Hi there,

January always feels like a natural reset.

You may well have seen the 2016 trend doing the rounds on social media, but it feels especially significant here at Wondrous as that was the year we founded the business. May marks our official 10-year birthday, and in the lead-up I wanted to start sharing a series of lessons from building a business (so far).

I’m also sharing the final two episodes from the last series of the podcast. One looks ahead to how B2B marketing needs to work harder in 2026, and the other breaks down payments – what marketers need to understand, and why it makes a real difference to credibility and messaging.

You’ll find our Wondrous 2025 recap video at the end – a quick snapshot of a busy, varied year.

Let’s get into it!

Lessons from 10 years of building a business (so far)

One: Speak about price earlier than you think

If you’ve ever spent hours preparing a proposal, only to be ghosted, this will probably resonate.

In the early days of running Wondrous, times were tough and we chased every lead. We threw everything at it. It was common for us to spend hours preparing long, detailed proposal documents without ever knowing the prospect’s budget. I cringe at the memory, and if I’m honest, it makes me sad that people are still doing this.

A couple of years ago, we had a builder come round to look at taking out a wall in our house. During his visit, he talked through the options and explained what would be involved. He came across as credible and we liked his ideas. But price never came up, aside from a vague assurance that he would “get something across”.

To his credit, he did follow through. When the quote arrived, we were horrified for two reasons. Firstly, it was far more than we had expected. Secondly, we were genuinely upset by how much work he had clearly put into it. The quote was costed down to the screw.

He was new in business, and I hope he has since learned what I learned the hard way. Before any time is spent on a proposal, you must set an expectation on price. And that conversation needs to happen verbally.

If there is no match at that point, hours can be saved on a proposal that was always going to be rejected.

Of course, there is a lot to be said for framing the conversation around value. But a budget is a budget, and often it cannot move as much as we would like.

Key takeaway: speak about price earlier than you think.

How to Make Your B2B Marketing Work Harder in 2026

Podcast recap with Katie Hayes

In this episode of Funnel This, Katie Hayes and I talked about what it really means to make B2B marketing work harder in 2026. The conversation came back repeatedly to clarity over volume, and the risk of busy marketing that lacks focus. Katie also shared a practical example of how her team uses DOJO AI to do more with less, building it into their workflow to speed up delivery, reduce repetitive work, and help a small team stay effective without adding headcount. The thread running through it all was credibility: marketing works best when it’s grounded in a real understanding of the market, the buyer, and the constraints they operate within.

Listen to the full episode here to hear how Katie is approaching focus, efficiency, and AI in a small marketing team.

Watch the full conversation ↗️
Find Funnel This on your usual podcast platform.

Payments: What Marketers Need to Know

Podcast recap with Nikolay Sabev

In this episode of Funnel This, Nikolay Sabev joined me to demystify payments and explain what marketers actually need to understand, even if payments isn’t their core specialism. We talked about why surface-level knowledge often shows in messaging, how confusion around payments flows and terminology can undermine credibility, and why marketers who take the time to understand how money really moves are better equipped to tell clearer, more confident stories. It’s a reminder that in complex sectors, understanding the mechanics isn’t optional; it’s part of doing the job well.

Listen to the full episode here to understand how payments really work, and why that knowledge matters for marketing credibility.

Watch the full conversation ↗️
Find Funnel This on your usual podcast platform.

Wondrous 2025 Recap

To finish, here’s a quick look back at 2025 at Wondrous. It was a busy, varied year, with lots of different projects, clients, and moments we’re proud of.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be sharing more lessons and reflections as we head towards Wondrous’ 10-year anniversary, and as always, I appreciate you spending a bit of time here.

See you next time,

Sally.