Askia Sisay

The blame falls on attention and handoff discipline, so the post's fix takes seconds, not training programs.

In the SDR-to-AE sketch, the account executive answers "what made you reach out to us specifically?" with "you're a really exciting company doing great things in your space," while the SDR's Salesforce notes already name the industry (ERP sold to mid-market logistics firms), the economic buyer (the CFO), the pain (manual reconciliation eating 20 hours a week), and the trigger (a Q3 budget review). The post ends with "READ THE NOTES" and says Askia Sisay is asking for "just the 90 seconds I put into that CRM field."

Read original

The stated position: when activity data is used to punish reps rather than improve them, the strongest sellers start hiding information, faking it, or leaving.

• Sisay concedes the data does not lie but says it does not tell the whole story — what matters is what a manager does with it.
• The test is whether the record prepares the next conversation or judges the last one.

One post states the position outright: "Your CRM is not a performance management tool.

• It's a coaching tool," closing with "Learn the difference.
• Or lose the team."
• The same belief appears in a story where they write a prospect's sandwich order into CRM notes so a future call can open with "how was the turkey?"

Read original · Original 2

The same discount demanded a business case and a meeting in week six of the quarter: the money was always there; only the calendar changed. The takeaway is to practice margin discipline all quarter, not scramble on the final day.

At 4 PM on the last day of the quarter, a deal needs a 22% discount to close today.

• The request moves from rep to manager to director to a VP checking margin from a dinner reservation, with the rep answering "almost none" about the margin given up, and the approval lands in eleven minutes.
• Askia Sisay's summary line: "The discount was always available.
• The urgency was the only thing missing."

Read original

Deals are classified by how long they have existed and how many stages they skipped, with a clear decision rule readers can apply to their own pipeline.

The post names five types of deal that appear in Monday's forecast after not existing on Friday: "The Resurrection" (a February closed-lost deal supposedly warming back up), "The Verbal" (no paper, no signature, just a good feeling from Tuesday), "The Inbound That Saves Us," "The Sandbag's Cousin," and "The Hail Mary" — an $80K enterprise deal whose first call was yesterday and whose procurement and legal teams do not know it exists. The rule: if it appeared in the last five days and skips three stages, it is not a forecast, it is a wish.

Read original

Sisay treats an honest "no budget" as a timing answer rather than a rejection, logs it, and keeps the relationship alive until the timing changes — with the outcome measured months later, not in the current quarter.

A prospect says they love the energy but genuinely have no budget. Sisay replies "Same time next quarter?", the prospect agrees, the conversation stays in the CRM, and they become a customer seven months later.

Read original

The post is openly comedic, framing a practical habit playfully: listen, write it down, use it later.

A prospect hangs up on a Tuesday, then calls back four minutes later. It turns out to be a butt dial — Sisay listens to him order turkey on wheat with no onions for 45 seconds before hanging up, writes the order into CRM notes, and plans to open a Q4 call with "how was the turkey?"

Read original

The self-deprecating list sets up sincere advice for practitioners who set unrealistic goals every quarter.

The resolutions post pairs eight commitments with their likely reality: updating the CRM after every call becomes a Friday afternoon bulk entry from memory ("Did I talk to a Mike or a Mark?"), building pipeline early becomes week-twelve panic, and a real lunch becomes a sad desk salad during a quick sync.

• The turn: "you don't need 8 new habits on July 1st.
• You need ONE you'll actually keep."

Read original

This post lays out Askia Sisay’s core belief about sales data in a few direct lines.

The post argues that a CRM is a coaching tool, not a performance management tool.

• When managers use activity data to punish rather than improve, strong reps start hiding things, faking things or leaving.
• Askia Sisay says the data does not lie, but it does not tell the whole story; managers must learn the difference or risk losing the team.

For brands planning a campaign

A sales enablement partner can build a campaign around coaching-focused CRM use: a workshop, manager checklist or short video series positioning enablement between raw activity metrics and genuine rep improvement.

This post shows a discovery-call failure and what an SDR’s work is worth when nobody reads it.

An account executive thanks the SDR for booking a meeting, then cannot answer the prospect’s question about what prompted the outreach.

