AI to ROI (fka Metrics that Measure Up)

The most interesting dilemma for a CEO? The decision that comes with having the option to go public or accept a strategic acquisition offer.Tom Reilly, former CEO at Cloudera has been a CEO with the experience of selling a company to IBM, another company to HP and then taking Cloudera public after raising $766.5M from strategic partner, Intel.Tom says a CEO should invest 20% - 30% of their time working with strategic partners - do not outsource to your partnership team. In fact, this advice comes from the experience of Tom working closely with the CEO at Intel which led to their strategic investment in Cloudera.Strategic buyers use partnerships to evaluate the value and fit of a strategic acquisition. It is critical to have well defined performance metrics for strategic partnerships, including close rates, annual contract value, gross and net dollar retention rate and CAC payback period to highlight the financial performance and efficiency of strategic partnerships.We then turned to discuss the decision to go public versus accepting a strategic acquisition offer. Tom shares that IPOs and being a public company do have their challenges - and that there are many great options including Private Equity, Growth Equity and now SPACS!Being public comes with heightened scrutiny on quarterly performance and transparency - which can be distracting. Developing the capability and culture of being able to accurately forecast quarterly revenue, margins and provide longer term guidance needs to a be a focus and competency developed three to four quarters before an IPOHot take #1 - being capital constrained can led to learning how to operate more efficiently - it may not always be best to take a lot more capital than needed OR at least ensure the culture of efficiency is maintained even after taking a large sum of investmentHot take #2 - companies have to start early to instrument, capture, analyze and make metrics informed decisions earlier and faster - numbers do not lie!!!#IPO #SaaS #cloud See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

B2B Communities caught fire in 2020 - especially B2B sales communities. Revenue Collective, Sales Hacker, Modern Sales Pros, RevGenuis, and Bravado all dramatically increased their membership and levels of engagement following the onset of COVID.Who better to discuss the trend of B2B communities, than a founder of the world's largest B2B network, LinkedIn. Konstantin shares the key differences between a B2B community and a B2B networkKonstantin shares the four variables that are required to build a scalable, sustainable and engaging B2B network. He also discusses the techniques that LinkedIn used to quickly reach 1M+ members, and how "Social Capital" was key to gaining initial momentum.Did you know that Inmails used to cost $10 each, or that the only way to join LinkedIn initially was through a referral?In a classic entrepreneurial pivot, we moved quickly from the back story of LinkedIn's early success to how walking meetings were a hallmark of the early days at LinkedIn, and have retained their allure to Konstantin as he mentors and advises new entrepreneurs.Lastly, we discuss Konstantin's founders' journey and he shares some advice based upon his own experiences at LinkedIn.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mike Smerklo is by any measure a story of entrepreneurial success. Mike founded a search fund which led to the early stage acquisition of ServiceSource, and he took it to over $300M in revenue, took the company public, and was the CEO for over 13 years.Then Mike followed his passion to help fellow entrepreneurs and founded Next Coast Ventures in Austin, Texas long before Austin was being heralded as the next Silicon Valley for software.His secret, which threatened his success throughout his founder's journey is now out in the open, in his book, Mr. Monkey and Me. Mr. Monkey is a symbol for the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that every entrepreneur and founding CEO will face.During the podcast, Mike shares his "SHAPE" framework, to help fellow entreprenuers understand and mitigate that inner voice of doubt...the imposter syndrome. SHAPE is an acronym for Self-Awareness, Help, Authenticity, Persistence, and Expectations.During our conversation, we also talk about the "strength" of showing vulnerability by asking for help, even when you think as the CEO you need to always portray strength by having the answer to any problem...an impossible expectation.Mike shares that you are not alone with those private thoughts of fear, uncertainty, and doubt that comes with the entrepreneurial and CEO journey, and provides some helpful advice and even a framework to make your "Mr. Monkey" for favorite frienemy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, we continue the discussion with the authors of Selling the Cloud. Building upon the first half of our conversation where we discussed the need for grit and passion to be success full in Enterprise sales, we move into several new topics. The Power of No is a key skill to develop. A great enterprise sales professional is qualifying prospects out every step of the process to reduce time investment on low probability to close opportunities. Often the most important "no" is to walk away from blind RFP's that you have had no opportunity to influence or understand before receiving. The other skill is to understand "no