Takeaways from a recent lunch & learn with Patrick Shrekengast, NextCorps Entrepreneur-in-Residence
TL;DR
- AI and automation have made sending outreach easier, but standing out is harder.
- Instead of reaching everyone, founders should focus on identifying their “Ready Now Buyers,” the people who have a reason to act today.
- Outreach is most effective when it leads with relevance and value rather than a sales pitch.
- GrowthX’s READ framework helps founders create messaging that earns qualified B2B meetings by showing buyers they understand their challenges.
As a teenager, Pat Shreckengast spent a summer driving an ice cream truck. He quickly learned he had two choices: drive every street hoping customers would appear, or park where demand already existed, such as outside baseball tournaments, football practices, and pool parties. That lesson stuck with him throughout his career in B2B sales and entrepreneurship.
Shreckengast, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at NextCorps and Managing Director of GrowthX, explained how founders can apply the same thinking to sales. Stop trying to reach everyone and focus on the buyers most likely to need what you offer right now.
Hard work isn’t enough anymore
Too often, founders cast a wide net, sending more emails, attending more events, and trying to reach as many prospects as possible. But in a world where AI can now generate campaigns in seconds and inboxes are flooded with automated outreach, the winners aren’t the companies sending the most messages. They’re the ones who know exactly who needs them right now.
“AI has lowered the barrier to creating outreach,” Shreckengast said. “Founders can generate email campaigns, purchase prospect lists, and automate workflows faster than ever before. But since these tools are available to everyone, activity alone is no longer a competitive advantage. The advantage has shifted from effort to judgment.”
Who are you reaching out to? Why are they likely to care? What evidence do you have that this problem matters to them today? In this case, quality beats quantity.
Who could buy vs. who has a reason to act now?
Many founders start by creating an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) by defining the industries, company sizes, geographies, and job titles most likely to buy their product. That’s an important exercise, but it doesn’t answer who is actively trying to solve this problem right now. Shreckengast calls this group the “Ready Now Buyer.”
A Ready Now Buyer isn’t just someone who could benefit from your product. They’re someone experiencing enough pain, pressure, or urgency to take action. That urgency can show up in many ways:
- Hiring for a role related to the problem you solve
- Announcing a new initiative or strategic priority
- Adapting to new regulations or compliance requirements
- Going through rapid growth or operational changes
- Publicly discussing challenges related to your area of expertise
The goal isn’t to convince someone they have a problem. It’s to identify the people who already know they have one. Founders who learn to spot these signals can spend less time chasing leads and more time talking to buyers who are ready to follow through.
READ your buyer
Once founders identify their Ready Now Buyers, the next challenge is reaching out in a way that feels relevant. That’s where the GrowthX READ framework comes in.
Each message should answer the following questions:
- Reason: Why are you reaching out now? What changed, or what pressure is the buyer experiencing?
- Evidence: What signs tell you this issue matters to them? Did they announce an initiative, make a key hire, or publicly discuss the challenge?
- Actual Experience: How have you seen this problem play out before?
- Deliver Value: What useful insight, step, or perspective can you share immediately?
Rather than leading with product features or requests for a demo, the framework encourages founders to demonstrate understanding first and sell second. Lead with relevance, show that you’ve done your homework, and give value before asking for anything in return.
Earn the meeting, don’t force it
The goal of outreach isn’t to close a deal or even necessarily to book a demo. It’s to make someone think, “This person understands exactly what I’m dealing with.” That moment of recognition is often what earns the meeting. When buyers feel understood, conversations become easier, trust develops more quickly, and sales become less about persuasion and more about solving problems together.
The ice cream truck may seem far removed from modern B2B sales, but the lesson remains the same: founders don’t need to drive every street hoping someone is interested. They need to find the places where demand already exists.
Join us at a future lunch & learn. Subscribe to the NextCorps newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming workshops and events.