Scott Magnes

Biggest GTM mistake proptech founders make? Not enough focus on sales or marketing. If you don't spend enough time on marketing, you have trouble closing customers because no one knows you or has heard of your brand. If you don't spend enough time on sales, no one is going to buy your product even if you believe it's the best in the market. Companies win when sales, product and marketing work in tandem. Zach Aarons, having invested in 100+ proptech startups via MetaProp, shares what he believes are some of the biggest fixable GTM mistakes early stage founders make.

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When over 60% of the sales cycle is spent on technical validation, PreSales teams are positioned to have the biggest impact for their Sales teams using AI. Stats that surprised me… From Vivun’s recent State of PreSales: AI Edition report: 86% of respondents are experimenting with AI tools for their function 38% of respondents believe that AI could replace their role as a SE in the future 😱 Not to minimize the advances made to SDR and AE work like email sending and account planning, but using AI to offload the work of technical sales will move the needle on win rates, sales cycle velocity, and cost of sales like nothing else can. PreSales teams are positioned to transform their companies yet again and Vivun is here to help. If you want to see how you stack up against the work being done by over 500 SE teams, check out Vivun’s latest State of PreSales report, the AI Edition: 👇 https://lnkd.in/gFbv4jhR #b2b #sales #presales

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WE DON’T WANT TO REPLACE SDRS Agent Frank was never meant to replace your sales team. Sure, it can help you reduce some costs - for example, instead of hiring 2 new reps, you can just hire one and onboard Agent Frank - https://lnkd.in/e69mGgBG But the goal was always for Agent Frank to work WITH your team and enable them to focus on the best part of being an SDR: Closing deals 🚀

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"The benefits of incorporating AI in sales management include increased efficiency, improved accuracy in decision-making, enhanced lead conversion rates, better customer engagement and satisfaction, and overall sales growth." https://lttr.ai/AUjae #SalesProcess #LeveragingAi #Ai #Channel #Saas

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LACK OF PRE-SALES TECHNOLOGY INVESTING OUTCOMES! +++ When start-ups, first-floor (under 100 employees or less than 10 million in annual revenue), or SMB company ownership do not invest sufficiently in presales prospecting technology, several negative outcomes will predictably happen. These adverse outcomes will impact the company's overall performance and future growth. Did you know? “In 2023, 91% of companies fail to achieve 80% or more of their quota targets.” https://www.quotapath.com Here are some of the negative outcomes: 1. Decreased Sales Pipeline Quality and Quantity: The sales team may struggle to identify and qualify leads efficiently without advanced prospecting tools. This can lead to a decrease in the quantity and quality of the sales pipeline, as the team may spend more time on leads less likely to convert. 2. Ineffective Targeting and Segmentation: Modern prospecting technology allows for sophisticated targeting and segmentation based on various criteria. SMBs risk focusing on less ideal customer segments without these tools, potentially missing out on more lucrative opportunities. 3. Lower Sales Efficiency and Productivity: Sales teams that rely on manual processes or outdated tools for prospecting are often less efficient. This can result in longer sales cycles, lower overall productivity, and, ultimately, diminished revenue growth. 4. Competitive Disadvantage: Competitors investing in the latest presales prospecting technologies will likely gain a competitive edge by leveraging data analytics, AI, and automation to streamline their sales processes and more effectively reach potential customers. 5. Reduced Customer Insights: Advanced prospecting tools can provide valuable insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends. However, SMBs that underinvest in these technologies may lack the depth of customer insights necessary to tailor their sales strategies effectively, impacting conversion rates and long-term customer relationships. 6. Higher Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC): Efficiency in prospecting directly correlates with a lower CAC. Without effective prospecting tools, the cost of acquiring new customers can increase significantly, negatively impacting the company's profitability. 7. Difficulty in Scaling Sales Operations: Manually managed sales processes can become increasingly untenable as the business grows. Lack of investment in technology makes scaling sales operations difficult, limiting growth potential. 8. Increased Sales Staff Turnover: Sales professionals may feel frustrated if they lack the tools necessary to succeed, leading to higher turnover rates. This affects sales directly and incurs additional costs in recruiting and training new salespeople. +++ #SalesPipelineIssues, #TargetingChallenges, #SalesEfficiencyDrop, #CompetitiveDisadvantage, #ReducedCustomerInsights, #HighCAC, #SalesOpsScaling, #StaffTurnoverChallenge, #rubencoronacontent

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Where are partner models heading? It's RevOps-Driven Structured Performance! Structured Performance Models: 1) Build Revenue Plans by Territory and Partner down to the metric and activity. 2) Create a standard prospecting process and account coverage model 3) Fully resources partner sellers with a recipe to generate demand 4) Capture Seller and Account level strategy execution 5) Create Performance Management Dashboards by Sales Play, Partner and PAM. Here is a slide on the pros and cons of each model. Why not explore what a comprehensive Structured Performance model can do for you! Schedule a meeting at www.channel-force.com. I would love to show you our RevOps Toolset and Sales Acceleration Model. There is nothing like our model available on the market today! We are targeting 2x revenue growth at 1/2 the costs. #Revenuegrowth #nextgenmodels #partnerships Mindmatrix, Partnership Leaders, Channel Partners

