Welcome to the GTM Launchpad newsletter! Each week I will share a sales play to help you grow your business, level up your sales game and succeed in the trenches

How I Built a $3M Pipeline
(and The 3-Part OS Your Team Can Steal Today)

Ever notice how some teams are “always behind on pipeline”…
…and others seem to print meetings like it's a side hustle?

I used to think the difference was hustle
Or talent
Or better tools

Nah

After 3 years running The SD Lab, coaching teams, jumping into the trenches, building my own deal flow I realized something obvious in hindsight

👉 Teams don’t have a pipeline problem

They have a system problem

So this week I’m breaking down the 3 part Outbound OS that helped me build $3M+ in pipeline, land A-tier clients like Kustomer and ServiceChannel and coach reps from “freezing on objections” to consistently booking their own meetings

This isn’t theory. This is the same OS I’m teaching tomorrow when I kick off an 8 week live coaching program with Oliv AI’s sales crew

Let’s dig in

THE BIG LESSON
Pipeline isn’t an event
It’s an ecosystem

When I first started The SD Lab I was doing what most founders do:

• Sending a few emails

• Taking a few calls

• Posting a few times

• Hoping something hit

But the real jump…the jump from “random inbound luck” to “predictable revenue engine” happened when I built a repeatable system that didn’t care about mood, energy or motivation

Think of it like a gym program

If you lift with intention, follow the reps and show up 6 times/week… The results show up whether or not you feel like it

Pipeline works the same way

Here’s the OS

THE 3 PART OUTBOUND OS BEHIND $3M PIPELINE

1️⃣ Precision Targeting (Stop selling to strangers)

Most teams think they need more leads
What they actually need is fewer, better ones

Here’s what “precision” means inside SD Lab

• ICP is problem defined not persona defined
  (Titles don’t buy. Pain does)
  

• Verified data only
  Apollo “verified,” Leadmagic, Zoominfo, Wiza whatever keeps bounce rate down and reply rate up
  

• Tiered targeting
  A, B, and C accounts with different messaging intensity
  

• Zero spray-and-pray
  No more 4,000 account sequences with 7% relevance

Even my SDR Brianda 3 weeks on the phones straight out of Wing and brand new to cold calling saw the difference immediately

📞 2,407 Dials → 329 connects → 142 real conversations
and the majority of the conversations came from tight lists not broad ones

Good lists = good calls
Bad lists = reps burning energy on the wrong people

2️⃣ Messaging that Creates Curiosity Not Resistance

Every pipeline machine is built on one ingredient
Messages that earn attention

My rule

Relevance > personalization

Meaning….show you understand their world, systems, pressure and KPIs not their dog’s Instagram handle or where they went to college

The HERO framework is the backbone

• Hook with their reality

• Empathize with their struggle

• Reveal a new possibility

• Offer a tiny next step

This is how we got Kustomer’s SDR team from 50% → 81% → 100% quota attainment inside three months

This is how my lead gen team consistently books 10–20 meetings/month for clients

and it’s how Brianda a novice cold caller who was terrified to even dial on Day 1 has already landed 3 high-quality meetings in 15 days of calling

Messaging is the multiplier
You can’t out-dial bad positioning

3️⃣ Consistency + Volume (The right kind)

Let me be blunt

You don’t build pipeline by “trying things”
You build pipeline by doing the right things consistently

Inside the SD Lab system

• Each prospect gets 25-35 touches across phone, email and social

• Reps have a weekly scorecard (calls, convos, meetings, quality)

• Objections are studied not feared

• Coaching happens weekly not when someone is struggling

• Sequences are edited every 7-10 days

• Data sources are tested in parallel
  (We’re currently running Zoominfo vs Apollo vs Seamless vs Leadmagic vs SureConnect mobile-verified and the patterns are fascinating)

Consistency is how Brianda hit

• 43% conversation rate from pickups

• 27.6% prospect connect rate

and consistency is how teams go from

❌ “We need more pipeline”

to

✔️ “We know exactly how pipeline gets created here”

REAL RECEIPTS: THE OS IN ACTION

Here’s what this OS has produced over the last 36 months

• $3M+ pipeline generated

• 20-30% SQM lifts at multiple clients

• 45,000+ cold calls inside SD Lab

• Dozens of reps coached into quota-hitters

• Outbound Underground community launched & growing

• 10–20 SQLs/month for clients on retainer

• Multiple 5-figure consulting engagements

• My own SDR (3 weeks in!) is already producing her first deals

This isn’t luck

This is process → applied consistently → with the right coaching

HOW LEADERS CAN STEAL THIS SYSTEM

Take 10 minutes today and audit

1. Is your ICP based on problems or job titles?

If it's job titles → you’re leaving money on the table

2. Does every rep have a repeatable daily/weekly outbound cadence?

Or is everyone improvising?

