Sponsored By RevyOps (The #1 GTM Data Management Platform): https://tinyurl.com/revyops-kellen-casebeer

Episode Summary:

In this episode of the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast, Ben Reed sits down with Kellen Casebeer, founder of The Deal Lab and the community formerly known as Clay Cafe, now rebranding to GTM Cafe. Kellen shares how the community grew organically to over 1,300 highly engaged members, why the rebrand was a natural evolution, and what it reveals about where modern go-to-market teams are headed. The conversation explores community-led growth, the expanding definition of GTM, and why elite revenue execution can’t be reduced to a single tool.

What you’ll learn:

• How Clay Cafe grew organically into a 1,300+ member GTM community
• Why the shift from Clay Cafe to GTM Cafe was inevitable
• What actually drives engagement and consistency in professional communities
• How sales, GTM engineering, agencies, and operators are converging
• Why great GTM goes far beyond any single tool or tactic
• The importance of facilitation over promotion in community building

Featured Guest:

Kellen Casebeer, Founder, The Deal Lab & GTM Cafe

Host:

Ben Reed, host of the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast

Episode Highlights:

[00:00:54] The origin story: why Kellen created Clay Cafe after going solo

[00:02:05] Early growth moments and the “we hit 40 members” realization

[00:03:11] The Venn diagram problem: Clay vs elite GTM

[00:13:39] GTM engineers vs SDR economics

[00:16:35] The core value shift: button pushers vs thinkers

[00:21:25] Why most people won’t survive the shift

[00:27:28] Why premium pricing requires making things look hard

[00:29:35] The Porsche analogy: why restraint and simplicity signal real power

[00:46:19] Taste and discernment as the real GTM skill

[01:36:30] Why discernment outlives every tool and trend

[01:36:30] The final takeaway: give away what you want to receive

Connect with Kellen:

GTM Cafe: https://gtmcafe.com

The Deal Lab: https://www.thedeallab.io

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellen-casebeer/

Follow Ben on Social:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-aaron-reed/

Join our B2B GTM & RevOps Entrepreneur Community:

https://www.skool.com/outbound-b2b-sales/about?ref=07a56393b2d2435d9366f2e6151e2600

Sponsored By RevyOps (The #1 GTM Data Management Platform): https://tinyurl.com/revyops-kellen-casebeer

Sponsored By RevyOps (The #1 GTM Data Management Platform): https://tinyurl.com/revyops-frank-sondors

Episode Summary:

In this episode of the Next Gen Sales Leader Podcast, Ben Reed sits down with Frank Sondors, Founder & CEO of Salesforge, to unpack how he scaled a multi-product AI sales platform to $3M ARR in 12 months, fully bootstrapped. Frank shares how he validated the idea through 40 customer interviews, closed four paying customers before writing code, and built seven products using a “compound software” approach. They dive into AI-native engineering, rapid feature velocity, the real challenges of remote hiring, and why hybrid human + AI workflows will shape the future of sales. This episode is a tactical blueprint for founders and GTM leaders building fast in competitive markets.

What You’ll Learn:

• How Frank went from leading 50 reps to launching Salesforge
• Why domain expertise gives founders a 10x advantage
• The landing-page strategy that closed four customers pre-product
• How Salesforge hit $1M ARR with no employees or agencies
• Why the “compound model” accelerates multi-product growth
• How AI-native engineers dramatically improve product velocity
• How Frank evaluates performance, competence, commitment, and culture
• The real challenges of remote hiring and how to filter high-integrity talent
• Why hybrid human + AI agent workflows will dominate sales

Featured Guest:

Frank Sondors, Founder & CEO, Salesforge

Host: Ben Reed, host of the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast

Episode Highlights:

[00:00:43] Frank’s path from Google → SaaS → leading a 50-rep sales org

[00:02:09] Why SalesForge exists and why Frank built software to replace headcount

[00:09:40] Landing page → $0 to first 4 customers before writing code

[00:10:22] The first SalesForge product: sequencer + 20-language unique email engine

[00:13:37] Engineers with quotas → How SalesForge ships fast

[00:31:27] Why customers switch: cost, results, and “legacy tools stopped working” [00:53:21] How expansion works: 7 products → consultative, not pitch-driven sales

[01:14:27] Frank’s hiring philosophy: competence, commitment, culture

[01:34:12] AI-native employees outperform and how SalesForge screens for them

Connect with Frank:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franksondors/

Website: https://salesforge.ai

Follow Ben on Social:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-aaron-reed/

Join our B2B GTM & RevOps Entrepreneur Community:

https://www.skool.com/outbound-b2b-sales/about?ref=07a56393b2d2435d9366f2e6151e2600

Sponsored By RevyOps (The #1 GTM Data Management Platform): https://tinyurl.com/revyops-frank-sondors

Sponsored By RevyOps (The #1 GTM Data Management Platform): https://tinyurl.com/revyops-mr-niels

Episode Summary:

In this episode of the Next Gen Sales Leader Podcast, Ben Reed sits down with Niels Klement, CMO of Perspective, to unpack how their mobile-first funnel builder scaled to $10M ARR bootstrapped in just four years. Niels breaks down how a single webinar funnel saved the business, why SaaS cashflow is uniquely challenging, and how discovering a “beachhead” use case in the German market ignited early adoption. They go deep into paid acquisition for SaaS, the creative engine behind Perspective’s ads, how Niels writes scripts that convert, and why most founders waste years focusing on the wrong problems. This conversation is a masterclass in growth, positioning, creative strategy, and constraint-based decision making.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why SaaS cashflow struggles make annual conversions a necessity
• How Perspective identified its German recruiting “beachhead” and scaled fast
• The webinar funnel strategy that unlocked profitable paid acquisition
• How to build a creative engine: concepts, hooks, scripts, and iterations
• Why message-market resonance beats any copywriting framework
• How to identify the biggest constraint in GTM and allocate resources
• Why USPs evolve as the product evolves and how Perspective stacks them

Featured Guest: Niels Klement, CMO, Perspective

Host: Ben Reed, host of the Next Gen Sales Leaders Podcast

Episode Highlights:

• [00:00:53] From agency to $10M ARR SaaS in four years.
• [02:41:50] Webinar funnel solving SaaS cashflow and paid acquisition constraints
• [14:42:00] Riding recruiting-funnel trend to win the German-speaking lead gen market.
• [19:16:00] Mobile-first, interactive funnels born from real client performance pain.
• [39:34:00] Inside Perspective’s performance marketing engine and creative testing system.
• [56:22:00] Copy, customer context, objections and scripts over fancy tactics.
• [01:07:20] Niels’ final message: “The only thing that matters is enjoying life.”

Connect with Niels:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielsklement/

Website: https://www.perspective.co/

Follow Ben on Social:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-aaron-reed/

Join our B2B GTM & RevOps Entrepreneur Community:

https://www.skool.com/outbound-b2b-sales/about?ref=07a56393b2d2435d9366f2e6151e2600

Sponsored By RevyOps (The #1 GTM Data Management Platform): https://tinyurl.com/revyops-mr-niels