Extra Sauce Agency, Toronto, ON (2026)

02/10/2026

“Manny and the team are incredible at mapping out the psychology of our ideal customer...overall, very good experience.”
- Christian, CEO @ EasyAudit

What we actually did (no fluff):

→ Narrative + ICP alignment

→ Turned the CEO’s LinkedIn into a landing page

→ CEO posted high-quality, strategic content a few times a week.

→ Ran a LinkedIn campaign to drive qualified prospects into his realm of influence

Within a few weeks, the lean LinkedIn system did its job: meetings with investors and dream clients.

Not “engagement.” Actual pipeline.

The client didn’t ask for “more impressions.”
They asked for more credibility with enterprise prospects and early-stage investors.

Key lesson: you don’t need bigger budgets - you need a realm of influence and a way to drive the right audience to it.

Why this still works in 2026:

1. Trust is the BIGGEST deciding factor (& the hardest thing to manufacture in an AI-polished digital marketplace).
2. 78% of B2B buyers use social to research vendors.
3. 62% say a company’s social presence influences trust.

When you mix push and pull (founder content + smart outbound), LinkedIn stops being for just “brand” and starts bringing in revenue.

Learn how to build unquestionable trust on LinkedIn with The Sauce Recipe™ (dm me)

01/26/2026

In 2026, B2B client acquisition costs (CAC) continue to rise, driven by intense competition, market saturation, and a 15% year-over-year increase in paid advertising costs

Customer acquisition costs having surged approximately 60% over the past five years.

CAC for B2B companies has reached approximately $536, with SaaS-specific CAC averaging $702

Customer journeys are longer.

Buying committees are larger.

Digital channels are more saturated than ever.

Most marketing leaders have felt this already last year and it’s only going to get worse.

Rising CAC has ripple effects across the organization:

1 // PROFITS & EFFORTS BEGIN TO DEMINISH

Paying for higher volume of low-quality leads begin to decrease profit margins.

2 // UNSUSTAINABLE SCALE

The company must constantly increase marketing spend just to stay afloat rather than for growth.

3 // LEADS TO STRATEGIC INEFFICIENCIES

Companies may be forced to use high discounts to close deals, further shrinking margins. Sales teams waste time chasing the wrong deals which leads to burnout.

Does the rising CAC make sense when comparing it to average contract value?

“This is how we’ve always brought in pipeline” will be the reason for your downfall in 2026.

01/19/2026

B2B marketing can take a page out of Deadpool’s playbook.

In a crowded market, it’s not just about being different - it’s about creating distinction.

With the accessibility of tech today, product offerings aren’t that different anymore.

So how do you take market share? (Especially against big brands with bigger budgets)

Establishing distinction in your audience’s minds.

When your audience is bombarded with a million messages daily, distinction is what cuts through.

The average person consumes around 74GB of data, every single day.

I barely remember the scenes from Deadpool 1 but here’s what sticks with me::

- The gutsy humour that dared to mock Disney itself.
- Deadpool’s larger-than-life personality (Ryan Reynolds is Deadpool, and Deadpool is Ryan Reynolds).
- The script that broke the ‘fourth wall,’ pulling viewers directly into the narrative.
- The viral marketing stunts (like ‘leaked’ footage and monologue-led ads) that got everyone talking.

Marvel dominates the superhero genre.

Deadpool 1 didn’t have a Marvel-type budget, so instead they took mindshare by doubling down on being the opposite.

They leaned into Deadpool’s sarcastic, monologue-driven persona, constantly breaking the fourth wall to poke fun at himself (and the whole superhero genre).

Deadpool didn’t just stand out; it carved out its own space in the superhero genre by taking risks and challenging the status quo of what a ‘superhero’ is.

When I watch Deadpool, I don’t even associate it with Marvel and that’s the power of giving your audience dozens of micro distinct moments that associates them with something completely different.

The numbers for Deadpool 1 choosing the unconventional route in both direction and marketing speak for themselves:

Deadpool 1 production budget: $58M
Deadpool 1 gross revenue: $363M

01/12/2026

“Building in public” means different things to different people. For VCs and founders, it’s about building top of funnel. Look at Beehiv’s $12.5M raise (in only 6 days):

Not because 100k Twitter followers magically turn into funding…

…but because building in public makes it easier to get the first meeting.

And when “no” becomes the default answer from investors, closing a round becomes a numbers game:

More meetings = more chances.

More chances = need a bigger funnel.

Here’s what beehiiv did that most teams underestimate:

They focused on two things:

1. Audience: anyone interested in startups, entrepreneurship, tech, or newsletters
2. Value: real-time strategies, growth tactics, hiring practices, fundraising tips, and updates

Then they shipped content that let people follow the story:

→ Company milestones

→ Lifestyle

→ Product updates

→ Company vision

→ Promoting users/community

And the founder + team made themselves very available and very online.

