July 24, 2025
Hot Take: Stop forcing channels, distribution isn’t one-size-fits-all
Max Leblond
Max Leblond, VP of Marketing at Local Logic, shares his perspective on Channels. Over the past 10 years, Max has helped raise three Series B rounds and has been part of two successful exits. He’s led go-to-market efforts across three deeply traditional industries: industrial, automotive, and now real estate, where selling new technology means navigating slow sales cycles, legacy mindsets, and relationship-driven buying. Through this, he’s learned how to break through in markets where trust is the real currency, and flashy tactics don’t land.
🌶️ Hot Take: Stop forcing channels, distribution isn’t one-size-fits-all
Most GTM teams are running on borrowed playbooks and influencer-fueled templates that have nothing to do with the realities of their industry. We’ve been conditioned to think “this is how you grow” because someone on LinkedIn got a few thousand likes saying cold outbound is back, and gone, and back again, or that you need a podcast, or that PLG is the only answer.
Here’s the truth: no one knows your market better than you. And trying to force a trendy strategy into a space where it doesn’t belong is a fast track to wasted budget, burned-out teams, and missed opportunities.
Why I believe this: At Local Logic, I market to some of the most legacy-heavy, risk-averse segments in North American real estate, including MLSs, brokerages, and enterprise portals. These aren’t industries that “go viral.” They don’t sign up for SaaS trials just because your landing page is slick. They don’t discover vendors on TikTok.
It’s a follow-the-leader industry where relationships and reputation are everything. Trust is built slowly, and decisions are rarely made alone.
When I first joined, I wanted to build the classic modern demand gen engine, Refine Labs-style, with a touch of Dave Gerhardt. But what actually moved the needle? Good ol’ monthly webinars. Partnership press releases. Trade shows. Le sigh.
I’ve tested high-volume outbound, ABM, clever SEO plays, LinkedIn thought leadership. And across all of it, the only campaigns that consistently performed were the ones tailored to how this industry builds trust, makes decisions, and buys.
What to do instead: Forget the frameworks for a second. Sit down with your team and ask: “What are the 3 ways our buyers actually discover new vendors?”
Then double down on just one of them.
You don’t need 12 channels. You need one that works, then 10x the effort behind it.
Lesson learned: At the end of the day, GTM trends come and go. What never changes is the foundation: you need deep empathy, a real understanding of who you’re selling to, and the humility to meet them where they are, not where your playbook says they should be.