The Old GTM Playbook Is Dead. Here’s What’s Replacing It.
Brendan Short, Founder of The Signal and former GTM leader at ZoomInfo and Apollo, joined us on AI GTM WTF to unpack how pipeline is really built in 2025.
His take? The “predictable revenue” model is broken. Hire a bunch of SDRs, dump 100 leads a day into sequences, and hit quota? That math doesn’t work anymore
The Shift We’re Seeing:
Predictable Revenue math is collapsing. More SDRs + more emails ≠ more pipeline.
Spotlight Insight: Brendan Short
“200 meetings booked doesn’t matter. 20 real champions created does.”
GTM Picks: What to Steal This Week?
Swap “meeting quotas” for champion creation KPIs
Use first-party signals (closed-lost data, call logs) instead of buying more lists
Test micro-offers (benchmark graders, ROI calculators) to spark conversations
Why the Playbook Collapsed
Inbox Wars: Founders use AI to send more emails. Google and Microsoft use AI to block them. Guess who’s winning.
Too Many SaaS Clones: Anyone can spin up a product. Competition is brutal. Differentiation comes from execution, not volume.
Pipeline Vanity: 200 meetings booked doesn’t equal revenue. 20 true champions created does.
Deep Dive: What Actually Works in 2025 GTM
Proof of Human
AI-generated emails are everywhere. A single hand-typed note or well-timed call is the pattern interrupt that proves you’re real. Brendan calls this the only way to earn attention today.
Signals Over Spam
Buying more lists is a dead-end. The real gold is in your own house: closed-lost accounts, past champions, untouched call logs. First-party signals can’t be scraped or commoditized — and they’re what separate winning teams from copycats.
Vibe-Coded Offers
Static cold emails don’t cut it. Interactive “micro-offers” like graders, calculators, or playbooks open doors because they deliver value before you ever ask for a meeting. This is the new cold email — one that gives before it takes.
“Spam filters are using better AI than sales teams. If your playbook is still predictable revenue, you’re done.”
- Brendan
AI GTM WTF POV
This is why we built AI GTM WTF. The market doesn’t need another meeting recorder or contact database. It needs contextual intelligence — knowing who’s ready, why now, and what message will land.
Every rep has signals. Few know how to turn them into champions. That’s the game.
Contrary Take
Brendan champions “champion creation” as the new KPI.
We’ll go one step further: champions without the Economic Buyer are still wasted pipeline.
Real GTM advantage comes from turning signals → champions → EB conversations. Anything less is activity theater.
Want the full playbook? Brendan breaks down:
Why inboxes are unwinnable battlegrounds
How to operationalize first-party signals
How to vibe code offers that land meetings instantly
School of SDR → AI GTM WTF
If you’ve been a long-time reader of School of SDR, here’s what’s happening:
We’re evolving this newsletter into AI GTM WTF.
Why?
Because SDRs aren’t just dialing phones anymore. Founders, AEs, and enablement leaders are all facing the same problem — the old GTM playbook is dead. AI is rewriting how pipeline is built, and you need to stay ahead.
Why this matters if you’re an SDR
The best SDRs are the ones who master signals + AI.
You’ll still get practical SDR tips, but now upgraded with a GTM lens that puts you years ahead of average reps.
What stays the same
No-fluff, tactical content you can use tomorrow.
Real examples from the field.
Honest takes you won’t hear anywhere else.
If this isn’t what you signed up for, you can unsubscribe anytime. No hard feelings.
But if you want to be the SDR founders fight to hire, the AE managers promote fastest, and the rep who actually closes pipeline — stay subscribed.
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Sincerely,
Rahul 👋