Social Proof 2.0
Corey Quinn
Founder, Deep Specialization™
"It was a lot of brute force, cold outreach, going direct to people." Sam Shepler bootstrapped Testimonial Hero to 7 figures, landing clients like HubSpot along the way.
"It was a lot of brute force, cold outreach, going direct to people.” – Sam Shepler
(🎙️ listen now)
What every agency founder knows about starting up shop is growth in the early days comes from simply pounding the pavement, putting in the hours, and hustling your way to success.
Today’s guest, Sam Shepler, did just that when he founded Testimonial Hero, a global video testimonial company that helps B2B SaaS companies close more deals through video testimonials. Founded in 2017, Sam bootstrapped his now 7-figure business from the start, maintaining control all the way.
Growing mostly through cold outreach and referrals, Sam wasn’t afraid to put in the work to get his idea and agency off the ground. In this episode, he shares everything from initial tactics to hiring strategies and what roles he prioritized in the first years of Testimonial Hero.
We dive into the topic of social proof and why it is a must-have, not a nice-to-have, for marketers today. Especially in video form. And, who better to give us a lesson in building trust than the founder of a video testimonial company?
We discuss in this episode:
Going through an acqui-hire and founding a niche video agency.
Why Sam decided to focus on video testimonials in B2B SaaS.
Where Testimonial Hero’s early growth came from.
How Sam landed SaaS legends like HubSpot as clients.
Sam’s tips on leveraging social video proof in various stages of the sales process.
Actionable key takeaways for agency founders:
Verticalized messaging instantly signals a vendor-client fit.
Gross margin is the most important part of an agency’s P&L.
Lead with relationships when reaching out to prospects, not your sales pitch.
Don’t compromise on talent but sometimes you need to bring in people from unconventional backgrounds.
Social proof builds trust, trust is what brings you business.
🎧 Listen to the episode now:
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Best,
CQ
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Frequently Asked Questions
How did Sam Shepler grow Testimonial Hero in its earliest days?
Through brute force cold outreach, going direct to people, a hands-on, hustle-driven approach that fueled early growth before referrals and social proof took over as more established growth channels.
Why did Sam Shepler decide to focus specifically on video testimonials for B2B SaaS?
A specific niche decision discussed directly in the episode, narrowing focus to video testimonials within B2B SaaS specifically, a combination that became Testimonial Hero's defining specialization.
How did Sam Shepler land major SaaS clients like HubSpot?
Through the same relationship-first outreach approach and growing reputation built through cold outreach and referrals, discussed as key to eventually landing well-known SaaS companies as clients.
Why does Sam Shepler say gross margin is the most important part of an agency's P&L?
Because it reflects the actual profitability of the core service being delivered, a metric he prioritizes as more telling of the business's health than top-line revenue alone.
Why does Sam Shepler recommend leading with relationships instead of a sales pitch when reaching out to prospects?
Because relationship-first outreach builds the kind of trust that eventually leads to business, a principle that ties directly into his broader belief that social proof and trust are what actually bring in new clients.
About Corey Quinn
Founder, Deep Specialization™
Corey helps founder-led agencies scale through Deep Specialization™ and programmatic M&A. Former CMO of Scorpion ($20M to $200M). Author of "Anyone, Not Everyone."
