--- title: Why B2B Revenue Growth Takes More Than a Good Sales Strategy description: Nick Erickson shares how storytelling, sales strategy, and systems work together to drive B2B revenue growth on The Play by Quotain. image: https://narrative-brand.com/hubfs/Quotain-blog-1.png --- [Skip to content](https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/why-b2b-revenue-growth-takes-more-than-a-good-sales-strategy#main-content) [![](https://narrative-brand.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Narrative%20brand%20labs%20white.png?width=3473&height=1380&name=Narrative%20brand%20labs%20white.png)](https://www.narrative-brand.com) - [About](https://narrative-brand.com/about) - [Services](https://narrative-brand.com/services) - [Success Stories](https://narrative-brand.com/wins) - [Contact](https://narrative-brand.com/contact-us) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [About](https://narrative-brand.com/about) - [Services](https://narrative-brand.com/services) - [Success Stories](https://narrative-brand.com/wins) - [Contact](https://narrative-brand.com/contact-us) - [Get my revenue formula](https://narrative-brand.com/gtm-assessment) [Get my revenue formula](https://narrative-brand.com/gtm-assessment) [Home](https://narrative-brand.com/)/[Lab Notes](https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs)/ [Podcast Features](https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/tag/podcast-features) # Why B2B Revenue Growth Takes More Than a Good Sales Strategy Nick Erickson shares how storytelling, sales strategy, and systems work together to drive B2B revenue growth on The Play by Quotain. NIBy **Nick Erickson** Published 11 November 2026 5 min read ![](https://narrative-brand.com/hubfs/Quotain-blog-1.png) Podcast Features On this page I started selling lawn mowers at Sears when I was 17. That job taught me something about sales I’ve carried through my career: people make buying decisions based on their own circumstances, not how impressive your product sounds. I joined[Alex Talamonti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-talamonti/), co-founder and CEO of[Quotain](https://www.quotain.com/), on *The Play* to talk about how that idea applies to B2B revenue growth. We got into storytelling, buying committees, AI, some of the bad habits I’ve seen in sales, and the framework behind my upcoming book, *Revenue by Design*. You can listen to the podcast episode on [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2HIEoDHHS9ghlhF11sBYZK), [Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-play-by-quotain/id6822836276), and [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@Alex-Talamonti). ![Quotain-blog-1](https://narrative-brand.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Quotain-blog-1.png?width=1672&height=941&name=Quotain-blog-1.png) ### **Story + Strategy, Multiplied by System** The revenue equation I use is: **(Story + Strategy) × System = Revenue** Let’s go back to those lawn mowers for a second. If someone walked into Sears with a steep hill in their backyard, they wanted a mower that could handle that hill without wrecking their back. That was their buying criteria, and figuring it out was part of my job. The same thing happens in B2B sales, except now you’ve got a website, a sales team, and several people involved in the purchasing decision. Story is how you demonstrate that you understand the buyer’s situation. Their problems, motivations, and what they’re trying to accomplish. It’s how you establish trust before anyone speaks to a salesperson. Before someone talks to your sales team, they’re looking at your website and trying to figure out whether they trust you. Can these people solve my problem? Do they understand my business? Am I going to regret reaching out? That’s part of the buying decision before you’ve even had a conversation. Strategy is where the analytical questions come in. Can you deliver what you’ve promised? What will it cost? How much risk is involved? What does working together look like? Then there’s the system. Your CRM, reporting, sales processes, and revenue operations allow you to figure out what’s working and repeat it. I can write a beautiful website, but if I can’t measure what happens after someone visits it, I can’t tell which change helped. ### **Your Champion Still Has to Convince Everyone Else** One thing I keep coming back to is how much B2B marketing focuses on a single buyer persona when the purchase involves a group. You might have a champion who’s excited about your product. They understand the value and want to work with you. Then finance, IT, procurement, and whoever else needs to approve the purchase start asking questions, and they don’t all ask the same ones. In plenty of B2B deals, that group can involve six to ten people. Some care about ROI. Others weigh risk, or how the purchase fits their own department. Nobody wants to own a bad decision, and a $50,000 purchase can mean someone has to stick their neck out. That’s why your marketing needs to do more than get one person excited. It needs to help that person make the case internally. At Narrative Brand Labs, we use a 25-question diagnostic and encourage multiple members of a company’s decision-making team to complete it. We anonymize the responses and look at where people agree, where they disagree, and what nobody seems to know. That gives us a starting point for building a [go-to-market strategy](https://narrative-brand.com/gtm-assessment). It also means the original champion isn’t stuck defending the entire engagement alone. ### **Some Companies Are Spending Money Without Knowing What They’re Getting** I see this a lot. Companies pay for ads without knowing how much pipeline those ads generate. They run prospecting campaigns for months without tracking connect rates. Some don’t know which traffic sources bring in their best opportunities. And without that information, how do you know what’s working well enough to keep doing it? If you’re spending thousands on a campaign and can’t connect it to pipeline, you don’t know whether to increase the budget, change your approach, or stop spending. This is why measurement gaps are one of the first things we look for at NBL. As I put it during the conversation: “If you don’t have data right now, we need to start collecting some.” You don’t need a perfect reporting system before making changes. You do need enough information to understand whether those changes are helping. It’s also why we pay attention to[measurable business results](https://narrative-brand.com/wins), including pipeline generated, rather than treating traffic or activity as the end goal. ### **Stop Pretending Dead Deals Are Still Alive** Alex asked me what I believe about sales that most sales leaders would disagree with. My answer: “Dealing with reality is better.” I’ve worked with sales leaders who wanted to keep deals open even when everyone knew