Rob Coyne

HubSpot’s acquisition of Cacheflow acknowledges that the CPQ space is complex and highly tailored to each business. Until now, HubSpot has always had a very basic CPQ setup. Good enough for simple packaged products and services, but not built for the kind of nuanced pricing and bundling models many companies demand. By bringing Cacheflow into the mix, HubSpot is positioning itself to deliver something much more advanced and competitive. — Here’s why this acquisition is a smart move: 1️⃣ The market has requirements for many different CPQ solutions Here’s the thing: CPQ isn’t one-size-fits-all. That’s why players like PandaDoc, DealHub, Quote.Hapily, Zuper and others will always meet specific business needs. Cacheflow fills a gap in HubSpot’s offering for some customers, whilst others will use other software together with HubSpot. And for businesses running on the basic HubSpot CPQ, this will give you more flexibility. 2️⃣ Usage-based CPQ is transforming commercial strategies Cacheflow has unique features for usage-based pricing, a model we’re seeing more and more across industries. Think about it: we’re moving away from fixed-cost products toward paying for what you actually use, whether that’s SaaS software, streaming platforms, or even utilities. Customers love it because it feels fair; businesses love it because it scales with value. — Why I’m excited about usage-based pricing We’re at a tipping point. Subscriptions are out; consumption-based models are in. Customers want pricing that reflects how much value they’re getting, not how long they’ve been locked into a contract. That’s the future of CPQ, and Cacheflow positions HubSpot to ride that wave. The big question is how HubSpot is going to rebuild Cacheflow into their ecosystem. That’s what I’m watching for. If they get this right, it could be a huge upgrade for some companies looking to scale their CPQ needs without leaving the HubSpot universe. In my opinion, this acquisition is a step forward for HubSpot and a nod to the growing demand for flexible, usage-based pricing. It’s not the end-all-be-all for CPQ, but it’s a move in the right direction for modern sales. #HubSpot #CPQ #SalesStrategy #UsageBasedPricing #SeekEvolution

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If you haven't yet seen it, Seth Marrs and the team at Forrester's 'revenue orchestration' is a great and accurate analysis of the sales tech landscape, the consolidation of tools and suites, opportunities and impact of AI, automation and productivity for sales teams. Engagement Insights Execution Data But whilst reviewing it, it reminded me exactly why we started MySalesCoach. All these tools to support the productivity and efficiency for sellers, barely any support to help them grow their skills or get better at selling. In fact, let me put it more plainly. *The market is helping sellers, who lack the skills to be successful, to be more productive.* 75% of sellers IN SPITE of the proliferation of tools, are failing to achieve quota. We may be able to spend more time on the deals with intent, more time selling rather than updating CRM systems, automate many of the repeatable or administrative tasks in sales - but we are (collectively) failing. Buying tools for productivity feels obvious. And I'm not arguing that it's not. But failing to invest in helping teams grow, confines us to the hamster wheel of struggling quarters - forever trying to squeeze more efficiency out of teams that lack the skills to succeed. And the nod to skills development in this accurate market overview - Coaching. Robot role-play, recorded and analysed sales calls that never get played, 'AI coaching' with bullet point feedback? Hardly growing skills in a meaningful way to achieve the growth our teams need to succeed and are capable of. We have become addicted to tools for productivity, to support teams without the skills to succeed.

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It’s common for sellers in B2B technology sales to feel overshadowed by larger, well-established competitors. Questions like, “Do we have the credibility?”, “Can our solutions meet the enterprise's needs?”, or “How can we differentiate ourselves?” can creep in and shake our confidence. But remember, W𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝖛𝖎𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝗖𝗜𝗥𝗖𝗨𝗠𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘, W𝖊 𝖆𝖗𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖒𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘. When we shift our perspective, challenges become opportunities. Instead of focusing on what we lack, let's highlight what sets us apart. Here are 30 differentiators smaller firms use to differentiate. Identify just SIX that are true for your business and string them together in a clear value proposition statement: 𝘼𝙜𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝘾𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙧-𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝, 𝙁𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩, 𝙏𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝘿𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝘿𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝘼𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥, 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨, 𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩, 𝙁𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝘾𝙤𝙨𝙩-𝙀𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝘾𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨, 𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣-𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝘼𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚, 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝-𝙏𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙀𝙣𝙜𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙄𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢-𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝘾𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩, 𝙃𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙍𝙊𝙄 (𝙍𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙄𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩), 𝙎𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙎𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙀𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝘽𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙋𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨, 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙆𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚, 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨. One of the companies that shaped me was Mindtree, now LTIMindtree. When I joined in 2004, we were just a scale-up competing with several big companies. The value prop we used included (1) Direct Access to Leadership, (2) Strong Customer Relationships, (3) Quick Decision-Making, (4) Commitment to Success, (5) Creative Solutions, and (6) Innovation. This allowed us to scale rapidly to a billion dollars, successfully winning against bigger competitors and securing prestigious projects. Next time you’re competing against the giants, reframe your self-doubt. See it as a reminder of your unique strengths and how they empower you to deliver unmatched value to your clients. 💡💪 #SalesStrategy #B2BSales #PerspectiveShift #Innovation #CustomerCentric

