Good morning. 3 things need you today — ranked by what you'll regret not doing.
Marcus Chen at Apex is slipping away. His reply time went from same-day to 4 days. He cancelled your Tuesday call and didn't reschedule. His LinkedIn title quietly changed to "Interim VP" — there's a reorg. But here's what matters: in your last call on Nov 28 he said "I need to show results before year-end or this whole thing gets re-evaluated." That deadline is 3 weeks away. Call him — he picks up before 10am, never answers after lunch.Source: Nov 28 call transcript at 14:07 · Email reply times Nov-Dec · Calendar: cancelled Dec 5 · LinkedIn title change Dec 7
Your 2pm with Nadia is no longer just a check-in. In her last email to you she CC'd David Kim (their CFO) for the first time — he's never been on your threads before. She wrote: "Looping in David so he has context ahead of budget planning." This is now a budget conversation. Come with ROI numbers, not a product demo.Source: Email from Nadia Dec 11, David Kim CC'd · CRM: David Kim never previously in any email thread
Text Lauren Mitchell — she just got promoted. LinkedIn shows she's now Sr. Director at Vertex. She championed your deal and told you on your Oct call "I went to bat for you guys in the leadership review." A 2-line congrats builds a champion for life. She also qualified for Boston Marathon — mention it, she'll love that you remembered.Source: LinkedIn promotion Dec 5 · Oct 22 call at 15:12 — champion quote · Oct 22 call at 15:34 — marathon mention
Follow up
Prep me for the Nadia meetingWhat’s really going on at Apex?Draft the congrats to Lauren
Nadia Khoury — VP Marketing, Meridian Consumer. Here's everything you need in 52 minutes.
Who she is: Her daughter Emma just started at Stanford — she mentioned it in your Sept 14 call and again on Oct 3, clearly proud. Her husband runs a craft brewery called "Broken Compass" — it won Best New Taproom last week and she posted about it on LinkedIn Saturday. She coaches her son's travel soccer. Never book Saturdays with her — she's mentioned practice conflicts twice.Source: Sept 14 call at 12:34 · Oct 3 call at 14:15 · LinkedIn post Dec 7 · Calendar declines: 2 Saturday conflicts
How she communicates: High-I on DISC — she leads with energy and stories. In 8 meetings, she's interrupted your demo 6 times to tell a story. That's not rude — that's how she processes. Let her talk. She's posted 3 LinkedIn articles this month about "marketing as theater" — ask her about that framework, she'll light up. She hates slideshows — on Oct 22 she literally said "Can we just talk instead of looking at slides?"Source: DISC analysis: 8 meeting transcripts · LinkedIn posts Nov 18, Dec 1, Dec 9 · Oct 22 call at 10:03
What's different this time: She CC'd CFO David Kim on her last email — first time ever. She wrote "looping in David ahead of budget planning." This is real. But don't push for a close — in 6 deals we've analyzed, she's never signed on a first call. She told you in September "I like to sit with things." Propose a follow-up that includes David. That's her natural next step.Source: Email Dec 11 — David Kim CC'd · Sept 14 call at 13:02 — decision style quote · CRM: 6 deal cycles analyzed
Follow up
What kind of small talk for Nadia?Tell me about David KimDraft a follow-up email for after
3 people you should be in front of this quarter — and how to get the meeting.
