Alex Lindahl

Do not read this post if your quota attainment per seller is >70%, Average Deal Sizes have grown >2x in the last year and if you don't need more Sales Pipeline. For those of you that do, I'm proud to announce a revolutionary way for your GTM teams to drive productivity with DatabookGPT. But, don't listen to me, listen to our customers: “As we pilot the new DatabookGPT, we find it’s driving down the creation of our initial account plans from seven weeks to seven minutes,” said Chris Smith, Chief Strategy Officer at Grant Thornton. “It's a game changer." "Every AE at Databricks lives by our value of 'customer obsessed.' Understanding the value the Data Intelligence Platform delivers for every customer is essential. DatabookGPT was built on Databricks and supports our sellers by giving them that account intelligence," said Ron Gabrisko, Chief Revenue Officer at Databricks. "Through our teams' use of Databook, we saw our average deal size increase by 54.8%?in FY24", said Kirsty Mundy, WW Field Enablement Microsoft, Industry Solutions Delivery Learn more at www.databook.com. It's Generally Available now for companies looking to grow their deal sizes, shorten their sales cycles, and grow pipeline. #accountintelligence #enterprisesales #strategicrelationshipmanagement

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Great conversation with Joey Brodsky! Definitely one of the sharpest guys I know. I love his passion, drive and unique perspectives. I have followed his podcast for a long time and was super happy to be able to be a guest. I will share more insights from our time together but wanted to post a quick thank you to Joey and share the episode. #NextGenSales

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The Quoting Struggle is Real ?? Let’s be real—how often have you had to tweak a quote manually because your CPQ just didn’t get it right? For Account Executives, quoting should be fast, flexible, and focused on the customer. But with most CPQs, it’s anything but. These tools are often too rigid, forcing you into templates and workflows that don’t reflect the actual deal you’re working on. And when quoting becomes a headache, deals slip through the cracks. It’s time to bring the focus back to the “Q” in CPQ.

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In my almost 6 years at Clari, helping companies improve their GTM, these are the top 10 reasons revenue growth grinds to a halt: 1 - Data is locked away in silos 2 - Teams are misaligned and working towards different goals 3 - There are too many tools and not enough integration 4 - Revenue leaders are flying blind without a strong forecast 5 - Outdated workflows are slowing down progress 6 - Revenue leaks are letting valuable opportunities slip by 7 - Teams aren’t getting real-time data or feedback 8 - Manual tasks are eating into selling time 9 - There’s poor communication within and across teams 10 - Too many tools and not enough integration Spot these issues to prevent revenue from stalling. Solve them to keep your growth on track.?

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Salesforce Sales Cloud just released its 6th State of Sales report last week aggregating insights from 5500 sales professionals across 27 countries ?? Sales growth is back where 79% of sales leaders say revenue has increased over the last year ?? Sikkkk! But the "how" looks different this time around... For example: Partner selling is contributing to growth in meaningful ways. Enablement is rightfully emerging as a top growth lever ?? Another surprising stat: 83% of teams that adopted AI saw an increase in revenue over the past year vs 66% of teams without AI. Causation or Correlation? ???♀? Yet another stark reality is that 70% of a sellers time is spent on non selling tasks. ?? Everything from researching accounts to manually entering things into the CRM to sitting in hours n hours of internal meetings... I dream of a world in the future where AI can help us with rethinking : 1?? Smart list building 2?? Automated pipeline management and 3?? Real time enablement in the future!! Just imagine a world where you don't need to trainings or the same forecast call every week!! ?? Check out the report in the first comment for more sales insights!! #stateofsalesreport #salesforce #genai #salesorgs

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Wondering how to merge PLG and SLG for maximum impact? Japna Sethi talks about how they made this work at companies like Dropbox, Productboard, and Calendly. She calls it "defining the API" between the two growth motions so the right PLG leads get passed on to your sales team and shares the details on the approaches at the companies she has worked. For the full episode: https://lnkd.in/d-2ZAvir

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This Salesforce blog by Amber Armstrong (Oberg) is ?? . Stat below but TL;DR: 86% of buyers want their goals understood but nearly 60% say sales reps don't understand them. SELLERS: if you take the time to understand your prospect's goals, you will win. Good old fashioned being a good human and working hard ALWAYS wins the day. Buyers demand personalization* 18. 86% of business buyers are more likely to buy if companies understand their goals. 19. But 59% say most sales reps don’t take the time to understand them. 20. 84% of business buyers expect sales reps to act as trusted advisors. 21. But 73% say most sales interactions feel transactional. *The data in this section comes from from the Salesforce?State of the Connected Customer report.

