The RenegadeOS method for B2B customers
Stop waiting for customers. Build the system that brings them to you.
Most B2B companies sell through word of mouth. It works until it doesn’t: when it stops, the customers stop. This method replaces it with a process you repeat every month, with anyone on the team.
- 4 steps to go from “who do I sell to?” to a signed contract, and then grow.
- 14 modules, one for every point where a contact gets lost along the way.
- 45 activities you can act on, with what you get, how to measure it, the mistakes to avoid and when to move on.
Step 1 of 4 · 3 modules · 11 activities
Preparation
Who to talk to, what to say, where to keep the data
The step in brief
Before you contact anyone: who to talk to, what to say, where to keep the data. Skip this and you talk to the wrong companies, with the wrong message, and lose information along the way.
When you move to the next step
With target, messages and data ready, you can go to market.
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IntelligenceMarket research and analysis 4 activities
Contacting companies at random wastes time and burns names. With the right information you talk to the right companies, at the right time, about problems they actually have.
The research you do before contacting anyone: understand the market, choose who to target and spot the moment a company is ready to listen.
The 4 activities
Research
Collect information on sectors, companies and competitors: websites, financial statements, news, trade fairs, trade associations, LinkedIn profiles, public tenders.
Analysis
Put the data in order to see where the demand is, which problems come up most, how competitors move and where there is room for a different offer.
Target
Define the ideal customer profile (sector, size, area, roles to contact) and build the list of companies that match it, in order of priority.
Signals
Spot the events that make a company ready to buy: new sites, hiring, management changes, funding, product launches, contracts or regulations about to expire.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A written ideal customer profile, a prioritised list of target companies and a list of signals to watch, with the sources to read them from.
How you measure it
- Target companies with complete data
- Share of contacted companies that reply
- Time spent finding a useful contact
Mistakes to avoid
- A target that is too broad, like “all SMEs”
- Research done once and never updated
- Collecting data without deciding what to do with it
B2B example
A company selling logistics software targets hauliers in Central Italy with 50 to 250 employees, and uses fleet manager job ads on LinkedIn as its signal.
When to move on
The ideal customer profile is written and approved, and the company list is ready for Strategy and positioning.
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Strategy and positioningValue proposition and messages 3 activities
Without a clear position every salesperson describes a different company, the customer can’t see why to choose you, and the talk ends up being only about price.
How you show up in the market: which problem you solve, for whom, why they should pick you and the words you use to say it.
The 3 activities
Value proposition
One or two sentences: the result the customer gets, for which type of customer, and what sets you apart. Write it from the problems found in Intelligence, not from the product’s features.
Use case
Three to five real situations where your offer solves a problem: who the customer is, what the problem was, what changes afterwards. They help your sales team get understood and help customers recognise themselves.
Messages
For each role you contact (owner, purchasing director, technical manager): the two or three points that matter to them, the most common objections with answers, and the tone to use.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A one-page positioning document, use case sheets and a table of messages by role, to use in emails, calls, the website and presentations.
How you measure it
- Reply rate to first messages
- Meetings where the customer recognises their own problem
- Consistency between materials and what salespeople say, spot-checked
Mistakes to avoid
- Talking about features instead of results
- An offer “for everyone” that convinces no one
- Changing the message every week without measuring
B2B example
A plant maintenance company stops calling itself “complete maintenance services” and says: “We cut downtime on food production lines with call-outs within 24 hours”, with one point for the plant manager (downtime) and one for purchasing (predictable costs).
When to move on
Value proposition, use cases and messages are written, approved and shared with whoever will make the contacts.
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Data structure and CRMDatabase, contacts and tracking 4 activities
Without a CRM, information lives in inboxes and in salespeople’s heads: one holiday or one resignation and the deals are gone.
One place for companies, contacts and deals: everyone works on the same data and nothing gets lost.
The 4 activities
Database
Define the fields that matter (sector, size, area, source, status) and the rules for filling them in; import the target companies from Intelligence, removing duplicates and stale data.
