David Priemer

Catie Ivey, CRO of Walnut, recently joined me on The GOATS of Growth to discuss the differences between selling in today's environment versus selling just a few years ago. Of course, as a GTM recruiter, the thing that stuck out most to me was what she says in this clip below about the level of talent required on the go-to-market team when budgets are tight. There's a big difference between great sellers and CSMs and everyone else--and it's never been more apparent. We also talked about: -Creating buyer-centric experiences -Unit economics and KPIs she tracks -Her transition from VP to CRO -Traits she looks for when hiring -Much more Access to the full episode will be in the comments, or just search for The GOATS of Growth online or in your podcast app. Catie, thanks again for joining me! Please follow Catie for more great content.

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Calling All SALES People – YOU HURT YOURSELF WHEN YOU DO THIS!! A huge piece of advice to all of you included in SALES process for your business including CEO’s, MD’S, SALES Directors, Client Directors, Head of Sales, EVP’s, VP’s, SVP’S…I think you get the drift. If your business is taking part in an official RFP process and the RFP states the lines of communication to be used (which it will) i.e. people you should contact (probably a #Procurement person or maybe a Stakeholder)…then abide by it! Now sometimes during the RFP process you may learn of other more senior people who may have an impact on the RFP outcome. This may be via demos or chemistry sessions, or your senior people already know and have a relationship with senior people in the business… BUT please, no matter how desperate or brilliant you think you are…. DO NOT CONTACT THOSE SENIOR PEOPLE DIRECTLY (unless requested to by the contact in the RFP!) It may in your mind seem like a smart thing to do, as you can influence the outcome and get advantage…and I get that is the SALES person in you, and you’ve seen it pay off sometimes… But here’s what actually happens: If the Procurement team are valued and are in charge of doing the official RFP - then take it as given!! All that will happen by your actions is that the senior person will reach out to the Procurement team and tell them…. and guess what that does to your proposal…? Don’t think for one second, your proposal goes to the top of the pile. IMHO, IT’S A HUGE BLACK MARK! What your actions have actually managed to achieve are: 1.     You will have annoyed the Procurement person managing the RFP 2.     You will have annoyed the CPO or Head of Procurement 3.     You will have annoyed the Senior stakeholder who is sponsoring the RFP 4.     You will probably annoy the Senior person you contacted… after all there’s a Procurement function to deal with this stuff! So, SALESPEOPLE…no matter the temptation, do yourself a favour and abide by the RFP rules of communication. You have been warned! _________________________ 😃 Hi I'm Steve Walton. I help companies to fully realize the value procurement brings in terms of cost savings, risk mitigation, supplier innovation and sustainability. DM me if you’re ready to move procurement beyond a tactical purchasing function, and need consultancy and training. 💸📉📊

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Next year, Lightspeed Commerce will exit its teenage years and turn 20. What does that maturity mean? For me, it’s all about shifting from simply a growth mindset to one of profitability. I sat down with Gus Papageorgiou, our Head of Investor Relations and host of the Inside Lightspeed podcast, to discuss this cultural shift, where we’re heading, and how my role as CEO will guide this moving forward. When Lightspeed first started, we were all about seizing opportunities — whether it was moving to the cloud early on, expanding into new markets, or launching payments. These bold moves have driven us to where we are today. Now, as we approach this new chapter, we're putting an emphasis on: - Doubling down on areas where we can truly excel and deliver the most value to our customers. - Making profitability our new North Star and ensuring that every move strengthens our foundation. - Staying true to our core mission: helping SMBs thrive. But now, we’re doing it with a sharper focus on long-term success. Had a great time reflecting on Lightspeed’s past, as well as discussing our vision for the future. Check out the full podcast here: https://lnkd.in/gF3vG-Qn

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Are you experiencing longer sales cycles? Need more enablement for your sellers? Feeling the pressure on deal sizes? Do you need more pipeline to make the same revenue goals? Watch this on-demand webinar to learn how to drive efficiency across the funnel and keep winning in a tightened market. My favorite takeaways: 1. Create your ICP and personas, and integrate them into your targeting 2. Make efforts to collaborate between teams with shared metrics and feedback 3. Develop a simple or comprehensive lead nurturing strategy to engage buyers 4. Follow up first and personalize it using lead notes, expanding on their reason for shopping 👉 The Efficient Funnel: Lead Targeting and Engagement Best Practices: https://gtnr.it/4cv83gp #Webinar #LeadManagement #Efficiency Gartner Digital Markets Tom Cox Matt Hanson Alison Wong

