Dan Mirolli ☂️

The transition from founder led sales -> a repeatable GTM motion is hard... Extremely hard. There are so many things to consider to mitigate risk and get as many repetitions on closed loop feedback as quickly as possible. -> what profile of a rep should I hire -> how to assess the right talent -> SDR or AE or growth hacker type or both -> what channels should we be testing -> what does good look like? What does great look like? -> how do I know if we’re making progress? And so much more… We’re discussing all this live next Tuesday at Kiln. If you’re in Utah, come check it out: https://lnkd.in/eQ9dyJK4

41

6 Comments

Some predictable pipeline reflections from GTM audits this week: 1️⃣ Many companies are selling too fast, and it's ironically slowing down closed deals. Talking about product and price too early, pushing buyers faster than they're ready to go, dragging buying committee members along that have no idea what you're talking about. Sometimes three steps is faster than one. Be methodical to accelerate pipeline velocity. 2️⃣ Inbound is often fool's gold. The numbers make you feel good but the quality is fleeting and inconsistent. The healthiest companies combine inbound and outbound into an "allbound" strategy that drives more predictable performance and results. 3️⃣ Marketing programs and budgets in complex sales cycle situations need to be managed from the bottom up, not the top down. Cost per lead isn't nearly as important as customer acquisition cost (CAC) and managing a body of work that's at and below that number on a consistent, repeatable and scalable basis. 4️⃣ Smaller numbers are most often your most important numbers. Stop celebrating webinar registrations, booth drop-bys and social followers. Even engagement doesn't matter unless it's paired with an accurate, comprehensive ideal customer profile (ICP) definition. 5️⃣ Politics is killing internal progress and innovation. The most successful leaders create a culture of collaboration and transparency, maintain a "team sport" mentality to go-to-market, and encourage if not require ongoing professional development and learning.

165

30 Comments

Challenge: Enterprise SaaS Deals aren’t progressing, denying clients increased efficiency and vendors the revenue needed to grow. You: Fractional or Full Time SaaS Sales Leader focused on strategy, staffing and operations. Me: Enterprise SaaS Deal Coach, focused acutely on helping sellers and their champions progress current deals, resulting in increased conversions, deal value and recurring revenue. Let’s meet to help clients improve their business while driving the revenue you need to grow.

9

12 Comments

How do you set your deal priorities? Sales leaders are pretty good at this. But they can do better. The Efficient Frontier For Sales shows you where to focus so you maximize sales for the risk you are willing to accept. On average deal portfolios on the Efficient Frontier produce 58% more in-quarter sales than prioritizations based on stage, deal-size, forecast category, or deal-scores. Want to see how this works? DM me for that case study. #salesmanagement #salesleadership #salesenablement #salesoperations #revops #revenueoperations #salesops #analytics #datascience #forecasting #sales

2

GTM tooling is one of the fastest growing verticals in B2B right now. Ton of fluff out there, but there are handful of tools that are * genuinely * exciting. Shortlist of companies we're (actively) test driving: 1. Attention Live sales call recaps, tactical action items, and seamless integrations. Anis Bennaceur + co are building something special. S/o to Dan Jaeck for the flag. 2. Default All-in-one lead routing, scheduling, and automated pipeline workflows. Big ups to Nico F. and Stan Rymkiewicz - building a behemoth of a platform. 3. Unify Warm outbound done right based on live intent signals. IMO the next major untapped B2B growth channel. Watch this space cc Austin Hughes 🤝. 4. 11x.ai AI SDR agents on autopilot. Haven't personally tried it yet but love the concept + impressed with early growth. Excited to test drive it soon - big opp here. 5. Pipeline LinkedIn will increasingly become the go-to GTM and BD channel in the next 12 months. Sudarshan Sridharan and his team are shipping at an insane pace. 6. Seam From a people lens, retaining top performers in a GTM motion is critical. Big fan of what Jacob Honig + Sean Taylor are building. Very happy customer here. 7. Cabal We swear by Cabal for monthly GTM updates and investor emails. Great UI, easy to segment and build referral lists. Brian M. and co are getting a lot right.

134

26 Comments

Future of AI and Sales in SaaS. This is an info-dense discussion. Must watch for B2B CEOs. https://lnkd.in/ghcgT4_q

5

What is a Pipeline Council? Your pipeline council is a committee of GTM leaders that meet to discuss and create real solutions for deep issues affecting the pipeline. It’s an opportunity to dig deep into what’s working and what’s not to create and close pipeline. An opportunity to identify real issues, across the business and solutions to those issues. How to Setup a Pipeline Council: 1. Get Executive Alignment 2. Decide on Attendees 3. Hold the First Meeting 4. Then Continue Meetings How to Run Them: 1. RevOps brings the source of truth: data 2. Everyone has to show up 3. Everyone has to work towards the same goals 4. Leaders have to be vulnerable in sharing ideas 5. Every meeting has to be action-oriented 6. Keep it dynamic More on this in tomorrow’s 📰 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙊𝙥𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮 📰 Subscribe to get it here: https://bit.ly/49RCm0h ✌️

