The B2B Revenue Executive Experience

AI's presence in our lives continues to increase with the potential to transform entire industries. When talking about business revenue, one key area where AI's role becomes increasingly obvious is value management. We were wondering: How can tech companies leverage AI to create value, drive growth, and improve customer experience? To help us with that, we have Craig LeGrande, CEO and Founder of Mainstay. With over 20 years in high tech at top companies like IBM, Accenture, and Cisco, Craig had the privilege of learning directly from leaders in sales, marketing, and product development. As the co-author of Ruthless Execution and Competing for Customer, Craig shares insights into leadership and building strong customer relationships.

The B2B Revenue Executive Experience podcast is going through a major change. After two years and over 100 episodes, Carlos Nouche and Lisa Schnare are taking a break to focus on their roles as Managing Partners. So please welcome your new host, Cory Cotten-Potter, Director of Digital Marketing and Enablement at ValueSelling. However, nothing is going to change. We'll continue diving deep into the strategies and tools that drive B2B revenue growth. From the latest SDR bots and self-service buying to sales leadership tactics, sales, and marketing alignment, as well as other RevOps insights, we'll cover everything you need to thrive as a revenue leader.

Why is there a disconnect between the amount that organizations are investing in sales enablement programs and the yield of success they’re seeing as a result? Why might your strategy be failing, and importantly, what are the solutions? Well, firstly, we have to accept that buyers have changed. The complexities of buyer personas and the crucial need for dynamic, real-time data are things we all need to get our heads around sooner rather than later. James Pursey is here to help us do just that – James is well-practiced boiling down complex business problems, getting teams aligned and driving the change that is needed in a company. He is the Co-Founder & CEO of Replicate Labs, an organization that helps sales & marketing teams understand their buyers better through utilization of advanced and dynamic buyer personas.

It’s all possible. In our disrupted and distracted world, change is the new normal. Having a positive mindset and taking positive action is a must. Of course, not without hard work. So then, here's our question for today: How can you become the best possible you, no matter your role? To help us with this today, we have Rob Hartnett, Founder and Managing Director of Business Performance International. Rob is an award-winning sales and marketing leader, world champion seller, author of the book It's All Possible, and host of the It's All Possible Podcast.

Building and leading a world-class sales development team is crucial for the success of any organization. A well-functioning team significantly impacts revenue growth, customer acquisition, and overall business expansion. However, creating such a team requires careful planning, effective leadership, and commitment to key principles that drive excellence. Our main question for today: What are some best practices to run a world-class sales development team? To help us with this today, we have Ralph Barsi, VP of Sales at Kahua, an advisor, and an investor.

RevOps is a strategic function within organizations that focuses on aligning sales, marketing, and customer success teams to drive revenue growth and scalability. It plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning of these departments, optimizing processes, and maximizing revenue generation. But how can you leverage RevOps to build a high-growth, predictable, and scalable business? To help us with this today, we have Laura Adint, Operations and Strategy Executive at Raymond James, and Sean Lane, Founding Partner at BeaconGTM, who recently collaborated to release The Revenue Operations Manual.

The rapid advancement of technology, especially in AI, has profoundly impacted all industries and is reshaping the way we work. As AI continues to evolve, the future of work presents both challenges and opportunities. The outdated business playbook must evolve. Success requires a shift in mentality, internal processes, operations, and even values. We were wondering: How is the future of work changing, and how can you adapt to these changes effectively? To help us with this today, we have Mary Shea, Global Chief Evangelist at HireQuotient. With over 25 years in business, Mary has held various roles, including CRO, Analyst, Evangelist, and, most recently, Co-CEO at companies such as Mediafly, Outreach, Forrester, and StartOut.

It's no surprise that AI is becoming increasingly dominant in various industries, including sales. AI has the potential to revolutionize the sales process by automating tasks, analyzing data, and providing valuable insights. However, despite all the excitement and hype surrounding AI sales, the human touch still plays a crucial role. Today's question: How can you leverage the power of human relationships in the era of AI sales? To help us with this today, we have David Connors, Co-Founder and CEO of The Swarm, a Go-To-Network platform that gives companies and investors the keys to their extended networks and the relationship data they need to accelerate sales, recruiting, and fundraising.

With the rise of cloud computing and the increasing demand for software solutions, SaaS has emerged as a dominant model for delivering software applications to customers. However, with intense competition and rapidly changing customer needs, SaaS companies must adopt effective strategies that will enable them to not only survive but thrive in the long run. Before starting your own company, there are two important questions you must answer: How can you build a successful SaaS company from the ground up? What does it take to scale from a good idea to a productive business? To help us with this today, we have Benjamin Johnson, Founder and CEO of Particle41. Ben is a seasoned technical co-founder with over 20 years of experience in software development and leadership. He has a proven track record of success and hands-on expertise in open-source programming. Ben excels in managing remotely distributed development teams and implementing innovative business strategies.

So many companies start out with the goal of going public and hitting it big. But, unfortunately, for many of them, a successful exit via a merger or purchase is far more likely. We wondered: What are the best strategies to position your company as the go-to-market leader during an M&A process? To help us with this today, we have Aron Bohlig, Managing Partner at ComCap. Aron is a global digital media executive with vast experience in both startups and multinational corporations. He has achieved significant milestones as an advisor and operational executive across the US, Europe, and Asia. Aron is also the Co-Author of the book “Mastering Technical Sales: The Sales Engineer's Handbook.”

When you do something innovative and extraordinary, you go from 0 to 1. While you might not become the next Apple or Amazon, we decided to gather the top insights to take your business to the next level. So, we asked: What are some of the most effective go-to-market strategies for startups going from early days to scaling up their business? To help us with this today, we have Rags Gupta, Operating Partner at Hyperplane. Rags is also the Chief Growth Officer at Butlr, entrepreneur and operator at five startups over the past 20 years, including one IPO and one acquisition. In 2021, Rags published his book One to Ten: Finding Your Way from Startup to Scaleup.

