#24 | Buyer-Led GTM and the Future of Sales

Santosh Sharan is the co-founder and CEO of Zeer AI, a buyer-led GTM platform built to fix what outbound broke—and bring buyers back to the table.

Before Zeer, he scaled Apollo.io, Retention.com, and ZoomInfo — and advised companies like Gong, LeadIQ, Lusha, and ContactOut.

He’s seen firsthand what’s breaking in B2B GTM — and why buyer trust, not automation volume, is now the real growth lever.

“Outbound went rogue. Sellers got lazy. We spammed buyers into silence.”

This episode is for operators looking to build trust at scale, reduce CAC, and stop wasting time on leads that won’t convert.

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Audio:

Santosh on the future of sales, why LinkedIn > cold email, and how agents—not reps—will drive tomorrow’s funnel.

If your funnel’s noisy, this will help you reset the signal.

Or search “GTM Vault” in your podcast app.

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In This Episode:

• Why CAC is up 60%, conversion is collapsing, and outbound is failing

• The difference between buyer-led GTM and seller-first spam

• How Zeer uses buyer and seller agents to match humans only when fit is real

• A behind-the-scenes breakdown of Santosh’s 100-meeting LinkedIn playbook

• What most AI sales tools get wrong — and how Zeer’s approach is different

• How to blend product-led, sales-led, and data-led growth without silos

• Lessons from scaling ZoomInfo and Apollo — and why systems > shortcuts

• Why the next era of GTM will be built on trust, research, and relevance

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5 GTM Takeaways to Steal:

1. Start with the Buyer’s Pain
   They’re not paid to buy software. Help them research, reduce noise, and build trust early.

2. Stop Measuring Output. Start Measuring Fit.
   Spraying emails doesn’t scale anymore. Precision > volume.

3. Own the Moment of Engagement
   The LinkedIn playbook: post, filter by ICP, follow up immediately. Instant meetings.

4. Agents Are the New SDRs
   Zeer’s agentic model pre-qualifies on both sides—so reps only talk to high-intent buyers.

5. Build Systems That Compound
   Founders shouldn’t chase revenue. They should build machines that generate it repeatedly.

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Sponsor Spotlight: ZoomInfo

You might know ZoomInfo for contacts and emails — the fuel behind SDR teams. But ZoomInfo has quietly rebuilt itself into something much more powerful: a system that automates your entire GTM motion.

Signals come in. Outreach goes out. The list gets worked. Plays get triggered. Automatically.

ZoomInfo calls it GTM Intelligence. It’s not enrichment. It’s execution. → Learn more at ZoomInfo.com.

_{Thanks to our sponsors who help keep this email free and high-signal. Want to reach 20,000+ GTM leaders? Explore sponsorship options here.}

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Extras:

• AI Won’t Replace You. But a Rep Who Uses It Will.
  Why blending automation with human insight is now table stakes.

• The Omni-Stack Playbook: How Lovable Engineered $50M ARR Across 12 Channels
  A stage-by-stage GTM system built for compounding momentum.

• The Invisible Forces Shaping Your GTM Strategy
  Trust, fear, urgency—unseen drivers shaping your motion.

• Build a Modern Revenue Engine—Fast
  The 10-chapter GTM Strategy Course for founders and early GTM hires.

• The GTM Debug Framework Every AI Startup Should Know
  How to trace growth problems back to their source — and fix them.

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Don’t just optimize your outreach. Re-architect your GTM for what comes next.

Forward this to a founder, sales leader, or GTM operator who’s thinking critically about the future of growth.

→ Catch up on all GTM Vault episodes

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Connect:

Follow Santosh Sharan:
LinkedIn: Santosh Sharan
Zeer AI

Follow Rick Koleta:
LinkedIn: Rick Koleta