• The SDR’s Salesforce notes include the company’s ERP focus, the CFO as economic buyer, manual reconciliation pain costing twenty hours a week and a Q3 budget trigger.
• The post ends with “READ THE NOTES” and a reminder that the SDR is asking for only the ninety seconds spent entering the CRM field.

For brands planning a campaign

An enablement company can frame the handoff as a process problem, not a talent problem. Campaign assets could include a discovery-call prep checklist, a short “read the notes before the call” video or a template that turns CRM fields into better discovery questions.

This post offers a simple example of staying in front of the right person—and shows why pipeline is not only about who is ready now.

A prospect tells Askia Sisay they love the energy but genuinely have no budget.

• Sisay appreciates the honesty and asks to reconnect at the same time next quarter.
• They keep the conversation in the CRM and follow up; seven months later, the prospect becomes a customer.
• The lesson: pipeline is not just who is ready now, but who you stay in front of.

For brands planning a campaign

The post supports a nurture and follow-up campaign for SDRs on why disciplined CRM reminders and cadences matter after a “no.” It can anchor a workshop or template for keeping future-quarter conversations visible without treating the prospect as ready today.

This post offers a funny but precise list of deal categories that show up in forecasts when hope replaces process.

The post names five recurring forecast types: a closed-lost deal supposedly warming back up; a verbal with no paper or signature; an inbound demo request forecasted to close in four days; a hidden deal revealed late to look like a heroic save; and an $80K enterprise Hail Mary that skips procurement and legal. Askia Sisay concludes that a deal that appeared in the last five days and skips three stages is not a forecast; it is a wish.

For brands planning a campaign

A sales enablement company can turn this into an interactive forecast-hygiene campaign: a “forecast or wish?” self-assessment, a stage-exit criteria checklist or a revenue-leader webinar. The humor will resonate with SDRs, while the underlying lesson gives sales operations and revenue leaders something practical to adopt.

This post traces a timestamped approval chain and makes the point that the discount was always available; only urgency was missing.

At 4 PM on the last day of the quarter, a deal needs a 22% discount to close.

• The approval chain moves from rep to manager to director to VP in minutes.
• A discount that needed a business case and a meeting in week six is approved in eleven minutes on the last day.
• Askia Sisay says the discount was always available; urgency was the only thing missing.
• Margin discipline is a quarter-long sport.

For brands planning a campaign

For a sales enablement partner, this is a strong anchor for a deal-desk and discounting campaign aimed at revenue leaders. It could support an approval-workflow diagnostic, a role-play on building business cases earlier or a co-branded discussion about distinguishing real urgency from quarter-end panic.

This post offers a self-aware inventory of CRM, pipeline, forecasting, follow-up and boundary failures.

Askia Sisay lists Q3 resolutions and their likely reality: updating the CRM in real time versus Friday bulk entry; building pipeline early versus week-twelve panic; forecasting only believable deals versus strong feelings; personalized follow-ups versus bumping the same message forty-seven times; a real lunch versus a sad desk salad; and no Slack after 7 PM. The point: sellers do not need eight new habits on July 1; they need one they will actually keep.

For brands planning a campaign

A sales enablement company can use this as a lightweight campaign entry point: a “pick one habit” challenge, weekly nudges or an interactive quiz leading into deeper CRM and pipeline training. It meets the audience where they are and gives the enablement brand a human, rather than preachy, feel.

This post uses an absurd, real-feeling story to make a practical point about listening and remembering details.

A prospect hangs up on Askia Sisay, calls back four minutes later, and it turns out to be a butt dial.

• They listen as the prospect orders a turkey on wheat with no onions, add it to the CRM notes, and plan to open a Q4 call with “how was the turkey?”
• The post calls personalization a mindset.

For brands planning a campaign

An enablement partner can use this as the hook for a personalization campaign that goes beyond first-name tokens. It could support a short lesson on capturing human details in the CRM and using them later, with a notes template to make follow-ups feel specific rather than automated.

The qualification work was already done; the failure was not reading it. They reduce the ask to "just the 90 seconds I put into that CRM field."

A before-and-after dialogue sketch: praise, then the call that exposes the gap, then the ignored notes shown in full.

For brands planning a campaign

A strong natural fit for a sales enablement brand: a co-marketing piece or workshop on handoff discipline, using the creator's sketch as the opening scenario and the brand's process and template as the solution. Lead outreach with the specific handoff failure, not general productivity language.