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9 Key Sales Compensation Challenges Faced By CFOs in 2024 🚀 The sales landscape has changed dramatically in recent years, bringing about newer and more complex challenges😵‍💫 3 of the most prominent ones are: 🎯 Incentivizing your sales team?  🤝 Retaining top talent?  📊 Setting the right metrics? Dive into our latest blog to find out 6 more of these challenges, and the best practices you can use to deal with them 🏆 Read now to stay ahead of the curve. 💡⤵️ https://lnkd.in/gZecMQhY #SalesCompensation #CFOChallenges #SaaSSales #CFO

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Join us later this month as we sit down to talk about growing revenue through Customer Success! Details below: 👇 How to Cultivate Lasting Customer Commitment and Grow Revenue Through RevOps (Jul 23 @ 1 PM ET) hosted by Nintex and featuring Jeremy Steinbring ☁️ , Chris Mascaro, and Camela Thompson #revops #customersuccess #revenuegrowth  

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What does 'Execution Excellence' actually mean? And why are Marc Benioff + Amit Bendov obsessed with it right now? Killer insights from Charlie Moss on how category leaders like Salesforce & Gong are resetting expectations to win despite headwinds!! 💥 “More rigor, more discipline, focused enablement, and a refined GTM strategy are a major part of their approach.” Specifically, Gong is investing in the following: - Greater accountability for the sales team + sales management - Weekly KPIs, weekly results, + monitoring key activities - Tracking every single deal with MEDDIC Achieving 'execution excellence' when it comes to running revenue teams is the WHY behind founding Accord... Ensure rigorous execution across each deal, and translating the winning strategy to the field in a way that actually works for sellers! Including tracking MEDDIC without feeling like homework, automatically updated in your CRM. Sales + CS Leaders using Accord to drive execution excellence understand what it takes for their sellers to win in 2024. Eg, we pulled data across 500+ Opps for a customers at their QBR, and saw: - 28% Win Rate across opportunities without Accord - 56% Win Rate across opportunities with Accord .... 100% increase in Win Rate when using Accord. This market isn’t about doing more with less. Its about doing the right things – consistently.

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Ready to transform your customer success strategy with cutting-edge insights? Dive into this episode of Scale Your Sales, where Emma Lo unpacks the latest trends in customer success and AI-driven personalization. Emma, the onboard czar at Noibu and leader of Canada's thriving CS in Focus community, shares golden nuggets on predictive analytics, the importance of customer advisory boards, and the true meaning of personalization at scale. You don't want to miss this episode; it's a blueprint for game-changing growth! https://lnkd.in/ehqgZB7R #scaleyoursales #customergrowth #techleadership #technology #AI #sales

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What sales AI tools are you testing these days? Embracing experimentation is key for both companies and individuals when thinking about sales AI. It was well said by Keith on the latest podcast... It's not about following the crowd, but rather finding the tools that align with our unique style and help us achieve tangible results. #Experimentation #Adaptability #ContinuousLearning #CoachEm

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Idk who needs to hear this, but... Ring a gong for renewals. We all see this in sales -- so why not renewals, where the deal cycle is (on average) longer and equally if not more complex? Why aren't we celebrating a full year's worth of hard work, navigation of stakeholders, value delivery, and getting paid for it? Reason number 423424 to treat CS as Sales. Keep building CS as a revenue function. Cue the confetti 🎊 🎤 Is your company celebrating renewals? 🔔

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Last year's interview and piece with DemandGen Report is still relevant as we navigate uncertainty. #valueselling is key to keeping buyers engaged throughout and guarding against buyers losing interest, going dark, failing to gain consensus and falling into the 'friend zone'- a nice to have and numerous conversations that lead nowhere. #winrate #b2bsales #technology #innovation https://lnkd.in/eZATeawj

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Focusing solely on closing deals can lead to missed opportunities and shallow client relationships. You can create demos that resonate deeply with your audience by simply shifting your focus to the entire customer journey. Engaging your clients with stories and examples builds trust and rapport, leading to long-term success. Make your demos informative and memorable. Prioritize building connections over just closing deals; you’ll find that success follows naturally.