107

22 Comments

$8.1M in pipeline for a Series A healthtech co. in 6wks Here's how we did it with 1 BDR and systems. The client said they were struggling with leads What they were actually struggling with: • Competitors could easily put their name on messaging. • They were automating outreach like everyone else. • They were struggling with inconsistent positioning. • They glossed over their GTM motion. We took a different approach: • Human intelligence over automation. • Revenue operations fundamentals. • Revenue marketing strategy. • Scaled down tech stack. • Precise segmentation. The problem? • They treated all "providers" the same. • Generic messaging missed crucial nuances. • Engagement and conversion rates sucked. Our approach: • Redefined the "provider" category. • Segment by specialty and sub-specialty. • Develop tailored messaging for each group. • Taught social selling basics. • Cut off mass automation. We dug deep: • Sifted through industry benchmarks. • Gathered data on practice-specific KPIs. • Built business cases for each sub-specialty. • Addressed operational and financial outcomes. Our secret weapons? Perplexity and Telescope • Used these for persona-specific research. • Empathy maps + customer journey for EVERY persona. • Built out persona specific account approaches. • Opened the whole buying committee. • Uploaded directly to CRM for BDR reference. We systemized everything: • Lean tech stack focused on revenue ops. • Integrated call transcripts and outreach data. • Analyzed and refined strategies in real-time. Copywriting got a makeover: • Crafted messages based on empathy maps. • Uploaded scripts and FAQs to JustCall. • Enabled real-time conversation adaptation.    The tech stack was slim: • Lavender 💜  for optimized email crafting. • Close CRM and JustCall integration for consistency. • Clay insights available at every touchpoint. The results? • $8.1M in pipeline. • Higher engagement rates. • Increased conversions. Our edge? • Healthcare expertise. • Precise segmentation and messaging. • Systemized, quality-over-volume approach. Tools that made it happen: • HUMANS (not robots) leading campaigns. • Perplexity for up-to-date healthcare trends. • Telescope for refined prospect lists. • The Org to unlock buying committees • MillionVerifier for email validation • Clay for persona enrichment • CloseCRM as our central data hub. • JustCall for personalized cold calls • Lavender for crispy copywriting. The takeaway? • Generic approaches don't cut it. • Tailored strategies drive real results. • Human touch + smart tech = winning combo. Want to unlock revenue today? Then you need to work with experts. Shoot me a connection and a DM if you want to see the flow.

19

6 Comments

Plenty of GTM math is getting more and more complicated, but one metric has always served me well by keeping it dead simple. Shoot for 3X pipeline coverage, 4X if you want to err on the conservative side. That's it. Anything under that means you're likely leaving too much good pipeline on the shelf. Anything over that implies either a qualification problem or a conversion problem. And that is NOT a sales problem, because you all own that together as part of a unified go-to-market team. The problem(s) could be any of a number of things - lead quality, imprecise buying journey mapping, sales process management, buying committee multi-threading, etc. I imagine even this simple math will stir up some debate for you internally. Better to have that conversation now in pre-fiscal year planning than mid-year when it's harder to course-correct.

87

34 Comments

Had a great discussion yesterday with 25 sales leaders from our of our investor client's portfolio companies. Topic was 'Hiring and Ramping A Player Reps.' Some of the key take aways below: 1. Most organizations don't have an 'Ideal Seller Profile' (aka ISP). Take the time to get very specific about what you want your sellers to know and be able to do. 2. Develop a behavioral interviewing scorecard that aligns with your ISP and stick to it. Most regretted hires are those that were good on paper but not great vs. ISP scorecard. 3. Having a consistent knowledge/skills profile doesn't mean hiring people that are otherwise the same. Lots of great stories about candidates with diverse experiences who have been great performers. 4. Decide what knowledge/skills you want someone to have coming in the door and which you will teach. Many organizations aren't consistent here and it makes it hard to properly resource the ramp up period. 5. Define what 'ramped' means at your organization. This is a shockingly rare practice. Personal recommendation is ramped = full quota performance. 6. Clearly articulate the milestones that lead up to full ramp. These should encompass knowledge (i.e. can you talk through the personas we serve), skills (i.e. can you run a proper first call based on defined standards) , and results (i.e. do you have X qualified pipeline by Y timeframe) 7. Have standards that go along with the knowledge and skills someone needs. Less 'knows our product' more 'can give 15 minute demonstration that aligns with our 'best demo' framework and scores a 8/10 on our demo rubrik' If this sounds like hard work, it is. It is also way cheaper than churning 40% of your salesforce every year.

19

6 Comments

🛑 the insanity please... Need more revenue? Just hire more salespeople! This is NOT the way to sustainable growth. Subscribe to Revenue Magazine, it's free and you'll get the real deal from GTM leaders in the trenches. Link to the article in the comments. #CRO #GTM #Salesleadership

15

6 Comments

Connect the dots..... between People Process Product Technology & Business Unit Economics. There's no magic bullet. It's that simple and that hard. Over the past few weeks, I've had this conversation on repeat with Founders, CEOs and other GTM leaders. It's like Groundhog Day living rent free in my head. What's on repeat in your world?! #GTM #leadership #revenuegrowthengine

6

The 3 main metrics I use to determine a successful day as a seller: 1) Pipeline created 2) Outbound activities 3) Useful meetings held with clients or partners How do you determine a successful day as a seller?

