Jen Schneider

Tired of losing hard-earned deals? Solve for Revenue Leak. In Clari’s 2024 Revenue Leak Report, RevOps leaders said leak happens at every stage of the funnel. - Creating: Poor and slow upsell pipeline tracking - Converting: Unsure where pipeline is dropping off - Closing: Slipped deals Don’t let Revenue Leak drag down another quarter – or another year. Download the Revenue Leak Report for more: https://lnkd.in/g9gnGrdz  

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Many sales organizations spend days or weeks on account prioritization and territory planning exercises. There's got to be a better way... If you're heading to Gartner CSO next week, don't miss Ami Arad's presentation on May 21 at 2:05pm! He'll contrast the traditional ways sellers prioritize their accounts and the new way made possible through buyer intent and predictive models. Get the details here: https://okt.to/GhFXdQ

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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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Churn rates in SaaS are often taken for granted. A 5% churn rate? Sounds manageable until you unpack the numbers. If you're losing customers at that rate every month, you're left with less than half of your original users by the end of the year. The average B2B churn rate might be lower due to the methodical decision-making process, but there's no getting around the fact that B2C companies are more susceptible to quicker exits. Voluntary churn is where the real battle lies, as buyers pull the trigger on cancellations for reasons ranging from budget cuts to outright dissatisfaction. So, what's the play? You need to visualize your churn as a strategic battleground. Whether it's by tightening your onboarding processes, identifying churn indicators early, or even tailoring your cancellation offers, the aim is simple: keep the customers you’ve worked hard to acquire. Churn isn’t just a metric—it's a mindset. Let's debate: Is it smarter to accept a higher churn as a given in a rapidly changing market, or is the focus on reducing churn at all costs a more sustainable strategy? Keep it civil, folks. https://lnkd.in/ehMpvWed

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What’s the best use of Generative AI for revenue teams? Here’s my take: Generative AI is a powerful productivity tool for modern reps. Today, we can take common tasks that reps need to do on a daily basis and we can simplify with AI. Consider: I’m a sales rep and I’m on a call with a prospect. I want to record the call and send a summary at the end of it. And I want an email ready to go with notes and follow-up actions. Before AI, I’d spend hours pulling together this information. With AI, I spent minutes. With the right AI strategy, revenue orgs can automate and organize everyday tasks. And, in the process, free up rep time for relationship building, strategizing, and more. How is your company deploying Generative AI?

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Every sales leader I know has a goal to "be more data driven." Those same sales leaders work constantly in ungoverned, stale spreadsheets and manual edits. Why do they do this? 1. Salesforce is never 100% up to date or accurate 2. Leaders have their own context to add 3. Aggregate views for forecasting require more tempering than a deal by deal roll up Sigma saves our sales leadership team tens of hours per week in forecasting alone. See how my boss Mike Gerardi had a hand in building our process here:

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Co-prospecting If you’re an AE that finds it difficult to carve an adequate amount of time to strategically prospect and you have SDR resources, you should be doing it. During my 8.5 years at Zoominfo, I worked closely with my BDRs, and 8 got promoted: Sam Sheehy, Kyle Volpe , John Basile, Stephanie Siegart, Adam Toothaker, Mark Verrill, Jeremy Delphonse, Steve Nino Sorry if I’m forgetting anyone. Here’s how it works: 📝 Map out your target accounts and identify the key people you want to meet with. This should be the cream of the crop. 🤝 Work with your SDR on messaging. It’s important to incorporate any ideas they have with your own. 🎯 Write an authentic personalized message. Give the prospect a unique compliment, give them insight into the problems you solve with an example, and without being overly salesly. Keep it short and simple. 🏹Finally introduce your BDR on the same email. This is setting them up to call them. You can always drip more content/ messaging. Be sure to follow up with some value. Remember it might take 10 or more touches to land the meeting. This day and age people send video, direct mail campaigns, etc.. This can all be a part of it. But remember not to overdo it. I personally stick to good customer stories. 🏋️This way you’ve done some heavy lifting for the SDR. If the prospect read the note, they are expecting the call, and have already been introduced to you and your company. 📞Now say you’ve done just a handful of these each day, say 5 on average. On Friday, you’ve got 25 calls you can make, easy. Do joint calling sessions with your BDR. Watch what happens to your opportunity creation results. This was a huge key to my success over the years. Be invested in getting your SDR to the next level, they will be movitated to get you meetings and thank you for it. Yes, that might include, giving your SDRs a free meeting once in a while that you prospected. Remember, it’s a team effort. Start co-prospecting today and share some results. #sales #prospecting #coprospecting #sdr #bdr

