Outbound Isn’t Dead, But It’s 10x Harder with Todd Busler

Warmth Over Volume: How Champify's CEO is Rewriting the Outbound Playbook

Todd Busler isn’t here for your spray-and-pray SDR campaigns. The Champify CEO is betting big on warmth—building long-term, relationship-first pipelines rooted in buyer trust. In an era of AI-powered noise, Busler’s outbound philosophy is strikingly human—and strikingly effective.

Cracking the Code with Cracking Outbound

At the heart of Champify’s thought leadership is Cracking Outbound, a podcast built for real operators navigating outbound’s evolution. Drawing from his time scaling Heap from $0 to $40M+ ARR, Todd shares tactical, field-tested lessons on what still works—and what’s long dead. His POV? The outbound engine hasn’t stalled—it just needs a better mechanic.

People, Not Personas: How Champify Distributes Differently

Forget cold lists and bloated cadences. Todd’s team focuses on people as channels—champions who’ve had positive product experiences, changed jobs, and still trust your brand. The team maps these known champions, operationalizes warm intros, and runs regional events that prioritize long-term relationship equity over short-term MQLs. Email is handled by a single operator, not SDRs, to control tone and experimentation.

Measuring What Actually Matters: Relationship Equity Over Vanity Metrics

Busler isn’t anti-data—but he’s anti-generic. While response rates and call volumes matter, the real metric is whether a contact recognizes your brand and feels seen. “Generic is the enemy,” he says. For Champify, even gifting is reserved for existing champions—not strangers—because starting a relationship with a bribe creates the wrong power dynamic.

The Framework: 5-Pronged People-First GTM

Champify’s GTM engine is a compound system:

1. Founder-led content and thought leadership

2. Operationalized referrals from happy customers

3. Old-school phone outreach where it still works

4. Intimate, regional events for high-value buyers

5. Email as an air cover tool—not a volume game

Each channel is tailored to their ICP, guided by an ever-evolving target account list owned by Todd himself.

Closing Takeaway:

The outbound game hasn’t died—it’s just grown up. In a world flooded with AI-driven touchpoints, the companies that win will be the ones who treat their champions like people, not data points. Todd Busler’s people-first playbook proves that a relationship-centric GTM engine isn’t just warmer—it’s more durable, scalable, and resilient.

“Generic is the enemy. If your message doesn’t make your prospect say ‘This is exactly for me,’ you’re in trouble.” — Todd Busler

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