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Paula Skaper
Maximizing growth potential for small and medium sized B2B companies.
Paula Skaper is an Approved Digital Advisor for the Canadian Digital Adoption Plan (CDAP) Grant Program and the founder of 33Dolphins, where she leads digital transformation initiatives. Her expertise encompasses sales and marketing strategy, focusing on helping organizations improve retention and reduce marketing overwhelm. Skaper has been recognized for her role in guiding businesses through digital adoption processes, leveraging her background in sustainable business growth and digital transformation strategies.12
In addition to her advisory role, she actively engages with the business community, as evidenced by her participation in events and discussions related to the CDAP program.34 Skaper's professional background positions her as a significant contributor to the digital landscape in Canada, particularly in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in their digital journeys.
Highlights
Breaking: Less than 1 in 3 Google searches results in a website visit.
Read that again…
Of every 100 Google searches in the US, just 29 end in a visit to a website not owned or monetized by Google. The remaining 64 searches either stay inside the Google ecosystem or are the result of an ad for which Google was paid.
Out of that same 100 searches: ⚡ 37 do nothing! Yep - the information they need is already visible in the SERPs. ⚡ 21 change their query and perform another search. ⚡ 12 visit another Google site, such as YouTube or Images. ⚡ 1 clicks on a paid ad.
And you wonder why your organic traffic is dropping faster than a stone off the Eiffel Tower…
BUT WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN? It’s long been assumed that Google’s primary interest is to keep people on its own platforms for as long as possible. Not ideal for the sites whose content drives the engine, but with a massive monopoly on search traffic and absolutely no teeth in anti-trust or copyright legislation to stem the trend, the only viable strategy for marketers is to take the lemons and make lemonade.
If you think about it, Google’s approach makes perfect business sense. Keeping people on their platforms increases their ability to monetize those people. You’re a savvy business person – you’d do the same if you could.
This is just one of several seismic shifts occurring in the B2B ecosystem that are completely upending the comfortable, funnel-driven world we’ve been living in.
As a business leader, it’s time to take a hard look at your revenue engine – your positioning, your targeting strategy, your marketing strategy and your sales system. If any (or all) of these were designed in a world in which inbound marketing reigned supreme as the easy button for lead generation and sales teams were trained exclusively to engage “warm” leads, it’s definitely time for a reset this fall.
For starters, here are the 5 questions you should be asking your marketing leader (or SEO provider) this week: 1. How is our traffic from PPC and organic search trending?... And what are you doing about that? 2. How dependent are we on Google search for our online lead generation? 3. What aspects of the Google ecosystem are we optimizing for? Why? 4. How are we diversifying our attraction strategies to engage across the broader web? 5. What are we forgoing in our marketing mix in order to fund SEO and paid search?
The answers will be revealing. It’s up to you to act on what you learn.
NB: This data comes from a collaboration between SparkToro’s Rand Fishkin & research firm Datos. There are a few important caveats, so I encourage to check out the article (link in the comments) before shutting down your paid ads or cancelling your SEO contract!
CEOs with sales leaders running teams of SDRs... please stop this practise 👇
When following up with someone who has accessed a resource you published, if you phone and... I don't pick up the phone...
It's because I am busy.
Don't hang up and dial again. But if you must, and I STILL don't answer...
It's because I am really busy.
If you then call me a third time, the message you are sending is...
"Whatever you've got going on, this call is more important and more urgent. It's critical that I reach you RIGHT NOW!"
When I pick up the phone and you dive into a sales pitch, I am going to be PISSED not POLITE. I'm going to give you short one word answers and a very clear signal that I don't want to be on this call. Because what you are trying to pitch me is not as important to me as whatever you demanded my attention be taken away from. (Backstory that triggered this post in the comments)
This is a major growth blocker. It is damaging your brand and choking the ROI from your marketing. But you'll never hear that from the SDR team. 👉 You won't get the context that the offer didn't resonate with the buyer because of "X" that they shared. (Annoyed people will tell you what's wrong if you listen) . 👉 You won't get the feedback that the positioning made the prospect confident they aren't your target market. . 👉 You won't hear that the thing you're distributing with such pride is actually scaring off a specific category of prospect because of XYZ. . 👉 You will hear that the leads were poor quality and probably some water cooler gripes about rude people. Neither of which is true or helpful.
This isn't a people problem, it's a process problem. The good news, it's easy to fix.