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The most underrated role on Go-To-Market teams: Revenue Operations A great Rev Ops leader gives your revenue team leverage. I waited too long to hire for this role, instead choosing to do the job off the side of my desk. I was being lazy. I didn’t fully understand what “sales operations” or “revenue operations” meant. I hadn’t taken the time to sit down and write out the job description. But once I found the right person, it was like the world opened before my eyes. Our Rev Ops leader was my partner in running the revenue team. They were involved at the strategic level and at the tactical level. They knew where all the bodies were buried. So what does Rev Ops do? I’ll do my best to list some of the key responsibilities: - build the revenue model - weekly sales forecast - select, implement, and maintain the tech stack (CRM, sales engagement tools, etc) - design sales compensation plan - run the sales compensation report monthly - own the TAM data in the CRM (super important!!) - analyze sales team performance - manage lead distribution The list goes on. If you have 3 or more sales people on your team and you are planning to scale, hire a Rev ops leader ASAP. Who is your favorite Rev ops leader? Tag them!

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Everyone in your revenue org has a different view of what's going on. Learn how to leverage it: VPs: “We’re tracking behind on our Q3 revenue target. We need to increase our ACV by doubling down on Enterprise opportunities.” Sales Managers: “We’re tracking behind our Q3 revenue target. We don’t have enough opportunities to double down on. We need to increase our outbound activity to drive pipeline.” Account Executives: “I’m behind on my Q3 target. Building more pipeline isn’t going to help me this quarter. I need to close at least 50% of my open opportunities to get back on track (even though my average is 25%).” Same Problem. 3 Completely Different Approaches. If you work in revenue enablement, you have the unique opportunity to be a bridge between team members at every level. Here’s what that sounds like… To VP’s: “If we want to increase our team’s ACV by moving up market, we’ll need to audit how we qualify opportunities and make sure we’re getting the right stakeholders involved in discovery. Do you have time to collaborate on a new rubric for our SDR’s and AE’s to qualify champions? I’d expect this to take about 3 months before we start seeing consistent results. Is there any opportunity to focus on mid-market win rate in the meantime?” [Once approved, go to your sales managers] To Sales Managers: “I understand we need more activity, but until our reps are identifying the right people to get on a call, it’s going to be wasted effort. Leadership is working on a new qualification framework for next quarter, but in the meantime, you can still hit your target by focusing on moving more of your existing pipeline in S2 & S3 into later stages in the sales cycle. What are some high-value deals that you feel are stuck right now?” [Then, go to your reps] To Sellers: “Your managers have identified some deals that are stuck in the early stages of the sales cycle. In the past, I’ve noticed you tend to use discounts as a lever to push deals through faster. How would you go about advancing these deals if you weren’t able to discount them at all?” By taking the time to listen to different perspectives from across the org, Enablement becomes a force multiplier that get’s everyone moving towards the same goal.