Nina Kowalski, VP Ops at Brightpath Labs. Your contact James hasn't replied in 12 days. But in his last email to you on Nov 26, he wrote: "I need to run this by my leadership before we move forward." Nina is that leadership — she's CC'd on James's internal threads (she replied-all to one that included you by accident on Nov 29). Email her directly. Reference their Q1 ops review that James mentioned on your Nov 15 call — that's her priority.Source: James email Nov 26 · Nina accidental reply-all Nov 29 · Nov 15 call at 11:20 — Q1 ops review mention
David Kim, CFO at Meridian Consumer. Nadia CC'd him on your thread for the first time last week. He's the budget holder but you've never spoken. From LinkedIn: he spent 8 years at McKinsey before Meridian — he thinks in frameworks and ROI models. Nadia said on your Oct call: "David needs to see a business case, not a product." Ask Nadia to set up a 3-way — come with a one-page ROI model.Source: Email Dec 11 — first David Kim CC · LinkedIn: David Kim career history · Oct 3 call at 14:38 — Nadia's quote about David
Rachel Torres, new Head of Partnerships at Cascade. Your old contact Tom left 3 weeks ago. Rachel started the same week — she posted on LinkedIn: "Excited to rethink how we partner." Your contract renews in 8 weeks. You need to meet her before she goes to market. Warm intro: Lauren Mitchell and Rachel overlapped at Deloitte from 2018-2021 — ask Lauren to connect you.Source: CRM: Tom Bradley marked inactive Nov 28 · LinkedIn: Rachel Torres new role Nov 27 · LinkedIn: Lauren-Rachel mutual Deloitte history
Follow up
Draft an email to NinaAsk Lauren to intro me to RachelWhat does David Kim care about?
Vertex Brands — Beverage Division. Here's what their team is focused on, straight from your conversations.
#1: Zero-sugar relaunch. Sarah Okafor said on your Nov 15 call: "Everything we're doing in Q1 is built around the zero-sugar push. If it doesn't support the launch, it's not getting approved." She's mentioned it in 6 of your last 8 email threads. Their CMO posted on LinkedIn about "the biggest product bet in 5 years" — this is the beverage team's entire identity right now. Frame everything you pitch around this launch.Source: Nov 15 call at 14:22 · Email threads Oct-Dec (6 mentions) · LinkedIn: CMO post Nov 30
#2: Vendor consolidation. Procurement was CC'd on your last 2 email threads — they never were before. James Liu wrote in an email: "We're being asked to do more with less — any way to consolidate tools helps my case." Position your renewal as replacing 2-3 existing tools, not adding another line item. That's how you survive their budget review.Source: Procurement CC'd since Nov 20 (new) · James Liu email Nov 22 — consolidation quote
The team reports to SVP Mark Chen. Sarah and James both sit under Mark. You've never met him, but Sarah quotes him in almost every call — "Mark wants measurable ROI within 90 days" (Nov 8), "Mark is asking every team to justify renewals" (Dec 3). That's your pitch framing: show 90-day ROI. Mark is on LinkedIn but rarely posts — he's a behind-the-scenes operator.Source: Nov 8 call at 10:15 · Dec 3 call at 11:40 — Mark quotes · LinkedIn: Mark Chen profile · Org chart from email signatures
Follow up
How do I get in front of Mark Chen?Draft a consolidation pitch for JamesWhat does Sarah care about personally?
Yes — Vertex Brands observes Presidents Day. Their offices will be closed Monday, Feb 17.
How I know: Last Presidents Day (Feb 19, 2024), Sarah Okafor's auto-reply read: "Vertex offices are closed for Presidents Day. Back Tuesday." James Liu set the same out-of-office. And across 14 Vertex contacts in your CRM, zero emails were sent or received that Monday. They observe it company-wide.Source: Sarah Okafor OOO auto-reply Feb 19, 2024 · James Liu OOO Feb 19, 2024 · Email activity: 0 from 14 contacts
This affects your schedule: You have a follow-up with Sarah on Tuesday Feb 18 — that's the day they all come back from a long weekend. She'll be buried in catch-up. Consider Wednesday instead. From 23 email exchanges, Sarah replies fastest on Wednesdays (avg 1.8 hours) and slowest on Mondays and post-holiday Tuesdays.Source: Calendar: Sarah meeting Feb 18 · Email response analysis: 23 threads, Wed avg 1.8hr vs Tue avg 4.2hr
Bonus: Vertex is hybrid — Tues/Wed/Thurs in-office. Sarah mentioned on your Oct 3 call: "I'm way more focused on my work-from-home days, I can actually think." If you need her undivided attention for something important, book a Monday or Friday. Her deepest email replies all come from remote days.Source: Oct 3 call at 10:47 — WFH quote · Email patterns: detailed replies 72% more likely on Mon/Fri
Follow up
Move the Feb 18 meeting to WednesdayWhat other holidays does Vertex observe?Show me Sarah's full profile
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