they were dead, either because they didn’t want the pipeline to shrink before a board meeting or because they hoped next quarter would change something. I think that’s a bad habit. You distort your forecast, waste time maintaining records that aren’t accurate, and lose the chance to learn why the deal fell through. Your CRM is supposed to tell you what’s happening in the business, and bad records defeat that. Closing a lost deal doesn’t mean the relationship is over, either. A frozen budget or bad timing can sink a deal for now. Mark the opportunity as lost, keep their information, and put them into a nurture sequence if it makes sense. Most accounts give you more than one chance. ### **You Can’t Force a Signature** Alex noticed something during our conversation: no matter where we went, I kept coming back to helping the buyer. On the podcast, I said: “We are only creating the best possible conditions for success, much like planting a seed.” You can’t force someone to sign a contract. You can understand what they’re looking for, help them evaluate whether you’re the right fit, and make the buying process easier. Alex and I also talked about AI and what it means for the future of sales. I’ve seen sales emails that run 500 words and wondered how the sender expected anyone to read them. AI makes it easier to produce more outreach, but that doesn’t mean the messages are any better. I’ve also been seeing renewed interest in cold calling, which raises an interesting question about what buyers want from salespeople in the first place. **Listen to the full conversation:**[Can Revenue Growth Be Explained by a Single Equation? on *The Play by Quotain*](https://www.quotain.com/podcast/can-revenue-growth-be-explained-by-a-single-equation)*.* For more of my thoughts on B2B sales, marketing, and revenue growth,[connect with me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-erickson/). [Podcast Features](https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/tag/podcast-features) Share [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnarrative-brand.com%2Fresources%2Fblogs%2Fwhy-b2b-revenue-growth-takes-more-than-a-good-sales-strategy) [X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnarrative-brand.com%2Fresources%2Fblogs%2Fwhy-b2b-revenue-growth-takes-more-than-a-good-sales-strategy) [Email](mailto:?subject=%3Cspan+id%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper_name%22+class%3D%22hs_cos_wrapper+hs_cos_wrapper_meta_field+hs_cos_wrapper_type_text%22+style%3D%22%22+data-hs-cos-general-type%3D%22meta_field%22+data-hs-cos-type%3D%22text%22+%3EWhy+B2B+Revenue+Growth+Takes+More+Than+a+Good+Sales+Strategy%3C%2Fspan%3E&body=https%3A%2F%2Fnarrative-brand.com%2Fresources%2Fblogs%2Fwhy-b2b-revenue-growth-takes-more-than-a-good-sales-strategy) Copy link [← Previous**How to Build a Topic Cluster for a Manufacturing Website**](https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/resources/blogs/how-to-build-a-topic-cluster-for-a-manufacturing-website) [Next →**Nick Erickson Joins The Play by Quotain to Discuss B2B Revenue Growth**](https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/resources/blogs/nick-erickson-podcast-quotain) ### Score your revenue engine A 6-minute diagnostic. Scored roadmap across five dimensions within 24 hours. [Start the assessment](https://narrative-brand.com/gtm-assessment) ![](https://narrative-brand.com/hubfs/Nick%20Erickson%20Headshot.jpg) Nick Erickson ### The elements Thirty-five go-to-market tactics, explained one by one. [See the elements →](https://narrative-brand.com/services) ## Related & recent articles [View all Lab Notes →](https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs) Next steps ## Find your growth formula. Twenty-five questions, six minutes, and a scored roadmap in your inbox within a day. No commitment. [Score your revenue engine](https://narrative-brand.com/gtm-assessment) [![](https://narrative-brand.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Narrative%20brand%20labs%20white.png?width=3473&height=1380&name=Narrative%20brand%20labs%20white.png)](https://narrative-brand.com/) Narrative Brand Labs helps B2B companies with attracting leads (inbound), engaging and uncovering opportunities (outbound), and developing delightful systems (revops) that connect sales, marketing, and customer service and serve your customers.  [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/company/narrative-brand-labs) [Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@Narrative-Brand) **Company** [**About**](https://narrative-brand.com/about) [**Services**](https://narrative-brand.com/services) [**Success Stories**](https://narrative-brand.com/success-metrics-wins)   **Resources** [Go-to-Market Assessment](https://narrative-brand.com/gtm-assessment) [**Blog**](https://narrative-brand.com/narrative-brand-labs-blog)   Copyright © 2026, Narrative Brand Labs ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "articleSection" : "Podcast Features", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Nick Erickson" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-11T11:19:27Z", "datePublished" : "2026-11-11T11:19:27Z", "description" : "Nick Erickson shares how storytelling, sales strategy, and systems work together to drive B2B revenue growth on The Play by Quotain.", "headline" : "Why B2B Revenue Growth Takes More Than a Good Sales Strategy", "image" : "https://245642980.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na2.net/hubfs/245642980/Quotain-blog-1.png", "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/why-b2b-revenue-growth-takes-more-than-a-good-sales-strategy", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "Narrative Brand Labs", "url" : "https://narrative-brand.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector" : [ ".js-answer-block", ".js-takeaways" ] } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://narrative-brand.com/", "name" : "Home", "position" : 1 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs", "name" : "Lab Notes", "position" : 2 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "name" : "Why B2B Revenue Growth Takes More Than a Good Sales Strategy", "position" : 3 } ] } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Nick Erickson", "url" : "https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/author/nick-erickson" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-11T11:19:27.350Z", "datePublished" : "2026-11-11T11:19:27.000Z", "headline" : "Why B2B Revenue Growth Takes More Than a Good Sales Strategy", "image" : [ "https://narrative-brand.com/hubfs/Quotain-blog-1.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://narrative-brand.com/resources/blogs/why-b2b-revenue-growth-takes-more-than-a-good-sales-strategy", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://narrative-brand.com/hubfs/Narrative%20brand%20labs%20white.png" }, "name" : "Narrative Brand Labs" } } ```