A handful of years ago, I hit a wall with a company I started.
We had a strong service offering, a polished deck, and all the standard sales motions in place—email sequences, demos, partner webinars, paid ads. And yet, something wasn’t working. The pipeline felt stale. Deals dragged on. Revenue came in waves, but never predictably. We were focused on marketing but we weren’t getting meaningful conversations.
And that was the problem. We weren’t being ignored because we lacked a compelling message—we were being ignored because we weren’t starting real conversations. We were chasing attention instead of building connection.
So, I tried something different. I stopped obsessing over lead generation. I stepped back from chasing marketing qualified leads and cost per leads. I stopped tweaking subject lines and started inviting people to talk. Not a sales pitch. Not a deck. Just people in a room (virtual or not), talking about what matters most to them.
That single shift—from campaigns to community—changed everything.
My First Attempt
The first time I tried this I invited a small group of local IT and operations leaders to coffee. There was no big hook. No registration form. No landing page. I said, “Let’s talk about what’s working, what’s not, and what’s keeping you up at night.”
Six people showed up. Four talked openly. Two asked for follow-up meetings. One became a client.
And here’s the kicker: That client didn’t even need the exact service we offered. But they liked how I approached the problem. They trusted me. They felt seen. That one relationship was worth more than a quarter’s worth of cold outreach.
Since then, I’ve built community-led growth into the foundation of how I lead. I’ve watched it transform the way we sell, how we build brand trust, and the consistency of our pipeline. Most importantly, I’ve watched it transform how people perceive our value because now they experience it before they even buy.
What I’ve Learned
Trust moves faster than tactics, especially in NH where people know people. Trust beats targeting every time. When you create spaces where your peers feel heard, not pitched, you earn long- term loyalty.
People buy into your mindset before they buy your service. When I show up with relevant insight and no sales pressure, I consistently find that prospects turn into partners. They remember you not for what you sell, but for how you show up.
You become known by how you lead, not how you close. This was a major shift for me. I was always confident in our services, but the market needed more than features; they needed someone willing to facilitate tough, honest dialogue.
Community scales when it’s built on real problems. One conversation becomes a panel. One invite becomes a co-host. One pain point becomes a new service offering. The ripple effect is real.
A Win That Proved It
One of our biggest wins came straight out of this strategy. We hosted a small roundtable focused on digital risk in compliance-heavy industries. Ten people joined. It was niche, focused, and completely unscripted.
Afterward, one attendee stuck around and we got into a candid chat about their current Managed Security Service Provider frustrations and internal roadblocks to switching. There was no pitch, just perspective. Two weeks later, we were on a scoping call. One month after that, we signed a multi-year deal worth more than any single campaign had generated all year.
But here’s what really stuck: They referred two other companies before we even finished onboarding, because it didn’t feel like a vendor-client relationship. It felt like a partnership from day one.
What I Changed to Make This Work
This wasn’t just a mindset shift, it was a strategy shift. Here’s what I did:
1. Switched from Campaigns to Conversations
I replaced blasts and webinars with targeted, topic-specific gatherings. Instead of “Here’s what we offer,” it became “Let’s talk about what you’re seeing.”
2. Made It Easy for People to Engage
I dropped the formal invites. I started texting folks I respected. I used casual language like, “No pitch, just peers.” People felt safe showing up.
3. Repurposed Conversations into Content
I captured themes, anonymized quotes, and key takeaways. These turned into blog posts, LinkedIn threads, and talking points in client meetings. The content wrote itself.
4. Tracked Relationship Wins, Not Just Revenue
Yes, revenue still matters. But now we also track referrals, co-marketing invites, and new introductions. It’s a richer picture of value creation and it keeps our strategy centered on connection.
What I Got Wrong (At First)
At the beginning, I made it too polished. I over-produced the first few events with slides, branding, even structured agendas. And guess what? People tuned out.
They didn’t want a webinar; they wanted a real conversation. Once I stripped it down and focused on authenticity, things clicked with fewer slides, more stories, less structure, and more spontaneity. That’s when trust started compounding.
The Tangible Results
Let’s talk numbers:
- We doubled our average deal size—not by charging more, but because clients saw our value earlier and committed deeper.
- Referrals now drive a lot of new
pipeline. - Our sales cycles are shorter. People come in more educated and more aligned.
- Client retention is higher because the relationship starts from a place of trust, not transaction.
- And that’s the kicker: It’s not just working, it’s sustainable.
What I’d Tell Any Business Leader
If you’re tired of the grind—the endless loops of outreach, ghosting, and “just checking in” emails, try this:
- Invite five people you respect to a conversation. Focus on a shared challenge. Don’t pitch. Just listen.
- Start a Slack channel. Host a monthly breakfast. Record a podcast where your clients talk more than you do.
- Forget perfect and be personal and consistent.
I used to think the best revenue plans lived in spreadsheets. Now I know better: they live in relationships, unscripted moments and community.
When you stop trying to close and start creating space for people to be seen, something shifts. You become trusted, relevant and remembered. And yes, you also become more profitable because when you put community first, revenue doesn’t just follow—it brings its friends.
Eric Anderson is a NH-based technology executive, podcast host, and community builder leading with trust, relevance, and human connection. He is also a member of the Startup Committee for the NH Tech Alliance. To connect, visit linkedin.com/in/ericcanderson.
