Dini M.

Maybe the most important skill for enterprise sales and CS is the ability to quickly connect the dots. The very best can hear or read disparate pieces of information and construct them into a coherent value narrative then make this relevant to different stakeholders. Often on the fly.

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As CS is getting increasingly aligned with the revenue function, this conversation is happening a lot... CRO: "I just took over customer success, can someone explain to me what our CSMs do?" VP CS: "We make sure that our customers are getting value from the product..." CRO: "OK, what does that mean?" VP CS: "We answer all of their questions and log support cases." CRO: "Isn't that support?" VP CS: "Well no, because we have QBRs" CRO: "OK, well what do we talk about in the QBRs?" VP CS: "All the tickets we fixed and the features that we rolled out" CRO: "Ok, what other things do our CSMs do?" VP CS: "We help with implementations and continuous improvement!" CRO: "Isn't that professional services?" VP CS: "Well we read an article that says that we shouldn't charge for services, so our CSMs just do it." CRO: " 🤯 " VP CS: " 🤯 "

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Partner-Led Growth 🔗 : The Key 🔑 to Successful GTM in Technical Sales In technical enterprise SaaS sales, solid networks and strategic alliances are essential. But partnerships also have an accelerating effect on deals and sales in no-touch and low-touch GTM motions. Partner-led growth and nearbound strategies are essential components of a sustainable GTM strategy that need to be deeply integrated into the GTM motion framework. In my career as a GTM leader, I have often painfully learned how crucial this factor is for sustainable success 💡 Here are my 4 recommendations for successful partner strategy & management. 1️⃣ The Basics of Networking A strong partner network provides access to resources, knowledge, customers, and opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach. Define which type of partner you most need in jour current Growth phase. The priorities according to partner type will change over time. Build a strong partner acquisition team. Avoid mixed responsibilities. Build a partner target pipeline and segregate it by partner type. Use LinkedIn to find partners and build targeted connections ans also attend relevant industry events. 2️⃣ Strategic Connections Long-lasting partnerships with IT management consultants and integration partners are critical to managing the complexity of enterprise SaaS sales. Without these alliances, market access is delayed, which can lead to lost revenue. Structured onboarding programs and regular meetings (performance review dialogues) to set goals and monitor progress are essential. Implement clear goals and a regular performance review system. 3️⃣ Maintaining Relationships Relationships and partnerships need to be actively nurtured to remain valuable in the long term. Regular communication, sharing relevant information, and a genuine interest in the partner's goals and challenges are essential. Especially in an environment that requires high technological depth and integration, well-maintained partnerships with referrers, resellers, and technology partners are the key to success. ✅ Give more than you expect and show real added value. Avoid seeing the partner as just a lead gen machine. 4️⃣ Network ROI The ROI of networks often only becomes apparent in the long term, but the investment pays off through more business opportunities, market information, and strategic alliances. Lack of partnerships leads to significant competitive disadvantages, lack of trust, and missed sales opportunities. Develop clear metrics and KPIs to measure the success of your partnerships and conduct regular health checks. Building a strong network and integrating it into your GTM strategy is not optional, but mandatory for long-term success in the competitive SaaS landscape. If you're not a partner, you pretty much don't exist per se. How are you managing and leveraging your network for success? Share your thoughts below! 👇 #Networks #GTM #Nearbound #Partnership #IndirectSales #CROMastersAi

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🔑 The Power of a Written Exercise in Interviewing Revenue Leaders 📝 Hiring the right revenue leader can make or break an organization. As we search for smart folks to drive our revenue growth at Vanta, one approach has consistently proven to be a game-changer: the written exercise. 🔍 Why a Written Exercise? Clarity of Thought: A well designed exercise reveals a candidate's ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and concisely. This skill is vital for revenue leaders who must communicate strategies across diverse teams and stakeholders. Strategic Insight: Through real-world scenarios, candidates demonstrate their strategic thinking and problem-solving abilities. This helps us gauge their approach to challenges and opportunities unique to our business. Analytical Prowess: Written exercises allow candidates to showcase their analytical skills. By dissecting data and presenting actionable insights, we can see how they drive decisions that lead to growth. Cultural Fit: How a candidate approaches a written task can also give us a glimpse into their work ethic, attention to detail, and alignment with our company values and culture. Elliot Goldwater has really nailed this practice, and it's incredible how much the exercise can swing a process towards or away from a candidate. 👥 Have you implemented written exercises in your hiring process? What has been your experience? #RevenueGrowth #Leadership #HiringTrends #Interviewing #TalentAcquisition #Strategy