means no" but also to ensure the prospect understands you are available to help if they need to re-evaluate their decision that did not include you.The importance of credibility and trust, often starts with the enterprise sales professional knowing when to walk away from an opportunity where you know your solution is not appropriate. Buyers will respect your integrity, and your trust capital over the long term will grow.One fundamental step to being able to walk away from poor fit deals - investing more time in building a high quality, healthy pipeline. If you build more pipeline than you think is required, you will not force-fit your solution into opportunities you should have walked away from in the first place.We discussed their hot take that "opportunities close themselves". If the enterprise sales professionals manage the process by ensuring the buyer has all of the information they need to make a decision, that closing is a natural step, and not the primary objective!?We also discuss why Customer Success is not just a department - it is the responsibility of everyone who touches the customer, especially sales. In today's land and expand, recurring revenue model, having a Chief Revenue Officer who owns customer acquisition, expansion and retention is a key element to ensuring customer success is a culture...not just a function.Finally, we bring out the crystal ball by having Mark and Paul share their perspectives on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will impact Selling the Cloud...if you are an Enterprise sales professional you will like what they have to say which is AI will serve to decrease the time spent on administration and increase the time available to invest in serving the prospect!!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up podcast we are joined by Paul Melchiorre and Mark Petruzzi - authors of Selling the Cloud.Paul has over 30 years of experience in enterprise sales leadership, at leading companies including Anaplan, Ariba, SAP, and now in Private Equity. Mark brings over 30 years of experience in strategic consulting firms including Deloitte, N3, Accenture and operating roles at Oracle, and Ultimate Software.GRIT was the first topic we covered as a required attribute for every enterprise sales professional. Paul shared some of his best tips to identify grit during the interview process. Mark added the importance of passion as a critical component of the "WHY" behind grit.We also discuss "process versus playbook", and why flexibility differentiates good versus great in the SaaS industry. Paul shares why he believes that no one sales methodology is that much better than another and that the primary benefit is the standardization of language while also maintaining the flexibility to embrace the reality of each company.Playbooks that work at a large, established entity like Salesforce is most likely at a < $10M company without the same brand name recognition....flexibility is key.My favorite topic was discussing why "Discovery" is the most important phase of the sales process. Being able to ask meaningful questions, listen to the answers, and learning everything possible about why the buyer will really buy by putting yourself in their shoes...and it's not about your product's feature/function.Next, we discuss "3 Level Listening", which includes gathering data, identifying what is meaningful to the buyer, as an individual first before their company, and then applying it to your efforts. Mark shared how Charlie Green and his trusted advisor approach highlights the need to control your own ego, be present in listening, and focusing on truly understanding what the buyer is saying - active listening + thinking aloud.Paul then shares why "balance" of performance across the entire sales organization is so critical to building a high-performance organization. Balance was defined as having at least 70%+ of sales reps hitting quota.Finally, Mark shares the lessons he learned from Hollywood and why storytelling is so important to being a top-performing enterprise sales professional - especially customer stories!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

B2B Sales communities are all the rage in 2020. Sales Hacker, Modern Sales Pro, Bravado, Revenue Collective and now RevGenius are building B2B sales communities to provide experiences, connections, ideas, and research.Jared Robin, co-founder at RevGenius recently joined the podcast to share the story behind Rev Genius and his vision for the community."Necessity is the mother of invention" a catalyst for RevGenius as Jared contemplated the next step in his career journey due to the impact of COVID. Jared felt too many communities felt "exclusive" and were not truly open RevGenius started as a LinkedIn Group to share events for B2B sales professionalsJared's desire to include members across revenue teams, including marketing, sales development, RevOps, etc. was a goal to enhance "revenue team alignment" . Jared shared his thought that the path to CRO is not only through sales, so it's critical to gain insights, experiences, and connections across every revenue team functionThree key metrics to measure the success of RevGenius- Member Acquisition- Member Engagement- Monetization - not a top priority.....yetJared strongly believes that professionals need to take responsibility for growth, and not depend solely on the training and experiences you gain from their current employer. If you want to level-up or grow = community involvementTwo key thoughts for everyone to make the community vibrant- Always be Helping- Always be LearningIf you are interested in learning more about building on-line communities or to evaluate why you will join a revenue team community, this episode if chalked full of insights.