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

Hope your Super Bowl Sunday was loud, messy, and fun.

and now it’s Monday

Which is usually where the truth shows up

Early February is when a lot of teams realize something uncomfortable

January felt productive
…but February is where things start slipping

Not dramatically
Not all at once

Just quietly

A follow-up that didn’t happen
A LinkedIn thread that went cold
A convo that felt good but never moved

Last week we talked about ownership
This week is about what ownership actually looks like in motion

Because here’s the part no one loves to admit:

Most pipeline doesn’t die from bad strategy

It dies from poor follow through

I closed a new founder build last week

$2M company
Lost $500k last year trying to scale sales the wrong way
Outsourced, hired reps too early, no transfer of knowledge

Sound familiar?

What broke wasn’t effort
It wasn’t talent

It was follow through

Things were started
Almost nothing was finished cleanly

and that’s the pattern I see everywhere right now

Founders step back (which they should)
Teams “own” outbound (in theory)

But no one owns:

So pipeline just… stalls

Here’s what it looks like when I audit teams:

But when I ask one simple question:

“Where does this conversation live?”

I usually get silence

Email’s in one place
LinkedIn’s somewhere else
Notes are half written
Follow-ups live in someone’s memory

That’s not ownership
That’s hope

…and hope doesn’t scale

This is the shift I’m making with founders and leaders right now

Stop optimizing outreach
Start locking down follow through

Here’s the rule I give teams:

If a conversation starts, it must have a home

Not vibes
Not intention

A system

That means:

If it requires remembering… it will break

(Why I actually use it and why it fixes this exact problem)

Quick chop it up moment here

Everyone uses LinkedIn
Everyone complains about LinkedIn

and yet most teams still treat the inbox like a junk drawer

Messages everywhere
No structure
No follow up rhythm
No visibility for leaders

This is why I keep coming back to Kondo

Not because it sends more DMs but because it organizes the chaos

What I love and use daily:

This is the difference between:

“Ya I think we followed up” and “here’s exactly where every convo stands”

If LinkedIn is part of your GTM motion (it is) and you’re tired of deals dying quietly in the DMs…

Kondo is worth actually trying

Dropping my referral link here if you want to try it (first month free)

👉 https://app.trykondo.com/referral/TSU9HA

(This is one of those tools that clicks fast)

Spent this Saturday mapping out the next 4 Sunset Social events with
Morgan Ingram and Brianna Doe

First one is locked:

🗓 March 19th | 6 pm MST | Phoenix

If you’re local….save it
More details coming soon

Pre-register here 👇

Last week’s episode was with our girls Coaches Coeen and Carly and it was special

Real talk about

The cheer world’s been showing a ton of love! Appreciate every listen

Go check it out if you haven’t yet 👇

The Follow Through Audit (20 minutes)

Do this with your team this week

If the answer is fuzzy…that’s your leak

Fix that before adding more activity

January sets intention
February exposes execution

The teams that win this quarter won’t be louder
They’ll be tighter

Cleaner handoffs
Clearer ownership
Relentless follow-through

That’s the work I’m in right now
and if you’re reading this you probably are too

See you next Monday

🤙

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

- Tom Slocum ✌️

If your outbound motion feels busy but fragile

That’s what I fix

I work with founders and sales leaders who want repeatable pipeline

not hero driven outbound

At The SD Lab we help teams install outbound systems that:

Here’s where I’m most helpful:

Outbound System Builds (4-12 weeks)
For B2B teams (series A-B, 5-20+ reps) that need structure, clarity and execution.

What this looks like:

👉 Best for: founders stepping back, stalled pipeline, messy outbound motions

Targeted Workshops & Power Hours
When you don’t need a full build, just a sharp reset

👉 Best for: fast enablement, team resets, new hire ramp

Outbound Underground
Our private Slack community for reps and leaders building outbound in the real world.

👉 Join here » - free & paid options available

If you’re wondering, “Does this apply to us?”
It probably does

Book a 20 min clarity chat
no pitch, just alignment 👇