Anna T.

Top performing AEs achieve 4.8x FASTER DEAL VELOCITY. Imagine 1 report & 6 Qs accelerating your Q3/Q4 deals! Every quarter feels like a short quarter. Q3 and Q4 are no exception. Summer getaways, mid-term breaks & the holidays. → Good AE performance is exiting H1 on 40%. → Most AEs need to close 60% + to hit quota. → Speed is everything in Q3 and Q4. If you can add 4.8x deal velocity, then it gives you a great chance to exceed quota! How do top performing AEs achieve 4.8x deal velocity? They prospect the best-performing personas. Here is the rub... You need to check the data first hand. Check the CRM for closed deals. → Run a report for closed deals in H1. → Run a report for closed deals last FY. Get a decent sample size. It can be deals closed in your patch. Deals closed by your team or wider org. It can be deals closed in your vertical globally. Run a report that fits your situation. Then check the Top 5: Q1. Top 5 Largest Deals Q2. Top 5 Shortest Deal Cycles Q3. Most common Personas? (Champions, Economic Buyers) Then take it a step further. Q4. What were the exact pains? Q5. What were the exact use cases? Q6. What were the desired outcomes? tldr: to achieve 4.8x deal velocity... hat tip to Ebsta for the data. → Pipeline Generation: Use this to prospect the right persona so you can find deals with higher velocity. → Progress Pipeline Get all the top personas involved in your deals. Make a concerted effort to have more stakeholders engaged. p.s. If you’re an Account Executive looking to fill your pipeline and exceed quota in 90 days or less, I've space for 5 AEs in August. Send me a DM saying "90" to find out more. 🔥 🍾

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Every week or so, someone asks me for advice on how to enter and succeed in Southeast Asia. The truth is, no one wants to hear the tough, practical advice like building a solid GTM strategy, testing it out, localizing your product, adapting your pricing, and figuring out how your ICP and personas might change from country to country. Everyone is looking for a shortcut—a single piece of advice that will help them crack the market within months. After giving it a lot of thought, and knowing that people are often selective in what they choose to hear, here’s the one thing I would suggest: Find the smartest founders in your space who aren’t direct competitors. Talk to them, share your hypotheses and plans, then shut up and listen. This idea comes from Brian Chesky. In one of his interviews, he explained how he learns when faced with new and difficult challenges: he identifies the best source in that particular area and goes straight to them. "If you pick the right source, you can fast-forward." In my experience, founders are far more knowledgeable than most "experts" in their field because: - They run hundreds of small experiments daily, with reality as their teacher. - They are grilled by smart investors on every aspect of their business model, competitive landscape, and market dynamics when raising funds. - Over time, whether they succeed or not, they develop a concise understanding of how the market works and where pockets of opportunities can be found. Whenever I catch up with founders in my network, even when I'm not actively seeking insights, they often share pockets of opportunities they’ve identified but are too busy to pursue. It's the game they play, and they love it. Ultimately, the best form of market validation is talking to the smartest people in your space and asking the right questions. Now, the question is, where do you find great founders, and how do you build social capital with them? Curated communities like LearningLoop.com are a great place to start. These groups are highly selective, and while it might be difficult to join, the value of being part of such a network is totally worth the effort.

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🚀 The State of App Marketing in APAC 2024 is LIVE! 📈 This is big. AppsFlyer just dropped the most comprehensive app marketing report for APAC. Trends. Data. Strategies. It’s all here. 🔥 What’s inside? • Massive insights: User acquisition + retention like never before • Benchmarks that matter: Compare, adapt, win • Game-changing strategies: ROI? Maximized. • Country-specific breakdowns: Precision marketing unlocked 📥 Scan the QR. Download it. Dominate. 2024 isn’t for the timid. Let’s build smarter, grow faster, and redefine app marketing. #AppsFlyer #AppMarketing #Innovation #LevelUp