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Ashi from Gong is fast (😮‍💨10k) But not as fast as Gong Engage users when they use Lavender. Access to your Gong calls in our personalization assistant ✅ Access to our coach & "Ashi fast" personalization in Gong ✅ Better 🤝 Faster 3.0 (and so much more) coming soon

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When it comes to new business leads, we know speed matters, but if you’re not truly optimizing the hand off between your SDRs and AEs, you might be missing a huge opportunity. And not just where you think. At ZoomInfo, we’ve spent years developing and refining our model for this function. We have a 5-level scoring system that takes into account everything from inbound channel, to job title and firmographics. We’re not just solving for the highest possible win rates and ASP. We’re actively matching the inbounding prospect with the rep who is the most equipped to provide the best possible customer experience at that precise moment – down to the minute. And here’s the kicker – this isn’t just great for our customers. It’s great for our reps. With this process, we can balance lead flow across AEs to give everyone an equal opportunity to hit their number. We can also track rep's performance against the expected outcomes of the leads they receive, enabling coaching and segment adjustments. The goal is to optimize not just "speed to lead to close," but overall efficiency and outcomes, matching the right leads to the right reps at the right time. Check out Brian Vital's Speed to Lead insights from the SDR perspective here 👉  https://lnkd.in/gW3s7ccS   

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I’ve seen CROs take two completely different approaches to generate recurring revenue: 1. Push the sales team to land bigger packages upfront, securing a higher initial contract value that will presumably grow over time. 2. Focus the team on selling smaller packages or individualized products to introduce customers to your catalog, gain their allegiance, and expand the deal later. The first method seems logical - and it can work - but approach #2 is a safer bet in the market we’re facing right now. Why? There’s a lot at stake when a client signs a substantial contract. They expect the ROI to merit the budget, and if all doesn’t go as planned, they’re not going to be satisfied. Every minor issue becomes a bigger thing because the product was so expensive, and if you don’t get the adoption rate you’re looking for or the results you intended, they’re not likely to renew. You’re better off starting small, at least when people are acting conservatively with their budgets. Numero 2 optimizes the conversion path by making it less intimidating for new customers to get a taste of your brand. Offering smaller packages initially can also help reduce friction in the early stages of the funnel. Your top priority should be to ensure everyone’s getting value from your product from the start.

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Attention San Francisco! Join me and other RevOps pros at RevOps After Dark to discuss some of the hottest topics in revenue right now: -- AI & Tech. -- Strategic alignment. -- Collaboration. -- Market trends. -- The future of RevOps. Don't miss out on this opportunity to join the conversation & network with like-minded professionals. Check out the link for more information and feel free to share! #RevOps #SanFrancisco #Networking

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Hot take: most SaaS companies should not have a separate CSM and AM for each customer. We are already seeing the full sales cycle AE on the rise. I think we'll see the same with a merged CSM/AM role. Full-stack GTM roles are the future (yes, AI-assisted).

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Are your customers researching competitors? Get ahead of churn with ZoomInfo's powerful intent data, fueled by insights from G2. Sydney Sloan, CMO at G2, explains how ZoomInfo’s integration with G2 alerts you when your customers start researching a competitor. These real-time signals allow your reps to act quickly and secure relationships before it's too late. Learn how ZoomInfo and G2 can help you stop churn in its tracks. ⬇️

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The results are in! Gong has been named a leader in the new report, The Forrester Wave™: Revenue Orchestration Platforms, Q3 2024. In this report, Forrester analyzed and scored 12 top vendors in the market. Gong received the highest scores possible for more criteria than any other vendor, including:   ⭐ Innovation ⭐ AI and automation differentiators ⭐ Range of analytics insights ⭐ Platform UX and integration “Gong’s AI reveals unique buyer and seller insights to improve deal outcomes. One of the few companies founded with AI at its core, Gong has used its nine-year AI résumé to create transformative insights for revenue organization." Check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/dzmzU62Y

