# dumbGTM

> dumbGTM is an independent blog about go-to-market (GTM) and B2B marketing tactics: which "dumb" contrarian ideas work, why they work, and what happens once everyone copies them. Every post is tagged with where the tactic sits in the dumb idea loop: Dumb, Working, Everywhere or Boring. dumbGTM does not sell marketing software.

The dumb idea loop: (1) Dumb: someone suggests a contrarian idea and people laugh. (2) Working: someone tries it and it works, partly because nobody else does it. (3) Everywhere: everyone copies it. (4) Boring: buyers have seen it hundreds of times and results flatten.

## Blog posts

- [Does cold email still work in 2026?](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/does-cold-email-still-work/): Yes, but the version that works is smaller and more specific than the one most tools sell. Average reply rates sit around 3 to 4.5%, and stricter inbox rules punish high volume. [Stage: Everywhere]
- [Is SEO dead in 2026? A short answer and a longer one](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/is-seo-dead/): No. Google still handles most searches and search volume is growing. What's shrinking is the number of clicks a ranking brings, especially for simple questions AI now answers on the page. [Stage: Boring]
- [AEO vs SEO vs GEO: what changed and what's a new acronym](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/aeo-vs-seo-vs-geo/): SEO gets you ranked, AEO gets you used as the answer, GEO gets you cited by AI tools like ChatGPT. Most of the work overlaps. Here's what's different and what's just rebranding. [Stage: Everywhere]
- [Does cold calling still work in 2026?](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/does-cold-calling-still-work/): Yes, for B2B teams that can handle the math. Cold calling takes hundreds of dials per meeting, but it stands out again now that everyone else moved to email and AI. [Stage: Working]
- [Are AI SDRs worth it in 2026? An answer from someone who doesn't sell one](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/are-ai-sdrs-worth-it/): For most B2B teams, no, not as a replacement for a human SDR. What the data says about AI SDR results, costs and churn, plus the few cases where one pays off. [Stage: Everywhere]
- [Multi touch attribution is astrology for people who went to business school](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/attribution-is-astrology/): Every attribution model promises to show which touchpoint closed the deal. None of them can. They just make a guess look expensive. [Stage: Boring]
- [Your GTM framework is a hostage situation with a nicer font](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/frameworks-are-a-hostage-situation/): The 40-slide framework isn't clarity. It's a way to make a simple decision take three months and require a consultant to explain it back to you. [Stage: Boring]
- [Your AI SDR isn't a rep. It's a spam cannon with a LinkedIn headshot.](https://www.dumbgtm.com/blog/ai-sdr-spam/): Every outbound tool now ships an 'AI SDR.' None of them are reps. They're volume machines wearing a name tag, and your reply rate is the receipt. [Stage: Everywhere]

## Dumb Ideas (long-form visual pieces)

- [It's About the Human](https://www.dumbgtm.com/dumb-ideas/its-about-the-human/): Automation made personalization cheap for everyone, so its value is moving to the parts that are hard to automate: real people. How to put your humans forward, and where the idea breaks.
- [Marketing and War: The Logic Beyond Clichés](https://www.dumbgtm.com/dumb-ideas/marketing-and-war/): What Fabius, Operation Uranus and Moltke can teach a GTM team: pick your fights, hit both flanks at once, and give your team the intent instead of a script.

## Optional

- [Full text of all posts](https://www.dumbgtm.com/llms-full.txt): every post in plain markdown
- [About](https://www.dumbgtm.com/about/)