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In a recent interview with Champify, Daisy Chung, Head of Revenue Strategy at Orum 🥇 said "Nurture is the new PG". Here's why I think she's right and what Champify does to build a strong nurture muscle. BACKGROUND The first impression your sales team gives is huge. 28% of our open opps have had at least one conversation with us in the past. Our win rate when we’ve had a previous conversation historically is 37%. “Do nothing” or “Prioritization” are the biggest closed lost reason for Champify. Our sales process is focused on being helpful, providing a unique POV, and trying to provide insights so that when the timing is right, we are viewed as a trusted advisor. That means by staying in touch we can (and should) win deals in the future. We did analysis to figure out when teams decided to Do Something. We found: - There was a strategy shift (usually led by a new CRO or new VP of Marketing)  - A former champion moved into the account and was willing to fight for the product - There was a reduction in SDR headcount leading to needs for greater efficiency or AEs to self-source pipeline - Another quarter went by, and the pipeline and outbound efficiency became are bigger challenge HERE’S HOW WE USE THIS TO BUILD OUR NURTURE PROGRAM 1. Marketing moments trigger personalized outreach led by sales For every marketing moment, marketing supplies the sales team with a list of relevant previously engaged contacts, and sample messaging the team can use to deliver continuous value at regular intervals. Unique messaging closed-lost deals is a strategy in every marketing launch.  .  2. Require a re-engage date for every closed-lost opportunity Within Salesforce, to close a deal each rep is required to include a re-engage date. Every week, an email goes out to each rep with all the opportunities they are responsible for so they can include the account in their PG plan. 3. Use Champify to monitor executive and champion arrivals at our accounts with stalled deals When a new executive arrives, we do recon with our existing connections at the account (bonus if there are former customers) to understand what new initiatives might come in with leadership change. We then use the recon and our existing relationships to deliver a strong case to the new execs. Note: we never reach out to the new exec to say “congrats on your new job - buy my software”. 4. Retarget with thought-leadership and case studies to stay top of mind We have a retargeting audience where we have content based ads - whether it is tactical advice from leaders at great companies, case studies, or thought leadership posts from our team so that we can always stay top of mind. TAKEAWAY: Net new revenue doesn’t mean net new people.. Educated buyers buy faster. A sure-fire way to win business is to continue to offer value until the timing is right. Don’t sleep on your existing CRM contacts. Set up systems to enforce and measure re-engagement, Nurture is the new pg.

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Just talked to a top SDR in APAC. Here's how he consistently attains over 200% of his target. His most effective channel is cold calling. 🔷 Call after lunch when prospects are more relaxed. 🔷 Set the agenda at the start to manage expectations. 🔷 Attend all AE calls to understand why users love the product and refine messaging. 🔷 Use a power dialer to maximize calls during key times. 🔷 Even if a meeting isn’t booked, gaining insights (like competitor info) is valuable for improving future messaging. 🔷 If a meeting isn’t booked but you learn something, use that information when reaching out to others in the company. 🔷 Highlight your best accounts and share them with your AE for cold calling. Timing is crucial, so increase your chances. What's your top tip for lead generation? Subscribe Maven Club for insights from top GTM leaders!

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The No.1 thing I learnt from talking to Maven Club leaders: The next big wave in B2B sales is here, but many APAC teams are missing the boat. Social Selling, not AI SDR. It's not just another buzzword. It's a game-changer that can set you apart from the competition. Here's why it matters: 1. Differentiation in a crowded market 2. Empowers buyer-led journeys 3. Creates collaborative dynamics with prospects 4. Provides multiple touchpoints for relationship building But here's the catch: If you're treating social selling like another email platform, you're doing it wrong. The secret sauce? Warmth. Social selling is about making your outreach feel personal, genuine, and tailored to each prospect. It's about building relationships, not just sending messages. Think of it as the digital equivalent of a warm introduction at a networking event, rather than a cold call. The clock is ticking. Your competitors are already dipping their toes in these waters. Don't let them get too far ahead. Embrace social selling now, or risk being left behind in the rapidly evolving B2B landscape. Remember: In the world of B2B sales, the early bird doesn't just get the worm. It gets the whole garden. 🔷 Join 300+ founders/ GTM leaders to receive exclusive insights Maven Club! - https://lnkd.in/g9fDrV5R

