Your Customer Is the Best Salesperson You’re Not Using with Braydan Young | Some Goodness #51

Most B2B companies rely on the same handful of reference customers at the end of deals — and have no real system for operationalizing social proof. In this episode, host Richard Ellis sits down with Braydan Young, co-founder of Slash Experts and former co-founder of Sendoso, to break down why reference programs fail, how to use customer voice earlier in the buying journey, and what it takes to turn social proof into a repeatable revenue motion. Braydan shares why prospects complete up to 80% of the buying journey before ever talking to sales, why "logo soup" no longer differentiates anyone, and how short video testimonials, case studies, and prospect-customer matching can unstick stalled deals. He also walks through how Slash Experts uses AI to match prospects with pre-vetted customers, automate follow-ups, and capture the exact language customers use to describe your product — the conversations he calls "gold." If you're a CRO, CMO, or sales leader trying to shorten sales cycles, enable champions, and build a real customer advocacy engine, this one's for you. What you'll learn: Why end-of-quarter reference scrambles kill deals How to introduce customer conversations earlier in the funnel The difference between logos, case studies, testimonials, and true social proof How to recruit, reward, and retain reference customers Practical CRO action steps you can test this week Why video testimonials outperform written case studies Chapters: 00:00 Customers Sell Better 01:29 Why References Fail 06:03 Using Proof Earlier 07:14 What Social Proof Means 09:23 Systematize The Motion 11:41 How Slash Experts Works 14:59 Recruiting And Rewards 17:19 Adoption And Automation 19:24 Leader Action Steps 23:18 Video Testimonials Win 26:13 Wrap Up And Book Recommendation Notable quotes: "80% of the deal cycle is done by the time they're actually hopping on the phone with sales." "Social proof is just making someone not feel alone for taking a risk on buying your service." "You've gone from trying to sell a product to being consultative. All you're trying to do is empower your champion to get the deal done." "If you're a CRO, try to get a reference today for your own company. Go through the process you gave to sales and see what that's like." Book mentioned: Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia) Subscribe for more conversations with B2B revenue leaders on sales, marketing, and growth. #B2BSales #SocialProof #CustomerAdvocacy #SalesEnablement #CRO #SaaS #DealAcceleration #CustomerReferences #VideoTestimonials #SlashExperts #Sendoso #RevenueGrowth #SalesLeadership #BuyerJourney #ChampionEnablement