60

19 Comments

CROs: Do you manage reps on data or gut feel? Gut Feel:  - Ask where they need help  - Jump on calls, see how they do  - Ask them how their deals are going  - Share generalized advice on selling  - Push them to log a lot more activities  - Tell them to work harder to reach quota Downsides:  - Reps reveal different things  - Some hide their problems from you  - Some don't know what their problems are  - You see a snippet of their deals joining calls  - Can't go deep asking about pipeline verbally  - You're only scratching the surface with this way Data-Driven Coaching:  - Look at quota  - Look at metrics  - Their Close Rate  - Their pipeline generation  - Their Average Sales Price  - Their Average Sales Cycle  - Their overall Pipeline Velocity  - Their activities and conversion rates You ask THEM, how they want to hit quota  - Do they want to make more calls?  - How many would it take to hit quota?  - Or maybe they improve their Close Rate?   - What's average on the team? Where are they?  - How much of the gap is bridged by improving here? Then THEY build their own plan  - With their own data  - Benchmarked against the team How much more bought in do you think they'll be? Vs. being told to "make more calls?" 🤔 In tomorrow’s 📰 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙊𝙥𝙨 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙡𝙮 📰 I’m going to break down how to build a data-driven culture and how to use the data to provide Data-Driven Sales Coaching to help reps build their own plans, ones they’re fully bought into, with real data and achievable goals. Subscribe to get it here: https://bit.ly/49RCm0h ✌️

22

2 Comments

The most common thing I'm hearing from companies right now is low 'early stage' deal conversion. TOFU stagnation. If you are speaking to companies within your ICP and struggling to translate demand into pipeline, there's one thing I'm seeing more than anything else that is the root cause of why. You're finding pain.... but you're not building on it. Certainly not quantifying it. It's not enough to just find it. It'll end up with no action.

4

I’ve seen 200 + SDR teams. One of the most common reasons why SDR teams fail? They’re spending time doing the wrong things.   1) Companies are hindering their team with non pipeline generating activities. 2) Complicated or lack of process... CRMs that are like a maze and have 15+ fields to fill in just to change a lead status. 3) Activities that aren’t linked to quota. What have I missed? 💡

35

15 Comments

Why is 60-70% of SDRs missing quota? It's because their leadership is failing them. I had the pleasure of interviewing Sara Storm on the SDR Hire Podcast - a tenured SDR and Revenue leader with multiple successful teams behind her, countless lectures and trainings delivered. Sara has a very unique, no BS approach to sales and SDR leadership. In this episode she shared: • What's the current state of the SDR/BDR role • Why sales leaders are failing their sales teams AND their customers • How can SDRs take ownership of their careers?! • Should you even be in an SDR role? • How she used to close 7/10 cold calls she'd make Here's the full episode: https://lnkd.in/eCANhKGu Sara thank you for sharing your expertise and holding sales leaders everywhere accountable! Hope you all enjoy and subscribe! #sdr #bdr #salesdevelopment #techsales #career

19

11 Comments

If you’re leading sales in Health IT, think like an investor. Certain metrics reveal growth and resilience. When you master these, you’re aligning your sales strategy with investor goals...a win-win if your company is investor owned. Here’s the lineup: 1. ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue): Shows your revenue’s predictability. High ARR = reliable growth. 2. CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): Measures the efficiency of your spend to win new customers. Lower CAC? More profit per sale. 3. Gross Margin: Reflects the profit you keep after direct costs. Higher margins mean scalable, sustainable sales. 4. NDRR (Net Dollar Revenue Retention) aka Net Retention: The secret weapon for loyalty. Strong NDRR shows customers are staying and spending more. 5. Time to Market Expansion: Signals how quickly you capture new markets—a key to fast growth. 💡 Takeaway: Investors value efficient, scalable growth. Focus on these metrics to align with investor expectations AND sharpen your strategy for sustainable growth. Upward career growth will be waiting for you, if that is the path you want. Thanks Forbes Advisor and Rocket Digital Health for the articles that spurred this insight for today. [Links in Comments]. ❗A list of sales strategies that support investor expectations available in the Echelon. ❇️ In Health IT Sales? Join the Echelon [LINK in Comments]. Echelon is a community where the ambitious in Health IT Sales accelerate success. ❇️ Are you a Health IT sales leader and want a Peer Advisor? Message me. #JoinTheEchelon #HealthITSales #MetricsThatMatter #SalesGrowth #DigitalHealth

8

2 Comments

The latest episode of the 20VC Sales podcast is a great listen. Dan Fougere shares his experience building sales teams and processes. Also a quick reference to the challenges of illiquid employee shares and the impact it has. Forge played a key role in helping him find a solution—an interesting perspective for anyone in private markets or sales leadership. Worth checking out. #Sales #Liquidity #PrivateMarkets

22