The Biggest Shift: Marketing is the New Selling

Patrick McFadden • October 4, 2016

I’m constantly being pulled into the meeting rooms of small to midsize companies, that understand what used to work isn’t working today, but are looking for answers as to what do they do?, how do they start shifting their approach?, and what foundation needs to be set in place for future growth?

I often start by making this one short statement: marketing and sales has changed because buying has changed.

Marketing and sales has gone through many changes, especially in the last decade. Our focus has shifted from information to insight, broadcasting to listening, traditional print to online, yellow pages to search engines, from direct mail to social media, e-newsletters and blogging. Not to mention the speedy adoption of mobile devices that gives access to real-time information and communication.

Before the Internet became an inescapable part of everyday life, marketers and sales reps exerted a certain level of control over their prospect and buyer impressions and purchasing decisions. But over the past decade or so, that situation has changed considerably.

When customers are invisible until they’re ready to purchase. They don’t call up a company and ask for a brochure or wait for a salesperson to come calling. They do their homework offline and online, asks their network for suggestions and essentially create their own brochure, what’s an expert salesperson in a small to midsize company to do?

Ultimately, the best option is to become a valuable and trusted resource. This means sales people need to think and act more like marketers. That way, your ideal prospects will choose to engage you first.

The New Buyer’s Journey

Most organizations view the buyer’s journey as a traditional funnel with stages such as Awareness, Consideration and Purchase. I consult on viewing this from a much more modern and effective approach in this “customer centered era” we live in today: Awareness, Education, Sample, Purchase and Refer. Though there’s always competition in sales, it used to be easier for sales reps to direct this journey through cold-calling and scripted pitches.

But as mentioned early in this article, with the increasing role of the Internet and social media, buyers can now do much of that research on their own—forging their out route to an eventual purchase.   In fact, according to CEB , the average B2B buyer is 57% through their purchasing decision before they even engage a sales rep.

In this shifting world, sales reps need to take things in their own hands and get involved much more deeply with the marketing side of things.

Becoming a Resource

Though it’s not easy, the solution is simple: become an important resource to your prospects. Though modern customers can glean a lot of the information online, they still crave the insight of an expert—someone who knows the territory and stays up on the latest industry news. By providing valued insights and knowledge, you can become that trusted advisor.

Here’s a framework that forces you to get the right answers to questions that showcase why your clients and prospects should see you as an a trusted advisor.

  • What’s going on inside the company?
  • What’s happening with notable parties outside the company — competitors, suppliers, etc.?
  • Who do the buyers you’re working with report to, and/or who are the influencers in the company?
  • How does this company “keep score” metrics-wise, and how do you help them in what they do?

The Role of Selling (Educating) on Social Media

One of the fastest ways to build your reputation as an adviser and a resource is through selling though social media. In fact, your buyers are already going to social media, including LinkedIn, as they conduct their own research. Through social selling best practices, you can meet them there, establishing yourself as the go-to expert when they have questions or concerns.

Selling on social media can help you to win deals at multiple stages of the buyer’s journey and is the new branding, it’s how invisible buyers come to know, like and trust you and your firm. For example, in the early “awareness” stage, when a prospect first realizes they have a problem that needs solving, you can attract them with a polished, useful profile. Later, in the “education” and “sample” stages, you can position yourself as an expert by writing and sharing insightful updates and content that’s relevant to their concerns.

When you develop a reputation for being someone who can helpful and useful, then you get invited to places where you have the opportunity to sell.

Conclusion

Any organization, from solopreneur to marketers and sales teams, that is not focused on guiding a buyers journey through content and personal connection is bound to be left behind in the invisible buyer driven environment we live in today.

The Missing Layer in AI: Why Judgment, Not Just Data, Will Define the Next Era of Intelligence

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Everyone is scaling outputs. Almost no one is scaling judgment.

Everyone Talks About AI Judgment. We Built It.