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Today's B2B seller is supported by presales teams, solutions experts, sales managers, sales operations, technology experts, delivery teams. I believe these all these supporting roles are going to get rapidly disrupted. Here's our 10 point coaching blueprint for a full-stack seller (we call them sales engineers). 𝟭. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆: Understand the art and science of selling to connect authentically with customers. 𝟮. 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝘆𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀: Hone your ability to craft persuasive and impactful messages. 𝟯. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Learn the principles of marketing to create compelling strategies that drive engagement and growth. 𝟰. 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Study human behaviour to better relate to and influence others. 𝟱. 𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗕𝗶𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲: Recognize and navigate cognitive biases to make better decisions and improve interactions. 𝟲. 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Explore the workings of the brain to enhance your understanding of thought processes and behaviour. 𝟳. 𝗘𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲: Identify and leverage emotional triggers to create meaningful and motivating experiences. 𝟴. 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: Incorporate regular physical exercise to maintain high energy levels, improve mental clarity, and manage stress effectively. 𝟵. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: Become adept at using modern sales tools and technologies to streamline your workflow, analyse data, and enhance your overall efficiency. 𝟭𝟬. 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴: Develop and maintain a strong personal brand to differentiate yourself and build trust and credibility with clients and prospects. ⏩What others can you add?👇 #salesengineers

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Nice and detailed article from Jeremy Sacramento about the importance of Sales Intelligence Data to accelerate the pipeline: - Identifying ICP - Qualifying and prioritising LEADS - Timing and personalising the OUTREACH - PLANNING Of course the ultimate goal ⚽ remains to constantly generate the number of monthly leads that allows every sales rep to reach their quota 🚀 #salesintelligence #ICP #leads #outreach

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Thanks to RevOps Automated and HubSpot for organising a great discussion over dinner last night. It's incredibly useful to hear how other sales leaders are tackling the problems of how to grow businesses in 2024

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There is often considerable overlap between Revenue Operations (RevOps) leadership and the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) roles due to the interconnected nature of strategy and execution in driving revenue growth. This signifies a move toward a transformation in Revenue executives where decision-makers combine strategic foresight with operational expertise that drives sustainable revenue growth. The opportunity for senior RevOps professionals to take on these executive roles is more relevant than ever. Here is my advice on considering this move: https://lnkd.in/eEp263QR

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In the ever-evolving world of sales, mastering negotiation strategies is critical for driving revenue growth and securing deals. We’ve compiled 11 essential strategies that can transform your sales approach and boost your success rate. By implementing these game-changing techniques, you can not only elevate your sales game but also strengthen client relationships. For a deeper dive into these strategies, visit https://okt.to/zKFJuv.

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I am so looking forward to this! The conversation about #AgenticAI will be amazing with Ketan; and with the introduction of Spotter, I'm excited to talk about how an AI data analyst or business analyst embedded in applications can take business innovation to a new level! New business models, new revenue streams, new levels of customer experience! Let's do this!

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Are you struggling with inefficiencies and misalignment due to working with multiple agencies, CRM consultancies, and RevOp firms? It’s time to simplify! In our latest blog, we explore how consolidating your efforts with a consultancy like Huble that combines strategy, creative, and HubSpot expertise can streamline your marketing, sales and service initiatives. Read the full article to learn more 👉 https://bit.ly/44RyCdv #MarketingStrategy #AgencyConsolidation #DontCompromise #Seek Evolution #DigitalMarketing

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AI should be a conversation starter, not a blocker. Beatrix AI helps your team create valuable, direct customer conversations. Test drive Beatrix AI https://zurl.co/kAYt #CustomerCentric #SalesInnovation

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💥 Hit me up with the BEST pricing experts from these industries; Manufacturing, Renewable Energy and IT-consultancy 💸 👉 The vloxq CPQ podcast show 'Fail n' Grow,' with 🙋‍♀️ as its host, has been Paused 🛑 Reframed ♻️ and is now coming back even stronger 🤌 *Pricing and Profitability* is a HOT 🔥 topic We only have room for 3 more guest experts 👇 So please connect me 👇 with the BEST Pricing and Profitability experts within #Manufacturing, #RenewableEnergy and #ITconsultancy 🙏 #pricing #profitability #failngrow #podcast