Contacts
For each company, the right people, with role, preferred channel and GDPR consent; always record where each contact came from.
Pipeline
Map the sales stages (the modules of this method’s sales pipeline) with clear criteria for moving from one to the next, the same for everyone.
Tracking
Connect emails, calls, website forms and campaigns, so every interaction is logged and you know which channel brings results.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A CRM set up with fields, stages and written rules, the initial data imported and cleaned, and a short user guide for the team.
How you measure it
- Share of complete records
- Share of activities logged
- Duplicate contacts or contacts with no source
Mistakes to avoid
- Too many required fields that nobody fills in
- Importing lists without cleaning them
- Pipeline stages that don’t match how you really work
B2B example
An SME selling machine tools moves from a shared Excel sheet to a CRM with six stages: every website enquiry lands in the CRM already, with the page it came from and the salesperson assigned.
When to move on
The CRM is ready, the team knows how to use it and the target company list is loaded.
target, messages and data ready
Step 2 of 4 · 2 modules · 8 activities
Market activation
Go after customers and get found
The step in brief
Two channels working together: you go to the customer (outbound) and you make sure the customer finds you (inbound). Every contact ends up in the same pipeline.
Outbound and Inbound work together: every contact, from any channel, enters the pipeline at Interaction.
When you move to the next step
Every contact who replies enters the sales pipeline at the Interaction module.
- Two channels, side by side
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OutboundPush channel: you go to the customer 4 activities
You choose who to contact and you see results sooner than with inbound, especially when there are few possible customers and every sale is worth a lot.
You take the initiative: you contact chosen companies, with a message written for them.
Runs alongside Inbound: the two channels work together.
The 4 activities
Direct contact
Calls and meetings with target companies, prepared with what you found in Intelligence. The goal of the first contact is a meeting, not a sale.
Email and LinkedIn
Sequences of several short, personal messages, a few days apart, mixing email, connection requests and LinkedIn messages. Each message adds something: a case, a figure, a question.
Networking
Trade fairs, industry events, associations, business meetups: list the people you want to meet beforehand and log everything in the CRM straight after.
Partnerships
Agreements with companies that serve the same customers without competing with you (consultants, complementary suppliers, installers) and can introduce you to their customers.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A schedule of activities (who contacts whom, when, with which sequence), ready-made message templates and the first meetings in the diary.
How you measure it
- Reply rate
- Meetings booked per 100 companies contacted
- Cost per meeting, in time and tools
Mistakes to avoid
- The same message to everyone
- Writing too much and too often
- Forgetting the privacy rules: only lawfully collected data, and always a way to opt out
B2B example
A transport company contacts 40 e-commerce businesses in its region with a four-step sequence over three weeks: email with a case, LinkedIn connection, phone call, final email offering a site visit.
When to move on
When a contact replies or accepts a meeting, they enter the sales pipeline at the Interaction module.
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InboundPull channel: the customer finds you 4 activities
Inbound contacts arrive already interested, and over time content brings in enquiries with no extra cost per contact.
Make sure customers find you when they look for a solution, and leave you their details.
Runs alongside Outbound: the two channels work together.
The 4 activities
Landing page
Pages with one goal (download a guide, request a demo, book a call), a simple form and a message that matches the ad or content the visitor came from.
Ads
Paid campaigns (Google, LinkedIn, Meta) aimed at the defined target, on a controlled budget and connected to a landing page and the CRM, so you know how many contacts and how many customers they produce.
Social
A steady presence where your target is (in B2B, mostly LinkedIn), with company and personal profiles: useful posts, not just promotion.
Content
Articles, guides, case studies, videos and webinars that answer customers’ real questions, the ones that came up earlier, and that people can find on search engines.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A content plan, landing pages and forms connected to the CRM, live campaigns with budgets and goals.
