Maegen Porto

CSM, here are 28 reasons to be thankful for in 2024: 1- AI tools are reducing administrative grunt work 🤖 2- CEOs understanding the importance of retention 💡 3- Predictive analytics are getting much more robust 🔮 4- Remote work expanding global CS opportunities 🌐 5- Retention metrics at board-level conversations 📉 6- The flywheel is overtaking the funnel as a GTM engine 🤲 7- Measuring Customer Outcomes is a top priority for CS 📊 8- Automation is handling repetitive customer interactions 🤖 9- Salary ranges for CSMs are becoming more competitive 💰 10- Customer health scoring is more sophisticated than ever ❤️ 11- There are so many learning programs for CS professionals 🎓 12- More companies budget for professional CS development 🏆 13- Customer feedback loops are faster and more transparent 🔄 14- More start-ups are tackling CS challenges and opportunities 🚀 15- Diversity and inclusion are improving in CS leadership roles 🌈 16- Tech stacks are becoming more integrated and user-friendly 💻 17- Executive leadership values emotional intelligence more now 🤝 18- CSM burnout prevention is getting more leadership attention 🧘‍♀️ 19- Technology is making personalization easier and more effective 🎯 20- The first CRM that supports the CSM work launched (HubSpot) 🧡 21- The skills learned in CS are highly transferable across industries 🌍 22- We're finally unifying the data to tailor the customer experience 🏅 23- The job market for CS professionals is showing genuine recovery 📈 24- The CS community is more supportive and collaborative than ever 🤙 25- Customer success is recognized as a revenue-generating function 💸 26- Networking opportunities have expanded through digital platforms 💻 27- Learning resources for CS professionals are abundant and accessible 📚 28- The stigma around customer success as a "nice to have" is disappearing 🔥 Customer Success is growing and it's becoming better. Despite the hurdles, there’s nowhere else I'd rather be. Who's ready for another revolution around the sun, making a real impact? Let’s go! - 📧 Join thousands of others learning to ace their CS roles by subscribing to my newsletter. (link below) #CustomerSuccess #SaaS #CustomerExperience #CSM #revops

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Top H1 takeaway from QBR's about our Rev Org: "We're an ecosystem, not a hierarchy." (h/t Alexandra B.) We collaborate, everyone's voice matters, and we strive to put people in roles they love so they can be madly successful. Hearing this statement was validation that what we are building in the Revenue Org at LibraryPass is unique, and scalable, and contagious. And we have roles coming soon! So if you're interested in being part of an ecosystem, let's chat. Here's to an even better H2!

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Leaders: it can feel like everybody has their own priority and their own metrics... Do you relate? 😕 We asked Rashida Goryawala, a Lead RevOps Strategist at RevPartners, how to ensure your entire C-Suite is on the same page ahead of 2025 planning. Her answer? You **have** to start with alignment on shared values and principles. That way, if things get out of hand, you can go back and remind people where you started. At RevPartners, we stand out in the HubSpot ecosystem because of the RevOps principles that we bring to your team to help you scale and drive growth. 🚀

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HIRING NOW: ENTERPRISE & COMMERCIAL AE - SaaS - Automation - $ALES & MARKETING account signals and insights SaaS tool 💸 Commercial Account Executive: $125k base 50/50 split - $1m quota 💸 Enterprise Account Executive: $150k base 50/50 split- $1.2m quota Actual inbound leads - $20k - $500k deal sizes - 6 months sales cycle You keep account in your book of business for upsells while CSMs are responsible for renewal #seriesbstartup, working under one of our longer term #vpofsales who JUST started - you must have experience - at an earlier stage org of less than 200 employees - selling a complex solution - ideal experience selling into #gtm #salesleaders or desire to Selling into other SaaS orgs! work with clients like GitLab Notion MongoDB and MORE - providing insights on how their #gtm can do more with less, and make more $$ In a world of tech, where everything is connected it is more possible than ever before to build connections between your current clients, and your ideal prospects This solution combines Sales, Marketing, Community and Operations and uses AI to enrich, score and analyze intent - $ignals are one of the most important aspects of monitoring what is working, and the best way to target, support and optimize every account. An ideal rep understands sales strategies including #productledgrowth and #productledsales MUST BE HUNGRY, LOVE BUILDING PROCESSES and have experience working in a startup get on my schedule! 206 747 9724 #accountexecutive #commercialaccountexecutive #enterpriseaccountexecutive #gtmsaas #gtmsales #salesjobs #salescareers #bestfootforward #softwaresales #saassales #salesdevelopment