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I was asked what is the fasted way to win new business for sales - get warm introductions in your target accounts. Here are 7 steps that I think will help you get radically more pipeline fast:🔥📈 Inboxes are overflowing, cold outreach is losing its punch. Warm introductions are the key to breaking through the noise and accelerating your sales pipeline. 1. Define Target Accounts 🎯 Zero in on accounts that align with your ideal customer profile. Know their challenges, and understand how your solution uniquely solves them. Focus on a subset you’re confident about – don’t let analysis paralysis slow you down. Key: Don’t get stuck on the first step; just go for it! 2. Identify Connectors in Your Network 🕸️ Expand your network (or automate this with platforms like https://lnkd.in/e-XsFVmR) to match up with contacts who have trusted relationships with key players in your target accounts. Look for people with deep industry and solution experience- they’ll help boost your credibility.  3. Engage with Value First 💬 When requesting an intro, lead with value. Show why the intro matters to their connection and how it benefits them. Remember, your Trusted Advisor isn’t your sales rep – they’re a facilitator of value for their network. Offer insights, unique perspectives, and collaborate in a knowledge exchange. This will set you apart as more than “just another sales rep.” 4. Personalize Your Outreach to the New Contact 🧑‍💼 After a warm into, skip the canned pitch. Reference your mutual connection, then tailor your message to your target accounts needs. Tap into your advisor’s inside knowledge on what truly matters, from active projects to key priorities. This approach makes you relevant, aware, and genuinely interesting. 5. Nurture the Relationship, Not Just the Opportunity 🤝 Warm intros open doors, but it’s the relationships that close deals. Focus on building trust, actively listening, and providing value. Even if there’s no immediate sale. 6. Don’t Forget Your Sales Process 🚀 Whether it’s Solution Selling, MEDDICC, or MEDDPICC, stick to your process to stay on track. Use your advisor’s insights to set you apart, but also to qualify out quickly – if it’s not a fit, pivot to protect your credibility and the trust of your connection. 7. Reward Your Trusted Advisor 🏆 Recognize your advisor’s role in your success! A thoughtful gesture, creative reward, or a few percentage points on the deal can make a significant impact. It shows appreciation, strengthens the partnership, and sets the stage for future collaboration. Warm introductions are your ticket to stronger connections, faster cycles, and higher close rates. Are you tapping into them? 🔑 And if you want to make this easy, check out https://lnkd.in/e-XsFVmR – the first platform designed to automate and scale your ability to find and leverage warm introductions into all of your target accounts. 🔗 #SalesTips #Sales #SDR #SalesPipeline #WarmIntroductions #ForceEquals

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Holy smokes.... absolutely blown away by some new features leveraging AI within the Varicent Sales Planning product that I just learned about in onboarding 😍  💰 Complex Rule Mapping- enables ops and comp planning teams to visualize and manage complex territory designs (using different geos, product lines, segments, and other customizations)  📈 Scenario Planning- think more intentionally about comparing different scenarios using a side by side map view  🙌 NLP Co-Pilot- an AI driven companion tool/bot that allows you to easily locate where an account, seller, territory is aligned... discovery patterns and track changes to territories easily!!! No more spreadsheets!!! That's all for now folks.... back to learning 🤓

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“It's about tailoring the metrics to your business” - Nick Mehta, talking about Gainsight Benchmarks Nick knows how to talk! And with this quip, he really got it right!😁 Now.... What does this have to do with my usual LI content on SaaS Metrics?🙄 Everything… For Gainsight's world, we produced something that allows CROs & Heads of CS to answer the most fundamental questions: "Where do we stand?" "How can we improve?" Get a flavor for how we did it by turning through the pages in the graphic. Beautiful, unique... Amazing data! Now imagine having a similar application for SaaS Metrics…. How valuable would that be?!!! That's precisely where we're going with BenchSights! "How do we rank?" and "How can we improve?" -- but for CEOs, CFOs, Investors asking questions about their SaaS Metrics. Same platform. Same UI/UX.... focused on the metrics that people following my LI posts love... And --- as Nick says --- it's about tailoring the answers to YOUR business! Coming soon.... 🥳 #SaaS #Metrics #Benchmarks

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