John Novak

SPaCE, the Final Frontier for GTM Enablement What is SPaCE?: Sales, Partner, and Customer Enablement Today's revenue enablement strategies need to support multiple GTM channels.  We have to meet our customers where they're at. Some customers work with our direct sales team, others with partners, and some (more than ever) want self-service & PLG. In today's rapidly evolving B2B landscape, the traditional approach to GTM enablement is undergoing a seismic shift. As millennials and Gen Z increasingly dominate the buying process, companies must adapt their strategies to meet these new expectations. The Changing Face of B2B Buying According to Forrester, 71% of B2B buyers now belong to the Millennial and Gen Z cohorts. These younger buyers prefer digital interactions and often seek to make purchasing decisions without direct contact with sales representatives. Gartner's research supports this trend, revealing that 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free sales experience. To address these changes, businesses must adopt a holistic enablement strategy encompassing Sales, Partners, and Customers.  And we need to enable those groups even better than we have in the past…..especially when it comes to Partner and Customer enablement. Our vitally important partner channels have largely been treated like second-class citizens, as partner enablement strategies have generally been very shallow. However, the technology is now available to ensure that they too can achieve their potential. SPaCE needs to be AI-driven and contextual. Static enablement and generic guidance will no longer cut it (it never has). SPaCE may not be the final frontier, but it's something we have to be good at today. You can read a bit more of my thoughts on the matter here: https://lnkd.in/gaakhXA7   #revenueenablement  #salesenablement #revops #revenueoperations Happy selling and enabling! 🙂

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It's time for 2025 budget planning, and the alignment meeting Finance & Engineering is more important than ever. Yeah, yah. I know I'm a marketing leader, but I do think the Engineering/Finance relationship affects the entire organization when planning for the next year. This is especially true with GenAI transforming our workflows. It's crazy out there! You must back every R&D investment with solid data rather than just intuition. Lucky for us, we have Joanne Cheng as our CFO. In her latest post, she shares how Finance and Engineering can work together for more effective R&D budgeting. Read the full post to start planning with clarity and confidence: https://lnkd.in/g5dJxtx8

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Following up on our blog about WHY CTEM should be in your 2025 budget, we now dive into HOW to secure CFO buy-in for CTEM projects. Learn our battle-tested strategies to help you articulate the value of CTEM to your financial decision-makers—just in time for 2025 budget planning!

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We are seeing a big pick up in transaction activity at Catalant Technologies, and therefore "First 100 Days" planning and implementation. A BIG thank you to our partners in the Expert community below (Who combined have led hundreds of First 100 Days Value Creation Plans and Implementations) for collaborating on the playbook and deep dives on the critical factors you need to get right.   (1) Setting up the Integration Management Office: Michael Scherer (2) FP&A Investments: Benjamin Lehrer (3) Talent and Culture: Sapna Harichand (4) Change Communication: Niki St Pierre, MPA/MBA (5) Capitalize on Commercial Opportunities: Rob Lekai   Download the asset below: https://lnkd.in/euh8UJWu

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Successful partnerships are key to any business's growth, but building them requires data, focus, and grit. Crossbeam's technology helps bring it all together. If you work with partners or in partnerships, check out Bob Moore's podcast with a16z General Partner Sarah Wang and his book, Ecosystem Led Growth. It's an excellent resource for anyone looking to take their partnerships to the next level. #partnerships #growth #ecosystemledgrowth

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Providing a differentiated 1:1 experience for customers buying your product(s) is essential. 🤝 Being able to engage, in the most intimate way, with your customers at the consideration stage -- with real education, timely responses, and genuine care -- will translate into higher order values and increased CLTV. #MoreCartsMoreRevenue #InstantProfitability

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Here’s a harsh truth about enterprise SaaS: Nobody really wants to buy your product—or any enterprise software, for that matter. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need it to solve a problem, and it’s your role as the expert of your company and product to clearly communicate the pain you believe your software can alleviate, at the right time, in the right way, to the right people. This comes from having a system in place to guide you during the actual sales process. While the  specific sales engagement will vary between company and industry, the most important thing is to have a process that can be continually improved in pursuit of excellence. Building on my previous discussion with Greylock on how to establish the foundations for GTM excellence, I’ve outlined some of the most frequently asked questions by early stage companies on how they can improve their sales process. Read more here:

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I'm overwhelmed by the idea that any news organization would cover me joining a new company. Part of me desperately wants to hide from this type of attention but I'm also honored to be a part of this team. It's only been four short weeks. But that's been more than enough exposure to know we're building something that will transform manufacturing. It's also clear that the experience of building CADDi in the US is going to transform me and all the great people I'm lucky enough to call teammates. If being a part of that sounds interesting to you, I hope you'll send me a DM or a connect. CADDi, #manufacturing, #artificialintelligence, #creatingvalue #

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Given the rapid decline in local media coverage and the questions about its economics, automated government transparency will become more critical. This is just the start of what can and should be done. Very excited to see how it plays out. Also curious how they solve issues around hallucinations (I assume they have a human in the loop?) and are likely using RAG to fine-tune/reduce risks of errors. #LLMs #AI

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Curious about how the Descartes' team works together to help make customers successful? Check out this video. Get insider tips on thriving in our unique culture, and how aspiring applicants can kickstart their journey with us.