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For RevOps & GTM Systems Pros: Why Normal Forms Are Your Secret Weapon You didn’t need a CS degree or IT certification to get where you are. You got here by building systems, untangling integrations, and owning the SaaS stack when no one else would. But as your org scales, so does the complexity of your systems—and your data. That’s where Normal Forms come in. They’re not just for database admins; they’re a framework to structure data, avoid duplication, reduce errors, and build workflows that won’t break. 1NF: Each field should hold one value, and every row should be unique. Example: Split a field like “Regions Covered” with values like “North, East” into separate records or fields. Why? Filtering becomes impossible when you cram multiple values into one field. 2NF: Every field should depend on the full primary key. Example: If you’re tracking “Deals” with a key like “Account + Deal Name,” don’t include unrelated data like “Rep Hire Date.” Keep that in its own table to avoid bloated data. 3NF: Fields should depend only on the primary key—nothing else. Example: If “Pricing Tier” determines “Discount Percentage,” pull Pricing Tier into its own table rather than calculating downstream. Keeps dependencies clean and reduces unexpected errors. 4NF: Don’t store multiple, independent sets of data in the same record. Example: If a customer has multiple “Preferred Products” and operates in multiple “Regions,” split these into related tables. Keeps relationships consistent and scalable. 5NF: Break down tables into the smallest meaningful pieces while keeping relationships intact. Example: Use a junction table to track reps managing multiple accounts across multiple territories. Makes data modular and easier to maintain. You’re already making these decisions every day—whether something should be a custom object, a related table, or a simple field. Normal Forms give you a framework to get it right, helping you build cleaner systems that scale with your business. How are you handling data structure challenges today? Let’s compare notes in the comments 👇

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The Best Sales People I've met all have 1 thing in common 🤔 It's called "Shoshin" in Japanese : "Shoshin" is commonly translated as "Beginner's Mind". It's the belief that learning is endless and that abilities can be developed through effort and training. "Shoshin" encourages innovation, adaptability and resilience when facing challenge. 🏔️ What that means is that the result matters less than the journey ! In sales, we're very focused on our target (and that's normal because that's how we make a living.) However the last time you closed a big deal, did you ask yourself ? : - What did I learn ? - What can I do better next time ? - What mistakes did I make ? It's not because you won that you know enough. Truth is : with "Shoshin" you never know enough ! How to leverage it ? - Embrace failure as learning opportunity - Ask for feedback (and apply it !) - Set stretch goals and challenges for yourself One reason I love Martial Arts so much is because it's a never ending journey. The more I know about it, the more I know I need to learn. Shoshin has made an eternal student, not only in Martial Arts but in any area of life ! If you want a 1 hour free workshop for your sales teams on how to build discipline, focus or resilience, let's talk ! #sales #salesleadership #leadership #growthmindset #mindset

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I see so many SaaS companies lose millions in APAC! 🌏 Why? Because they choose the wrong sales model. It’s a common mistake, but one that sales and marketing leaders can avoid with the right approach. Here’s what you need to remember: ➡️ APAC isn’t one market - it’s 40+ unique ones. What works in Singapore may fail in Thailand. Direct sales might close enterprise deals in markets like Singapore and Australia, but for medium-sized businesses or markets like Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, or Korea, you need channel partners. Here’s why local partners are essential: ☑️ Deep cultural understanding 🌏 ☑️ Language expertise 🗣️ ☑️ Existing relationships 🤝 ☑️ On-the-ground support at scale 🚀 ☑️ Compliance and legal know-how 🏛️ ☑️ Streamlined delivery and implementation ⚙️ I’ve seen companies burn millions by taking a one-size-fits-all approach-focusing only on direct sales. Without local partners, they lose time, money, and deals. 💡 Want to win in APAC? Don’t copy and paste your strategy. Take the time to understand each market. Align your sales model to what works in specific regions. The key is adaptability. The APAC region is a massive growth opportunity, but only if you approach it with the nuance and strategy it deserves. #saasmarketing #APAC #strategy #channelpartners #b2b #marketing #globalgrowth #gotomarket

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Three fundamental truths about sales tech (and human nature) that we learned in the last three years… ❌ No one listens to call recordings Once a team reaches a certain size, it is simply impossible to keep up. Real life > good intentions… Every.Single.Time. ❌ AI-generated summaries are great but they miss important nuance Going from nothing to AI-generated meeting summaries in 2023 was a bit of a “Zero to One” moment for sales teams. There is no doubt that AI notes (especially when properly synced to the CRM) are useful as a high level overview, but the devil is in the details and between the lines. ❌ If takes a user more than 15 seconds or 1 click to do something, it ain’t happening Everyone is busy, workflow is everything. Habits are very hard to break. The pain of breaking an old habit and learning a new workflow (even if only 2 clicks) outweighs the benefit of that new workflow in 9/10 cases…. it doesn’t help that consumer tech has gotten to the point where it know what we want before we even want it and nothing ever needs to be clicked anymore What are we doing about this? Using AI to build a product that is intuitive, easy to adapt and delightful to use. The latest victim? Highlights, or “Snippets” in Gong and Chorus land. ❌ No one listens to recordings … But even the busiest sales leader has 15-20 mins in their day to look at highlights of the things that matter to them. How are we pitching against competitor X / overcoming the objection of Y / implementing the playbook in the field? ✅ ❌ AI generated summaries are great but they miss important nuance … Unlike a cut-out from the actual conversation where you can literally see if the buyer’s eye brows twitch when the seller gives them an indication of pricing. Or hear the buyer describe their pain in details. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video with sound and emotions is worth a thousand pictures ✅ ❌ If takes a user more than 15 seconds or 1 click to do something, it ain’t happening … And that’s where AI and automation come in. What if, within seconds of finishing a meeting you had an auto-created Instagram Story Like reel with highlights from your meeting? No need to click any buttons, just grab a link and share internally or with your prospects. Or keep them for later, when you need to get to speed ahead of an upcoming meeting two weeks later. Or when Customer Success is taking over the relationship ✅ There are endless options to improve your sales process by sharing clips from real customer conversations. As of last week, auto-generated highlights are live to all Salesroom customers and we’ve already gotten great feedback and more ideas for how they can add value in practice. I wanted to share a bit of our process for how we got there and a bit of our thinking behind this feature. Still #buildinpublic and all ;)

