Bridgehead Prepared for Sami at Petra Labs
Petra Labs For Sami

Generative Engine Optimization Software Sales Playbook

Sami, we’ll build your new AE’s first 100 accounts in 10 days. The first 25 are below, and they’re yours either way.

If your AE seat stays open another quarter, ignore this. If it doesn’t, the next two minutes are worth it.

What we noticed

You raised a $5.2M seed round in July, and your own posts say events are your highest-return growth channel. A list of brands already hiring for AI search tells you who belongs in the next room.

Your posting for your first Account Executive has been open since August 26, and it asks them to help decide which companies to target. That list is below, finished.

  1. July 22 $5.2M seed round, led by Work-Bench
  2. August 26 First Account Executive role posted
  3. November 9 Role still open; the first 25 accounts are on this page

What changes for your new AE

Your new AE starts day one with 100 brands you approved, each with the reason to call now, and drafts written to the first five, instead of spending their first weeks deciding who to target. Your event rooms start from the same list.

Your first 25 accounts

Picked from how your posting, your site and your posts describe your buyers. Each one has the reason it’s here and the source.

Yours either wayKeep these 25 whether or not we ever talk.
Cut any you wouldn’t callTell us why, and we replace it. We keep going until you’d keep at least 80 of the 100.
  1. Stripe Chicago and Atlanta · Payments infrastructure
    1

    Stripe is building AEO as its own function: a Head of AEO & SEO in Chicago and Atlanta, then two marketing managers. A team that size has to show which of its actions bring revenue, which is the layer you sell.

    Signal: Sep 24, 2026 Source
    Buyer: Head of AEO & SEO or the marketing leader they report to
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.
  2. Purple Draper, UT · Mattresses and comfort products
    2

    Shoppers ask an assistant which mattress to buy, and Purple has hired one person to own that. The posting asks them to turn visibility into revenue, and that last step is the one you sell.

    Signal: Oct 13, 2026 Source
    Buyer: Sr. Manager, AI Search Visibility, or the CMO
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.
  3. Chime San Francisco, CA · Consumer banking app
    3

    Chime’s own posting says people now find financial products by asking assistants. It is hiring for the content and citation work, so what it still needs is proof of which of that work brings in customers.

    Signal: Oct 27, 2026 Source
    Buyer: Head of Content or Growth Marketing
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.
  4. Hyatt Chicago, IL · Hotels, global
    4

    The role is measured on direct bookings and revenue, so Hyatt needs to see which AI surfaces send a booking. That is the attribution work you sell.

    Signal: Nov 4, 2026 Source
    Buyer: SEO/AEO Manager, or the Director of Digital Marketing
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.
  5. Victoria’s Secret & Co. Reynoldsburg, OH and New York, NY · Retail, global
    5

    The role already tracks generative referral trends and conversational citations. A dashboard shows both; what moved them, and what that was worth in sales, is the open part.

    Signal: Nov 4, 2026 Source
    Buyer: Manager, AI & Organic Search, or the VP of Digital Marketing
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.
  6. Rippling New York, NY · HR and IT software
    6

    Rippling is already tracking visibility and citation share. Knowing it is cited is the part every tool gives; tying a citation to a closed deal is the gap you fill.

    Signal: Oct 30, 2026 Source
    Buyer: Growth Manager, SEO & GEO, or the Head of Growth Marketing
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.
  7. BetterHelp San Jose, CA · Online therapy
    7

    People ask an assistant how to find a therapist, and BetterHelp now has a manager for how it shows up in those answers across countries.

    Signal: Nov 5, 2026 Source
    Buyer: International SEO/AEO Manager, or the VP of Growth Marketing
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.
  8. Harper New York, NY · Insurance brokerage
    8

    Harper posted the same role in two cities, which says AI search is a real channel for it. Insurance is a category where people ask which broker to trust.

    Signal: Sep 29, 2026 Source
    Buyer: SEO/GEO Manager, or the Head of Growth
    Why it’s ranked here

    A strong fit.

    • A named owner for AI search is being hired now: a dated AEO, GEO or AI search posting.
    • The category is one where buyers ask an assistant: shopping, travel, money, health, software.
    • A national or well-funded brand with a marketing team that can carry a platform and an embedded team.
    • Revenue happens on the site (a booking, a checkout or a demo request), so AI-referred traffic can be tied to money.
    • Not already a Petra customer, and not an agency or consultancy that sells AI search itself.
    • Looks like who Petra already serves: software and consumer growth teams like Zapier and Novig.