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What do you do when your customer’s success metrics don’t actually align with business value? Something I see a lot: -AE/CSM teams anchoring on a set of metrics that their primary champion has said are important -These metrics being heavily task oriented and not easily rolled up to a c-level business outcome How do you manage this?

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The New SaaS Playbook: Why Great Products AND Sales Teams Win Amplitude CEO Spenser Skates explains how blending intuitive software with strong sales execution redefines success in business tools. Evolving SaaS Playbooks: Early SaaS relied on powerhouse sales teams to drive adoption, even with subpar user experiences (think Omniture). Today, customers demand intuitive, self-serve tools that empower entire teams. Product-Led Meets Sales-Led: The future isn’t one-size-fits-all. Companies like Datadog, HubSpot, and Amplitude succeed by blending world-class products with strong sales execution. Momentum at Amplitude: A 40% increase in customer data flows shows how prioritizing usability and accessibility can drive adoption—even in a challenging market. How do you think SaaS companies can best balance intuitive products with strong sales execution to stay ahead?

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The first version of the SaaS GTM playbook was written twenty years ago. Salesforce championed it. Mark Roberge published The Sales Acceleration Formula about Hubspot’s journey. Over the next two decades, we analyzed, quantified, instrumented, & optimized many aspects of the SaaS GTM. Account executive to SDR ratios, sales cycle lengths, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, customer lifetime values, net dollar retention. The new software GTM playbook has yet to be written. But the companies who figure it out will become the next wave of massive businesses. On Tuesday, Theory held an event with [Dave Morse] formerly at Hebbia & Scale AI, Flo Crivello from Lindy, Paul Yacoubian from Copy.AI, & Chris Changfrom Gradient to discuss how AI changes these practices. These were my take aways : - Selling AI is being discovered because the technology is new. Buyers don’t know how to use it or how to buy it. - Because the sales motions are new, we can’t apply the previous playbook to the new sales process. The CEO/founder should hire a sales leader that they fully trust who focuses on ultimate success. The sales process is a part of the product : using both the customer’s language & the ultimate use of the product through success efforts - Between PLG vs sales led, more companies were sales-led. If starting with PLG, the template sells the product. Fight the empty box problem with great concrete templates that demonstrate how to use AI. If selling top-down, most of the conversations today are at the C-suite rather than the mid-market predominantly because the buying process is new. - Figuring out how to consistently produce wow moments with non-deterministic software is essential. - The room was split on pricing model : seats, usage, or some hybrid. Ultimately, pricing captures 15-30% of the value the software/AI creates. Developing a strong case for this with buyers will be key because the ROI question from buyers is real especially as the broader software market feels pressure. - Only VCs care about the word agents / agentic : for most enterprises, agents mean a customer support agent. Many teams don’t care about the underlying technology, they seek a solution to their problem. Tomorrow, we’ll be publish the results of the 2024 GTM Survey which we’ll reveal at Saastr in which we dig into the use of AI on sales processes & the impact to efficiency. Thanks to the panelists & attendees for a great discussion.