How you measure it
- Landing page visits and enquiries
- Cost per contact from campaigns
- Inbound contacts that become opportunities
Mistakes to avoid
- Sending traffic to the home page instead of a landing page
- Generic content about everything
- Counting contacts but not the customers they turn into
B2B example
A business software maker publishes the guide “How to choose management software for a 20-person company”, promotes it on LinkedIn to SME owners and collects requests through a landing page connected to the CRM.
When to move on
Every contact who leaves their details enters the pipeline at the Interaction module, with the source recorded.
every contact, from any channel, enters the pipeline
Step 3 of 4 · 8 modules · 23 activities
Sales pipeline
From the first conversation to the signature, and beyond
The step in brief
Every contact goes through the same eight modules: five to get to the signature, three to keep the relationship, measure and improve.
Follow-up sends contacts who are interested again back to Qualification; Optimisation improves every module, then the cycle repeats.
When you move to the next step
Once the pipeline runs steadily and you measure it, you can grow the system.
- Towards the signature
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InteractionThe first real exchange 3 activities
This is where the contact decides whether to trust you: a slow or muddled reply loses even the keenest one.
The first real exchange with the potential customer: a reply to a message, an enquiry from the website, a phone call.
The 3 activities
First contact
A fast reply (for website enquiries, within a few hours), personal, that shows you understood the request and proposes the next step.
UX and funnel
The path the contact takes to reach you (ad, page, form, confirmation email) must be simple and consistent: cut needless steps and extra fields.
Conversation
Open questions to understand their situation, listening, no long product pitch; book the next moment with a date and time.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
The contact recorded in the CRM with the source, the first information and an agreed next step.
How you measure it
- Time to first reply
- Contacts who reply to the first message
- Contacts who accept a second step
Mistakes to avoid
- Replying days later
- Sending the price list straight away
- A form with too many fields
B2B example
An enquiry comes in from the website at 10am. At 11 the salesperson calls, introduces themselves, asks three questions about the situation and books a half-hour video call for the next day.
When to move on
The conversation has started and you have enough information to qualify the contact.
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QualificationIs this contact worth your time? 3 activities
Without qualification you spend the week on people who will never buy, while the real opportunities go cold.
Decide whether a contact is worth sales time: do they have the problem you solve, the budget, someone who decides and a reason to do it now?
The 3 activities
Gathering information
Complete the company data (sector, size, sites) and the contact data (role, weight in the decision), and find out how they work today and what isn’t working. Sources: first call, submitted form, website, LinkedIn, company registry extract.
Lead filter
Compare the contact with the ideal customer profile defined in Strategy and positioning. Anyone who doesn’t fit leaves the pipeline with the reason written down, or moves to Follow-up to be contacted again later.
Scoring
Give a score that combines “how close to the ideal customer” and “how interested” (replies, visits, requests). Below the threshold the contact goes into nurturing; above it you book a sales meeting. A simple method is BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timing.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A CRM record for each contact, with score, reasoning and next step, and a list sorted by priority.
How you measure it
- Qualified contacts out of the total
- Days between first contact and qualification
- Qualified contacts that become opportunities
Mistakes to avoid
- Qualifying on the contact’s enthusiasm instead of the facts
- Dropping a contact without writing down why
- Different criteria for every salesperson
B2B example
A packaging company downloads a guide from the website. On the first call it turns out they will change supplier within six months, the contact is the purchasing manager and the budget is already set: high score, meeting with the senior salesperson.
When to move on
The need is confirmed, there is someone who makes or influences the decision, and a meeting is booked.
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Opportunity developmentFrom need to tailored solution 3 activities
A generic offer gets compared on price alone; a solution built on the real need gets compared on value.
With a qualified contact you dig into their problem and build the right solution for them.
The 3 activities
Needs analysis
Meetings with the people involved (who uses it, who decides, who pays) to understand processes, problems, constraints, timing and selection criteria, collecting the company’s real numbers.
Solution
Design the tailored proposal (what, how, how long, with which people), check feasibility with your internal team and share a draft with the customer before the formal offer.
