Steve Goldberg

Tired of losing hard-earned deals? Solve for Revenue Leak. In Clari’s 2024 Revenue Leak Report, RevOps leaders said leak happens at every stage of the funnel. - Creating: Poor and slow upsell pipeline tracking - Converting: Unsure where pipeline is dropping off - Closing: Slipped deals Don’t let Revenue Leak drag down another quarter – or another year. Download the Revenue Leak Report for more: https://lnkd.in/eeVWViQz  

39

The top leaders are able to answer the most critical business question: Are you going to meet, beat, or miss on revenue? Spoiler alert: The answer lies in your revenue cadence. It’s the operating system for your org that helps you run revenue like a process every day, every week, and every month of the quarter. When done right, you can create, convert, and close revenue repeatedly and predictably. But if there’s even a slight leak, you’re leaving millions on the table. To help you protect your revenue, we’re hosting Charge: The Revenue Summit virtually on May 8th. You’ll hear from impressive RevOps leaders like Scott Peyser (SVP, RevOps, Clari) and Jaclyn Spillane (Director, Innovation PMO, Genesys) on how to design and run efficient revenue cadences to help you capture more revenue. RSVP here: https://lnkd.in/gFW5nxX7

30

Revenue Leak is a $2 Trillion silent killer. Every year, revenue teams lose hard-earned dollars to hidden leaks. The source? - Inefficient processes - Errant forecasts - Misaligned teams To equip revenue leaders to shut down leaks, Clari launched the 2024 Revenue Leak Report. This report features input from 420 revenue professionals across IT/Technology, retail, financial services, and more. Find out: - Why 61% of companies missed their 2023 revenue target - Where revenue teams are investing their tech dollars - How 26% annual Revenue Leak impacts your bottom line - And much more Grab your copy of the Revenue Leak Report and start shutting down leaks today: https://lnkd.in/g9gnGrdz

30

4 Comments

A wave of consolidation is sweeping through the sales tech industry. I recently listened to a brilliant episode from the Topline podcast, featuring Salesloft CEO David Obrand, that shed light on the current state of the GTM tech landscape. As highlighted in the episode, key players like Clari, Gong and Outreach are expanding their offering to boost their TAM and offer more comprehensive solutions. Whilst the trend is understandable, the danger is long-standing partnerships start to fray as overlapping functionalities emerge - partnerships that were once the lifeblood of the sales tech ecosystem. For us, it begs the question. In a world of all-encompassing GTM suites, is there still a place for specialized, best-in-breed solutions? I believe the answer is a resounding yes - but only if they can offer extraordinary value. To thrive in this new era, point solutions must not only deliver great results but also seamlessly integrate into a company’s core tech stack and existing workflows. At MultiplyGTM, we’re laser-focused on providing planning intelligence that complements rather than competes with the everyday solutions revenue teams rely on, and goes deep in addressing a critical need - empowering revenue leaders with the confidence and clarity to achieve their goals. Whilst we may lack the resources of larger players, our goal is to provide unparalleled planning intelligence and insights that drive revenue, while growing sustainably and delivering immense value to our customers with our domain expertise. We're on the cusp of announcing some game-changing partnerships too that will extend our reach and impact, while maintaining our focus on delivering the revenue planning capabilities that drive profitable efficient growth. Stay tuned! 🚀

23

1 Comment

Frontline sales management is the toughest job in the company. The most successful frontline leaders have a disciplined approach and consistent operating cadence. In the latest Building Elite Sales Teams episode, Dana Smith,Sr. shares why consistency is critical as a sales leader: Dana also discusses the importance of hiring well, being a genuine leader who can admit when you're wrong, and not 'watering the weeds' by moving on quickly from reps who aren't working out. Check out the full episode for more of Dana's advice on developing as a leader and building high-performing sales teams.