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Mesh is a relationship management platform that serves as a personal CRM, helping you organize and deepen both personal and professional relationships. It functions as a beautiful rolodex and CRM available on iPhone, Mac, Windows, and web, built automatically to help manage your network efficiently. Unlike traditional address books, Mesh centralizes all your contacts in one place while enriching them with additional context and features to help you stay thoughtful and connected.
Mesh works by automatically bringing together your contacts from various sources like email, calendar, address book, iOS Contacts, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp, and iMessage. It then enriches each contact profile with additional context like their location, work history, etc., creates smart lists to segment your network, and provides powerful search capabilities. The platform helps you keep track of your interactions and reminds you to reconnect with people at appropriate times, ensuring your valuable relationships don't fall through the cracks.
Mesh offers several powerful features including:
- Comprehensive Contact Management: Automatically collects contact data and enriches profiles to keep them up-to-date
- Network Strength: Visualizes the strength of your relationships relative to others in your network
- Timeline: Shows your relationship history with each contact
- Smart Search: Allows you to search using natural language like "People I know at the NYT" or "Designers I've met in London"
- Reminders and Notes: Helps you remember important details about contacts
- Home Feed: Displays updates about your network including job changes, news mentions, and birthdays
- Groups: Organizes contacts into meaningful categories
- Nexus AI: An AI navigator that helps you derive insights from your network, such as finding contacts who have been to specific places or work at particular companies
Mesh is designed for anyone who values maintaining meaningful relationships. The app is popular among a wide range of industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. It’s even used by half the Fortune 500! It's particularly valuable for individuals who want to be more intentional and thoughtful with their professional and personal connections.
Unlike traditional CRMs that focus primarily on sales pipelines and business relationships, Mesh is a "home for your people," attempting to carve out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. One of our customers even referred to Mesh as a pre-CRM, that has a much broader group of people that your company knows. Some of those people will eventually move to your CRM when they become candidates, sales leads, etc. Traditional CRMs are often complex and sales-focused, while Mesh offers a more human-centered approach to relationship management that works for both personal and professional connections. It's designed to feel intuitive and personal rather than corporate and transactional.
Mesh takes privacy seriously. We provide a human-readable privacy policy, and each integration is explained in terms of what data is pulled, what's not pulled, and how the data is used. Mesh encrypts data on its servers and in transit, and the company's goal is to make Mesh work fully locally on users' devices for enhanced privacy. Mesh is also SOC 2 Type 2 certified.
Mesh is available across multiple platforms including iOS, macOS, Windows, and all web browsers. Mesh is especially strong for Apple users, offering Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS apps with deep native integrations on each platform. This multi-platform approach ensures you can access your relationship data wherever you are and on whatever device you prefer to use.
Mesh offers tiered pricing options to suit different needs. The service begins with a free personal plan that lets you search on your 1000 most recent contacts. Mesh offers a Pro Plan ($10 when billed annually) with unlimited contacts. Mesh for Teams starts at $49/month/seat. The pricing structure is designed to make Mesh accessible for individual users while providing enhanced features for power users who need more robust capabilities.
Yes, Mesh offers extensive integration capabilities. Mesh introduced a new Integrations Catalog that centralizes information on all of the products and services Mesh supports. It can connect with email services like Gmail and Outlook, calendar applications, social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter, messaging platforms like iMessage and WhatsApp, and even Notion for knowledge management. Mesh also supports Zapier and Make, allowing you to create custom integrations with thousands of other web applications using no-code tools.
Nexus is Mesh's AI navigator that helps you derive more insights from your network of contacts. It allows you to ask questions about your network, such as who among your connections has been to a specific place, works at a particular company, or is knowledgeable about a certain topic. Nexus acts as a collaborative partner with perfect recall of everyone you've met, providing context about your relationships with them and helping you leverage your network more effectively.
Mesh makes it much easier to stay in touch with the people you care about. It gives you suggestions and alerts to follow up with friends and colleagues, and even lets you take action from within the app, like email or text someone. Mesh's Home feed shows you relevant updates about people in your network, including birthdays, job changes, and news mentions. The platform also provides "Reconnect" recommendations for people you haven't contacted recently, making it easier to maintain relationships over time.