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Wondering where B2B SaaS buyers pause in their decision-making journey? Wynter's 2024 B2B SaaS Buyer’s Report provides some answers. Key findings: ?? Brand matters. ? 58% of execs rely on their peers to create a shortlist. ? 78% only shortlist 3 vendors. ?? Buyers self-educate. ? 91% come to a meeting already familiar with the vendor by researching the vendor’s website and using interactive demos. ?? Combine PLG with SLG. ? 50% of buyers prefer buying through a sales motion. ? Sales presentation, demos, and 3rd?party reviews add the most value in the buying decision-making process. The report provides more evidence that B2B product teams need to: ?? Leverage the Why (Mission) and What (Vision) to nurture trust and motivate word-of-mouth socialization and positive reviews. ?? Demonstrate empthy to foster a community by developing Mission, Vision, and Strategy, Roadmap, and Positioning from the perspective of customers so they can easily relate how the product helps them achieve progress toward targeted outcomes, overcome problems, and create value. ?? Show customers the story of the product through self-service access to interactive demos to propel PLG and complement SLG. Link to report: https://lnkd.in/eY57U7tx

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The same page… AEs, SDRs, CSMs & renewal managers How are you tracking to your goal achievements ??? Some mid-year reminders for the team. - Re-align to find out what has changed in your shared account(s) - Stay connected on a regular cadence - Build report and trust - you want to rely on each other - Meet in person if possible - see previous bullet - Enable tough feedback sessions - so important - Share current customer status and revisit top priorities - Strive for a unified front & strategy - Known when to engage leadership - target this as a step - Share your success metrics, KPIs, and percent to goal Success is a #team sport Have a great day!

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How can you be more strategic in RevOps? - Move from report jockey to strategic advisor? Here’s a tangible example: - Suppose we’re running a Pipeline Council meeting... - We start showing CQ pipeline and forecast are on target Then, we show the pipe gen for the next quarter is not on track. Here’s how we could tackle the conversation: ???????? ?????? ???? ??????????????????? - This slide shows our pipeline for next quarter. - Current progress is $1M against a target of $3M - We’re behind pace to hit that $3M target on time. ?????????? ?????? ???? ???????? ?????????????? ????? - This will impact one of our major KPIs… - New business bookings for next quarter.” ?????? ???? ?????????? ???? ????????????? - We have about 40 more days here - To increase our pipeline generation - In order to close the gap we have today ???????? ???? ?????? ????????????? - If we stay at the same pace - We’ll likely only reach $2.2M in pipeline. - We would likely miss next quarter’s revenue targets. ?????????? ???? ?????? ??????????????: - We can see the issue is in the enterprise segment. - We’re creating about 1/3rd the opportunities we need ???????????????????? ???? ?? ????????????????: - We’d suggest having a 2nd meeting - Looping in marketing and field sales - To brainstorm a one-off campaign here - And how we can close this gap together ???????? ???? ???? ???? ?????? ??????????: - Other ideas to beef up pipe gen in the next 40 days? This is the fundamental difference in being strategic - We’re identifying a root issue and a potential solution - We’re making it easy for leadership to respond to this data - Not asking them to analyze data and make conclusions alone But what do you think? What would you add here? ?? More on this in in yesterday’s ?? ???????????? ???????????? ?? Get it here: https://bit.ly/4cDUcVO ??

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Was doing another workshop with the Autodesk digital sales team last night We were reviewing a conversation with a lead who’d come inbound asking for a discount before going dark when told “no discounts soz” My first question was “has anyone called this guy?” ?????? I said “We’re gonna call him now” A rep said “Who’s going to call him?” I said “F**k it, I’ll do it” Buzzed the guy on speaker and learned he had just started a new role He’d been a user of AutoCAD at his past company but because they’d signed up in 2018 he’d been on legacy pricing So there was sticker shock when he went to go get a new license and the price was higher than he was used to He was nervous about starting a new gig and immediately asking his boss to fork out for something the company hadn’t ever felt they needed But he had enjoyed using AutoCAD in the past, knew it was the best CAD on the market, and didn’t want to learn a new sub-par cheap software which could lead to him giving his new boss substandard floor plans or hurting his productivity when he was trying to make an impact in his first month on the job We agreed he’d use a monthly license, do up some designs, get his boss bought in, and get a bit more settled in. All so we could help justify asking annual license in November - Next step booked. After the workshop one of the top reps stayed behind and said to me: “You didn’t even blink before making that call, then you made it seem so effortless and casual with that prospect despite the fact you’ve never sold at AutoDesk, I get clammy even thinking about that and sound like a business robot on the phone” Here’s the thing - I was nervous as HECK making a call in front of an entire team regarding a solution I knew very little about But my nerves were overrode by my pride, I didn’t have a choice How can I tell people to “pick up the phone and call them” if I’m not willing to do that myself? I’ve already got enough imposter syndrome from not being in a pure sales role for 3 years but still talking about sales everyday That means I’ve got to put my money where my mouth is if I want to keep doing this Recommend all sales leaders, trainers, and senior sellers do the same The room was visibly fired up to make some calls afterwards “if this fool who doesn’t even work here can do it, so can I”