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Founders know Rippling is where to go. Where to go to build your business from seed stage to IPO, but also where to go as a former founder if you want high accountability, runway, and an opportunity to build something big. Thanks for the shoutout Garry Tan! Let’s build together!👷🏼‍♂️🚀😀 https://lnkd.in/guAtia7i

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

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Customer Success isn’t just about keeping clients happy, it’s a boardroom-level conversation that investors will scrutinize. ⬇️ At #SaaStr2024, Nick Mehta from Gainsight broke down 10 critical questions that every founder and customer success leader should be ready to answer when engaging with investors. #CustomerSuccess #SaaS #TreeAndLeafPartners #NickMehta #Investor #Leaders #SaaStr2024

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If you're a seller you've felt it over the past 3 years - longer sales cycles, bigger and more risk-averse buying committees, tougher budget scrutiny on deals, more competition, and lower win rates. But why? In a new UserEvidence research study of 200+ B2B buyers, 200+ sellers, and 200+ marketers (600+ total respondents) - we examined the disconnect between the 3 groups - and dug into the details on one of the primary culprits: Vendors aren't providing today's skeptical and conservative buyers with enough quality and relevant customer evidence and proof and content to make buyers feel confident in their purchasing decision and path to strong ROI. There are huge implications for sellers and marketers. Transactions aren't smooth - it's not working. There is a lot of room to improve. Some topics that stood out in the report: 🔍 - where buyers START their search - it was a bit of a surprise to me that analysts firms like Gartner and Forrester have eclipsed peer review sites 🏁 - where buyers FINISH their search - is NOT analyst reports or even review sites. While great starting points for building a short list - technology is getting more complex, so buyers need more relevant information about how a solution will work in their unique environment 🎯 - Relevance one of the most important (and often missed/poorly executed) factors for whether or not content was effective. Matching on Industry was the biggest proxy for relevance, but use-case, role, company size, were all important as well 💵 - vendors STRUGGLE to produce any credible statistical evidence that would help a buyer make a concrete business case for strong ROI (e.g. cost savings, time savings, productivity gains, etc). And this financial business case is needed more than ever as CFOs get involved in more deals. ⚔ - the #1 type of customer evidence missing for sellers was COMPETITIVE EVIDENCE - ie why customers switched from incumbents, whats better/different about their product. There has been an explosion of vendors, and buyers are lost in the noise, and can't differentiate well between solutions. Kyle Lacy said it well, “The holy grail of marketing is customer evidence. Marketing teams must prioritize the creation of quantifiable ROI and validations to regain the buyer’s trust. Elevating customer stories is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ thing; it’s essential for winning.” Download the full report w/link in the comments. Some great wisdom included from Emily Kramer, Emma Stratton, Mark Kosoglow, Devin Reed, Mac Reddin 🦕, Adam Schoenfeld, Jason Oakley, Kyle Asay, Adam Goyette, Chris Orlob, Natalie Marcotullio, Amanda Natividad, Morgan J Ingram, Kaylee Edmondson #productmarketing #customermarketing #salesenablement

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NVIDIA Jensen Huang manages 60 direct reports and skips 1-on-1s. His reasoning? *Equal Access to Information*: Empowerment through shared knowledge. *Flattening Hierarchies*: Reducing organizational layers for efficiency. *Public Feedback*: Enhancing team learning by addressing issues openly. Why 1-on-1s Are Outdated: Private feedback often benefits only the manager, depriving the team of collective learning opportunities and slowing down information flow. Lesson Learned: Open, collective feedback and transparency can foster a more informed, agile, and cohesive team. #Leadership #Management #Teamwork #Transparency #LearningCulture

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After 50-60 conversations with Product and CS leaders on capturing customer feedback and insights, here’s what we’re seeing: Customer Success leaders in SaaS companies need a more efficient way to gather product feedback, requests, and insights from calls and team interactions across all accounts. Right now, feedback capture is manual, slow, and error-prone, with insights often slipping through the cracks as team members forget or hesitate to submit data. Streamlining this process could secure critical insights, uncover opportunities, shape product roadmaps, and drive retention and revenue growth. We’ll continue to refine the persona and the need as we talk to more folks and build, but these are the pressing challenges we’ve identified so far. Any feedback for us? #CustomerSuccess #ProductManagement

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we're making progress with a Slack app that automates driving more & better practice / outputs / behaviors with your AEs & other sellers… goal: make role-playing practice more manageable, realistic, & consistent while applying it to actual deals during prep ofc we're plugging into AI for some fun feedback loops too 😊 our next phase is seeing how more teams react to decide what to build for early customers. we can focus on anything you're looking to improve right now: outbounding, cold calling, disco, negotiation, storytelling, improv, forecasting, testing champs, etc... let me know if you want to test it out with your team, or it's easy to get started with the link below. thx!