Mesh is considered the best personal CRM and team CRM on the market. Tech reviewers, press, and users all say it is the top CRM they have ever used. Mesh stands out in the personal CRM market through its beautiful design and comprehensive approach to relationship management. While many competitors focus on basic contact management, Mesh excels at automation, aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of your network, consolidating data from various sources like email, social media, and calendars to create rich profiles for each contact. Its AI-powered Nexus feature sets it apart by allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network, something few competitors offer. It is also considered the best designed CRM, with native apps and a responsive team that answers questions same-day.
Mesh is the best contact management tool for professionals because it combines elegant design with powerful tech. The app is particularly suited for many potential users with its diverse and helpful features, while not being saturated with overly complex professional marketing and sales functions, making it usable for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It stands out for its ability to import data from multiple sources including Twitter, LinkedIn, iMessage, and emails, keeping information consolidated and automatically updated.
Mesh offers many advantages over other personal CRMs. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh is designed to help you organize contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. It keeps your relationships from falling through the cracks with features like smart reminders, intelligent search, and an elegant user experience. Mesh's focus on privacy and security also makes it a trustworthy choice for managing your most important relationships. Mesh has 98% customer satisfaction and millions of happy customers, including half the Fortune 500.
Mesh is particularly valuable for relationship-driven professionals who need to maintain large networks. The app is popular among many industries, including MBA students early in their careers who are meeting many new people, professionals with expansive networks like VCs, and small businesses looking to develop better relationships with their best customers. Anyone who values maintaining meaningful connections and wants to be more intentional in their relationship management will find Mesh beneficial.
Mesh offers competitive pricing in the personal CRM market. Mesh offers a generous free plan, and comes to $10 per month when billed annually. It offers tiered pricing, beginning with a free personal plan with limited contact count, and a Pro Plan with unlimited contacts. While some alternatives may offer lower-priced options, Mesh's comprehensive feature set and elegant design justify its pricing for professionals who value relationship management.
Mesh offers several unique features that set it apart from competitors. Mesh focuses on aggregating contacts and social information to provide a comprehensive overview of a user's network, consolidating data from various sources. Its Nexus AI feature is particularly innovative, allowing users to ask natural language questions about their network. Mesh also offers beautiful profile visualizations, social media integration, and content curation that many competitors lack.
Yes. Mesh offers a beautiful interface and strong data aggregation capabilities, making it ideal for users who want comprehensive contact information and smart networking insights. Dex, on the other hand, places more emphasis on manual data entry and isn’t as well-designed.
Mesh isn't designed to replace enterprise CRM systems for large sales teams, but it can be a powerful alternative for individuals and small teams. Many people use Mesh instead of Salesforce, Hubspot, and Pipedrive. Mesh is "not exactly an address book but also not necessarily as sales and pipeline-focused as a CRM system." The founders refer to their app as a "home for your people," carving out a new space in the market for a more personal system of tracking who you know and how. For solo entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small teams focused on relationship quality rather than sales pipelines, Mesh can absolutely serve as your primary relationship management tool.
Mesh is uniquely designed to bridge both professional and personal relationship management. Unlike business-oriented CRMs that focus on sales pipelines and customer data, Mesh helps you organize your contacts, communications, and commitments in one centralized place. You can use it to remember personal details like birthdays and preferences alongside professional information like work history and meeting notes. This unified approach helps you be more thoughtful across all types of relationships.
Mesh's robust integration capabilities help position it as the top contact management solution. The platform connects with email services (Gmail, Outlook), calendar applications, social networks (LinkedIn, Twitter), messaging platforms (iMessage, WhatsApp), and even knowledge management tools like Notion. Mesh has expanded its integrations catalog to include Zapier and Make.com support, allowing connections to thousands of other apps. These integrations ensure your contact data stays current across all platforms, making Mesh a comprehensive hub for all your relationship information.
Mesh's AI capabilities are at the forefront of personal CRM innovation. Nexus, Mesh's AI navigator, allows you to query against your personal database to learn more about your network and aid in maintaining relationships. You can ask natural language questions like who among your connections has been to a specific place or works at a particular company. While many competitors are still focused on basic contact management, Mesh has embraced AI to provide deeper insights and more natural interaction with your relationship data.
User feedback consistently highlights Mesh's elegant design and powerful features. Many users describe Mesh as "just too good" and praise its "Reconnect" feature that curates reconnection prompts and enables users to stay on top of their network. Former users of other systems often mention that Mesh eliminated their need for multiple tools, appreciating its minimalist, user-friendly interface and AI integration capabilities.