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?? Check out DocsCube 2.0 on Product Hunt! (I'm an investor) DocsCube 2.0 simplifies organizing sales and customer onboarding into a single, shareable deal room. Effortlessly map your deal flow, set up client portals, and manage proposals, follow-ups, and onboarding checklists. Key features include: - B2B Deal Rooms - Forms & Workflow Automation - Documents & Unlimited eSignatures Join the conversation and show your support: https://lnkd.in/g75-c3xZ

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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."

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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."

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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/g9gnGrdz??

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Reclaim the Q in CPQ ?? If your CPQ isn’t helping you quote better, it’s failing you. Account Executives need tools that work the way they do—quickly, efficiently, and with the flexibility to adapt to every unique deal. Focus on solutions that prioritize quoting, so you can focus on what really matters: closing deals.

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Salesforce lost $50 billion in market cap. Sales in 2024 = smaller + longer deals. Is "Signal-led sales" the saviour? Here's how to stay afloat ?? Build a system that looks at strategic value, not volume. If you think AI and fully automated SDRing will land you more deals, you're wrong. Everyone else is doing it. It only adds to the noise. There are 28 moments of influence on the buyer's journey, 4 of them have to do with your company directly... so if you're just blasting those 4 channels, you'll quickly exhaust anyone who even remotely cares. Instead? Consider this workflow: 1) Leverage a tool like Common Room to identify community, product, social, marketing, website, engagement and more from potential buyers. 2) Enrich contact data with tools like Apollo.io - 3rd party data is still critical to building out your CRM and getting high-level details. 3) Identify a partner presence with Reveal to further prioritize accounts based on partner signals. 4) Consolidate this into Clay and run the plays based on how you've aggregated all of your data and prioritized accordingly. 5) Bring everything into Aligned while you're actively selling to deliver the right relevancy. Examples of signals: - Marketing webpage visits - Increased social engagement - New customer won by partners - Recent community engagement - Visiting your partner's marketplace - Activity status within the tool (if free) - New opportunities opened by partners - Attending a webinar (ideally partnered) Examples signals we use internally. We: - Have a tiered free user base - Leverage real-time platform usage data - Aggregate marketing engagement (content + events) - Use 3rd party data like "recent funding announcement" - Generate reports + messaging for good health customers of partners - Pull in partners' data right into our CRM, like module purchases, account health, account activity, etc. Here's your old world vs new world comparison: ?????? ?????????? ?????????????? ?????? ?????????? = spray and pray, maybe getting a lead list of super high-level market signals, and likely using automated personalization with no real relevancy. ?????? ?????????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? = specific targets that are actually showing intent, have already engaged with your ecosystem, and you target them with a well-defined message of relevant value. Who would you rather buy from? And realistically... how would you prefer to sell? Conversations that MAYBE convert? Or high quality, relevant calls much more likely to convert? BTW - Catch Superglue's latest newsletter about partner signals? If you're in #partnerships the same applies. Route signals to the right people at the right time with the right information. I'm a big fan of Superglue for partner teams to stay on-trend with signal-led selling. If you don't leverage signals, you'll be left behind & you'll be delivering less value to clients. The customer is your boss. Treat them accordingly. #sales #nearbound

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“The eye of the storm”, There are a dozen GTM motions in use today. The most popular GTM motions are Inbound, Outbound, Targeted (ABM), Channel, and Product Led Growth (PLG). In a SaaS business with $50M in ARR, we may find as many as five different GTM motions. Most of the companies fail at the moment they choose between them! Jacco van der Kooij explain the reasons why some many SaaS business failed in 2022 and 2023, Jacoob’s reasoning is still more valid than ever!

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Is product knowledge important for SDRs to have? Absolutely it is, but only if it isn’t used to feature dump. Instead, reverse engineer the outcomes delivered by the product into sales messaging. For the last few years, I’ve used this 4-step framework to help SDRs turn product knowledge into a tool for better conversations. ?? After showing each feature, as a group we: 1: Identify who it impacts and how 2: Quantify the cost of the problem it solves 3: Write a 1-2 sentence opener / value statement 4: Write 3 relevant discovery questions to uncover pain Revenue leaders: give it a try and let me know how it works. #sales #salesdevelopment #sdr

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