3. Are your sequences 90 words or less with relevance baked in?

Not personalization → relevance

4. Do your reps know the top 10 objections cold?

If not → your pipeline is bleeding quietly

5. Do you run weekly coaching rhythms?

Not performance reviews
Actual coaching

If you want to build pipeline like a machine start here

Explore. Engage. Evolve

Behind the Scenes
The Podcast I’m Recording With Scott Leese this week

Tuesday I’m heading into the studio in Scottsdale to record an in-person episode of What’s Your Story? with Scott Leese and Mike Lindstrom. Two guys who have been building, leading and tearing down walls in the GTM world for decades

This one’s different
It’s not a “tactical outbound” interview
It’s a deep dive into my actual story. The good, the painful, the rebuild, the ascent and the work I’m doing now inside The SD Lab

We’re talking:

• How I got into sales

• The moments that almost broke me

• What rebuilt me

• The mentors who shaped me

• The projects I’m launching now

• and where I’m taking SD Lab + Outbound Underground in 2026

It’ll drop in Q1 across Spotify, Apple and YouTube. I’ll share it here when it goes live

Also Recording This Week: Deep Dive with Will Padilla

On Wednesday I’m back in-person for a session with Will Padilla one of my favorite operators to jam with

This one’s all tactics: cold calls, messaging, AI workflows and the patterns we’re both seeing across early-stage sales teams

More soon when it’s published

📚 What I’m Studying This Week: “Amp It Up” by Frank Slootman

If you’re a founder or sales leader stop what you’re doing and add this to your list.
It’s the cleanest breakdown I’ve ever seen of raising standards, tightening execution and getting teams aligned around urgency

Short read. Big punch

This Week’s Tactical Prompt to Level Up Your Team

Pick ONE part of your outbound OS and tighten it by 10%

• Targeting

• Messaging

• Consistency

Small improvements → disproportionate returns

Now let’s get tactical…

Bonus Sales Tactics (3 Quick Wins)

1️⃣ The “Assumptive Confidence” Cold Call Intro

This is the opener I teach every SDR because it works without begging for time

Try this tomorrow

“Tom here I’ll keep this tight. Quick question for you…”

Why it works

• You don’t ask for permission

• You don’t trigger the “I’m busy” knee-jerk

• You take control in a calm, confident way

• You earn the right to continue

This opener buys you 5–7 seconds of attention which is all you need

2️⃣ The “One-Line Relevance” Email CTA

Instead of asking for time or pitching a meeting end your email with

“Want me to send the 2–3 specifics I noticed?”

Why it hits

• It’s relevant (because it ties back to their world)

• It’s low-friction

• It creates curiosity

• and it sets you up for a natural follow-up

I’ve tested this line across thousands of outbound emails it consistently outperforms any variation of “15 minutes” or “open to a chat?”

3️⃣ The DM → Video → Call Combo 

1. DM with relevance

2. Send a 30-second video

3. Call the same day

Why it works

• DM builds familiarity

• Video builds trust

• Call converts attention into conversation

This combo closes the gap from seen → spoken which is where pipeline is won

SPONSOR OF THE WEEK — NOTION
(3 months free)

Not paid just a tool I rely on every single day

If you’ve been following me for a minute you know I run my entire Outbound OS inside Notion

• content calendar

• SDR dashboards

• call review sheets

• outbound tests

• client notes

• pipeline insights

• community ops

• all my templates + playbooks

This week’s issue is literally about building a repeatable pipeline engine…
Notion is where that engine lives for me.

and now through their Notion Builders Program I can give you something pretty wild

👉 3 months of Notion Business + unlimited Notion AI (free)
No credit card needed

If you're a founder, sales leader or running a small GTM team this will legitimately clean up your ops:

• One workspace instead of 12 tabs

• One place for your team’s knowledge

• One system that scales with you

• AI baked into every doc, every workflow

If your team’s still living in spreadsheets, screenshots or Slack pin purgatory…
This will make your life easier

👉 Grab your 3 free months here
https://affiliate.notion.so/d89zpyrfh8nww

If you want the exact templates I use with my SDRs reply to this email and I’ll send them

Cleaner ops = cleaner pipeline

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Tomorrow I kick off an 8-week live program coaching Oliv AI’s sales team
Tuesday I’m in Scottsdale recording with Scott Leese and Mike Lidstorm
Wednesday I’m doing another in-person pod with Will Padilla

It’s a wild week but here’s why I share it

I’m still in the trenches
Still dialing
Still coaching
Still testing every tool I recommend
Still building pipeline with my own hands

and I’ll keep showing up every Monday with what I learn so you and your team can win faster with less guessing

See you next week 🤙

and if you want the OS breakdown for your team reply anytime

Thanks for reading. See you again next week at 8 am MST!

- Tom Slocum ✌️

How can The SD Lab help you?

If your outbound pipeline is stuck we fix that

The SD Lab works with founders, sales leaders and enablement pros to install outbound systems that actually generate pipeline

Here’s how we help teams level up fast 👇

🚀 The Revenue Accelerator

2 to 12 week outbound consulting sprints for B2B orgs with 10–20+ reps

✅ Lift SQLs by 20–30%
✅ Coach reps with real call reviews + AI scorecards
✅ Rebuild outbound messaging + targeting
✅ Deliver a scalable system your team can own

👉 Best for: Series A-B SaaS orgs, new SDR teams, stalled pipeline

📓 Custom Sales Playbooks

4 to 8 week builds of cold call flows, email copy, objection handling and targeting strategy

You bring the ICP, we build the message and motion
Final asset = plug-and-play playbook your team can use or scale

👉 Best for: founders, enablement leaders, agencies building outbound

🎯 Targeted Workshops + Power Hours

Live tactical sessions for your team. No fluff, just results

💥 Cold call clinics
💥 Email teardown sessions
💥 Social selling & DM strategy
💥 SDR workflow optimization

👉 Best for: fast enablement, rep upskilling, team offsites or new hire ramp

🧠 Outbound Underground

Our private Slack community for reps & rising sellers

🔓 Weekly office hours
🔓 Tech tool perks
🔓 Peer feedback, templates and real talk

🎟️ Join here » — free & paid options available

Curious what this could look like for your org?
Book a 20 min strategy chat no pitch just clarity 👇

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