ROI
Estimate the value for the customer with their numbers (time saved, costs avoided, extra revenue) and compare it with the investment. You do the calculation together with them, with the assumptions stated.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
An analysis document shared with the customer, a draft solution and an estimate of the return on investment.
How you measure it
- Opportunities with a complete analysis
- Average opportunity value
- Opportunities that reach negotiation
Mistakes to avoid
- Proposing the solution before understanding the problem
- Talking to one person when three decide
- Inflated return estimates, or ones with no assumptions
B2B example
A manufacturing software company analyses machine set-up times with the customer; the return estimate uses the downtime hours the customer measured in the last quarter.
When to move on
The customer confirms the solution meets their need and asks for the offer.
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NegotiationFrom offer to agreement 3 activities
This is where many deals die: objections not handled, timelines that drag on, discounts given away for nothing.
Your offer meets the customer’s requests, until you reach an agreement that works for both sides.
The 3 activities
Proposal
A clear, complete offer (what is included and what isn’t, timing, price, terms), presented in person or by phone before you send it, with the value estimated in Opportunity development.
Bargaining
Listen to the objections (price, timing, risk) and answer with facts. Every concession is traded for something: contract length, volumes, payment terms, references.
Adjustment
Change the proposal without losing its core (options, phases, services added or removed), keeping track of the versions in the CRM.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A final proposal accepted by the customer, or the reason for the loss recorded in the CRM.
How you measure it
- Offers accepted out of the total
- Average discount given
- Average negotiation length
Mistakes to avoid
- Emailing the offer and waiting
- Giving a discount straight away
- Not knowing who signs and when
B2B example
When asked for a 10% discount, the salesperson offers the same price with payment upfront, or the discount in exchange for a two-year contract.
When to move on
There is an agreement, verbal or written, on the final terms.
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ClosingThe signature and a clean start 2 activities
A messy start breeds doubt right after the purchase; a clean start confirms the choice and sets up renewals.
The signature and the new customer’s first steps.
The 2 activities
Agreement
Signed contract or order, with terms, timing and contacts in writing, and the internal handover from the salesperson to whoever will look after the customer.
Onboarding
Kick-off meeting, plan for the first weeks, access, training and a first result reached quickly. The customer always knows who to turn to.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
Signed contract, shared start-up plan and customer marked active in the CRM.
How you measure it
- Days between signature and start
- Satisfaction after the start
- Issues reported in the first 30 days
Mistakes to avoid
- Disappearing after the signature
- Sales promises that never reach the people doing the work
- A start with no date and no one in charge
B2B example
Within 48 hours of signing, the customer receives the start-up schedule, the name of their contact person and the date of the first review meeting.
When to move on
The customer is up and running and has had their first result.
- After the signature
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Follow-upThe relationship over time 3 activities
Many contacts aren’t ready today but will be in a few months, and happy customers buy again and refer others.
Stay in touch over time, with customers and with those who haven’t bought yet.
When a contact is interested again, they go back to Qualification.
The 3 activities
Nurturing
For contacts who aren’t ready yet, regular useful messages (content, cases, invitations) until the right moment comes; the score updates based on how they respond.
Relationship
With customers, regular meetings to check results, pick up new needs and ask for referrals.
Reactivation
After a set period, get back in touch with dormant customers and lost deals, with a concrete reason: something new, a change in their company.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A contact schedule for each group, contacts coming back into the pipeline, referrals and repeat purchases from customers.
How you measure it
- Nurtured contacts that come back qualified
- Renewals and repeat purchases
- Referrals obtained
Mistakes to avoid
- Generic newsletters to everyone
- Only getting in touch to sell
- Never trying lost deals again
B2B example
A deal lost in March for lack of budget is picked up again in September, when the company is drawing up next year’s budget.
When to move on
Follow-up never ends: when a contact shows interest again, they go back to Qualification.
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ReportingMeasure on a regular basis 3 activities
Without numbers you decide on gut feeling; with numbers you see where contacts drop out and where to invest.