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up podcast we are joined by Howard Brown, Founder and CEO of ringDNA.How does being a clinical psychologist lead to founding a Sales Engagement Platform company? Howard shares the common theme - helping individuals and companies overcome THEIR challengesKey topics discussed include that if B2B companies are too focused on internal processes leading versus the customer's motivation to buy. Sales training represents a major opportunity to improve alignment to the buyer's journey, especially the prospect's personal needs. Howard discusses why increasing business acumen is a significant area of opportunity.We also discuss that "coaching" is different from training and a large opportunity to increase sales productivity. You should be asking yourself, how much time are sales managers investing in 1:1 coaching versus administration, planning and managing versus coaching.Sales #1 job is to HELP buyers make a decision and it may not be your solution - play the long game. Too much focus on quarterly numbers versus customer needs can lead to short term gains at the expense of long term company valueHoward shares his insights are why Marketing, Sales and CS alignment STARTS with aligning to the buyer's journey AND starts at the top with the CEO! Howard experience is that Go-To-Market models need to be re-designed, centralized, and informed by customer journey dataHoward summarizes our discussion with the quote " We are moving to an Experience Economy" and companies that align to the customer journey will be the long term winners!!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Founding a B2B SaaS company is an exhilarating, yet high-risk experience. Creating a new market category at the same time even higher risk and often serves primarily to pave the path for second-generation market entrants who learn from the successes and failures of the first generation.Anurag Khemka, is a founding father of B2B Marketing Automation. Back in 1996, when the internet was first being commercialized, most B2B marketers were just starting to think about how to develop more personal, 1:1 relationships with potential customers.Anurag founded MarketFirst, the first generation of enterprise-class marketing automation technology. Developing the software was the easy part, educating an entire market on how to design, build, and execute B2B marketing campaigns on the internet was the real challenge.Marketing Automation is now one of the most mature segments of the MarTech market (8K+ companies). Marketing Operations is a mature, yet still evolving profession that was spawned out of the need to manage and maximize the return on Marketing Automation investments.Anurag is a founding father of both Marketing Automation and Marketing Operations, and for anyone who seeks to better understand how history predicts the future, you should listen to this episode!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up podcast - Court Lorenzini, Founding CEO at DocuSign discusses his journey to co-Founding DocuSign and then his decision to leave after five years to found two more companies.During our conversation, Court shared his unique path to DocuSign, including his father's legacy as a founding father of Silicon Valley and his habit of recording his observations of how people managed difficult situations starting at the age of 13.Court shares his belief that most CEO's are strongest or prefer one of the three stages that every start-up moves through including: 1) Napkin to Product-Market Fit; 2) Rapid Growth and; 3) Profitability. Court loves, and used the term "Fills my Cup" when discussing the joy he finds from starting companies and achieving Product-Market Fit.Court also shares his two key pieces of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs including: 1) Pressure test your idea rigorously to the point of trying to kill it early and often and; 2) Learn from predecessors who have attempted to blaze a similar path in your same market previously.Finally, Court shares his premise that founders created 70% of Terminal Value in the first five years of a companies life. So, if your cup is filled by creating and establishing product-market fit, and you believe in statistical probability, it may serve founders better to repeat the company creation process multiple times to optimize the probability of great success.