Your new AE’s first 100 accounts, in 10 days

The first 25 are above, and they’re yours either way.

Email Kash

We build a handful of these a month, for founders hiring now.

10 days

from kickoff to your team running it

  • 100 accounts you approve, each with the reason
  • Drafts to the first five, in your voice
  • Your team runs it without us
  • Any account you cut, we replace

How does Petra Labs sell?

An outside read from your LinkedIn posts, your site and your posting, built to be corrected: tell us anything that’s wrong. Tap a clip to play it from that moment.

In your posts and interviews6 quotes
  1. Who buys
    “We spend more on in-person events than every other growth channel combined. Highest ROI investment to date.”
    Your LinkedIn post on in-person events, November 9
  2. Who buys
    “Build a good room. You have to be OK saying no to people who are not the right fit for that specific event”
    Your LinkedIn post on in-person events, November 9
  3. The problem
    “In AEO, it's not enough to get a backlink from a high DR website.”
    Your LinkedIn post on earned media in AEO, November 4
  4. Why you win
    “When we are able to successfully place positive claims about our client on multiple surfaces that are all being cited by the same query, we see *exponential* gains in visibility.”
    Your LinkedIn post on optimizing across surfaces, November 5
  5. Why you win
    “In AI Search, 1+1=5”
    Your LinkedIn post on optimizing across surfaces, November 5
  6. When a store moves
    “we created a custom lookbook where we showed everyone what ChatGPT was saying about their personal and company brands”
    Your LinkedIn post on in-person events, November 9
What your customers sayFrom Strategic Account Executive posting, Pulse 2.0: the seed round, Work-Bench: Announcing Our Investment in Petra Labs, petralabs.com/solutions, petralabs.com/customers, petralabs.com: Novig case study
  1. PLPetra Labs posting
    “Most of the people we talk to know that the way customers find them is changing, but many are still figuring out what that means for their business and what they should do about it.”
    Petra Labs posting · Strategic Account Executive posting
  2. PLPetra Labs posting
    “have substantive conversations with CMOs and growth leaders”
    Petra Labs posting · Strategic Account Executive posting
  3. P2Pulse 2.0
    “Petra is primarily targeting large brands with complex marketing operations and significant AEO investments.”
    Pulse 2.0 · Pulse 2.0: the seed round
  4. JLWork-Bench
    “knowing you were mentioned doesn't tell a CMO which of the dozen things their team did last month actually caused it, or whether any of it drove revenue.”
    Jessica Lin, Work-Bench · Work-Bench: Announcing Our Investment in Petra Labs
  5. PLPetra Labs site
    “Most AI-referred traffic doesn't arrive with a UTM tag.”
    Petra Labs site · petralabs.com/solutions
  6. JASr. Web Marketing Manager, Zapier
    “It became clear to Zapier early on that Petra was more than just an analytics dashboard.”
    Janine Anderson, Sr. Web Marketing Manager, Zapier · petralabs.com/customers
  7. PLPetra Labs site
    “Our experts do 100% of the work to get your brand in AI responses”
    Petra Labs site · petralabs.com/solutions
  8. CTAdvisory Partner to Josh Linkner
    “Every AI lead we have connected with has been qualified. This is absolutely unheard of.”
    Connor Trombley, Advisory Partner to Josh Linkner · petralabs.com/customers
  9. NPHead of Growth, Novig
    “Petra Labs gave us a presence in AI search that competitors with 100x the marketing budget still don't have.”
    Nikhil Panu, Head of Growth, Novig · petralabs.com/customers
  10. PLPetra Labs site
    “AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude had become a real discovery channel for users looking for the best odds, but Novig was invisible.”
    Petra Labs site · petralabs.com: Novig case study
  11. PLPetra Labs posting
    “This is our first Account Executive hire.”
    Petra Labs posting · Strategic Account Executive posting

Words you use

  • “black box”
  • “measurable growth channel”
  • “Your AI search team. Built to execute.”
  • “one-of-one prompt maps”
  • “chain-of-thought data”
  • “1+1=5”
  • “Build a good room”
  • “truth-seeking”

How the list learns your calls

In the first session you react to accounts like these: keep or cut, and why, the way you’d tell a cofounder. Each reason becomes a rule you can read, the pool re-scores, and ten more show whether it learned. Keep eight of ten and the hundred is built on your rules.

  1. You cut one on the call, and say why
  2. It becomes a rule
  3. The pool re-scores
  4. Ten more test it

Which questions can only you answer?

