the answer is no.

The Future Is Simplification

The next wave of sales tech is about consolidation and intelligence. The winning companies will be those that simplify their tech stack while enhancing their understanding of buyers.

So while everyone else is building their Rube Goldberg GTM machine, focus on what actually works:

• Talk to the right people (intent-driven)

• Say the right things (research-backed)

• At the right time (signal-based)

• On the right channel (LinkedIn)

Everything else is just noise.

How I Can Help?

Let me book sales calls for you while you’re deleting half your tech stack. Seriously.

I built Valley to be your automated SDR and empower AEs. Get started today and watch your calendar fill up with qualified leads.