SaaStr

MARCH 20, 2024

What he’s learned on both sides of the VC table is that the bar is really high for most VCs. For instance, Founders Fund doesn’t really invest in AI, health tech, or edtech, even if you’re growing 5x. It’s wasn’t 1 out of 10 companies he spoke with that the fund was really excited about.

Quota 102

Quota Finance Drivers/motivators GTM 102

SaaStr

MARCH 11, 2024

So you’re hiring your first few sales reps in the early days? Before you have a great VP of Sales? So you need a very certain type of sales rep. Let me give you a checklist of a few signs they won’t work out: #1. If they send you a professional message ahead of time, that they need to push?

Sales 92

Sales Up-sell Promote Meeting 92

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

We’ve written a lot on SaaStr on how to increase the odds your first management team is a success. How to hire a great VP of Sales (tons on that here ). What a great VP of sales really does. What a great VP of marketing really does (tons on that here ). How to manage customer success. About this and that.

Engineering 141

Engineering Pipeline Inside sales Growth 141

SaaStr

OCTOBER 5, 2021

We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about great sales professionals, on driving up Revenue Per Lead, on not capping sales comp systems, and on why you need to manage out your worst reps (because leads are precious). Let’s do that — it is eye-opening: This is what happens in the real world. How does this happen?

Closing 141

Closing Quota Pitch Gaming 141

SaaStr

DECEMBER 29, 2023

Catch up on the first half here if you missed it. In part two we head into IPO waters, how to incorporate AI into your products, the best way to drive employee performance, pricing models, and much more. Q: How do you stand out in terms of customer acquisition against large competitors who aren’t incorporating AI?

Customers 92

Customers Price Growth Construction 92

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about how to hire a Great VP of Sales. If you can avoid most things on this list — your odds of success go up. 15 Things Not to Do as a First-Time VP of Sales: Pretending you know how to do something you don’t. Do not do this.

Quota 138

Quota Sales Drivers/motivators Up-sell 138

Sales Hacker

FEBRUARY 20, 2023

Related: Is a Revenue Operations Career Right for You? But every leader deep in the search knows it’s not. Make your first Revenue Operations hire: Challenges For one, a new hire’s to-do list is usually longer than one person can handle. Each candidate you interview will have a unique set of strengths (and weaknesses).

Strategize 71

Strategize Consult Growth CRM 71

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

So you expect the right things, and hire your rockstar at the right time to do the right things. The second post is a script for you to use (and modify as you see fit) – 10 Great Questions to Ask a VP Sales Candidate. So you hire someone that really did it, and can do it — not a pretender.

X-functional 145

X-functional Cross-sell Sales Up-sell 145

Gong.io

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

We analyze sales conversations and deals using AI, then share the results to help you win more deals. I wanted to know if there was some unknown factor that had influenced my decision. But video was a differentiator that had nothing to do with the product. But video was a differentiator that had nothing to do with the product.

Commission 152

Commission Sales Up-sell Follow-up 152

SaaStr

DECEMBER 1, 2023

Read the Ultimate Guide to Hiring a Great VP of Sales ebook or What Makes a Great VP of Sales and How to Hire One blog post. While this topic isn’t new, you want to avoid getting this hire wrong. Founders are attracted to folks who know the sales process and can talk about recruiting, NRR, GRR, and ARR. There’s no way.

Quota 60

Quota Gaming Sales Up-sell 60

SaaStr

DECEMBER 11, 2021

We’ve talked about how all the Second Timers are hiring in customer success way early , ahead of sales, ahead of revenue. Even when they know they shouldn’t. Even when they know they shouldn’t. and second, it can be hard to find someone good , especially in the early days. But you can’t.

Customers 111

Customers Referrals Contract Promote 111

SaaStr

JANUARY 26, 2021

It’s just, when you do, you’ll overlook too many of their weakness, and give them too much credit for their competitive experience. Only hire them if you still would if they worked somewhere else. The time will come when you are first tempted to hire someone from your competitor. Hiring from your Competitor.

Start-ups 85

Start-ups Engineering Product Sales 85

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 8, 2023

“I don’t know about you, but I fail a lot,” Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight, says as his opener at SaaStr Annual 2023. Maybe you feel SaaS is crushing it this year, but it’s not easy for a lot of folks. Maybe you feel SaaS is crushing it this year, but it’s not easy for a lot of folks. Or are the most critical?