24

5 Comments

How do you reduce costs while accelerating growth? That was the crux of the question posed in a post recently by Michelle Benfer after a dinner she attended with other Revenue Leaders. While Executive Leadership too often favors reducing " sales support staff" (aka RevOps/Enablement) over reducing sales headcount, Michelle argues that, when done right, RevOps makes revenue orgs less reliant on headcount not more. What do you think? This topic was tailor-made for The GOATS of Growth podcast, so I asked her to join me. In this clip you'll hear her describe what she thinks best-in-class RevOps looks like.  Michelle, you are what best-in-class GTM leadership looks like, and I thank you for joining me! Please follow Michelle for more great content and reach out if you have more questions--ONLY after listening to the episode. Here is the link to the full episode. https://buff.ly/3Cjhr6Q. Please subscribe to the show if you like what you hear!

19

1 Comment

People don’t realize what “closing skills” are in sales, and they’re not “is persuasive.” Reps with closing skills CONSISTENTLY know, can choreograph and advise on how the deal gets signed and returned. And their forecast accuracy reflects those skills.

4

3 Comments

Do your B2B salespeople spend too much of their time juggling multiple tools, trying to piece together insights needed to help them close deals? If so, Demandbase has some exciting news for you… From today, Demandbase One™ and Gong users can seamlessly integrate their data into their daily workflows. This means: ✅ Enhanced sales intelligence ✅ Streamlined user experience ✅ Tighter sales and marketing alignment As this integration evolves, sellers can leverage Demandbase One™ within Gong for detailed insights including intent data, website activity, and overall engagement tailored to their target accounts and contacts. Ready to get started? Discover how you can integrate Demandbase One™ with your preferred marketing and sales technologies here: https://bit.ly/4bqBMXk

15

What's it like selling to the enterprise with a company insider in your corner? Here's a recent example, pulled straight from the transcript of an Emissary session. 🖼 The scene — strategic AE is assigned a new prospect account, and has to get to work navigating a path to the CIO. Instead of googling an Account Plan together, he starts by asking an Emissary to help craft an account strategy. 🚫 The old approach in this case — manual research, guesswork, or (please don't...) asking ChatGPT for a plan — would have been a disaster with months wasted on reading interviews, investor decks, and other signals trying to infer what this CIO wants to achieve. The problem? Read the transcript to find out. 🕺 The win — in a 45 minute call, the rep learned the hidden power structure of the IT org, 3 senior execs to target, the levers to use to get their attention (not all included for brevity), how to show up aligned with company culture, and a wealth of other sales guidance that didn't fit in the carousel. One example of thousands. There is a new way to do Enterprise sales. Will you be first in your category to adapt, or...?

23

"Your ops team is either your superpower or your Achilles heel." - Latané Conant (she/her) @ the Pavilion CMO summit last week. If you're half-assing your RevOps investment, you're going to pay for it eventually. And the price is going up. What an Achilles heel in ops might look like: - A VP of Sales that spends 2 full days before a board meeting "cleaning up the data" - A HubSpot partner that only executes on exactly what you ask them to do and never provides feedback on best practices - An AE that spends 5 hours per week as your Salesforce administrator (in addition to the other 8 admins) because they've been a user for 5 years - A Director of Demand Gen that knows "enough to be dangerous" in Marketo - A CFO that builds a top-down forecast and sets quotas, but has never had a single conversation with a sales rep What other signs of half-assing RevOps did I miss?