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up podcast - David Appel, Head of the SaaS Vertical at Sage Intacct shares his insights and lessons learned from over 1,500+ SaaS financial solution implementations.During our conversation, David and Ray discuss several key attributes and approaches that SaaS CFOs take to ensure the data, metrics and KPIs they collect can tell the story of what the "financial data" is telling.Great finance leaders make sure financial information and KPIs get out to everyone as soon as possible to enable timely, data-driven, metrics information decision making. Great CEOs and CFOs ensure the measures that each department have in place are directly linked to the corporate objectives, and not allow functional leaders to primarily highlight those metrics that show their function in the best light, but not for the benefit of the entire company.Dave ends this episode with a quote from Steve Jobs "Building great companies is not dependant on the hierarchies that run companies, but they are built upon the ideas that run companies".See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up podcast, we talk with Jon Miller, co-founder of Marketo and Engagio, and now Chief Product Officer at Demandbase is a MarTech visionary. Marketo was purchased in 2018 by Adobe for $4.75B, and Engagio was recently acquired by Demandbase.Jon shared the B2B Marketing metrics that matter and the lessons learned in his personal career journey as a founding father and leading MarTech visionary.Jon shared how 1st gen Marketing Automation was designed to automate a linear process with discrete hand-offs between marketing and sales. We also discussed how today’s buying process requires insights into demand and buying intent BEFORE a buyer visits your website.We also discussed how the evolving land and expand customer acquisition model requires a non-linear, collaborative process between Marketing, Sales, and CSThe most interesting conversation for your host was Jon's perspective on the top KPIs for today's B2B Marketersincluding: 1) Pipeline Growth; 2) New + Expansion ARR; 3) Return on Investment. B2B Marketers still need leading indicator metrics that show how buyers are progressing across the buyer journey, such as stage by stage conversion, but measurements such as website visitors, leads, and content downloads are mostly vanity metrics.As a thought leader in Account-Based Marketing and Account-Based Sales, Jon highlighted this new Customer Acquisition and Expansion model requires new KPIs and benchmarksJon also discussed his decision to leave Marketo and why the time was right now to combine Engagio and DemandbaseJon's comment that he is driven to “build the next great marketing platform”, coupled with his career journey exemplifies his vision, commitment, and passion for marketing technology#SaaS #b2bmarketing #KPIsSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's episode of the Metrics that Measure Up podcast, Thomas Stewart, Executive Director for the National Center for the Middle Market shares some very interesting insights into the 200,000 companies that represent 1/3 of the American economy.Highlights included that 85% of Mid-market companies are private, 33% are family owned and 17% are in the manufacturing industry. On average, middle-market companies grow an average of 6.5% per year, 3% faster than the average S&P 500 company.Middle Market companies that view Digital Transformation as strategic and are advanced in adoption grow at an average of 9.5%, almost 50% faster than their peers.Lastly, middle-market companies buy technology very differently than larger, Enterprise companies. They typically will not pilot or test innovation, they will watch...watch....watch and then jump in headfirst. Definitely not your early adopter persona.A great listen for anyone responsible for doing business in the middle market - or just wants to learn more about the middle market.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In today's episode of the Metrics that Measure Up, Sally Duby, Chief Sales Officer at The Bridge Grop discussed the findings from their Sales Compensation research conducted in August, 2020 in partnership with the Silicon Valley Vice President Sales Group.Sally shares benchmarks and compensation trends across a wide variety of roles including Chief Revenue Officer, Field Sales - Account Executive, Inside Sales - Account Executive, Sales Development Representative, Sales Operations and Sales Enablement.The trends identified since the latest research The Bridge Group conducted in 2018 is quite surprising. In this episode we find unexpected trends in Equity, On-Target-Earnings by Annual Contract Value (ACV) and how Quotas vary so greatly based upon ACV.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up podcast, William Cordes, Founder and CEO of KPI Sense share the insights and perspectives gained from providing CFO and finance advisory services to SaaS companies.One interesting insight was when William shared that Days Sales Outstanding - the time from invoice to payment is the financial metric that has been impacted the most at B2B SaaS companies since COVID.Other key insights discussed include why detailed monthly financial reviews have increased in importance due to the impact of delayed cash receipts, decreased new ARR, and increased cash burn, how multiple scenario analysis + dynamic planning should be used for 2021 planning.We also discussed why the B2B SaaS industry needs more consistent KPI calculation and reporting for public and private SaaS companies - but not currently covered by SEC, FINRA, FASB or GAAP regulations.Lastly, William shares the core KPI foundation that is required for an early stage B2B SaaS company needs to have in place to successfully scale including:-a solid financial data infrastructure & data structure-standard rules to ingest transaction data for analysis-scalable process that works at $5M ARR and $50M ARR-quality data that is consistently maintainedSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up, Kristopher Beible, Vice President at Software Equity Group discusses the importance of Net Dollar Retention on SaaS company enterprise value, both for public and private companies.Based upon insights gained from over 100 private B2B SaaS company acquisitions, Kris shares how Net Dollar Retention & Gross Dollar Retention have become the top KPI that acquirers ask about in the early stage of private SaaS company acquisition due diligenceOther topics discussed include how private SaaS company acquirers have increased the priority of Gross and Net Dollar Retention rates since the on-set of COVID. We also discuss why companies need to develop a cohort-based understanding of customer acquisition costs and customer retention rates PRIOR to starting a strategic financing initiative. In fact, a cohort-based analysis should be applied to operational decisions 12-24 months prior to starting any investment process.