Examples: Source 1

Askia Sisay's argument: "The discount was always available.

• The urgency was the only thing missing."
• The same concession required a business case in week six, making process timing, not deal economics, the constraint.

A minute-by-minute reenactment of a Slack-style approval chain, ending with a direct question about readers' fastest approval time.

For brands planning a campaign

A fit for revenue operations, deal-desk, or CPQ tooling partners making a memorable case for approval policy and margin discipline. The timestamp device adapts well to a short video or carousel featuring the brand's deal-review approach.

Examples: Source 1

Askia Sisay replies, "Same time next quarter?", logs it in the CRM, follows up, and the prospect becomes a customer seven months later.

• The takeaway: pipeline includes not only who's ready now, but also who you stay in front of.
• This is one of the few posts where a follow-up cadence produces a measurable outcome rather than a joke.

For brands planning a campaign

A fit for a partner selling sequencing, cadence, or CRM automation — but the message is patience and follow-through, not volume. Pair the seven-month example with the brand's follow-up tooling rather than promising faster wins the post does not show.

Examples: Source 1

Askia Sisay concedes that the data does not lie, but says it does not tell the whole story either.

• They close with, "Learn the difference.
• Or lose the team."
• The post states a position readers can evaluate on its own.

For brands planning a campaign

A fit for a brand whose product surfaces rep activity, provided the campaign supports a coaching rather than surveillance frame. The post offers a usable quote about how managers should interpret CRM metrics.

Examples: Source 1

The rule: if it appeared in the last five days and skips three stages, it is not a forecast.

A list of named archetypes, each with a one-line deal description and skeptical parenthetical, ending with a decision rule and poll question.

For brands planning a campaign

Strong material for forecasting, pipeline-inspection, or sales-operations partners. The named archetypes offer ready-made campaign vocabulary for a co-branded quiz, glossary, or webinar segment that sorts readers' own deals into categories.

Examples: Source 1

The advice: "you don't need 8 new habits on July 1st.

• You need ONE you'll actually keep."
• The humor carries a genuine behavior-change argument for practitioners who set unrealistic quarterly goals.

A self-deprecating list pairing each resolution with its failure in parentheses, then shifting into direct advice.

For brands planning a campaign

Adaptable to engagement-style campaigns, especially for enablement or productivity brands seeking a lighter, self-aware tone around habit change. The one-habit framing gives a campaign a concrete call to action rather than a list of features.

Examples: Source 1

The lesson — personalization is a mindset — turns an absurd moment into an argument for capturing small, human details rather than relying on merge-field personalization.

Ask the creator to frame the personalization claim as playful, not as a tested outreach method.

For brands planning a campaign

A memorable opener for a personalization or sales-engagement brand, and a natural fit for social-first campaign content. The brand's tooling should support note capture: the post is about recording detail, not automating messages.

Examples: Source 1

Most posts end with a question asking readers which version of the failure they have seen, turning the post into a conversation rather than a broadcast. They focus on the day-to-day of prospecting, CRM hygiene, pipeline, forecasting, and deal approval.

Recurring structure across the corpus: concrete scene or named list, escalating detail, one-line rule, audience question.

For brands planning a campaign

A brand can rely on this format consistently: the creator supplies the recognizable scene and audience question, while a partner supplies the corrective process. Campaign briefs should leave room for the closing prompt, where audience response happens.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4 · Source 5 · Source 6 · Source 7

They do not show the creator's job title, employer, industry specialization, tenure, or any published work outside this platform, and none of the posts carry a visible publication date in the posts here. There is also no sponsorship or partner content in the posts, so no commercial track record can be assessed from them.

For brands planning a campaign

A brand evaluating a paid engagement should ask directly for current role context, audience composition, and examples of prior sponsored work; the posts do not provide that information. The campaign angles above stand on the content itself.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2 · Source 3 · Source 4 · Source 5 · Source 6 · Source 7

Buckingham's "Deals find pain.

• Relationships avoid it." treats a four-month friendly contact as a failure to ask hard qualification questions—the same argument Askia Sisay makes when an AE ignores the SDR's notes.
• Both build posts around a specific deal that went wrong rather than abstract advice.