49

12 Comments

I did an informal poll on CSM vs Sales commission splits. I was pleasantly shocked to see that over 95% of companies do not have Sales take a commission on renewals unless it’s a particularly challenging one; the AE is there to help with it as a “bounty renewal”. in this case, the AE gets a % but is not taken from the CSM. Other interesting data points: "Commission on upsells and renewal made up 30% of the total compensation package. However, the exact commission % was determined by dividing the 30% by $$$ into the total ARR managed by the CSM." What metrics should this be based on? Most followed this model to Typically, companies that are earlier in their CS maturity will base this off a few leading indicators (adoption milestones, EBRs, etc.), and then move to comping on lagging indicators (retention, expansion, NRR, etc.) once their leading indicator activities have been proven. The following are examples of metrics you can use, not an exhaustive list: Leading: QBRs and/or EBRs (attained vs scheduled) Product adoption milestones (product dependent) Lagging: Net Revenue Retention (NRR) - this is likely the most common Retention Expansion Advocacy (hard to make this scale across large teams and mixed portfolios - this is better as a SPIFF or annual metric to Bonus on) From there, you can determine the weight of each metric on the bonus. I'll give an example using a bonus that is achieved by a renewal retention goal and an NRR goal. Criteria for 100% Bonus Attainment: 90% Renewal Retention (50% weight) 125% Net Revenue Retention (50% weight) "This keeps it pretty simple with two priorities. Retain and Expand Revenue. The Retention goal being assessed separately ensures CSMs don't have significant churn masked by massive upsells. In this example, if a CSM had 85% Retention and 115% NRR, they'd end up at 93.22% to goal for their overall commission/variable comp."

24

Want to build a sales team that consistently exceeds its targets? 🎯 In the latest podcast episode of Building Elite Sales Teams, I had the privilege of interviewing Adam Aarons, a seasoned sales leader who has led companies like Okta from startup to IPO. 🚀 Adam shared his two pillars for building a high-performing sales team: Operations and Enablement. 🏗️ Adam dives deep into how these two pillars work together to create an execution engine that drives extraordinary results. 📈 Want to learn more about how to build a sales process that's repeatable and scalable? Listen to the full interview and discover Adam's insights on: 🎯 Getting early warning signals when your sales plan isn't working 🚨 🎯 The difference between a champion and a coach in a deal 🏆 🎯 How to hire the right sales talent 🤝 #SalesLeadership #OperationsAndEnablement #BuildingEliteSalesTeams

11

3 Comments

Attention GTM Leaders: We know it's hard out there and one big brightspot is that your current customers can help you win more now than ever! In the 2024 edition of our G2 Buyer Behavior Report we continue to see software buyers' preference for self-serve channels at ALL stages of the purchasing journey.   We also found that public product review websites are the #1 consulted information source, according to 31% of buyers when planning to purchase goods or services for their company. This is up from 23% in 2023, 18% in 2022, and 13% in 2021. Independent peer forums and communities followed closely behind. The takeaway for Sellers: Trust is more important than ever. Tap into your customers’ voices to share their feedback on your behalf. We must meet buyers where they are, arming them with helpful resources they can review on their own to arrive at a decision. Contrary to all the noise on this topic, sales teams still have a huge role to play as only 3% of the 1,900+ respondents surveyed said they never want to talk with sales. But the pressure is on to stand out in a competitive market -- engaging at the right time with the right message, knowing when buyers are in-market for your solutions. Download the #G2BuyerBehaviorReport today for more findings: https://bit.ly/3Vlovt0

46

2 Comments

Great salespeople know that a one-size-fits-all approach won't cut it when it comes to closing deals. As Jeff Hoffman says, "The greatest closers are planned, not canned." Instead of using rigid discovery question templates, successful sellers tap into their Discovery Brain to truly understand their buyers. Salesloft has partnered with Hoffman to bring you six concepts that will help you close more deals and win buyer trust. Check it out: https://lnkd.in/eSPPaTpm

20

Are your Call to Action (CTA) requests yielding the desired results? The effectiveness of CTAs has shifted in today's landscape. What worked a decade ago with new contacts might not be as impactful now. It's time to rethink our approach and stand out from the noise. Let's move beyond outdated CTAs that blend us into the background, and instead, craft compelling requests that truly engage our audience. #CallToAction #Engagement #Communication #growth #training