That part matters more than people admit.

Because the feedback loop gets faster and higher quality when team members talk to users directly on social media.

They can acknowledge customer support tickets publicly so others see it too.

It turns your company into a living narrative that is GROWING.

And it’s human nature to want stories and follow narratives.

People want to follow people (not brands).

When you hear ‘build in public’ → what do you think?

01/10/2026

Account management isn’t about being liked.

After 5 years managing marketing accounts, Extra Sauce learned this the hard way:

It’s not about being the “fun” partner.
It’s about judgment, communication clarity, and expectation design.

85% communication.
15% expectation design.
Everything else is decoration.

At Extra Sauce, people are the moat going into 2026.

Not cheap labour.
Not shortcuts.
Not vanity metrics.

These are the 10 principles the team uses to manage clients, protect momentum, and build long-term trust.

If you’re a service provider — what would you add to this list?

01/08/2026

Word-of-mouth is nice, but does it bring you predictable revenue?

After implementing a founder-led lead generation system for Irani Law, here’s what happened:

→ Over 1.5 million impressions in 6 months

→ 10+ qualified inquiries/mo on LinkedIn

→ Invited to speaking opportunities and recognized as an authority in Toronto

→ Personal brand rooted in the founder’s journey from restaurant operator to lawyer.

When we first met the principal lawyer, she was already running a successful practice - known locally through referrals and reputation.

But she wanted to generate business online.

To look like the trusted expert when she gets vetted.

And to attract qualified inbound opportunities (tired of chasing)

We started with our MarketFit Spinner Phase:

1. Positioned her personal brand to be memorable and radiate authority.
2. Partnered with her web developer to design a high-performing website.
3. Optimized every prospect touchpoint before scaling a content flywheel + Li outbound.

Then came the real work - finding Content Market Fit.

We A/B tested messaging angles and formats until we found what clicked.

Demand started showing up.

And when demand shows up… you need to capture it.

So we implemented our LinkedIn warm outbound strategy.

Within 30 days, her DMs got flooded with qualified partners and buyers.

Nadia went from relying solely on word-of-mouth… to becoming an authority in her industry and other professionals wanting to work with her.

🎥 Nadia shares her experience in this video

01/07/2026

Most of your buyers are making decisions inside channels and places you can’t track and you probably aren’t even aware it’s happening:

This is the dark social.

Dark social = sharing content through private channels that traditional analytics can’t see: WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, email, text, Slack, Discord.

The term was coined in 2012 by journalist Alexis C. Madrigal, who noticed a big chunk of traffic showed up as “direct” — not because people typed full URLs, but because links were copied into private chats and forwarded peer to peer.

That behavior has only grown.

Senior decision-makers don’t browse your product page after clicking an ad.
→ They ask a colleague in a Slack thread.
→ They forward a founder LinkedIn post to a WhatsApp group of CMOs.
→ They read your newsletter and send it to procurement with “Worth a look?”

Here’s why this matters:

1. Traditional attribution models break down.
(77.5% of buyers share links through dark social channels.)
2. Word of mouth is digital.
Modern referrals now happen at scale in private spaces.
3. Influence beats more clicks.
The most influential content isn’t always the most trackable. A founder’s post can spark dozens of private conversations you’ll never see.
4. Reporting pressure rises.
If budget cases rely on last-click alone, dark social makes you look invisible.

And here’s the opportunity hiding in that “invisibility”:

- Add self-reported attribution to your demo/book flow (“How did you hear about us?”).
- Use AI-powered social listening to spot untagged mentions and topic patterns.
- Publish shareable ideas and moments (clean frameworks, quotable lines, short explainers).
- Stop obsessing over last-click. Pair attribution with contribution. Track assists, not just goals.
- Invest in private spaces your audience already uses: invite-only webinars, Slack/Discord groups, roundtables.

Dark social is where trust compounds.

Switching your mindset from trying to only capture in-market demand to also generating demand will give you deeper audience insight, stronger proof signals, and a real realm of influence.

01/05/2026

We see it over and over: ads get pricier, messaging blurs, pipeline stalls.
The fix is simple, not easy:

Build a Content Asset Bank powered by binge-worthy, insightful founder/executive thought leadership.

Why a content bank (and why now):

~80% of the buyer journey is independent—show up in discovery.

~75% of buyers vet vendors via social.

75–85% of B2B social leads come from LinkedIn.

4 fast ways to start:

Interview your co-founders (pull real insights).

Launch a “Diary of a CEO”-style podcast.

Host roundtable live events.