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🔄 The Rollercoaster of Closing Deals in US Staffing! Ever had one of those weeks where closing a deal feels like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded? Yep, that was me recently in the wild world of US staffing. Here’s the saga: 1. **Candidate Found**: Perfect match. Skills? Check. Experience? Check. Enthusiasm? Double check. 2. **Client Call**: They loved the candidate! 🎉 3. **Background Check**: Passed with flying colors. 4. **Offer Extended**: All good to go, right? Wrong. Cue the plot twist: - **Counter offer**: Candidate’s current employer swoops in with an irresistible counter offer. - **Negotiation Dance**: Back and forth, countless phone calls, and more coffee than a human should consume. - **Unexpected Hurdle**: Client’s budget suddenly tightens. 🤦 Just when I thought it was all slipping away, persistence (and maybe a bit of charm) won the day. Re-negotiated terms, re-pitched the role, and finally...DEAL CLOSED! 🎉 Moral of the story? In US staffing, perseverance is key. Every twist and turn teaches something valuable. Here’s to more challenges and even sweeter victories ahead! #RecruitmentStruggles #PersistencePaysOff

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Sales reps today are overwhelmed — large books of business leave little time for prospecting, making it tough to drive growth. But with ZoomInfo Copilot, five minutes is all you need to check in with existing accounts, start an expansion conversation, and engage with a new, likely-to-buy prospect. Watch our own Jake Lehman demo ZoomInfo Copilot’s prioritized accounts, signals, and buying groups features. Coupled with the AI emailer, Jake crafts high-quality personalized outreach to three companies in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee. #ZoomInfoCopilot

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Stop settling for bad CS jobs—ask these questions! Just because they say it’s CS doesn’t mean it is. Last week, I interviewed a CSM currently at a startup that does everything wrong when it comes to CS. Everything, we talk about here on LI every day until we're sick of it 🤢 This CSM was desperate for a way out, but afraid to quit because of the shaky job market. 😬 Sound familiar? My skin crawls knowing that in 2024, companies like this still exist. But here’s the harsh reality: they do. Some companies out there are posting CS roles that are support positions disguised as something they’re not. They talk a big game, act like they’ve got a "well-oiled" CS department, but behind the scenes? 🚨 It's a chaotic mess.🚨 𝗧𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲: ✋🏽 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗱! You deserve better. You deserve to work for a company that respects CS and sets you up for success, not failure. Here’s the good news: not every company is like that. ✅ There are CEOs and leaders who “get” Customer Success. 🙌🏽 To you, I say: THANK YOU! Your efforts are what’s driving this industry forward. You understand that CS isn’t just a “nice-to-have,” it’s a business growth engine. ❌ To those that don't? Well, you’re not just hurting your company; you’re damaging your brand and reputation. But let's get back to YOU, the job seeker. You don’t have to fall into this trap again. 👇🏽 Here are some questions you can ask during your next interview to suss out if a company knows their stuff: How many accounts does a CSM handle? • Who does the CS team report to? • How do you invest in the growth of your CS team? • How does CS, Product, and Engineering collaborate? • How does your company define the role of Customer Success? • What happens when a customer isn’t a good fit for your product? • What indicator do you look at to see that your CS team is performing? • Give an example of how a CSM helped shape or influence company strategy? • Describe a time when CS had to push back on Sales for overpromising to a customer? • What’s your customer churn rate, and what’s being done to improve it? • How are customer feedback and issues escalated and resolved? • Walk me through your CS process from onboarding to retention? • What tools are in place to support the CS team’s work? • What is the average tenure of a CS team member? • How do you measure the success of your CSMs? Ask these, and you'll quickly know if you're walking into a well-structured CS department or a dumpster fire. 🚒🔥 👉🏽 What’s the worst CS experience you’ve ever had at a company? What other questions can you ask to test the CS maturity level? Drop it in the comments! #customersuccess #saas #startups #careercoaching  #CS #CSM #SuccessHacks #customersuccessmanager #lessonsfromanewvp  

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Every manager, director, and C-Suite executive at Alleyoop was an SDR at some point & we looked for that on purpose! To lead our team of SDRs, we want people who understand what SDRs are doing from first-hand experience. We believe that being an SDR prepares a strong career path for you. It can set you up to become a closer, sales manager, marketing manager, or go into operations. The SDR role is a great starting point! It can help you understand how a company's revenue engine works. Starting, learning, and growing as an SDR is one of the most rewarding career paths 🙂 Reach out to me if you are interested in starting your career in sales! #sdrcareerpath #salesleadership