X-functional 94

X-functional Contract Growth Quota 94

Salesforce

JULY 28, 2021

If you’ve listened to any of this season’s #BossTalks , Salesforce Chief Philanthropy Officer Ebony Beckwith’s LinkedIn Live show, you likely have heard her talk about Team E, her personal board of directors. You may even already have your crew and not even realize it. . Scroll down to read the transcript and watch the episode.

Sports 98

Sports Follow-up Meeting Networking 98

Partners in Excellence

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

It’s too much time to find that 5% who want to talk, and if they really do, they’ll reach out to you anyway, inbound is so much easier. Think about all the time you are wasting. You are sending those 1000’s of emails–granted, it doesn’t really take that much time, you’ve automated it.

Prospecting 98

Prospecting Referrals Follow-up Product 98

ClickFunnels

JULY 7, 2021

In fact, many entrepreneurs believe, Russell Brunson and Jon Morrow included, that in today’s world, you can reasonably expect to make about $1 per month per subscriber. If you’re just getting started, then you might target influencers with less influence because they’ll be more accessible. 25 influential writers in your niche.

Lead generation 246

Lead generation Niche Sales Pitch 246

SaaStr

JUNE 28, 2020

A debate so many start-ups go through is what to do about a Just OK VP of Sales they’ve hired. How do we define this? Things just get better almost every month and every quarter after you hire her: Revenue per lead goes up. Maybe close rates don’t really go up, but deal size does. Things accelerate.

Sales 102

Sales Growth Start-ups Closing 102

SaaStr

APRIL 14, 2023

Many startups crash and burn when they hit the Series A crunch — that do-or-die time where many seem to lose their footing even if they’ve been successful up to that point. Sometimes you just need a check, but when you can choose the check, take the time to vet investors properly. Can they help with your specific needs?

Drivers/motivators 86

Drivers/motivators Legal Negotiate Up-sell 86

SaaStr

APRIL 8, 2021

A few thoughts if you haven’t raised venture capital before: 1. Remember you have to prove yourself, still. Yes, you got the $$$, and they really can’t get it back, and probably they can’t fire you if they don’t control the board. So continue to build trust. And help them prep.

X-functional 90

X-functional Trust Meeting Presentation 90

Heinz Marketing

FEBRUARY 4, 2021

I was literally faced with this reality recently when building a fire in our fireplace. It’s been a little cold here outside of Seattle so we’ve been doing a fire most nights. I stopped to sit down and read it and it reminded me how much the world has changed. It reminded me how different our jobs are now.

Negotiate 140

Negotiate Cross-sell Prospecting Up-sell 140

Heinz Marketing

MARCH 19, 2020

“I know they have a job to do, but it’s a little tone deaf to keep pushing when we’re scrambling for our lives here,” she said. “I don’t think these companies realize the reputation damage they are doing right now.” Be even more precise about who you’re calling, when and why.

Inside sales 91

Inside sales Represent Sales Up-sell 91

Martech

JUNE 24, 2022

” you answer in a voice filled with dread. I won’t start this process by listing all the trends you need to follow, the shopping forecasts and how inflation and uncertainty and COVID and yada-yada-yada will help or hurt holiday sales. How ’bout those [insert football/hockey/baseball/soccer team name here]?).

E-commerce 105

E-commerce Retail Start-ups Follow-up 105

Sales Hacker

NOVEMBER 13, 2020

You started your career in sales because someone said you’d be good at it. You’re outgoing and competitive, so you should be great at sales… Right? While these are both excellent traits for salespeople to have, there’s a lot more to it if you want to succeed in sales. Maybe you played high school or college sports.

Drivers/motivators 113

Drivers/motivators Sports Sales Quota 113

Salesforce

APRIL 13, 2023

That’s how relationship selling works. Trust leads to loyalty, and loyal customers spread the word, keep buying over time, and spend more money when they do. First, customers need to feel you have their best interests at heart. Second, they have to believe you know what you’re talking about. How are you doing?”

Sell 98

Sell Trust Up-sell Drivers/motivators 98

Partners in Excellence

JUNE 29, 2023

So thank you, Lahat! They were knowledgeable, they were focused, they did the things managers seem to do. Some were very directive (usually the horrible ones.), “Do these things, then get back to me.” ” And when I didn’t do those things, they would lash out. Some were not really engaged.