Create an entertaining, episodic series with substance.

10 reasons to plan content around your asset bank:

1. Creative is king in paid advertising or your ads will fatigue.
2. Content allows you to differentiate from competitors by conveying your unique value.
3. It creates micro-brand moments that establish distinction over time.
4. Your audience is independent and self-directed in their research.
5. Social media is where your audience is active, both professionally and personally
6. Repurposing content from a rich asset bank saves resources while maintaining quality messaging across channels.
7. Consistent content builds trust and familiarity, making your brand a go-to resource for your audience.
8. A well-stocked content bank empowers your sales team with the resources they need to educate and persuade prospects at every stage of the buyer’s journey.
9. Evergreen content assets can generate leads and drive traffic for years to come
10. Different types of content are required to market effectively online

We’re fighting for attention in a noisy feed. Audiences are numb to promo.

Ads still work—when content fuels the entire GTM.

If your socials are crickets except for product promos, you’ll lose to brands that publish valuable content (think HubSpot, Shopify).

Don’t compete on volume. Compete on creativity, speed, and substance.

Hidden advantages you may have right now:
1. A founder/CTO with real subject-matter authority.
2. Less red tape, faster iteration.

SMBs have a window to punch above their weight on social.

Build the bank. Feed paid. Arm sales. Win the market.

01/02/2026

2026: Being different ≠ enough. You need an unforgettable story.

Markets are noisier than ever. AI lowered barriers. Remote made launches easy. Competition is rising.

If your positioning is somewhat clear, you still end up blending into the feed.

The leaders (think Gong, Drift) didn’t just sell software - they led movements and sold transformations.

How to stand out? Build distinction across every touchpoint:

• Coin memorable terms
• Own a visual identity
• Package IP into your offers
• Tell the movement you’re leading

Use this 8-part Positioning Story (via Brendan Dell) ⬇️

1. Best customer: One person, crystal clear.
2. Demand type: New problem? New way? Existing category?
3. Change & stakes: What shifted—and why it matters now.
4. Villain: Name the status quo trapping your buyer.
5. Promised Land: Paint the transformation only you unlock.
6. Simple promise: One sticky tagline, no jargon.
7. Superpowers: Your unique abilities that make it real.
8. Proof: Results, wins, receipts.

This isn’t “better wording.” It boosts recall, lowers price resistance, and aligns your team.

Saturated market doesn’t mean you can’t get market share. Get your slice with story-led positioning.

Save this. Share with your team.

01/01/2026

B2B marketing can take a page out of playbook. His latest movie went head-to-head with Avatar because of ‘distinction’

On the surface, the movie is about someone who wants to take ping pong seriously. Post-production won’t be as cool as Avatar.

Yet the results were hard to ignore:

→ $9.5M in sales on Christmas Day (Avatar did $24M)

→ Best per-theater average at $145,933

→ #2 movie of the holiday season

Chalamet rejects typical movie marketing altogether.

Instead, he went all-in on authentic, human, and slightly unhinged ex*****on:

→ A “leaked” 18-minute Zoom call that looked like an internal team meeting

→ A handheld video of him wearing a giant ping-pong ball on his head

→ A bright orange blimp floating over Los Angeles

→ A pop-up shop so packed it triggered an LAPD response

→ Becoming the first person to stand on top of the Las Vegas Sphere

None of this felt polished.

None of it felt corporate.

And that’s exactly why it worked.

Timothée Chalamet’s stunt-filled ‘Marty Supreme’ marketing campaign proves we like stars who hustle

Marketing works when it doesn’t feel like you’re getting sold to.

12/12/2025

“Is LinkedIn even worth it anymore?”

Modern B2B companies are attributing millions in pipeline from this platform alone.

Going into 2026, we are more bullish than ever for B2B companies to use LinkedIn as a primary communication channel to grow pipeline.

Here’s 3 statistics to share at your budget review meeting:

→ LinkedIn is a powerful platform for B2B sales, with 80% of B2B leads from social media originating there, and 63% of executives using it to research purchases

→ Key stats show LinkedIn drives 46% of social traffic to B2B websites and generates a 277% higher lead volume compared to other social platforms

→ Decision-makers are on the platform: over 65 million decision-makers use LinkedIn. For large enterprises selling high-value solutions, access to these buyers matters.

(Sources: Skrapp IO , LinkedSelling , Hubspot)

Shoot us a message to see how top B2B companies are turning LinkedIn into their #1 pipeline channel

Extra Sauce Agency

02/10/2026

01/26/2026

01/19/2026

01/12/2026

01/10/2026

01/08/2026

01/07/2026

01/05/2026

01/02/2026

01/01/2026

12/12/2025

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Business

Shortcuts

Share

Category