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Every SDR knows time is money. Here are three time wasters to watch out for—and how to overcome them: Poor Targeting: Avoid wasting time on low-quality leads by refining your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Use data to focus on high-potential prospects that fit your criteria. Brandon Jeppson is def the king here! Generic Outreach: Boost response rates by personalizing your outreach. Use templates as a starting point, but always add a personal touch that resonates with your prospect. Joseph Rains shared crucial insight with me here! Over-Researching: Set a time limit for research and focus on key insights that drive conversations. Prioritize action over perfection to keep your pipeline moving. Austin Maloy has this down to a science and is seeing the results! The Awardco SDR Org is making moves and seeing much more effective outcomes here as we fine tune our craft. Come check us out!

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The latest State of PreSales report from Vivun is here! This edition is all about the impact of AI on Sales Engineering. Over 500 respondents break down a variety of topics… ✔️ Their current approaches and challenges ✔️ Where they see AI benefits and advantages ✔️ How they plan to rollout AI into the future A major takeaway for me is that SE teams are not asleep at the wheel when it comes to AI and trying to leverage it. But there is an appetite for much more SE specific use case support to truly reach its potential for this group. Get the full report here 👇 https://lnkd.in/gFbv4jhR #b2b #sales #presales

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Here is another easy fix to get better alignment with pre-Sales and CS Contrary to what many sales teams think, there will be no more valuable conversation in presales for the prospect than when you bring in your post-sale team. A non-commissioned resource that works with other customers in mapping the needs of the prospect to the value that the product delivers. The best way to bring them in? When you are at 75% of the deal, schedule a follow-up call and let the prospect know that part of the agenda will be having the post-sale team present the onboarding process. This makes the deal feel more "real" for the prospect. - Have 3 slides that show some faces, a sample timeline, and some logos. - Ask amazing questions -Schedule a follow up to go over any common things that can make the implementation go sour (who loads data, integrations, authentication) - Ask for some sample data That's it! The prospect will love this interaction. They will see that the onboarding team has real people. That has a process. That has been there before. If you inspire confidence in them, they will return it with their trust.

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Some excellent insights to consider if you are trying to determine your optimal GTM revenue team structure. Given the technology-based saturation of the market with both Inbound & SDR/BDR based Outbound GTM motions leading to declining effectiveness and results, many seem to be pulling back from Specialization and putting more on the plate of a full-cycle AE again. In some ways it feels like we are moving back to how things were done earlier in my career...

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Take this to the bank. #customersuccess is not going anywhere. I've heard a lot of takes recently about what customer success is and what it should be. #CS should focus on making customers happy. #CS needs to live under the sales leadership. #CS focused technology is folding into CRM. #CS is an extension of support. #CS is being replaced by AI agents. Everyone has an opinion and many of them are in direct opposition to each other. So who will be right? Where is customer success headed? First some context. Customer success is, relatively speaking, a new field. 15 years ago when I started, it was not even called customer success yet. Like any new field, it develops, grows and matures over time. That development happens at different speeds, in different pockets of the market. And depending on where you look, you will see CS at different stages. In more mature SaaS companies, you will see more complex structures where CS includes #CSM teams, account management teams, #digital CS motions and more. In other sectors, for example service based companies, CS is more about project management and old-school account management. In some markets like the US, CS is often a revenue focused organization. In others, like the #middleeast, CS is still more of a support function. What does that all mean? If you have been in it long enough, and seen it from a wider, bigger picture perspective, it is clear that: ➡️ Companies with any type of recurring business model (SaaS, consumption based, marketplace, services etc) will have a key asset in their customers ➡️ For those companies, a majority of their revenue will come from customers ➡️ To thrive and grow, that customer base needs to thrive and grow ➡️ Effectively doing that means effectively deploying great CS practices (both success and revenue) ➡️ Effective CS practices means customer/CS focused methodologies, technologies, and the right mindset So to see the future, just look at the pockets where CS is the reason for companies winning. ✅ The best companies will always have customer success functions. ✅ These Customer Success functions will focus on creating business value (not just happy users). ✅ And they will be responsible for driving customer revenue and growth. ✅ Customer success will be an umbrella org. where the roles and responsibilities (CSM, AM etc) under it will vary depending on industry, org, stage etc ✅ Ultimately, Customer Success will be a revenue engine for the best companies. Is your company there already? If not, time to get moving. *** 🛎️ If you enjoy my content, follow me for more ♻️ Repost to share with your network #futureofcs #customersuccess #cs #accountmanagement #csrevenue #cusotmers #saas #revsetter