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Tired of switching between tabs to get the account insights you need? We’ve all been there — jumping between tools, updating reports, and searching for data that isn't in your CRM. It’s time to bring everything together. Chris Zantek shares how ZoomInfo Copilot empowers sellers to: ✅ Access real-time buying signals right in your CRM ✅ Update your CRM with a single click ✅ Get a complete view of your target accounts — all in one place Book a demo to see how ZoomInfo Copilot can streamline your workflows: bit.ly/49566au #ZoomInfoCopilot

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Our revops “team” at Chili Piper does A LOT OF automations. If you’d see our list, you’d think we have a full train of rev ops folks working here at Chili Piper (spoiler alert, we have 1 and a half). Here’s an example of an “unconventional” automation We assign churned accounts to SDRs. Yep, we automate outreach to churned accounts Here’s why and how First, let me tell you, it breaks my heart to see any customer churn. I feel like my heart is asking but always aim to learn from it and make everything better for them if they were to come back. Hence, we want to learn what made them leave, fix the problem, and win them back And the good news is that we win many of them back . Here are the nitty gritty on how we do this : We setup these rules for assigning churned accounts to our SDRs: – Account Status = updated to Churned – Transaction End Date = 91 days – Round Robin across SDRs and update SDR Owner – SLA: after 12 working hours, check if there was activity yesterday AND ROE phase ≠ unfit to work, send Slack notification – SLA: after 12 working hours, check if there was activity yesterday AND ROE phase ≠ unfit to work, reassign – Provide a Slack notification to the AM (80 days post-contract end date) – Provide a Slack notification to the SDR once the Account has been assigned (91 days post-contract end date) – Provide SDRs with information on why the account is churning in SFDC to give them the context to sell into the account effectively. If you are curious about more details on this, let me know!  

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Recruiting sales talent isn't going down a check list that Dave in rev ops gave you to screen candidates. If you're an internal recruiter and you want to become better and more credible with your sales leaders try these things: 1.) Read up on sales methodology (Challenger, Meddic, Spin)- You'll be able to go much deeper with candidates. How do they prepare? How do they find mobilizers and engage them in a process? The deeper down the rabbit hole you go, the better and more credible you'll be. 2.) Listen to sales podcasts- No, not the jagaloon from the Wolf Of Wall Street or the Crant Gardones of the world, there are tons of really good podcasts that are hosted by sellers in the market that you are likely recruiting from! You'll understand how top sellers think. What motivates them? How to get their attention? You'll have all the ammo you need to apply to your recruiting efforts. 3.) Sit with the current sales team- How are you going to be able to sell the company you represent if you are absolutely lost in the sauce and can't speak to the successes and big things that the current sales team is doing? Sit in on QBRS. Go to lunch with them when they're in town. You'll figure out so many things about the dynamics of the team that you'll be able to figure out right away if a candidate would fit in.

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Your Founding AE Will Make or Break Your Business—Ignoring Their Product-Market Fit Feedback? That’s a Fast Track to Failure Hiring a founding AE isn’t just about “filling a role”—it’s a high-stakes decision that can make or break your company. Think of them as your lifeline to the market. They’re not just selling; they’re the ones gathering real-time feedback on your Product-Market Fit (PMF), and ignoring their insights is like throwing away a roadmap to success. Here’s why their feedback isn’t optional—it’s critical: - They Know the Brutal Truth About Your Product - They’ll Define Success, Whether You Like It or Not - Scaling Without Their Insights? Good Luck - Competitive Intelligence You Can’t Afford to Ignore - Their Wins Validate Your Business Model The Harsh Truth: Ignoring Your Founding AE Is Self-Sabotage Your founding AE isn’t “just” a salesperson; they’re your closest connection to the market. Ignoring their insights on PMF is actively sabotaging your potential. Let their feedback guide you—it could be the difference between sustainable growth and an expensive lesson in what not to do.

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According to a recent survey from PECXO, here's how GTM teams are feeling right now: ➡ 17% believe they're on-plan to hit organic growth goals ➡ 51% want more resources ➡ GTM teams want help from PE sponsors related to demand gen, pricing, and market re-segmentation Considerations for PE sponsors: 1. Get on same page as management and encourage transparency 2. Provide third-party resources to help teams 3. Consider hiring a GTM operating executive as a full-time resource For anyone interested in more insights on this topic, send me your email and we'll add you to the monthly newsletter. #gtm #privateequity

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Looking to expand your territory and crush your quota? 👊 In this episode of In Your Corner, our CEO and Founder, Henry Schuck, shows how enterprise account executives can identify new accounts to target in just a few clicks. Using ZoomInfo's Advanced Search, sellers can easily find accounts within their territory that aren't existing customers and connect with contacts who are most likely to engage. Watch below to see how it works. ⬇️

