The Unmasked Playbook

Steal this process.

OPEN SOURCE FRAMEWORK

The exact framework I built to onboard myself into a six-figure enterprise book of business — now open for any junior AE who wants to skip the guesswork.

STEP 0

Learn to walk before you run.

GO DEEP ON THE PRODUCT

Take it all in: internal docs, 1:1s with teammates, feedback surveys, testimonials, past proposals, won and lost deals, live demos.

BUILD YOUR BATTLE CARDS

Map the competitive landscape. Know what you are and what you’re not.

SET YOURSELF UP PERSONALLY

Follow industry newsletters, set news alerts, find the LinkedIn voices worth learning from, and start building your own point of view on the product. Be someone your prospects are interested in chatting with.

STEP I

Narrow down the hunt.

VALIDATE THE ICP LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT

Segment by what actually matters — size and geography, size and industry, whatever maps to real buying behavior. Then prioritize by pain level, strategic fit, buying signals, and who you already know.

DON'T JUST MAP THE ACCOUNT. STALK IT LIKE A SERIAL KILLER

Titles, hierarchy, the real buying committee. Pull in past CRM notes and relationships. Start senior, then multi-threat.

DON'T CHEAT ON THE OUTREACH

Top-of-funnel awareness at the account level; personal, human-first outreach at the decision-maker level. Coordinate with marketing but don’t wait for them to move. Don’t underestimate a well-run event or webinar with a respected industry leader. Plan them yourself if you have to.

STEP II

It's all about them.

BEFORE — PREPARE FOR DISCOVERY

Keep stalking. Leadership news, funding, initiatives, hiring trends. Walk in with 2–3 questions built to validate a hypothesis, not fish for one.

DURING — LISTEN BEFORE YOU PRESENT

Genuine curiosity builds more trust than any deck. Match your framework to the deal: SPICED for small/mid, MEDDPICC for large enterprise, Challenger for the C-suite. Keep the value prop and differentiators front and center.

AFTER — ADVANCE THE PROPOSAL

Recap the pain, spell out the cost of inaction, and co-create the timeline with them rather than handing one down. Visualizing the outcome is what builds real excitement.

III

STEP III

Getting to the yes (aka the real battle begins).

HANDLE OBJECTIONS WITH CLARITY

What, when, why. Validate the fear, keep your tone calm, and anchor with some real storytelling if you can.

GET AHEAD OF PROCUREMENT AND LEGAL

Raise it before it becomes a blocker, and own the next steps instead of waiting on them.

SET UP FOR GROWTH, NOT JUST THE SIGNATURE

A strong hand-off and early wins matter more than the signature. Land, expand, and keep your eyes on the relationship as needs evolve.

If you’re a junior AE trying to shortcut the trial-and-error, or a founder trying to give your first hires something better than “just go sell” — steal this as your starting point.

UNMASKING LABS

Ready to unmask your playbook?

hello@unmaskinglabs.com