“Half my marketing budget is wasted — the problem is that I don’t know which half.​”

That quote above has been repeated over and over again and still rings true. And just like you should minimize the amount of time and resources you spend going after opportunities that for various reasons don't work out (as we talked about in module 2), you you need to be frugal about how you spend your marketing and sales budgets. So even though you might not know which "half" is working, you should still optimize the whole based on real-world data and buying behaviour.

In Module 3 of the Pareto MBA we talk about marketing and sales, with a focus on minimizing wasteful spending. Whether you're early-stage or enterprise, B2B or B2C, high-touch or low-cost, product-led or relationship-based — this module will help you figure out what actually works and how to think about marketing and sales more broadly.

In this module we cover, among other things:

• How to build and measure a marketing funnel — from awareness to conversion to retention

• The key differences between B2B and B2C sales (and how to adapt your team accordingly)

• How to calculate and improve your LTV/CAC ratio — and why it’s one of the most important metrics you’ll ever track

• The science behind influence: social proof, urgency, halo effect, scarcity, contrast (we even design an ad together!)

• Qualification frameworks like BANT and MEDDIC to make sure you’re not wasting time on bad leads

• Why good positioning is the foundation of all good marketing — and how to find your seat on the bus


We also look at common traps:

• Why some marketing doesn't work because it's too polished

• Why most sales conversations fail simply because no one listens

• Why 60% of B2B deals end in no decision — and what to do about it


After (or during!) this module, you might feel inspired to take on one or more of these projects:

• Map your current funnel and identify your biggest leak — and fixing that

• Do a full CAC calculation per channel and kill the worst-performing ones

• Rework your landing page or pitch deck to focus on outcomes, not features

• Clarify your positioning: who you’re really for, and why they should care

• Revise your lead qualification process to save time and close faster

• Using tools like Perplexity or ChatGPT to make marketing and sales more efficient


Whether you’re selling subscriptions, services, software, or socks — this module helps you connect the dots between effort, cost and results.