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Method acting at its finest. 👋 P.S. We're hiring a Sr SDR at Motion (Creative Analytics)! The days of being able to spray and pray by sending 100s of emails are over, and at Motion, we believe in a world where the SDR world is evolving. The outputs remain the same, but this role will have a ton of flexibility to be as creative as possible. (Eg. inviting prospects to our virtual events or building a LinkedIn presence to drive inbound vs. sending 100s of emails a day) - You will be directly responsible for driving net new revenue - You’ll manage the pre-sale customer journey with target accounts, from initial touchpoint to trial activation and adoption. - You’ll determine the appropriate accounts and people to target and develop unique strategies to get their attention (opportunity to collaborate with marketing) - You care deeply about personalized messaging, understanding personas, and solving challenging problems - The right person should be passionate about the impact a great top of pipeline sales team can have and you should be motivated to help drive a repeatable, revenue generating system vs. just seeing it as a stepping stone to an AE role 👋 WHO YOU ARE: - You live in the Greater Toronto Area ideally - You’re a 0 to 1 person and love start ups. Where others see ambiguity, you see opportunity - What’s the problem? What’s step 1? What’s the goal? These are all questions you’re inspired to answer and build solutions for.  - You have experience and an intelligent approach to list building and personalized messaging (multi-threading, leveraging existing content, etc.)  - Sold to a similar ACV and deal cycle - high velocity and volume (~30 day close, ~8 demos/day)  - Held and exceeded a quota, and were a top performer in your previous role ✍️ MORE DETAILS: - 70k base / 100k+ OTE (CAD) - uncapped, plus equity - Fully remote team with incredible off-sites and retreats to build camaraderie.  - We’ve found product market fit but we’re still so early that you will have a major impact. - We’re a tech company with all the standard startup benefits: great vacation policies, health care, modern tech, home office budget etc. - Our team is very ambitious, super capable and low on egos - Our customers are some of the leading brands and agencies in D2C e-commerce - We want Motion’s impact in the “creative-tech” industry to be up there with the Webflows, Canvas and Figmas of the world.  - We have a deep understanding of the problem space through many years of tinkering in the industry. We know exactly what it’s going to take for Motion to win and we’d love for you to join us on the ride! h/t Sales Humor for the 🎯 meme haha -- ✨ INTERESTED? Apply directly on our website or shoot me a Loom video or voice note introducing yourself! Get your FREE ticket to Motion's Creative Strategy Summit. Virtual event Sept 19 & 20. https://bit.ly/3ywOYN9

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What a week I’ve had I’m building an amazing talent pool of top VPs of Sales, Account Executives, and SDRs. These are some of the best in SaaS, and I’ve got a few spots open for candidates interested in new opportunities. If you’re looking to make your next career move or just want to chat about what’s out there, drop me a note. #SalesLeaders #SaaSSales #SalesJobs #TechTalent #CareerMoves

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Are sales teams fighting more than ever to get the support, tools and infrastructure they need ❓ I’ve spoken to well over 30 sales leaders at SaaS companies from Seed to Series C over the last few working days. There’s been a theme that’s cropped up more than most from the folks that are open to taking a look at new opportunities… They feel like sales has dropped well down the pecking order in the business. Budgets cut, teams restructured, having to fight for internal attention more than ever when there are issues etc. Obviously none of this is new in SaaS sales and I’m sure every sales leader has experienced similar at some point. Just found it interesting that in this short space of time, so many are seeing the same, no matter the size or stage your org is at 🤔 Then I thought, how do you qualify these points thoroughly at your next interviews? It sounded like the thoughts and plans of these guys current businesses changed out of the blue… #saassales #recruitment #goalposts

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The #1 problem with today’s selling environment: Reps are spending too much time on admin tasks & working out of siloed systems. Instead, they should be: - Focusing on direct-selling activities  - Engaging with high-ROI customers - Executing high-probability tasks that can help them close deals faster Enter Clari’s Revenue Execution. A new solution providing sales reps with full funnel AI-driven execution tools including: - Top of funnel prospecting and engagement - Opportunity management and account inspection - Conversational intelligence and AI coaching - Buyer collaboration and mutual action plans The goal? To create, convert, and close more deals all in one consolidated platform. See it in action here: https://bit.ly/3RZaeRX 

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I don’t know who needs to hear this… But this is NOT the way. Big fan of cold texting. 💬 Huge proponent against spam. 🚫 Whether a call, email, or even a text. Be honest in your approach. This means introducing yourself, where you’re from, and the reason you contacted them. FIRST. No jokes, no gimmics to make them call back. Be human. Sell human. Now Go Sell Something 🤠 #sales #outbound #coldoutreach #coldtexting #genuine #honest #prospecting #integrity #honestselling

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