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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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I’ve seen SE/SC job offers and comp plans from 200+ companies. They range from 95,000 to $300,000+ OTE for individual contributors. The Median OTE is $190,000 OTE. Sales Engineers on individual commission plans can earn a W2 of over $1,000,000. Add in some equity, and it’s one of the best career paths out there. It’s a career path you can stay in as an IC for a long time without having a hard ceiling on your earnings. Disclaimer: The top-end earning potential isn’t common. It takes hard work, consistent solid performance, and a bit of luck to get there. But the point here is that PreSales is a life-changing career path for many people. Especially for numerous career changers we’ve helped pivot from education, real estate, mortgage lending, etc. 99% of folks we’ve worked with who have made the pivot and have been in their role for over a year say they love being an SE/SC and they’ll never look back. So, if you want to make a change, go for it. Don’t expect top-level earnings overnight. But if you make the leap, put the work in, and don’t give up, you can absolutely get there. 𝗣.𝗦. Comp isn't the only thing that makes the Sales Engineer/Solutions Consultant career path great. I'll cover the other ways it's a career worth considering in future posts. #presales #dreambig #takerisks #believeinyourself

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Want to transform the way your channel partners quote? Join Eran Gross (VP of Customer Success America) and Mohammed Fadel (Customer Success Manager) on Thursday, September 12, and discover game-changing strategies to streamline your process and fuel growth. Here's what’s coming your way: ✅ Channel Partner Playbooks: Watch how easily your channel partners can create complex quotes with DealHub’s custom playbooks. ✅ Salesforce Community + PRMs: See DealHub in action on Salesforce and other partner platforms. ✅ Success Story: Hear how one of our customers is crushing it by integrating DealHub with their PRM system. 🔜 Sneak Peek: Get a first look at our upcoming "Headless Quote" feature from Alon Lubin, CTO. This is one webinar you don't want to miss 🎉 Register here > https://lnkd.in/d3f4jvVK #ChannelPartnerSuccess #DealHubWebinar #SalesInnovation #NextLevelQuoting

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Top Sellers aren't begging for specific features to beat competitors Or more training... what do they think will help drive more revenue?? 👀 See the report below for the real data 👀 Met with killer revenue leaders at Gong's annual conference last week and read their report on the "State of Sales Productivity" Similar to what we saw re: GTM Execution being a top priority for Founders / CEOs, this report shed light on top challenges impacting reps and hindering productivity... And it resonated. The least motivating thing when I was a seller? Wasting time OFF THE FIELD updating fields + busywork that didn't help my customers / prospects. I've yet to meet a successful seller who'd rather focus on internal tasks vs spending time moving deals forward... No surprised the top 3 areas that negatively impact rep productivity: 61% - Admin Tasks 47% - Inneficient processes 37% - Time management *Spending time on non-selling activities is de-motivating *BS internal processes slows down deals *Time is the most valuable asset to sellers / Opps (time does kill all deals) From spending time obsessed with making customers successful and being at the top of the leaderboard, I can tell you firsthand most GTM tools don't help with what frustrates the field the most. And is why I felt passionate enough to quit an amazing gig at Stripe to build Accord. To win in 2024's market, every moment counts. Revenue leaders can’t expect their team to be hit targets if they are not setting them up for success. Take the admin work out of it, and have fields populated automatically IN the flow of work. Build a repeatable playbook that is foolproof and can help leaders identify slipped deals, before they slip Make sure you team isn’t spinning their wheels on pipeline or activities that don’t move the needle. Are you making sure your team is motivated, focused on their customers, and setting them up for success going into the final weeks of the year and into 2025?? 📈

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David’s S&M as a % of net new ARR is basically the same thing as net new CAC ratio and at 2.3x it’s running high. Even if you back out stock-based compensation (SBC) it’s still running above 2.0x. And these are best-in-class public companies. But despite historical comparisons is 2.0x too much to pay for a $1 of new ARR? It depends, mostly on expansion potential and stickiness. If paired with a high NRR, it works. If paired wtih a low GRR or a short CLT then it might well not. But, more than anything, make sure you look at it both ways — relative to past norms and relative to future value.

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SDR's looking to secure that promotion in 2025... Powerlead and SDR Leader 1:1s continue our 12 days of tips special holiday series featuring expert advice on securing your promotion in the new year! Today's insight comes from Shlomo Garbi, Head of Sales Development at Reality Labs Meta "Focus on building strong relationships with the sales team by maintaining open communication and ensuring high-quality handoffs. Your leads should be thoroughly qualified and accompanied by detailed insights – demonstrating your sales acumen and readiness for the next step." 💡 Remember: Strong partnerships with your sales team aren't just about passing leads – they're about building your reputation as a future sales leader. #SDRs #SalesDevelopment #Sales #Outbound Dale Thorn

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"Most Talked about RevTech" prizes go to: CPQ Competitors Nue.io and DealHub.io Clay has come up in every roundtable/meeting I've been in Lead routing competition coming in hot with Chili Piper Apollo.io coming in cheap against ZoomInfo Rattle 🦖 (for workflows) and Recapped 🎯 (for deal rooms) Inflection.io and Iterable (and how marketing automation needs disruption) And Gong coming in hot taking with consolidation Who is coming up for you? #tech #revops

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