Your posts and site don’t say which brands you would never spend a meeting on, or what a marketing leader has to see before they sign. About 30 minutes of you reacting to real accounts answers these.

  1. 1

    Is a posting for the role the signal you trust, or does the budget decide first?

    Rows 1 to 5 have posted roles at national brands; rows 22 and 25 have posted roles with small budgets.

  2. 2

    Do you sell to a brand that already has an in-house AI search owner?

    Row 1 (Stripe) has a Head of AEO & SEO and managers; row 20 has a first hire.

  3. 3

    Is a regional or local business ever a fit?

    Row 23 (EcoShield) and row 25 (DM Injury Law) test this.

  4. 4

    Does an enterprise security or fintech buyer move differently from a consumer brand?

    Row 15 (Palo Alto Networks) and row 11 (Western Union) sit on either side.

  5. 5

    Which brands do you want in the room at your next event?

    Rows 3, 4 and 5 are brands your lookbook approach would fit.

What does your Strategic Account Executive’s first morning look like?

Without

The CRM you have now. The early weeks go to learning which accounts you’d call, and why.

With · Strategic Account Executive, first morning

  • SStripeDraft written
  • PPurpleDraft written
  • CChimeDraft written
  • HHyattDraft written
  • VSVictoria’s Secret & Co.Draft written

A hundred accounts you approved, the rules behind them and drafts to the first five, so their time goes to buyers.

From week two, your mornings too: one brief, drafts to approve, every message sent by you.

How the 10 days run

What happens in the ten working days?

November 16, 2026 to December 1, 2026. About a day of your time in total.

  1. Before by November 16

    You send the customers you’d clone and three deals that went wrong, plus 10 to 20 emails or posts you wrote. “How you sell” is drafted from your talks and posts.

    You: 20 minutes
  2. Day 1 November 16

    The playbook session: we fill the gaps and correct the draft together. Your CRM is connected.

    You: 2 hours
  3. Day 2 November 17

    Your first rules are written; a few hundred companies are scored against them.

    You: none
  4. Day 3 November 18

    You review the first 25 (talking it through is fine).

    You: 30 minutes
  5. Day 4 November 19

    Your reasons become rules; you see the re-score and judge 10 more. First touches are written in your voice to the accounts you kept, and you read ten. Touches start logging to the CRM.

    You: 30 minutes
  6. Day 5 November 20

    The hundred is built. The research tool is set up; you test it on three accounts you know.

    You: 15 minutes
  7. Day 6 November 23

    The morning run is set up; your first morning, with us.

    You: 30 minutes
  8. Day 7 November 24

    You review all hundred, and any cut is replaced. Team training, session one.

    You: 1 hour 20 minutes
  9. Day 8 November 25

    Your first morning on your own. Training session two, hands-on for each person.

    You: 1 hour plus your morning
  10. Day 9 November 30

    Your second morning on your own. Each person on your team runs the morning alone.

    You: your morning
  11. Day 10 December 1

    Your third morning on your own. A week of touches is in the CRM. Handover sign-off.

    You: 30 minutes plus your morning
Kash Badami

Who builds it?

The person in the video does the work with you, from the first session to the handover.

$100M+in deals sold in a single year
$0 to $10MARR in 12 months, for a company I built
  1. “Kash and I built ERT Credit together in 2021. He took my MVP and turned it into a SaaS that hit $10M ARR in twelve months.”

    Jordan Anderson, CEO, PayStreetgobridgehead.ai/about

  2. “Analytical in approach, technologically-knowledgeable, and earnest in conviction, Kash was able to drive pipeline in a notoriously challenging tech region.”

    JBJason Brandt, Managing Director, Sales, ePlus inc.LinkedIn recommendation, April 2020

Where does this go from here?

Three options. Each one is fine.

Not a fit

Say so in a line, and that’s the end of it.

Not now

Keep the 25 and the read on how you sell, and share them. When the role fills, the offer stands.

Talk with Kash

Ask Kash to call you, or email him. He calls to set up a 30-minute strategy session. Bring your cofounder or your sales leader.

Your new AE’s first 100 accounts, in 10 days

The first 25 are above, and they’re yours either way.

Email Kash

We build a handful of these a month, for founders hiring now.