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Sean's Sales Tip: The Need for a Strategic Mix of Channel Partners 🌟 Selecting the right channel partners is all about balancing impact and investment. Each type of partner comes with its own costs and ramp-up time, so it’s crucial to have a strategic mix. 🌟 📊 Direct Sales Rep: Revenue Impact: High Time to Onboard: 2-6 months Direct reps are fully focused on selling your product, leading to significant revenue generation. However, onboarding them takes time and requires alignment with your sales strategy. 📊 🤝 Small Reseller: Revenue Impact: Steady Time to Onboard: 1-2 months Small resellers may have limited reach, but they are quick to recruit and build strong customer relationships, generating steady revenue in localized markets. 🤝 🔧 Solutions Reseller (Complex Products): Revenue Impact: High Time to Onboard: 6-18 months These partners sell integrated solutions and focus on complex, high-margin products. However, they need significant onboarding due to technical requirements. 🔧 🌍 Regional or Global Partner: Revenue Impact: Medium to High Time to Onboard: 9-36 months These partners provide access to larger markets but require extensive onboarding. 🌍 🚚 Wholesale Distributor: Revenue Impact: Low to Medium Time to Onboard: 3-9 months Distributors are essential for scaling, managing logistics, and financing. Though their direct revenue impact is lower, they are key in getting your product to market. 🚚 🔩 Installer: Revenue Impact: Very Low Time to Onboard: 1-3 months Installers mainly focus on service rather than sales. They’re quick to onboard but have minimal impact on revenue, supporting product usage instead. 🔩 ⚙️ OEM (Rebranded Product): Revenue Impact: High Time to Onboard: 6-12 months OEM agreements offer substantial revenue potential by rebranding your product, though onboarding takes time due to integration and branding efforts. ⚙️ 🎯 Smart vendors understand the need for a diverse partner ecosystem. Each partner type offers unique strengths in terms of revenue impact and onboarding time. By aligning compensation and strategy to these differences, you can maximize short-term wins and long-term growth. 🎯 #SalesLeadership #ChannelStrategy #RevenueGrowth #PartnerEcosystem

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These days, most #B2B companies ask their clients what they think of the service they receive. Or if they would recommend them to a friend or colleague (that's the #NetPromoter question - a bit clunky and one-dimensional, but it works). In many cases, the response rates to surveys are dreadful and as a result, the insights from the survey are anything but robust. By dreadful, I mean a response rate of 10-20%. Here's how you change all that, and achieve response rates of 49% like Insight did a few months ago: https://lnkd.in/egHHFNj6

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Intent data is a hot commodity at the moment, but most sales teams don’t know how to effectively use it. Here’s how Cognism is using intent today: ✅ Account selection and prioritisation: Every account in our CRM has an account prioritisation score and when any of our intent signals (reverse IP lookup, cookie capture, funding data, etc.) are seen the prioritisation score goes up. This is shown clearly to the sales rep. They can then deep dive into the exact intent signal and decide what to do next. Ensuring each seller is focusing on the right parts of their territory. ✅ Account messaging: Once the intent signal is seen our seller will have a list of suggested ways to reach out. Our approach is generally direct – “We saw someone at your organisation was looking at X. Just curious whether this is also on your radar." Relevant messaging will always increase response rates. ✅ Contact level insight: We’re using tools like trumpet 🎺 to give us insight into what our prospects are most interested in. Building digital sales rooms on the tool allows us to see not just what they are looking at the most but also who - an absolute game-changer for accelerating sales cycles by 28% by helping you focus on what matters most. Sign up with trumpet 🎺 for free here: https://bit.ly/3QzbACd

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💡 22% - Sellers with strong leadership support achieve 22% higher quota attainment [6sense, BDR Benchmark Report] ⏩ 2X - Companies leveraging AI-driven account prioritisation experience up to twice the sales velocity: deals close faster and at significantly higher conversion rates. [6sense, Annual Report] 🚀 $66M - Implementing an AI-based revenue strategy helped clients like Marathon Health generate $66M in new pipeline, unlocking quality leads and faster revenue growth. [6sense, 2023 Case Study] Discover how improved data and AI can significantly boost efficiency and ROI: https://okt.to/RkejuP

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Sharing for people in the Onboarding and Implementation world. Stuart Barker is working on an interesting use case where Jointflows can dramatically improve the transfer of knowledge as the Customer Success team takes on ownership of a customer after the Sales team closes a deal. It's well worth talking with Stuart about this.

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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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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 : 1️⃣ Smart list building 2️⃣ Automated pipeline management and 3️⃣ 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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