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“The eye of the storm”, There are a dozen GTM motions in use today. The most popular GTM motions are Inbound, Outbound, Targeted (ABM), Channel, and Product Led Growth (PLG). In a SaaS business with $50M in ARR, we may find as many as five different GTM motions. Most of the companies fail at the moment they choose between them! Jacco van der Kooij explain the reasons why some many SaaS business failed in 2022 and 2023, Jacoob’s reasoning is still more valid than ever!

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"When you have time for product... then you kind of bend back into that product space and a bit less than the sales space." - Saurabh Jain of TrialKey. Product Led Growth Leaders Episode 25 features TrialKey's Saurabh Jain and dives deep into the journey of being product-led from the start of your venture. Hear how companies sometimes shift towards a sales-led approach in the middle stages of growth. Discover the challenges of maintaining the right focus, building the right products, and keeping confidence high. Finally, learn how successful organizations strike a balance between sales and product once they've established a strong customer base and cash flow. Tune in now to gain insights on navigating your growth curve and finding the right balance for success! 🎧💡 #ProductLedGrowth #StartupJourney #PodcastEpisode #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #SalesLed #Sales

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All: We did a lot of things right at Drift, a Salesloft company, as we built the company from $3M in ARR to more than $75M in three years. One of those "right things" was our revenue and sales operations group led by Sean Lane. Sean was instrumental as we scaled and refined our GTM and Customer Success organizations. He, along with Laura Adint, have just released their Revenue Operations Manual documenting in detail how we did it. For anyone in that space its worth a read and just in time for 2025 planning cycle. 😎. Check it out. https://a.co/d/7oJK66A

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Customer success is the new sales in the PLG era. Reducing churn automatically helps drive expansion. Gainsight found that companies with mature customer success programs achieve 130% net revenue retention. Evolving customer success for PLG: • Focus on product adoption metrics • Use behavioral data to predict needs • Automate low-touch engagements • Prioritize expansion opportunities • Align compensation with net revenue retention In a PLG model, every user interaction is an opportunity for growth. How is your customer success team driving product-led expansion? #founders #startups #growth

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📊 Curious about how your SaaS metrics stack up against industry leaders? Here is a sneak peak at High Alpha's 2024 SaaS Benchmarks Report: Market Stabilization: Public SaaS have stabilized with an NDR of 110% over the last three quarters, recovering from a peak of 119% in 2022. Growth has held steady at 17%-18% after peaking in the mid-30s in 2021. VC Activity: Funding is increasingly directed towards AI, with nearly 33% of all $ in 2024 going to AI companies. This reflects a broader recovery in deal activity, which has expanded for three consecutive quarters. Early-Stage Resilience: Companies with less than $1M ARR have seen their median growth rates rebound to 100% yoy, up from 90% last year. AI-Native Advantage: AI-native (median of 50% yoy) and vertical SaaS companies (45% yoy) are significantly outperforming traditional horizontal SaaS firms (28% yoy) in terms of growth. Cash Management Discipline: The median company with $50M+ ARR is now cash flow breakeven, reflecting a cautious cash burn approach. Not much has changed for companies <$50M ARR. SaaS Spend Recovery: SaaS spending is showing signs of recovery as buyers return to market (+9% on average), with SMBs <500 employees leading the way (+59%). Diversity: Women hold ~25% of leadership roles across all ARR bands, while representation of people of color is between 9-15%. No material changes compared to 2023. Office: Companies with default in-office teams tend to grow faster (50% yoy) compared to companies that are predominantly remote (39% yoy). Founder Wellness: Over half of founders prioritize mental fitness, with many exercising at least three times a week. Despite pressures, optimism remains high among founders. Concerns: GTM remains the top concern, while cash burn has decreased. Founders show little worry about their AI strategies. Late-stage founders prioritize hiring top talent more than early-stage founders do. You will find more figures and charts in the full report! 📒 Big shoutout also to Kyle Poyar (Tremont), Paddle and OpenView who contributed to the report!👏

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