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How do you stay connected with your team? Being accessible, curious, and plugged into team members is crucial for any leader. In my team, we rotate the 'Coffee with Andrew' series, mixing up attendees to talk openly about anything. These sessions provide valuable insights into how team members are feeling and what they're interested in. Sometimes, we discuss pets, vacations, and binge-worthy shows, offering a moment to just 'be' and take a break in the day. How do you foster team connections? Share your strategies below! #sap #saplife #culture #leadership #team

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It's not too late to register for our demo of InEight Schedule today. It has been awesome to see the incredible market interest in this product. The industry is ready for change! We believe it's possible to have better plans with greater buy-in. And we have the software to help you make it a reality. #ProjectCertainty #DigitalTransformation #CapitalProjects #ConstructionIndustry #ConstructionSoftware #ConstructionTechnology #ConTech

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Our partnership with Brex now gives us unparalleled insight and breadth in SaaS purchasing reports

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Looking for the right CMO for your org? (Or wondering if your current one fits the right profile for your needs?) Read this.

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Thanks to Dave Rigotti and team for a wonderful #PLGTM conference in SF. I had great discussions with sales and marketing leaders and here are some observations on how PLG has evolved. Part 1: Time to rethink PLG practice ✔ While the core idea of PLG revolves around self-service adoption and user-driven growth, the practice has evolved, and companies are recognizing the need for a hybrid approach. ✔ For a lot of practitioners, PLG means self-service and users adopt the product without sales support. In practice, PLG leads to increases S&M costs increasing CAC. So, it no more just about building a product but putting the marketing $ behind it. ✔ Enterprise buyers are researching on their own and have good information before they come to the call. Huge number of prospects want sales help in navigating the value prop but want to try out themselves. ✔ PLG does lead to execution speed driving the awareness, showing the value, decreasing sales cycles and enabling simple and faster expansion. ✔ There is a myth that only startups or B2C companies use PLG and has to be bottom-up approach. While many of the companies we know and products we use might be B2C, lot of enterprise B2B companies are PLG as well. e.g. users can simply signup and start using Calendly, Canva or Airtable. teams can start using the products like loom, figma and datadog. ✔ Bringing customers need a hybrid approach in 2024. You need to provide user value created by the product and buyer value created by sales teams. Think about product market fit and product customer fit - leading to greater number of happy customers ✔ Every KPI you are measuring should drive an outcome. If you collect data, ask "what is it used for? " and "how does it help customer or adoption?" ✔ As the PLG model continues to evolve, companies must adapt and embrace a balanced approach that leverages the power of self-service adoption while providing sales support to drive customer success and long-term growth. Thanks to David Yockelson and Dave Boyce for providing engaging discussion on the core of PLG. #productledgrowth #productledsales #salesledgrowth #startups #salesleadership #productmanagement

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Our research shows that more than 70% of brands & retailers report using manual processes to either predict or react to supply chain disruptions... Be part of the lucky 30% and automate your way to better #supplychain outcomes. Check out our latest piece on omni-market costing >>> protect your margins & mitigate risk in the #retail supply chain. Bamboo Rose | #innovation #technology #strategicsourcing

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Stephen Hurrell, I read your article about Revenue Lifecycle Management. One thing I wanted to ask is, why will Revenue Lifecycle Management be a new category? I ask because every business today engages in RLM. Anyone can piece together multiple different solutions with middleware to build an RLM process. Or should the new category be RAM (Revenue Acceleration Management)? I would argue that the world is looking to accelerate their revenue while simultaneously managing their revenue lifecycle with customers. Please hear me out: RLM is not a RAM solution suite. A customer lifecycle exists for every company, and that is always tied to revenue. What RAM does is take every manual step and consolidate it into one solution suite with zero middleware or custom code. RAM then automates all the revenue workflows that humans typically handle today. No AI needed. From the first quote through the renewal, everything is automated. At SAASTEPS, we are 98% automated, and when we hit 100%, we believe we can run our business with a single AI entity. Additionally, RAM is 100% declarative, meaning anyone, including you, Stephen, can set up our entire RAM solution. Seven solutions are 100% declarative to set up, and we are working to prove that even a visually impaired person can complete the same implementation. I would love for you to share with the world what it is like to self-implement SAASTEPS' entire Revenue Acceleration Management suite. After 25+ years in SaaS, one thing I have yet to see is anyone proving that they can take a sales engineer-configured demo and deliver it to the customer without code. What about a hackathon to see which vendor can set up an end-to-end Revenue Acceleration process the fastest and without code? I think the world would love to see this at Dreamforce or another event. The question will be: can you do this yourself, or do you need armies of consultants trying to piece things together? Tools like RLM are just starting to be developed and are being put into GA for the world to fix the developers’ code. Whereas SAASTEPS has spent 12 years perfecting revenue workflows with our customers to make everything flawless. Even better, SAASTEPS uses the same version of software as all our customers. So the gourmet food we serve, we are eating as well, which really helps us relate to your customers. What is more powerful: working with a software company whose only focus is Revenue Acceleration Management, or working with a big vendor that is promoting the next shiny object they want the world to try? #rlm or #ram

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Headed to my first SubSummit to talk about ➡️ Routines and subscription experiences ➡️ Millennial (ahem elder millennial) and Gen Z consumer behavior ➡️ Why smart brands should be thinking about tomorrow See you next month, double mic’d up 😅

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"One of the hardest things for growth-minded leaders is to acknowledge and accept that they cannot be everything to everyone," says our CEO David Keil in his latest Fast Company article. What does this mean in today's AI world? See for yourself in this compelling article.

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