10 days

from kickoff to your team running it

  • 100 accounts you approve, each with the reason
  • Drafts to the first five, in your voice
  • Your team runs it without us
  • Any account you cut, we replace

Petra Labs sales playbook, in brief

Petra Labs sells an AI search platform plus an embedded team that tracks where a brand shows up in ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini answers and ties it to revenue. It raised a $5.2M seed round in July.Pulse 2.0: the seed round, Work-Bench: Announcing Our Investment in Petra Labs

Its buyers are marketing and growth leaders at large brands. Its posting for a first Account Executive says most of them know the way customers find them is changing but are still working out what to do.Strategic Account Executive posting, Pulse 2.0: the seed round

Sami Akkawi says Petra spends more on in-person events than on every other growth channel combined, and that the rooms work because he is willing to say no to people who aren’t the right fit.Your LinkedIn post on in-person events

The first 25 accounts for a new Account Executive are brands that have a posted AI search role, each scored on six rules and backed by a dated, sourced signal: fifteen strong fits, six in the middle and four edge cases that test the rules.

Prepared by at Bridgehead · November 9, 2026 · Every source

Questions founders ask

Can’t my AE build this when they start?

They can. But wouldn’t you rather they were selling? Reps spend 28% of their time selling, and the average new AE takes 6.2 months to ramp. This replaces the weeks they would spend building the list and learning what you already know.

28%: Salesforce, State of Sales (7,700+ sellers, 2022) · 6.2 months: Bridge Group, 2026 AE report (158 companies)

How much sooner does my new AE get to work?

From day one, because the accounts you approved and the first drafts are waiting. The average new AE takes 6.2 months to ramp, and at a $200K median OTE that is about $103K paid before they are fully productive. Only 48% of AEs hit quota.

6.2 months: Bridge Group, 2026 AE report (158 companies) · $103K: arithmetic ($200K median OTE × 6.2 months ÷ 12); Bridge Group, 2026 AE report (158 companies) · 48%: Bridge Group, 2026 AE report (158 companies)

We tried an outreach tool and it sounded like a robot. How is this different?

Nothing goes out on its own. Every account on the list is one you approved, every draft is written to one person, and you send each message yourself. It learns your voice from what you’ve written and from every edit you make.

How much of my time does it take?

About a day, spread across the ten working days: the 2-hour session on how you sell, short list reviews you can talk through, two training sessions and your first mornings. The hours your AE gets back go to selling, where reps spend just 28% of their time today.

28%: Salesforce, State of Sales (7,700+ sellers, 2022)

What happens after you leave?

It keeps learning. Each week it proposes rule changes from what your cuts, replies and silences showed, and you approve or reject each in a line.

Where does my data live?

In your own accounts: your Claude, your CRM, your files. Nothing runs on anyone else’s side, and any rule can be changed in plain English.

How is it priced?

The first engagement is one fixed price for the ten days. It depends on how many people we train and which systems we connect, so Kash quotes it on a short call. After handover, you can keep us on a retainer to keep supporting your sales process and refining it, if you choose that route.

The research behind this page 11 sources · 4 postings · 4 customers · 27 stores looked at

Your talks and posts

  1. petralabs.com
  2. petralabs.com/customers
  3. petralabs.com/solutions
  4. petralabs.com/events
  5. Your LinkedIn post on in-person events, November 9, 2026
  6. Your LinkedIn post on optimizing across surfaces, November 5, 2026
  7. Your LinkedIn post on earned media in AEO, November 4, 2026
  8. Your LinkedIn post on attribution data, November 6, 2026
  9. Pulse 2.0: the seed round, July 22, 2026
  10. Work-Bench: Announcing Our Investment in Petra Labs, July 22, 2026
  11. petralabs.com: Novig case study

Your open roles

  1. Strategic Account Executive, first posted August 26, 2026
  2. Growth Engineer, first posted September 1, 2026
  3. Data Scientist, first posted September 29, 2026
  4. Strategy & Ops, first posted April 26, 2026

Your customers

Zapier · Novig · Fractional Jobs · Josh Linkner (Aperture Media) (santehq.com/customers and your posts). Customer photos are from santehq.com/customers.

How the 25 were picked

27 stores found and scored on 6 rules; the 25 chosen to teach: 15 strong, 6 middle, 4 at the edges. Logos are from each store’s own site.

  • Sources: Petra Labs’ own site, posting and LinkedIn posts, the seed round coverage, and each account’s own LinkedIn job posting, opened and saved on November 9, 2026.
  • None of the 25 appears on petralabs.com/customers. Agencies and consultancies that sell AI search themselves were left out.
  • A posted AEO, GEO or AI search role is the dated signal on every row. Where a posting’s text did not load, the row rests on its title and date.