Start-ups 68

Start-ups Conversion Meeting Growth 68

Hubspot

MAY 7, 2024

Why do I bring this up in the context of entrepreneurship? No matter your niche, product, or service, and no matter how prepared you are, your business will throw you a curveball. I tell you this from experience. I had to walk through the fire (while practicing self-compassion) and lean into my support network.

Start-ups 63

Start-ups Teamwork Follow-up Service 63

SaaStr

APRIL 5, 2021

Most SaaS CEOs don’t truly get fired. As you can see here , the vast majority of public SaaS companies are in fact run by founder-CEOs. Most seed and early-stage investors, the very last thing they want to do is fire a CEO. So why do they get fired, if no one really wants to do this?

Legal 68

Legal Finance Growth Up-sell 68

Adaptive Business Services

MARCH 9, 2022

It took me a long time to find my niche, but I’ll let you in on a little secret. There’s a career path for you. I have to really love what I am doing. I have to know that the company cares about it’s people and it’s customers. I’ll tell you another thing. I know what I want and need. How about you?

Niche 71

Niche Electricity Retail B2C 71

Sales Hacker

JUNE 20, 2023

After the first shot, I thought that someone had popped a bottle of champagne. You’re probably thinking, “What does this have to do with sales?” I had structured a very systematized sales journey and I knew exactly how to get a prospect from stage 1 to stage closed. People running in every direction in the crowded brewery.

Sell 93

Sell Commission Pitch Quota 93

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 28, 2022

Back to getting on jets, doing real events and field marketing, but also … living primarily distributed start-up lives, on top of Zoom. A few ideas on how to help the sales team make this your best year so far: Hire dedicated sales / revenue ops. Get them more leverage to do what they do best. Do the opposite.

Quota 97

Quota Sales Contract Start-ups 97

Salesmate

AUGUST 18, 2021

Busting the myth – Do more calls really equal to more leads? . You can‘t keep making calls without putting thought into how the call impacts your leads and potential prospects. . You can‘t keep making calls without putting thought into how the call impacts your leads and potential prospects. .

Cold Call 135

Cold Call Pitch Technique Appointment 135

SaaStr

DECEMBER 9, 2020

But really, it is for a sense of purpose. . Slack: founders didn't know business software, starting it as a gaming company. Those weren't really great reasons in the end, however. It's generally about 12 months after an investment that I really, truly understand what the startup does. Career advancement.

Niche 109

Niche Start-ups Gaming Up-sell 109

SalesBlog!

APRIL 26, 2022

For the life of me I can not figure out how threatening a persons income has become a “stick” for sales training. You could always not get paid”, “Your commission will be cut if you don’t…, You screwed up… which cost me. and now is going to cost you!”. Why would someone do that?

Commission 52

Commission Non-Profits Government Contract 52

Heinz Marketing

OCTOBER 12, 2020

If you’re not already subscribed to Sales Pipeline Radio , or listening live every Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Pacific you can find the transcription and recording here on the blog every Monday morning. You can subscribe right at Sales Pipeline Radio and/or listen to full recordings of past shows everywhere you listen to podcasts!

Pipeline 133

Pipeline Cold Call Sales Clients 133

Lead Fuze

JULY 8, 2021

Without an effective sales hiring process, you’re going to churn through rep after rep. Given enough time, you’ll hire a dud. In our last round of sales recruitment, we actually had to fire someone on their first day. In our last round of sales recruitment, we actually had to fire someone on their first day.

Process 98

Process Sales Cold Call Contact 98

SaaStr

APRIL 1, 2021

Really, there’s nothing I’ve done in my life that is harder than being a founder CEO. Given that almost bipolar combination of experiences … and that in SaaS it’s just plain harder, because there are so many more functional areas you need, early … how can we have more fun? Otherwise, Just Wait.

Finance 107

Finance Start-ups Engineering Up-sell 107

Salesforce

SEPTEMBER 12, 2022

Here, people do the work outlined in their job description, but don’t put in extra hours at the expense of their wellbeing. While you may not be able to satisfy everyone, there are steps every manager can take to build happier, more engaged, and ultimately more productive teams. Here are a few you can begin to implement today.

Territory 98

Territory Contract Conversion Start-ups 98