Pe:p Laja

I know what your target customers (ICPs) think of you.

CEO @wynter_com. Founder @cxldotcom @speero_agency.

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

@mattwensing Beginner gains are so nice and fast! The universe is conspiring with you

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

Claude creates really nice presentations but I'm kind of starting to miss the shitty-ass handmade PowerPoints

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

How is vendor research done in LLMs?

We asked 200 B2B buyers what they typed, what they asked next, and what they did after the chat.

The full study is now available, ungated.

https://t.co/8akp5CStjZ

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

Comment of the day

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

@liav_chen Doesn't need to be on the pricing page. Could be anywhere on the website

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

In vendor research, the first prompt is "best CRM for a small team." Then they start narrowing down.

We asked 200 B2B buyers to paste in the follow-up prompts they sent after the AI named some vendors.

Most of those follow-ups were about narrowing the list down.

"We have a budget of $500/month. Please eliminate the vendors that don’t fall within this limitation."

"Eliminate any vendors that don’t have an API integration with Marketo."

"Please drop any companies that don't do white glove service."

"Number 4 is out of budget."

AI can only go off what’s public. If your pricing says "contact sales," and nobody can tell who you’re built for, you’re making the AI guess.

Vendors that are specific have an upper hand.

- Publish pricing, even if it’s just ranges.
- Spell out your integrations and how deep they go.
- Say who you’re for: team size, use case, region.

Filters/criteria change by product category, so don’t guess. Ask your buyers.

[Kevin_Indig @Kevin_Indig]

How much can AI influence a buying decision?

To figure that out, I analyzed the responses to 13 questions across 200 software buyers from Wynter (disclosure: I'm an investor).

It turns out AI adds a new vendor in 2/3 of the conversations. In other words, software buyers seem very open to considering brands they haven't thought of.

What I take away from that is that making AI Search a success means "general marketing" is important to be top of mind before people are "in the market" and being AI visibility is important because you have a chance to be picked on top of that.

Visibility also matters because buyers use AI a LOT for evaluation: price, features, integration, etc. So, if "the AI" can't find that information about your brand, there is a high chance you drop out in the evaluation process.

All details and more in today's Growth Memo.

Thank you, Wynter!

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

Not on the buyer's list? AI can still put you there.

We asked 200 B2B buyers about the last time they researched a vendor with AI.

80% started with a vendor already in mind.
And 67% still added a vendor the AI suggested to their shortlist.

That's a real opening for challenger brands.
It used to be that if you weren't top of mind, you were out. Huge advantage for the biggest brands.

AI can level the playing field for smaller companies.

One more thing: the AI has to know exactly who you're for. Buyers narrow down the initial recommendation by budget, integrations, use cases, etc.

If the AI can't match you to that buyer, the opening closes.

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

@MrSamLJ IC role at a small bootstrapped company

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

@UTTblackOps So what is the problem?

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

Well well well, Chatgpt is coming after LLM prompt tracking software

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

Vendor research in AI chat ends on your homepage.

We asked 200 B2B buyers what they did right after researching a vendor with AI.

72% went to vendor websites.
48% Googled the vendor
34% booked a demo or signed up right away
31% asked peers
29% searched Reddit.
23% checked G2 reviews

So the AI builds the shortlist. Your website is where you get kept or cut.

Buyers don’t show up cold anymore. The AI already walked them through your pricing, your integrations, your pros and cons. They’re there to check if it’s true.

The less sure the AI made them, the more they checked.

Your website, especially the home page, is still your most important marketing asset. Focus accordingly.

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

@gmiller AI was not a top 10 decision making factor

This analysis is spot on:

https://t.co/TF2kXmGyjX

[Gino The Ghost @GinoTheGhost]

Trump betrayed his own cult and squandered one of the biggest political opportunities in modern history.

He inherited the House, Senate, a 6-3 Supreme Court, a popular vote victory, and a sweep of every swing state. Republicans were winning the culture war. He had an actual mandate and a base ready to follow him anywhere.

Instead, he dragged us into a pointless war nobody wanted, gave us disastrous tariffs, higher costs, militarized policing, DOGE, crypto grifts, pardons for criminals, Epstein stonewalling, attacks on the Constitution, blatant self-enrichment, and virtually zero meaningful legislation.

Meanwhile, he's posting AI slop, obsessing over a ballroom nobody gives a fuck about, botching the Reflecting Pool, and picking fights with our allies.

And America is clearly exhausted. Many Republicans are tired of the narcissism, childish name-calling, nonstop vitriol, and manufactured hysteria about Democrats wanting to “trans your kids.” People want their lives to get better. They want affordability, stability, and some semblance of normalcy. They don't want to hear about John Husted's ass.

I see this as a nationwide rejection of what MAGA has become. It's joever.

An absolutely generational bag fumble.

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

@Codie_Sanchez All of us? Check the polls?

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

@grok @APompliano @grok and Trump's second term so far?

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

https://t.co/Of8vL2gd62

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

Memento Mori

All of your beautiful life can end in a minute. Hold your loved ones close.

Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff.

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

Event organizers are always wondering how to make their event memorable.

About 10 years ago I was at an event where they had Mr Belding from Saved By The Bell there to hang out with the people.

Some people fly in Seth Godin or Gary V or what not... but I will forever remember meeting Mr Belding

RIP Dennis Haskins

[Pe:p Laja @peeplaja]

People are asking me whether AI prompting will replace Wynter at some point:

“act as a mid-market CIO and react to this messaging.”
“tell me what mid-market CISOs are prioritizing this quarter”

After all, LLMs are free, instant, and wrong. But sure, good enough for some marketers.