Wed.Jun 18, 2025

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Dear SaaStr: Should I Hire a Sales Consultant as My First Sales Rep?

SaaStr

Dear SaaStr: Should I Hire a Sales Consultant as My First Sales Rep? No, you shouldn’t hire a sales consultant as your first sales rep. Here’s why: As the founder, you need to be the one to close the first 10–20 customers yourself. This isn’t just about getting deals done—it’s about deeply understanding your sales process, your customers, and what works (and doesn’t) in your pitch.

Consult 99
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AI can’t create meaning — that’s still marketing’s job

Martech

Every day, we hear how AI is reshaping marketing. Need 100 social posts tomorrow? Done. Launch a campaign before lunch? No problem. Automation is accelerating everything — but speed alone isn’t a strategy. In 2025, 88% of digital marketers use AI in their daily workflow and the AI-in-marketing market is set to hit $27 billion this year. The broader AI industry?

GTM 103
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Can AI Really Replace Salespeople? (Ask Jeb)

Sales Gravy

That's the question every sales leader, CEO, and HR department is wrestling with as AI tools flood the market with promises to automate everything from prospecting to closing deals. Meanwhile, salespeople are panicking, wondering if their jobs are about to disappear to some algorithm that can write emails faster than they can type "Dear Valued Customer.

CRM 97
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5 Interesting Learnings from Okta at $2.75 Billion in ARR

SaaStr

So Okta rose to rapid growth and IPO as the stand-alone leader in enterprise identity for apps, acquired Auth0 to own it for developers, and now coming up on $3 Billion in ARR, it has settled into a more mature state: $2.75B in ARR Growing 12%, projected to slow to 10% Non-GAAP operating margins of 27% Free Cash Flow margins of 35% (!) $18B market cap, so ~6x ARR Net net it’s a story of new customer growth of 7% combined with slowing NRR of 106%.

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Smart Tools & Strong Teams: A People-First Approach to AI in Sales

Speaker: Matt Sunshine, CEO at The Center for Sales Strategy

AI isn’t replacing salespeople—it’s empowering them. The most forward-thinking sales organizations are using AI to enhance human performance rather than eliminate it. From coaching and messaging to prospecting and pipeline accountability, artificial intelligence is giving managers and SDRs the new tools they need to work smarter, sell better, and close more.

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CMOs, CEOs and marketers are all struggling with martech data issues

Martech

Three major surveys released between Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 offer distinct yet complementary views on martech and organizational readiness: The CMO Survey (Duke University). MarTech’s State of Your Stack Survey. Gartner’s CEO and Senior Business Executive Survey. Despite differences in methodology and audience, a cross-analysis reveals troubling patterns in how organizations navigate technology transformation.

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Nimble CRM Tips & Updates – June 18, 2025

Adaptive Business Services

This has not yet been announced, but I was looking at Nimble’s import routines in preparation for a client meeting and … there is now an option to “Import Resume”. Interesting:) I decided to test it out to see what it might do. What is a LinkedIn profile? It’s a resume. So, I created a PDF of a person’s profile and I uploaded it. Nimble parsed that information, via AI, and created a perfect contact record!

CRM 71

More Trending

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High Productivity in Times of High Turmoil

The Advantexe Advisor

You don’t have to be the most intelligent person in the world to realize that people are distracted and can easily lose focus in times of turmoil. The headlines scream something new and unexpected every day, ranging from tariffs, wars, regulatory shifts, and political upheaval, while everyone is still expected to wake up, go to work, and cope with it all.

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Hyper Adaptive: Redefining organizations in the age of AI

Martech

In this episode of Playbook Broken, I dive into the rapidly changing landscape of marketing, driven by AI and automation. Featuring Melissa Reeve, a 25-year marketing veteran, a MarTech contributor and co-founder of the Agile Marketing Alliance and Marketing Frontier.ai, the conversation explores the concept of Hyper Adaptive organizations. Melissa discusses her upcoming book, organizational restructuring and the need for dynamic governance over static playbooks.

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12 Free Webinars for Small Business Owners (2025)

Salesforce

The world is changing fast, and so is the way businesses grow. A marketing tactic that worked last year might be outdated today. But keeping up with new strategies, tools, and trends can be overwhelming when you’re running a small and medium-sized business (SMB). Webinars help you stay ahead. Get updates on trends, insights from industry leaders, and strategies that keep your business competitive.