Revenue growth is a key priority for organizations. Now, let's say you're taking over a revenue team. Where do you start? Or, in other words... How should a new revenue leader inheriting an existing team with predefined goals determine what that revenue engine should look like, from hiring to structure and processes? To help us with this today, we have George Eliopoulos, Chief Commercial Officer at Zip Co. George is an ambitious business executive with a proven track record of building and leading high-performing teams that achieve strong financial and operational results. Previously, he was Head of Sales at Pagaya, Chief Revenue Officer at Onbe, Head of Large Enterprise Sales at PayPal, and Head of Enterprise and SMB Sales at Braintree.

Organizations are constantly seeking ways to increase their revenue and achieve sustainable growth. However, scaling revenue requires a strategic approach that goes beyond traditional sales tactics. Therefore, we wanted to find out: What are the top sales strategies for effectively scaling your revenue? To help us with this today, we have Greg Nutter, Best-Selling Author of P3 Selling. Greg brings over 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, channel management, and consulting, mainly in manufacturing, distribution, services, and technology. He has been the Principal Consultant at Soloquent for nearly 20 years. Some of his past roles include Executive Director of Channel Performance Programs at Miller Heiman, Senior Director of North America at Channel Enablers, Vice President of Americas at Lascom Solutions, and Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Solimar Systems.

Have you ever dreamt of starting a global company but are unsure where to begin? Or maybe you're struggling to keep your remote team connected and productive. The question is: How do you launch a successful startup, target the perfect niche market, and navigate the complexities of remote work without losing the human touch? To help us with this today, we have Brett Martin, Co-Founder/ Investor at Charge Ventures and Kumospace. He delves into the secret sauce for SaaS companies and how to integrate a sales team into a PLG strategy for maximum growth. Brett is an entrepreneur, angel investor, pragmatist, and optimist. Having spent most of his career in the startup trenches, he now focuses on supporting other entrepreneurs as Managing Partner of a small seed-stage venture fund: Charge Ventures. Charge is a NYC-based pre-seed/seed stage venture fund. They invest 200-500k at the earliest stages of company formation and then help founders take things from 0 to 1.

Sales is hard right now. Sales cycles have lengthened by 40% since 2020. Fewer reps are achieving their quota in tech. So the question is: What are some strategies to help you stand out from the crowd? To give us some insight into this question, we have Jason Bay, Founder and CEO of Outbound Squad, who aims to improve the skills of world-class sales teams with training courses and coaching. Jason has worked with clients such as Gong, Medallia, Zoom, Rippling to increase qualified meetings, qualified demos, and meetings landed by cold outreach.

Winning in sales today requires more than persuasive skills and product knowledge to succeed. Experienced businesses have learned this the hard way. But what if you're just at the beginning of your sales journey? If you were to establish a sales organization from the ground up, what beliefs, mindset, and behaviors would create a customer-first culture and a highly successful selling motion? To help us with this today, we have John Westman, VP of Project Management at Citius Pharmaceuticals. John is also an Instructor at the Harvard Division of Continuing Education, where he designed and now teaches Professional Selling and Sales Management. With years of experience at companies like Fresenius Medical Care, NxStage Medical, PharMetrics (acquired by IMSHealth), Decision Resources, UROMED, and Baxter Healthcare, John brings a wealth of knowledge to his students.

Sales is a high-pressure job that often involves stepping out of your comfort zone and facing imposter syndrome. To thrive, you need to develop a strong emotional muscle. The question is: How does emotional fitness relate to our performance under pressure and our long-term resilience in sales? To help us with this today, we have Ben Drakes, Founder and CEO of Ben Drakes University. With an average deal size of over $150m, Ben held sales roles at Computacenter, Capita, and Serco for over 15 years. Today, Ben helps sales professionals perform at their best without sacrificing their physical or emotional well-being.

Traditionally, sales and marketing have operated independently, often resulting in miscommunication, wasted resources, and missed opportunities. But things start changing with a little help from AI. How can generative AI align B2B marketing and sales teams for revenue growth in 2024? To help us with this today, we have Nathan Schlaffer, CEO and Founder of MarketMate AI. With over a decade of experience in B2B technology and SaaS marketing, Nathan is passionate about helping marketing and sales teams achieve their revenue goals. He excels in delivering consistent messaging, hyper-personalizing content at scale, and accelerating sales rep onboarding through innovative AI-driven solutions.

Customer success and product marketing can be the driving force behind any go-to-market strategy. However, the entire organization must work together to achieve success and deliver measurable results. With that in mind, we wanted to know: How can you successfully align product, marketing, sales, and customer success for a winning go-to-market strategy? To help us with this today, we have Kimberly Kaminski, CMO at Lakeside Software. Kimberly is a visionary and pragmatic tech marketing and operations leader known for driving successful, measurable programs that grow customers and revenue. Additionally, she is an Executive Member of Pavilion.

Today, success in B2B sales doesn't come easy and goes way beyond a simple pitch and a few cold calls. B2B sales require a more strategic and personalized approach. However, it's all about setting a strong foundation. Here's the main question: Why should you understand the problems your company solves when building an ideal customer profile and pipeline? To help us with this today, we have Suraj Sampath, IT Sales Director at MindSource. Suraj has a unique combination of natural sales ability, engineering aptitude, and business acumen, having closely worked with marketing and engineering while shadowing sales and being mentored by sales leaders. Before joining MindSource, Suraj worked at companies such as Smartcar, DocuSign, ThoughtSpot, Conga, and AdMaxim.