Buckingham writes from the founder's side of the table.

• His posts describe his experience as a two-time startup COO, the runway he burned, and the gaps he lived through, and promote early access to Per4mer, an AI coaching product for technical founders.
• Askia Sisay stays with the rep and manager on a sales team, using dialogue and comedy without pitching a product.

Read original · Original 2

Newman's test—does the tool make the day easier, faster, or cheaper, and where is the money?—echoes Askia Sisay's insistence that CRM records should serve the next conversation rather than impress a dashboard.

Newman writes instructional walkthroughs: numbered steps for building a Slack pipeline briefing, saving prompts as reusable skills, and a five-point scoring checklist for evaluating vendors, backed by research such as Gartner and MIT figures. Askia Sisay teaches through scenes, dialogue, and punchlines, focusing on daily rep habits rather than tooling and automation.

Read original · Original 2

Jain's argument that a stalling deal and a rep's skill gap are usually the same underlying fact described two ways matches Askia Sisay's view that CRM data is a coaching tool, not a scoreboard. Both identify information scattered across separate places as the root problem.

Jain writes positioning essays for PitchSense AI, cites outside research such as Salesforce's State of Sales 2026, and uses longer analytical paragraphs to describe a product he is building. Askia Sisay sticks to short narrative posts, uses humor instead of statistics, and closes by asking readers which version of the failure they have seen.

Read original · Original 2

The early-access post addresses technical founders selling B2B directly or through partners and offers a 30-minute founder sales consultation plus monthly check-ins as the entry point.

• The second post works the same reader: four months of coffee chats and check-ins that produced no deal because nobody asked whether there was budget, closing on "deals find pain, relationships avoid it" and "discovery isn't small talk."
• An enablement brand whose product coaches a founder-led motion, or that wants to reach startup operators rather than an established sales team, gets a creator whose subject is the reader's actual job and whose offer already resembles the workshop the brand wants to promote.

The reader is different.

• Askia Sisay writes for people inside a sales team, working with a CRM, a forecast call and a manager.
• Buckingham writes for founders doing their own selling, while the campaign targets SDRs and revenue leaders.
• Buckingham's posts also sell his coaching offer, Per4mer, with a link-in-comments call to action.
• A partner would be buying attention already being sold to a comparable buyer, so check for audience overlap first.
• The posts are from late February and early March 2026.
• Ask for audience figures, rates and sponsorship history before assessing reach or commercial terms.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

The Slack post shows how to build a quarterly pipeline briefing from CRM data with prompts, save it as a reusable skill and schedule it, judged by one test — where's the money.

• The AI selection post gives five criteria for buying a tool: fits your workflow, plugs into your CRM, clear data boundaries, improves over time, and measurable ROI, citing Gartner and MIT research.
• For an enablement brand selling workflow automation or a RevOps tool, this is closer to the product story than a sales-life scene.
• The reader is the person who signs off on the tool, not the person whose notes go unread.

The teaching focuses on systems and vendor evaluation, not seller behaviour.

• It cannot carry a coaching or CRM-note-hygiene message as directly as Askia Sisay's handoff and CRM-data posts.
• The audience is the ops leader who selects tools, not the SDR team the campaign targets.
• The scoring framework also puts a partner's product through the same test as every other tool, a hazard if the partner wants a recommendation rather than measurement.
• The posts are from 24 and 25 September 2026.
• Ask for audience data, rates and commercial terms before comparing reach or assessing a partnership.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2

The PitchSense AI posts argue that a stalled deal and a rep's skill gap are often the same fact seen from two angles and belong in a single view.

• The second works through a price-objection deal where the call recorder, the shared drive and the manager each hold part of the answer, while no single tool sees all three, citing Salesforce's State of Sales 2026.
• This is the closest of the three alternatives to the campaign subject.

These posts are product marketing for PitchSense AI, a company building in the same territory as the sponsor.

• Sponsoring the account means paying for a competing product story rather than a neutral voice.
• The material is argument and product framing, not observable seller scenes; the brand would need to supply the corrective process.
• Both posts are from 1 and 8 October 2026.
• Ask for audience measurement, rates, exclusivity and usage terms, and examples of sponsored content to assess what a paid placement in this voice would look like.

Examples: Source 1 · Source 2