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🚀 RevOps Friends: Automate Sales Follow-Ups with This Simple Zap! Are your sales reps spending too much time agonizing over the perfect follow-up email after every call? Let’s fix that. With this Zap, your RevOps team can save time, ensure consistency, and help reps focus on what matters—closing deals. 💥 Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Trigger: A new call is logged (via Gong, Chorus, or your tool of choice). 2️⃣ AI Analysis: Zapier analyzes the call data to identify the follow-up type (warm lead, pricing request, objection handling, etc.). 3️⃣ Draft Creation: A tailored email draft is generated automatically based on the call’s context and tone. 4️⃣ Slack Notification: The rep gets the draft in a Slack DM—ready to review. 5️⃣ Edit & Send: Reps can make quick edits (if needed) and hit send. Done and done. Why It’s a Game-Changer: 🔄 Consistency: Every follow-up is on-brand and follows best practices. ⏳ Time Saved: Reps can skip the writing and spend more time closing. ⚡ Effortless Personalization: AI ensures drafts are context-aware and relevant. How to Make It Happen: Connect Gong for call tracking. Use Zapier's AI + Gmail integration to draft emails. Add Slack notifications to keep the workflow seamless. 💬 Want the exact AI prompt I’m using to make this work? Drop a 🤖 in the comments, and I’ll DM you all the details. Let’s level up your follow-ups! #RevOps #SalesAutomation #Zapier #NoCode #EfficiencyMatters #AIForSales

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Almost 2 years ago, I abandoned the SDR model But that does not mean that SDRs have no more place They certainly have in some environments Here are the criteria I would use to evaluate whether the SDR model makes sense for you 1️⃣ Customer Acquisition Costs: I would not use SDRs for low ARR contracts. Here is my rule of thumb: < $5'000 ARR 👉🏻 Product-led & marketing $5'000 - $20'000 ARR 👉🏻 Full-cycle sales roles $20'000 - $100'000 ARR 👉🏻 AE/SDR model with a 2:1 ratio 2️⃣ Complexity of the sale: If sales are really complex and SDRs face a lot of technical, complex questions early on and need industry knowledge, the full-cycle model might make more sense. This typically means: > $100'000 ARR 👉🏻 Full-cycle sales roles However, you can always hire SDRs for a specific product that is much easier to sell than the rest. If you sell several products 3️⃣ Availability of salespeople: AEs who can and want to do outbound are a rarity. You might not find anyone, or it takes months. Hiring hungry SDRs you can develop to AEs later can bridge that gap. And you teach them your philosophy of "always be prospecting" from the start. Additionally: If you personally know a really good person for either role, prioritise hiring that person no matter the environment. Hiring salespeople is a costly, high-risk game. 4️⃣ Availability of knowledge: Do you have the capacity and capability to train new salespeople? What exactly can you train them really well? If you can provide a great environment for coaching and development, the SDR model is still interesting, given the other points above You can train them, test your ICP and give them more and more responsibility If you have no sales skills yourself or in the company, go for an experienced full-cycle AE and add SDRs later Bonus: Always hire two people at the same time so that you can benchmark them

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A great opportunity to ask your questions on usage-based pricing challenges to Ray Rike. In the webinar Ray and Kirk would be going deep into: - How to structure sales compensation for usage-based products? - Can variable consumption revenue or overages be considered as ARR? - How to calculate NRR, CAC ratio, payback period and more for UBP models? - How to forecast revenue with variable consumption? 📍 Register here : https://lnkd.in/gBqN7RWT