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RevOPs can play a very important role in driving GTM growth and performance. But today, too many of the RevOPs functions fall short of their potential. What if we reimagined RevOPs, moving beyond scorekeeping and running the math, to an initiator of strategic change and performance improvement? https://lnkd.in/gFnF-fA3

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Sales leadership as force multiplier For the latest episode of the Thoughts on Selling podcast, Alan Versteeg, a seasoned sales management expert, and I delve into the realm of effective sales practices and the pivotal role of sales management in cultivating successful sales teams. (Link to episode is in comments below) Key Discussions: ✅ Sales as a Profession: Alan advocates for viewing sales as a dedicated profession akin to law or medicine, emphasizing the commitment and skill required. ✅ Sales Management as a force multiplier: Highlighting the significance of effective sales management for sustainable performance, Alan points out a common gap in promoting top sales performers without adequate managerial training. ✅ Intrinsic Motivation and Managerial Impact: Drawing from Daniel Pink's research, Alan explores how intrinsic motivation influences sales teams and underscores the role of managers in fostering purpose and alignment for improved retention and performance. Three Key Takeaways: 1️⃣ Sales as Continuous Learning: We both see that sales is an ongoing learning journey, requiring continual education and practice for professional growth. 2️⃣ Focus on Sales Management: Developing sales managers is vital for team success; providing them with necessary tools and training is crucial for overall business performance. (And noting that few companies put any weight behind this initiative.) 3️⃣ Purpose-Driven Sales Culture: Encouraging a sales culture centered on purpose and fulfillment, beyond mere metrics, aligns sales efforts with broader business goals and personal development. Closing Thoughts: Alan and Lee stress the importance of a purpose-driven sales approach, where strategic focus and professional development intersect to elevate individual and organizational achievements. #valueselling #purposedriven #salesleadership

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At the Gainsight conference last week, I had several folks ask me some version of "everyone used to talk about adoption....now everyone says that it's just about outcomes and ROI. What's your take?" It is and has always been about both. Can you get ROI without adoption? No. Is adoption by itself sufficient to guarantee value realization? Also no. You have to have adoption of the right capabilities that tie to customer business priorities with attached measurable outcomes. That is and has always been the formula. This is easy to say, really hard to implement and manage at scale. Which is why very few companies do it.

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Closing deals is always challenging, but when it comes to enterprise deals, the complexity multiplies. These high-stakes deals involve longer sales cycles, multiple decision-makers, and intricate contract negotiations, making them uniquely demanding. Tomorrow, as part of #GTMWeek, I’ll be hosting a 1:1 session where I’ll share key insights and practical strategies drawn from my experience in navigating these complex sales journeys. We’ll dive into topics like building strong relationships with stakeholders, handling lengthy approval processes, customizing value propositions to match unique business needs, and overcoming the common roadblocks that arise in enterprise sales. Join me to gain actionable advice and techniques that can help you push your enterprise deals across the finish line. Looking forward to an engaging session! Register here - https://lu.ma/3e02o50y Rejoe Sudarsan Rapti Gupta Olivia Deka Srikanth Prabhu Ishan Manchanda Siddharth Sharma Jofin Joseph Mejo Kuriachan HSR Founders Club

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True revenue growth happens when sales, marketing and customer success are aligned and supported by a unified RevOps and enablement strategy. When RevOps and enablement work together, we enable our teams to focus on what matters most: delivering value at every stage of the customer journey. Key steps for effective RevOps and enablement alignment: 1️⃣ Unify data and insights – By giving teams a single source of truth, we empower smarter, faster decision-making across the board. 2️⃣ Integrate tools and technology – A cohesive tech stack keeps teams connected, enabling streamlined workflows and deeper collaboration. 3️⃣ Prioritize training and support – RevOps and enablement should actively guide and coach teams, ensuring everyone has the skills and insights to succeed. 4️⃣ Measure and adapt – Regularly assess what’s working and pivot where necessary to stay aligned with evolving customer needs. How is your organization aligning RevOps with enablement to drive better outcomes? Read more tips from Highspot here: https://lnkd.in/gnauM-6G #RevOps #Enablement #RevenueGrowth #SalesAlignment #GrowthMindset

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It's out! Thank you, Lifetime Value Media Dillon Young, Rob Zambito, and Jean-Pierre Frost, for the fun and lively discussion on CSMs Selling and standardizing CS as a profession. Consider: Instead of thinking the only options are relationship management-experienced CSMs' own sales, account managers' own sales, or both, evaluate eliminating the AM role. Create a new role under CS. This would give CSMs sales ownership but provide them with a resource/ a new role, CS sales support, and the applicable sales training. If you eliminate the awkward dance where everyone is stepping on toes, and you eliminate the customers' utter confusion. Creating a new role under Customer Success (CS) and eliminating the Account Manager (AM) role could streamline the sales process and enhance customer experience. Here's a structured approach to evaluate and implement this idea: I would love to hear your perspective. https://lnkd.in/e8RS_2KS

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