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
Ask anyone in tech where AI is headed, and they’ll tell you: “The next leap is reasoning.” “AI needs judgment.” “We need assistants that think, not just answer.” They’re right. But while everyone’s talking about it, almost no one is actually shipping it. So we did. We built Thinking OS™ —a system that doesn’t just help AI answer questions… It helps AI think like a strategist. It helps AI decide like an operator. It helps teams and platforms scale judgment, n ot just generate output. The Theory Isn’t New. The Implementation Is. The idea of layering strategic thinking and judgment into AI isn’t new in theory. The problem is, no one’s been able to implement it effectively at scale. Let’s look at the current landscape. 1. Big Tech Has the Muscle—But Not the Mind OpenAI / ChatGPT ✅ Strength: Best-in-class language generation ❌ Limitation: No built-in judgment or reasoning. You must provide the structure. Otherwise, it follows instructions, not strategy. Google DeepMind / Gemini ✅ Known for advanced decision-making (e.g., AlphaGo) ❌ But only in structured environments like games—not messy, real-world business scenarios. Anthropic (Claude), Meta (LLaMA), Microsoft Copilot ✅ Great at answering questions and following commands ❌ But they’re assistants, not advisors. They won’t reprioritize. They won’t challenge your assumptions. They don’t ask: “Is this the right move?” These tools are powerful—but they don’t think for outcomes the way a strategist or operator would. 2. Who’s Actually Building the Thinking Layer™? This is where it gets interesting—and thin. Startups and Indie Builders Some small teams are quietly: Creating custom GPTs that mimic how experts reason Layering in business context, priorities, and tradeoffs Embedding decision logic so AI can guide, not just execute But these efforts are: Highly manual Difficult to scale Fragmented and experimental Enterprise Experiments A few companies (Salesforce, HubSpot, and others) are exploring more “judgment-aware” AI copilots. These systems can: Flag inconsistencies Recommend next actions Occasionally surface priorities based on internal logic But most of it is still: In early R&D Custom-coded Unproven beyond narrow use cases That’s Why Thinking OS™ Is Different Instead of waiting for a lab to crack it, we built a modular thinking system that installs like infrastructure. Thinking OS™: Captures how real experts reason Embeds judgment into layers AI can use Deploys into tools like ChatGPT or enterprise systems Helps teams think together, consistently, at scale It’s not another assistant. It’s the missing layer that turns outputs into outcomes. So… Is This a New Innovation? Yes—in practice. Everyone says AI needs judgment. But judgment isn’t an idea. It’s a system. It requires: Persistent memory Contextual awareness Tradeoff evaluation Value-based decisions Strategy that evolves with goals Thinking OS™ delivers that. And unlike the R&D experiments in Big Tech, it’s built for: Operators Consultants Platform founders Growth-stage teams that need to scale decision quality, not just content creation If Someone Told You They’ve Built a Thinking + Judgment Layer™… They’ve built something only a handful of people in the world are even attempting. Because this isn’t just AI that speaks fluently. It’s AI that reasons, reflects , and chooses. And in a world that’s drowning in tools, judgment becomes the differentiator. That’s the OS We Built Thinking OS™ is not a prompt pack. It’s not a dashboard. It’s not a glorified chatbot. It’s a decision architecture you can license, embed, or deploy— To help your team, your platform, or your clients think better at scale. We’ve moved past content. We’re building cognition. Let’s talk.

We Found the Missing Layer AI Has Been Waiting For

By Patrick McFadden • May 2, 2025
In every era of innovation, there’s a silent bottleneck—something obvious in hindsight, but elusive until the moment it clicks. In today’s AI-driven world, that bottleneck is clear: AI has speed. It has scale. But it doesn’t have judgment . It doesn’t really think . What’s Actually Missing From AI? When experts talk about the “thinking and judgment layer” as the next leap for AI, they’re calling out a hard truth: Modern AI systems are powerful pattern machines. But they’re missing the human layer—the one that reasons, weighs tradeoffs, and makes strategic decisions in context. Let’s break that down: 1. The Thinking Layer = Reasoning with Purpose This layer doesn’t just process inputs— it structures logic. It’s the ability to: Ask the right questions before acting Break down complexity into solvable parts Adjust direction mid-course when reality changes Think beyond “what was asked” to uncover “what really matters” Today’s AI responds. But it rarely reflects. Unless told exactly what to do, it won’t work through problems the way a strategist or operator would. 2. The Judgment Layer = Decision-Making in the Gray Judgment is the ability to: Prioritize what matters most Choose between imperfect options Make decisions when there’s no clear answer Apply values, experience, and vision—not just data It’s why a founder might not pursue a lucrative deal. Why a marketer might ignore the click-through rate. Why a strategist knows when the timing isn’t right. AI doesn’t do this well. Not yet. Because judgment requires more than data—it requires discernment . Why This Is the Bottleneck Holding Back AI AI can write. It can summarize. It can automate. But it still can’t: Diagnose the real problem behind the question Evaluate tradeoffs like a founder or operator would Recommend a path based on context, constraints, and conviction AI today is still reactive. It follows instructions. But it doesn’t lead. It doesn’t guide. It doesn’t own the outcome. And for those building serious systems—whether you’re running a company, launching a platform, or leading a team—this is the wall you eventually hit. That’s Why We Built Thinking OS™ We stopped waiting for AI to learn judgment on its own. Instead, we created a system that embeds it—by design. Thinking OS™ is an installable decision layer that captures how top founders, strategists, and operators think… …and makes that thinking repeatable , scalable , and usable inside teams, tools, and platforms. It’s not a framework. It’s not a chatbot. It’s not another playbook. It’s the layer that knows how to: Think through complex decisions Apply judgment when rules don’t help Guide others —human or AI—toward strategic outcomes This Is the Missing Infrastructure Thinking OS™ isn’t just about better answers. It’s about better thinking—made operational. And that’s what’s been missing in AI, consulting, leadership development, and platform design. If you’re trying to scale expertise, install judgment, or move from tactical to strategic… You don’t need a faster AI. You need a thinking layer that knows what to do—and why. We built it. Let’s talk.
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