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of the Metrics that Measure Up, Kyle Poyar, Vice President of Growth at OpenView Partners discusses a Product Led Growth Go-To-Market motion for B2B SaaS companies.High growth B2B SaaS companies like Zoom, Twilio, DataDog, Box and DocuSign have used a product-led go-to-market motion to decrease initial customer acquisition costs, expand the total addressable market and reduce dependency that an Enterprise sales led motion can have on getting executive buyers to engage.Topics discussed include how Gross Dollar and Net Dollar Retention Rates are different from sales led motions, critical KPIs and metrics that seem more B2C oriented and how understanding the marginal Customer Acquisition Costs for Enterprise led versus product-led cohorts is critical to understanding the overall CAC ratio.New terms and concepts for B2B SaaS leaders, including Product Qualified Leads, Natural Rate of Growth and how Free to Paid conversion rates are correlated to # touches are covered in this fast-moving, information-rich episode.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Metrics that Measure Up, we are joined by Byron Deeter, Partner at Bessemer Venture Partners, and one of the founding fathers of SaaS and Cloud Metrics.Byron first published the 10 Laws of being SaaSy in 2008. Over the years, B2B SaaS metrics evolved, and Byron subsequently published the 10 Laws of Cloud in 2019, which include the 6 C's of Cloud Finance.Over the years, BVP has led investments in leading Cloud Companies including DocuSign, Twilio, SendGrid, Eloqua, Shopify and LinkedIn, BVP, and specifically Byron have a world of insights and experience to share with the new entrepreneur, first-time founder and even experiences SaaS or Cloud executive.Bessemer also publishes the Cloud 100, which highlights the Top 100 private Cloud Companies and the BVP 100 Index of publicly traded SaaS and Cloud CompaniesIn today's episode we discuss the insights that the CAC Payback period provides as you evaluate how to accelerate ARR growth, the impact of "marginal" spend on non-organic and paid media customer acquisition.  Why you may need to identify your SECRET KPI, some examples of some predictive KPIs identified by Twillio, Docusign, and Shopify. Why conducting cohort-based Gross Dollar Retention and Net Dollar Retention Rates is critical to ensure you are not under-reporting churn.If you love SaaS and Cloud Metrics, or just want to take Byron's advice to be a scholar of the industry, this podcast is a must-listen.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Metrics that Measure Up, Chris Beall, CEO of ConnectandSell shares a wide variety of Key Performance Indicators and Benchmarks gained from over 10 million dials and over 500,000 B2B sales conversations - just in 2020!Chris, a Physicist by education, and self-professed data junkie provide a deeply analytical perspective into how to turn dials into conversations, and conversations into sales meetings.Chris even invokes the expertise of Chris Voss, formerly the FBI's top hostage negotiator, who says we only have 7 seconds in our first conversation with a prospect to get them to trust us sufficiently to have a productive relationship. In this episode, you will learn both benchmarks and techniques to turn dials into customers, including:Benchmarks:- Dials to Conversation- Conversation to Meeting (Cold calls and Follow-ups)- Meeting show rates- Conversations Per day (SDR and AE)Listen to this one closely, as the episode is data rich and keeps coming at you every minute.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Metrics that Measure Up, John Younger, Founder and Chief Collaborator at RecruiterShare shares his insights developed over his thirty-plus years of experience in all things talent acquisition. Over his career, John has developed talent acquisition software for Bank of America, led recruiting for two divisions at BofA with over 16,000 employees, founded a recruiting company acquired by TriNet, founded an early leader in Recruitment Process Outsourcing that he sold in 2018, and now is the founder of RecruiterShare.In this wide-ranging conversation, we cover a wide variety of talent acquisition topics and metrics to measure hiring success. Topics discussed include the three top talent acquisition metrics every SaaS company should track, including: 1) Days to Present the candidate hired; 2) Net Promoter Score for the recruiter and; 3) Business Impact the hired candidate delivers.Other items covered include the cost of a bad hire, the cost of a bad recruiter hire, and the Maslov's talent acquisition of