Measure how customer acquisition is going on a regular basis, always with the same indicators.
The 3 activities
Recap
A regular summary, weekly for the team and monthly for management, of activities done, contacts, opportunities and contracts.
KPI
A few indicators chosen and defined once and for all (contacts per channel, qualification rate, close rate, average value, sales cycle length, cost of acquiring a customer), each with its own target.
Analysis
Compare against targets and previous periods, by stage and by channel, to find the causes of any gaps.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A dashboard fed by the CRM and a regular meeting with the decisions written down.
How you measure it
- Reports delivered on time
- Decisions made on data
- Data reliability: complete records
Mistakes to avoid
- Too many indicators
- Numbers gathered by hand that change depending on who prepares them
- Reports nobody discusses
B2B example
The monthly report shows that trade fair contacts are many but rarely become customers, while LinkedIn contacts are fewer but close more often: next quarter’s budget shifts accordingly.
When to move on
The report data becomes the starting point for Optimisation.
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OptimisationImprove one step at a time 3 activities
Small gains at each stage add up along the pipeline: more replies, more qualified contacts, more contracts, for the same work.
Improve the system one step at a time, starting where you lose the most opportunities.
The improvements feed back into every module of the pipeline, then the cycle repeats.
The 3 activities
Testing
Try one variation at a time (an email subject line, a landing page, a call script) for long enough and on enough contacts, comparing it with the current version.
Improvements
Fix the bottlenecks that Reporting reveals (slow replies, weak qualification, unclear offers) and update materials and rules.
Conversions
Work on the handover between one stage and the next (contact to qualified, qualified to opportunity, offer to contract), because that is where you see the effect.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A list of tests with their results, updated rules and materials, a pipeline that converts better.
How you measure it
- Change in conversion rates between stages
- Tests completed
- Sales cycle length
Mistakes to avoid
- Changing too many things at once
- Judging a test after a few days
- Not writing down what you learned
B2B example
The team changes the subject line of first-contact emails from “Introducing our services” to a question about the customer’s problem, and for a month compares the replies from two similar groups of contacts.
When to move on
The improvements become part of the method and the cycle repeats. When the system runs steadily, move on to Scale.
once the system is steady and measured
Step 4 of 4 · 1 module · 3 activities
Final goal
A system that brings in customers predictably
The step in brief
The point of the method: customers coming in predictably, with a system that grows without heroic effort.
When you move to the next step
The method starts again: every new market goes back to Preparation.
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ScaleGrow without multiplying the work 3 activities
A method that depends on one person or on heroic effort stops sooner or later; a scalable one grows predictably.
Grow results faster than the work: the system handles more contacts, more people and new markets.
Every new market goes back to Preparation.
The 3 activities
Automation
Hand repetitive tasks to tools (assigning contacts, reminders, email sequences, score updates, reports), leaving conversations and decisions to people.
Repeatability
The method is written down (procedures, message templates, qualification criteria, training), so a new salesperson works like the others within a few weeks.
Expansion
Apply the system to new segments, products or countries, starting again from Intelligence and Strategy and positioning to adapt target and messages.
Results and checks
What you get at the end
A method handbook, automations running in the CRM and an expansion plan with targets.
How you measure it
- Contacts handled per person
- Time to train a new salesperson
- Results in new markets compared with the original ones
Mistakes to avoid
- Automating a process that doesn’t work yet
- Expanding without adapting the messages
- Losing the human touch
B2B example
After a year in the Italian market, the company opens Spain with the same CRM and the same stages, but with target and messages rebuilt after a new round of Intelligence.
When to move on
The method starts again: every new market goes back to Preparation.
New market or new product? Go back to the first step.
Book a call
Apply the method to your company.
Tell us what you sell and who you sell to. We’ll get back to you to set up a call and work out which step to start from.
- We start from your situation, not a template
- We tell you which modules you need and in what order
- We work alongside you to put them into practice
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