Are you addicted to “hopium”?

Most businesses want growth. But very few have a system to deliver it. Instead, they rely on hope.

Hope that marketing finds time to create content.

Hope that salespeople do more outreach.

Hope that campaigns cut through. 

Hope that buyers are paying attention. 

Put another way, they are addicted to “hopium” (HT to our good friend Sean Collins who introduced us to this concept). 

But hope is not a plan. And in B2B it is certainly not a growth strategy. Growth doesn’t happen by accident; it happens by system. 

Growth is built on a coordinated set of actions, done consistently, that warm up buyers, surface their intent and deliver qualified opportunities to sales. 

Once you see growth as a system, not as an event or campaign or desperate effort at the end of the quarter, everything changes. 

Why most B2B growth efforts struggle

Most companies use sporadic motion and activities to drive growth. You’re most likely familiar with the playbook of random acts:

• Occasional and irregular campaigns
• Content that gets to market “when we can”
• Outbound activity that happens in bursts
• Nurtures that die on the vine and then go quiet for months
• Inconsistent CRM updates
• Messaging that changes too frequently

Each of these activities might offer something individually. But without alignment and continuity, they never compound to create momentum. 

Essentially, you are powering up your growth engine every few weeks but switching it off before it has a chance to take you anywhere.

The four inputs of consistent B2B growth

A robust and effective growth engine consists of four equally important inputs:

1. Attention: Showing up consistently so prospective buyers know who you are and what you can do for them.
2. Identification: Know exactly who your best-fit customers are (your Ideal Customer Profile, or ICP).
3. Cultivation: Educate and nurture buyers through a long B2B purchase cycle.
4. Qualification: Spot the intent signals that indicate a prospect is ready for a sales conversation. 

Miss one or more of these, and your pipeline will suffer. Doing one or two well is admirable but frankly, it’s not good enough. Very few companies can align all four and execute them consistently. 

Consistency outperforms intensity

A mad scramble once a quarter that demands the full attention of your entire team for a manic burst of activity is exhausting. And it won’t move the growth needle long term. 

Consistency should be your focus. Be seen in market regularly. Have a steady presence. Identify who you best serve. Talk to prospects frequently. Review activity and tweak as you go. 

Slow and steady is a calmer way to work, and it builds solid momentum.

Ditch the tactics. Build a system. 

Tactics are things you do. A system is the things you repeat. 

Random posts are a tactic, posting every week is a system. A campaign is a tactic, running an always-on nurture is a system. Buying a list is a tactic, building and enriching your ICP list is a system. 

For predictable growth you need predictable activity. 

When the system works, growth becomes inevitable:

• Pipeline becomes smoother and less spiky
• Sales conversations improve
• Forecasting becomes easier
• Deals close faster
• Marketing and sales align naturally
• Leadership has confidence

Growth stops being something you chase. Instead, it becomes something you expect. 

Start here to build your system

Companies don’t fail because they are bad at marketing or sales. They fail because they lack the time, resources or focus to build an effective system. 

One with no spikes or random bursts of activity. Just controlled, consistent pressure applied where it needs to be. 

That’s that we do for you at The Demand Stream. A growth system that is run for you, that continuously identifies, warms, nurtures and qualifies the right buyers. 

Talk to us today so you can finally kick your “hopium” habit for good.