value including the best fit candidate, the retention period of each new hire, and lastly the cost. John discusses the cost of a "bad hire" versus the traditional metrics of "Cost Per Hire".See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of "Metrics that Measure Up, Amy Volas shares her insights and perspectives on the concepts of side hustles and personal brand building for B2B sales professionals.Amy has seen every side of this topic, as an Enterprise Sales professional, a sales leader, and the founder and CEO of Avenue Talent Partners, which specializes in the recruitment of B2B sales reps, managers, and executive leaders.Amy and Ray discuss multiple topics, and provide experience-based advice including: 1) why money is not and should not be the primary motivation for a career in B2B Sales; 2) the power of "NO" when helping a prospective customer evaluate your solution, and company as a partner; 3) why preparation, practice always precede performance; 4) personal brand or company brand, which is your primary responsibility - is it time for a gut check on your priorities and; 5) Be as an ambassador of your brand and your company's brand by performing in your role as Job 1!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of "Metrics that Measure Up", Andy Paul, the host of The Sales Enablement Podcast and Ray discuss how and if the modern B2B Seller is different today than yesterday.Topics covered include the motivation of sellers to serve their customers and help them make an informed purchase decision, or providing buyers unique insights into a new way of approaching a business process.Why quota may be an outdated concept, and even why a famous British economist's research shows that when a measure becomes a target, it loses its value as a measure...think QUOTA!!!Andy also shares the differences between a "manager" and a "coach" and why companies should consider investing in professional coaches to help sales professionals to deliver maximum output. Within this discussion, we discuss the proven benefit of a positive mindset, why a functional organization may be outdated, and the possibility of instructing around customer acquisition, retention and growth versus sales, marketing and customer success.This episode is for anyone thinking about how to re-engineer the sales professional and accelerate revenue performance.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode, Sahil Mansuri, the Founder and CEO of Bravado, a network of over 70,000 sales professionals, discusses how yesterday's Quota and Compensation models are not relevant in today's, customer-centered world.Sahil shares his insights and perspectives on why sales compensation and quota setting needs to change. These insights have been developed from his experiences as a top salesperson, VP of Sales, Founder/CEO, and early-stage investor. Topics covered include:Why is the average tenure of a salesperson < 12 months and a VP Sales < 8 months?Why do < 50% of sales professionals hit quota?What are the roles of Product, Marketing and Sales defined for optimal success?Has the level of specialization negatively impacted the customer experience?Are there just too many SaaS companies in each market segment?What role does the CEO play in ensuring the revenue plan is reasonable?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Metrics that Measure Up, our guest - Jason Reichl, CEO of Go Nimbly answers a wide variety of questions on the evolving function of Revenue Operations.Topics include why Revenue Operations should own their own quota number, how revenue operations will increase ARR Growth by 10% - 26%, and why Jason believes that Revenue Operations will be to customer experience and ARR growth what the Agile methodology was to software development and how lean manufacturing transformed the automotive industry.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sales Development is a rapidly growing professional for early career professionals in the B2B SaaS industry.David Dulany, founder and CEO of Tenbound was an early industry thought leader for Sales Development in the SaaS Industry.In today's Metrics that Measure Up, David and Ray discuss findings from their recent research that highlights how the Sales Development function has changed since the initial impact of COVID-9See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Martyn Lewis, author of How Customers Buy and Why They Don't: Mapping and Managing the Buying Journey DNA shares his insights from interviewing thousands of buyers.Martyn shares how The Buying Journey trumps the Sales Process, and that Buyers do not typically buy logically or rationally.Other topics include why your value proposition is just not enough and assuming that you understand the buyer journey is so dangerous.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

During the very first session of the Metrics than Measure Up podcast, Ben Murray - The SaaS CFO shares his insights and perspectives on the RevOps Squared KPI Framework and the Five First KPIs.Ben provides his feedback on how SaaS companies can take advantage of Key Performance Indicators like Rule of 40, CAC Ratio, Gross and Net Dollar Retention, Gross Margin, and Customer Lifetime Value to CAC to make smarter, more timely decisions.Come learn on when and how to use metrics that measure up to increase the Enterprise Value of your B2B SaaS company.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.