RevOps After Dark: Nov. 9, 2023
Welcome to the world of #RevOps After Dark, where we get straight to the revenue news you (hopefully, probably) wanna know, adding in just a hint of that Rattle-brand tint. Now... (at least temporarily) on LinkedIn!
This week…
Let's get to it!
Tools & Software News
?? ICYMI: SFDC staying in SF for DF
It was widely reported this week that Salesforce has confirmed its bacchanalia-complete-with-free-water-bottle conference, AKA "Dreamforce," will remain in the City by the Bay for at least 2024. This follows what can be assumed were tense negotiations between the company and the city to ensure adequate police presence and cleanliness around the event venue. Despite earlier public comments by SFDC that they were planning to move the event due to the city's "social challenges,"?the 2023 conference saw a smaller but not-insignificant turnout of 40,000 attendees, substantially contributing — as it does — to both the local economy and, of course, for all those lovely vendors who make branded stress balls.
?? Slack CEO sets status to “??” for good
This week, Slack's CEO, Lidiane Jones , who has a strong background in tech and product management at companies like 微软 , Sonos, Inc. , and Salesforce , left Slack to take on the CEO role at Bumble Inc. (which itself has had some major, soul-crushing challenges to overcome, like the fact that online dating is a literal warzone). Despite the initial excitement over Salesforce's $28B Slack purchase, the executive’s departure suggested a possible misalignment of vision. Where are Marky Mark and the Benioff bunch going next? How will they pivot? We’ll get some insights based who they bring in to fill Ms. Jones' shoes!
Strategy & Tactics
?? Dunford: Keep sellin' the sizzle, not that A.I.-powered steak
Positioning pundit and all-around GTM guru April Dunford posted some ideas this week all around whether it's worth it to integrate A.I. into your product's positioning (which, as we all know, is coded for just adding "A.I.-powered" to your one-sheeters). Turns out, all this hinges on — get this?— whether A.I. genuinely enhances your product’s value (AND if customers understand the benefits enough to influence their purchasing decision). Don’t get too high on the hype fumes, Dunford suggests:?the core of your positioning should remain on your product's value, she says, rather than the technology used, cautioning against conflating market positioning with technological trends which, while they may make a product appear more current, importantly don't define your market category. Her post at the link above is a really great example of trends (aka the Frosted Tips of the GTM world) vs. market context.
?? A New PLG: Personality Led Growth
A new lesson in growth for all you good-looking, well-dressed, properly-groomed decently-smelling RevOps SMEs out there who don't mind hearing the sound of your own voice… There's a new lever to pull for next-leveling your business, and it actually starts with you and your people: Personality Led Growth. This podcast episode focuses primarily on content, but it’s full of some hot ideas on how to best use your entire company to promote your brand (and bring it into your selling motion). (And as A.I. continues to muddy the waters on what is or is not human, it may be the perfect time to get your humans out there and prove they're human now, before it's too late - just a thought).?
?? Catchin' the Third Wave for GTM
Sangram Vajre , a leader in GTM strategy (he ran marketing at Pardot, e.g.), took to LinkedIn to outline the evolution of GTM technology in three waves, from foundational tools like CRM and marketing automation, through innovations in HR tech and sales engagement, to the current wave focusing on RevOps and A.I.-driven sales intelligence. Where are you and the team surfin’, bruh? (Let's catch some Rattle ?? ????)
领英推荐
A Good Read
Is the Salesforce job market saturated?! Yes... in the West.?
According to this exceptionally interesting and detailed post from the folks over at Salesforce Ben , the SFDC job market has had a 28% rise in supply versus a significant 46% drop in demand, creating Hunger-Game-like levels of competition, especially for entry-level roles.
To us, this highlights the importance of either:
Amidst a steaming backdrop of this economic poo heap — and perpetual recession fears that may or may not pulverize us all into a fine dust — and a market flooded with legit and certified candidates, there appears to be the serious need for continuous learning and adaptation to align with the evolving whims and caprices of Mark Benioff and his Merry Men.?
There's some good news to add, though: that China's Alibaba finally decided to play nice with everybody's favorite CRM and on the other side of the world, demand... well, it went up.
Only question is now... if you're not willing to become a strategic powerhouse at-home, are ya gonna learn Mandarin?
More reads:
The Ad-hoc?
?? New Yorker: There’s a big shift in productivity tech (and we were right)
These days, #productivity software has shifted their focus away from creating technology that helps workers execute work — more surprisingly — and more towards helping them organize their workflow, arrange tasks or items on boards or cards to visualize and manage work processes more efficiently.
This shift, says the The New Yorker , reflects a broader change in the business software industry, where the emphasis on enhancing individual tools has given way to structuring work processes more effectively, as historical productivity gains have stagnated despite advances in technology, leading to a new focus on improving how work is organized rather than just creating more powerful tools.
All this to say:?Nee-ner nee-ner nee-ner. We were right!
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And that's it for this week! We'll be back next Thursday night with more news, tips, and Hunger Games references. Thanks for reading — remember you can always reach out to us at [email protected] for any questions, comments, concerns, or A.I.-powered ways to make my Bumble profile more appealing to other dinosaurs.
Positioning for tech companies. Author of the best-selling books Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch.
1 年Haha "don't get too high on the hype fumes" ??