Amit Khanduja — Selling the Abstract

The Myth

Great work
speaks
for itself.

They told you to keep your head down. Deliver excellence. The results will talk. Word will spread. LinkedIn posts are for people who aren't actually busy building things.

HUSTLE CULTURE INVISIBLE WORK IGNORED EXCELLENCE

83%

of the buying journey happens before you get a meeting

41%

of B2B buyers have a preferred vendor before evaluation starts

379

average days from first touch to signed contract

average stakeholders in a complex B2B purchase

The Reality

You are
already
invisible.

The buyer has already made up their mind before your sales team gets the meeting. The firm that wins shaped how the buying committee thinks — before the formal evaluation even started.

PERCEPTION DRIVES REVENUE TRUST BEFORE MEETINGS

5×

higher shortlisting when buyers already recognize your voice

73%

of decision-makers trust thought leadership over marketing materials

3×

faster sales cycles when category authority precedes the pitch

60%

of purchase decisions shaped by content before sales is even contacted

What Everyone Says

"We are a
trusted partner
delivering outcomes."

Open the websites of ten IT services companies in your space. Count how many use the phrase "trusted partner." Count how many promise "business outcomes" through "deep expertise." Spoiler: it's ten.

GENERIC MESSAGING INVISIBLE BRAND COMMODITY PRICING

The result

When everyone claims the same things, differentiation disappears. When differentiation disappears, decisions default to price, relationships, or risk avoidance — none of which favor the firm with genuinely superior capabilities.

"The language of services marketing has become so generic that it communicates almost nothing."

— SELLING THE ABSTRACT, CH.1

What the book fixes

Stop claiming.
Start
demonstrating.

Selling the Abstract gives you the frameworks to build a brand that's specific enough to be believed, credible enough to be trusted, and different enough to be chosen — without the generic noise.

BRAND DIFFERENTIATION PROOF ENGINEERING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

The payoff

When you communicate what only you can say — in a language your buyers actually recognize — generic competitors fade into the background. Premium pricing becomes defensible. Sales cycles compress. The same deals that used to slip away start closing.

"Specificity is the antidote to generic positioning. Name the problem. Name the stakes. Name the proof."

— SELLING THE ABSTRACT, CH.2

The AI Trap

Just use AI.
Content at
infinite scale.

Publish more. Automate everything. Let the algorithm decide. Generate 40 LinkedIn posts in 3 minutes. Your competitors are doing it. You should too. Right?

AI-GENERATED NOISE VOLUME OVER VALUE TRUST EROSION

AI can produce infinite content in seconds. That's the problem. In an AI-flooded market, the competitive advantage belongs to those who know when to slow down.

"Tools without strategy produce noise, not insights. AI without judgment produces volume, not value."

— SELLING THE ABSTRACT, FOREWORD

The human edge

In a world of
AI noise,
be signal.

The future of marketing belongs to those who combine the speed and scale of AI with the depth and nuance that only human experience can provide. This book gives you the latter — so the former actually works.

AI-NATIVE STRATEGY HUMAN JUDGMENT TRUSTED ADVISOR

The winning marketers use AI for leverage — not for voice. They bring the strategy, the taste, the point of view. AI brings the speed. That is how depth and scale coexist in the same playbook.

"Judgment is the non-automatable asset. Invest in it relentlessly, and your AI stack will pay dividends."

— SELLING THE ABSTRACT, CH.12

PUBLISHED 2026

Get a copy

The Book

A practitioner's guide to making the invisible, visible.

Selling the Abstract is a comprehensive, first-principles guide to marketing in IT services and SaaS — grounded in 20 years of practitioner experience and the latest B2B research. Not theory. Not tactics for their own sake. A complete framework for building marketing that actually earns trust, creates pipeline, and compounds over time.

Written for marketing professionals, aspiring CMOs, founders, and business leaders who need to understand not just what to do — but why it works.

The Invisible Excellence Problem
Building a Services Brand
Defining Your Value Proposition
Understanding Your Target Audience
Digital Marketing for IT & SaaS
Content Marketing & Thought Leadership
Account-Based Marketing
Events & Communities
Creative that Works in B2B
Marketing Automation & Martech
Reporting & Measurement
The Future of Services Marketing

The Author

He left a VP role at 38.
Built Markivis
from scratch.

Amit Khanduja is the Founder & CEO of Markivis and a 20-year veteran of B2B marketing across global technology organizations. Before founding Markivis, he served as Vice President at EXL Service — and walked away from it to build something of his own.

That decision — unconventional, financially risky, and made with full conviction — is the same decision he helps his clients make in their marketing: stop playing it safe and start building something that earns trust over time.

Through Markivis, Amit advises IT services and SaaS companies across the US and India on brand building, pipeline generation, and marketing strategy.

2026Published Selling the Abstract — a practitioner's guide to IT & SaaS marketing
2015Founded Markivis, B2B marketing consultancy for technology firms
~2013Vice President, EXL Service — global analytics & digital solutions
20+ yrsDigital and business marketing across major technology organizations

Book Amit to Speak Press Materials

Amit Khanduja Founder & CEO · Markivis
Author · Selling the Abstract

What the book is about

Great service companies fail to thrive not because of what they can do — but because of what prospects believe they can do.

Selling the Abstract · Chapter 1

A buyer facing a complex problem still needs confidence that their chosen partner understands their situation. These needs are irreducibly human.

Selling the Abstract · The Road Ahead

Marketing done right is simply an extension of delivering value — at scale.

Selling the Abstract · Final Chapter

Every tactic, every campaign, every piece of content either builds trust or borrows it. Build on rock, not sand.

Selling the Abstract · The Road Ahead

Great service companies fail to thrive not because of what they can do — but because of what prospects believe they can do.

Selling the Abstract · Chapter 1

A buyer facing a complex problem still needs confidence that their chosen partner understands their situation. These needs are irreducibly human.

Selling the Abstract · The Road Ahead

Marketing done right is simply an extension of delivering value — at scale.

Selling the Abstract · Final Chapter

Every tactic, every campaign, every piece of content either builds trust or borrows it. Build on rock, not sand.

Selling the Abstract · The Road Ahead

Selling
the Abstract

Great work
speaks
for itself.

You are
already
invisible.

"We are a
trusted partner
delivering outcomes."

Stop claiming.
Start
demonstrating.

Just use AI.
Content at
infinite scale.

In a world of
AI noise,
be signal.

A practitioner's guide to making the invisible, visible.

He left a VP role at 38.
Built Markivis
from scratch.

Let's start a conversation.

Stop being excellent
in silence.

Sellingthe Abstract

Great workspeaksfor itself.

You arealreadyinvisible.

"We are atrusted partnerdelivering outcomes."

Stop claiming.Startdemonstrating.

Just use AI.Content atinfinite scale.

In a world ofAI noise,be signal.

A practitioner's guide to making the invisible, visible.

He left a VP role at 38.Built Markivisfrom scratch.

Let's start a conversation.

Stop being excellentin silence.

Selling
the Abstract

Great work
speaks
for itself.

You are
already
invisible.

"We are a
trusted partner
delivering outcomes."

Stop claiming.
Start
demonstrating.

Just use AI.
Content at
infinite scale.

In a world of
AI noise,
be signal.

He left a VP role at 38.
Built Markivis
from scratch.

Stop being excellent
in silence.