CRM 52
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What Most Founders Miss About the First $1M with Mike Zayonc

Predictable Revenue

Mike Zayonc, co-founder at Kodif, shares what finding real traction looks like: testing, selling, and staying close to the problem. The post What Most Founders Miss About the First $1M with Mike Zayonc appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

Closing 52
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How to Coach Reps on Overcoming Sales Objections with Confidence

Speaker: Brendan Sweeney, VP of Global Sales and David Phelan, Account Executive

In a world where buyers are more informed and objections are more nuanced, confidence isn't optional—it’s a competitive advantage. In high-stakes conversations, knowing how to handle pushback can make or break the deal. Join industry experts Brendan Sweeney and David Phelan for a behind-the-scenes look at how teams are transforming sales coaching with real-time feedback, objection-handling role plays, and pre-call preparation that actually sticks.

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Supermetrics acquires real-time CDP Relay42

Martech

Consolidation struck the customer data platform (CDP) market again today, as Supermetrics announced the acquisition of real-time CDP vendor Relay42. Supermetrics calls itself a marketing intelligence platform and helps simplify data integration and management for brands and agencies. Founded in 2013, Helsinki-based Supermetrics analyzes 15% of global ad spend.

CRM 64
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The Neuroscience of Fandom

David Meerman Scott

When we’re near people we trust, when we are with our tribe, a personal connection develops. This is a survival technique developed over thousands of generations and is an important component of fandom.

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What CMOs Are Doubling Down On Now (And Why You Should, Too)

G2

At G2 , our Executive Advisory Board (EAB) plays a crucial role in shaping our go-to-market strategy. Comprised of visionary marketing and revenue leaders from the industry’s leading B2B organizations, this group brings together voices from the frontlines - and we’re talking about the biggest challenges we’re facing - change.

B2B 52
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Flattery in sales: 12 real email templates that prove that flattery will get you anywhere

Hubspot

Is it true that flattery will get you everywhere? In my experience, flattery in sales will at least earn you 20 more seconds of a prospect’s time — and that may be just the opening you need. Salespeople love to talk about whatever product or service they’re selling. Unfortunately, every time a salesperson does this, a kitten dies. Instead of giving a product-focused pitch, you need to show that you’ve been paying attention to your prospect’s victories and challenges.

Pitch 74
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New Research-Backed Strategies to Empower Managers as Culture & Engagement Leaders

Speaker: Beth Sunshine, SVP, Up Your Culture

When culture isn’t consistently lived out across the organization, engagement suffers—and it often starts with a disconnect at the top. In this session, Beth Sunshine, SVP of Up Your Culture at The Center for Sales Strategy, will reveal how HR and executive leaders can close the gap between vision and execution by equipping frontline and mid-level managers to become culture carriers.

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Only 37% of 2019 VC Funds Have Returned Capital: Inside the Numbers That Show Why VC Fundraising Has Gotten So Hard

SaaStr

The Brutal Reality of VC Returns: What Carta’s Latest Data Reveals About the State of Venture Capital A deep dive into the performance crisis hitting venture funds and what it means for founders, LPs, and the entire ecosystem TL;DR: The Great VC Performance Reset is Underway Per the latest Carta performance data , only 37% of 2019 venture funds have returned ANY capital to their LPs after 5 years.

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7 Best EOR Platforms for Software Companies in 2025

G2

Global hiring sounds exciting. But there’s a catch: figuring out local labor laws, tax compliance, payroll, and benefits in a country you’ve never set foot in? That’s not something most software companies want to juggle while shipping features and fixing bugs. Relying on contractors can lead to misclassification, penalties, and messy team dynamics. That’s why they turn to the best employer of record (EOR) platforms for software companies.

Price 75
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Breaking Free From Spreadsheets: How Scheduling Optimization Transformed a Field Service Operation

Salesforce

For field service teams, the difference between reactive chaos and proactive control often comes down to one thing: scheduling. As a consultant, I’ve seen how scheduling optimization isn’t just a technical upgrade — it’s an organizational breakthrough. In one of my recent projects, I helped a construction company make the leap from a fragile, spreadsheet-run operation to a scalable, optimized scheduling system powered by Salesforce Field Service.

Service 66