What’s up, everybody! 👋🏻

Puppies. That got your attention, didn't it?

Getting someone's attention has never been harder than right now.

And regardless of if you’re an SDR, AE, CEO, or sales coach–anybody trying to build pipelines and close deals—you’ve probably been feeling the same way.

I recently got asked on a podcast, “What’s the #1 challenge leaders are facing right now?” And “capturing attention” was the first thought that popped into my head. I spend a lot of my time working with founders and VPs of Sales to help them with their go-to-market strategies, execution, messaging—you name it. And the one thing everyone’s talking about right now is:

“I can’t fill the top of the funnel like I used to.”

Cold calls don’t connect like they used to.
Email response rates are in the tank.
People aren’t picking up the phone.
The damn algo is killing my reach.

They’re not even listening to you long enough to hang up on you! 😂

This isn’t just a ‘you’ problem. It’s the problem.

So, What’s Changed?

Back in the day, the solution to a lack of connections was simple: “Not getting a hold of anyone? Just make more calls.”

But the world doesn’t work that way anymore. We don’t live through talking on our phones like we used to. We screen calls. We swipe away notifications. People are drowning in emails, texts, and Slack messages before they’ve even finished their morning coffee.

The old playbook isn’t cutting it, and everyone’s scrambling to figure out what does.

How Do We Navigate This?

This is what I help clients work through. Whether you’re a founder or a sales leader, the goal isn’t just to adjust your strategy—it’s to rethink how you connect with people entirely.

Here’s where I start:

1. Value over Volume: The answer isn’t just “make more calls” anymore. It’s about being smarter with the ones you *do* make. What’s the real value you’re offering? Are you standing out, or are you blending in with the noise?
2. Reevaluate Your Channels: If calls and emails aren’t landing, where is your audience spending time? LinkedIn? Slack? Communities? You need to meet people where they are, not where you want them to be.
3. Personalization Wins Every Time: The era of copy-pasting email templates and spamming sales sequences is over. If your outreach doesn’t feel personal, you’re toast. It’s more work, but quality beats quantity every time.
4. Get Comfortable with Experimentation: The rules are changing faster than ever. That means you need to be open to trying new approaches, measuring what works, and scrapping what doesn’t.

The reality is the golden days of high-volume, low-effort prospecting are gone. If you’re still trying to brute-force your way to a full funnel, you’re going to keep coming up short.

The future belongs to leaders and teams who are willing to rethink their approach, adapt to changing buyer behavior, and focus on building real connections—not just hitting arbitrary metrics.

So, ask yourself: What are you doing today that’s different from what you were doing six months ago? If the answer is “nothing,” it’s time to rethink your gameplan.

‍—SL