1

1 Comment

Revenue leaders are calling on sales enablement to train a workforce that can deliver higher win rates, increase revenue, perform consistently, and deliver standout customer experiences. That’s why at Gong we’re introducing three new AI capabilities this week to help do exactly that. These capabilities will bring rigor to pipeline management and coaching, with AI that gives enablement, RevOps, and frontline managers the trustworthy insights they need to: ✅ Improve forecast accuracy and pipeline conversion rates by using AI to automatically pinpoint gaps in adherence to sales methodologies ✅ Increase revenue per rep, with AI that automatically suggests answers to scorecard questions, helping managers coach reps consistently and at scale ✅ Increase data trust, with out-of-the-box Smart Trackers and assessment tools that make it easier to build, preview, and deploy accurate, comprehensive concept trackers Game changing for both revenue and enablement leaders. Get the full story about our latest release here:

14

The SDR to AE-SE to CSM GTM model has been taken to an unpleasant extreme. I have been running a large number of procurement and negotiations processes for clients recently. The repeated handoffs to different seller roles: SDR to AE-SE to CSM does not build the relationship and trust that an all-in AE develops as the single point of contact through the entire process. When the AE has the buyer's trust, that AE has the winning advantage. I agree with Mark Kosoglow's assessment from the GTM team's view, and also from the buyer's view. GTM Team's should take a hard look at their SDR roles and GTM process, not just from an internal perspective, but from the buyer's as well.

8

In 2024 sales leaders are being asked to hit bigger targets with tighter budgets. On a macro level this can feel daunting, but if you boil it down team by team, rep by rep– the answer clearly sits in the efficiency and productivity of your rep’s day. And in order to drive that daily efficiency and productivity, you need to deeply understand the foundational systems + processes that actually allow your team to spend the bulk of their day talking to customers and prospects. If I’m a frontline manager or Dir of sales right now, I am revisiting this checklist quarterly to drive that efficiency and productivity within my teams: 1.) Revisit your deal cycle workflows and ensure your reps understand the ins and outs of the tooling and sales process. ↳They need to know how to navigate the sales methodology you use ↳They need a deep understanding of your CRM and entry and exit criteria for deal stages ↳They need to have clarity around forecasting expectations and how to keep their pipeline clean ^ All the logistics of getting the job done. 2.) Skills assessment/reinforcement and training around how to make sales conversations meaningful. ↳Revisit messaging and positioning ↳Regular objection handling practice ↳Understanding each persona, their problems and buyer signals that indicate it’s time to reach out to that specific prospect ↳Value, benefits, ROI, differentiation matters Fewer tools means less complexity. See where you can cut standalone tools and consolidate to more comprehensive and all-in-one tools (like Apollo) to give your reps a more centralized operating system and reduce the time spent navigating their tech stack. Simplicity will help your reps win. 💪🏼 The market and selling environment is changing rapidly. Your teams are growing and shifting constantly. These things should be top of mind and regularly revisited at the team and rep level to ensure they are as equipped and empowered to do what they do best (sell!) at all times. How often are you running enablement sessions with your team? Do you focus on process or skills more? #salesexcellence

123

12 Comments

🌟 Key Lessons from Our Sales Compensation Webinar! 🌟 Thank you to Ryan and Graham at QuotaPath for an amazing, educational webinar on designing effective sales compensation plans. Here are the top five lessons we learned: ✅ Align Compensation with Corporate Goals: Ensure sales compensation plans are in line with overall corporate objectives to drive the right behaviors and outcomes. ✅ Keep Plans Simple and Motivating: Avoid overly complex plans. Use the “pizza topping rule” – too many components make it confusing and less effective. ✅ Incorporate Accelerators and Decelerators: Use these to reward overperformance and manage underperformance, maintaining motivation and fairness. ✅ Regularly Review and Adjust Plans: Sales environments change. Regularly assess the effectiveness of your sales compensation plans and adjust as necessary. ✅ Focus on Customer Profitability: Design plans that incentivize reps to close deals that lead to high customer lifetime value (LTV) and profitability. Takeaways 🚀 Implementing these strategies can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your sales compensation plans. A well-designed comp plan is not just about paying your sales team but about driving the right behaviors that align with your business goals. If you'd like to catch the replay and the amazing slides (great reference), you can find it in the Sales module of my No Fluff series. Grab it here: https://lnkd.in/gqtTrTDJ

9

2 Comments