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From ~$0-10m in ARR at my previous company, we booked < 10% of our meetings via the phones. Today at Champify, we book ~50% of our meetings via cold calls and have a ~77% hold rate.  Here is HOW we do it: First, calling fit our GTM motion as we sell to other GTM leaders. Second, we hire hunter AEs and BDRs. At Champify: 1. We lean into PG religiously – this is the job 2. We’ve hired pace setters like Will Falkenborg 🌭 who is a top 1% performer and sets the tone for the rest of the company (including our more senior AEs) 3. Practice and role play openers and objections frequently 4. Make the tech and tooling as streamlined as possible -- remove every excuse for reps (agree with Jen Allen-Knuth here) 5. Constantly ask for referrals to get to the right person 6. Have ops and growth folks spend an outsizes amount of time on WHY we are focusing on certain accounts If you want to build a team that picks up the phone & fosters an entire culture around the phones, Will Falkenborg 🌭 and Anastasia Chihai from Upland Software (ex Outreach) are teaming up to talk about what goes into building a cold calling culture. Details below. If you are too busy dialing during this window: 1) I applaud you  2) sign up and we will send the recording to you to watch after hours :)

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AE: "Can you give me feedback about our (final) interview today?" CRO: "You are a nice guy, but we only hire A**holes. I'm sorry." End of interview. The AE had successfully completed 4 rounds of interviews ✅ Country Manager ✅ Solution Consulting ✅ Channel Manager ✅ APAC VP He had researched the company, watched the CEO keynote, and cross-referenced the team. He was ready to leave his role and join this company with a visionary CEO and disruptive solution. And then ... the CRO shuts it down. ❌ CRO What would you do? #interviews #saasstories #switchgears

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🔍 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀. “Even when our sales team knows our product inside and out, our prospects fail to understand our demos” Recently, a Solutions Leader highlighted this gap. They mentioned that even a basic workflow in their SaaS product doesn’t click with their prospects. However, when their sales team shows the same workflow with the prospect’s relevant data, the prospect has an AHA! Moment.  𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘀: • 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁’𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲: Tailor demos to address specific customer workflows and pain points. • 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹: Demonstrate how your product can solve real problems and deliver tangible results. • 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲: Adapt your demo style and content to match the audience's preferences and knowledge level. What's your go-to strategy for creating demos that truly resonate? Share your experience below.  #SaaS #B2B #B2BSales #ProductDemo #CustomerSuccess #Sales #ProductManagement 

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I talked with our highest performing SDR last week. Here's how she books most of her meetings. 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝘀𝗵𝗲 "𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘄": She reaches out to people who'd be daily users of our product (cold calls mostly). Her objective is to learn as much as possible about the business and what their priorities and challenges are. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 "𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵": She uses what she learns to better tailor her messaging to higher-level stakeholders. For example: Hey Jill, Spoke with X and Y on your team. They mentioned Z was a challenge. We've helped companies like A and B accomplish C. Worth a quick chat to learn how? 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆: One extra step goes a long way. - Mike G 👉 Join 7,000+ sellers getting my (free) sales newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/gwQVvVBK

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📢 Is SaaS Really Dead? Not So Fast. AI and Consumption-Based Pricing in HR Tech: Let the Buyer and Seller Beware. I’ve been closely watching the heated debate over consumption versus traditional SaaS pricing models in the B2B space. Lately, I’ve been pulled into several conversations about the potential for this shift in HR tech - sparking the idea for my latest post on the WorkTech site. We've been down this path before, and it can be successful. But nothing in tech is one-size-fits-all. And both buyers and sellers need to put more thought into this before they chase the trend. 💡 In HR technology, where transactions are plentiful and diverse—ranging from job postings to performance management to payroll—the journey toward new pricing paradigms is anything but straightforward. It’s a complex path that truly exemplifies a partnership within HR Tech. 🚀 From AI integration to consumption-based and results-based models, our industry is in the midst of a significant transformation. But, as promising as these new models may seem, the road ahead is fraught with challenges for both buyers and sellers. 🔍 Dive into my article to explore: 🌄 The evolving landscape of pricing models ⚖️ The benefits and complexities of each approach 🗺️ How to navigate this changing environment with insight and foresight Click through to the full article. #HRTech #SaaS #AIPricing #Innovation #FutureOfWork #WorkTech

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