Mark Price

It’s no secret that software buyers have tool fatigue. Large revenue orgs have bought SO MANY TOOLS over the years. DOZENS, in some cases. These tools create a data problem. In talking with rev ops leaders, it’s pretty stark… tools mean integration. Data pipelines, data prep, data cleanings, centralized system(s), a centralized pane of glass for your centralized panes of glass. They’ve heard it all. And half of their job has become taming the mess. And they spend a LOT of time on it. It’s somewhat ironic… the point is to help sales teams, but the buyers and owners of these tools spend all their time buried in data challenges. And to what end? These tools tend to perform pretty basic functions– data lookup, add to sequence, add notes, update status. Basic data, basic forms, basic outbound motions. We’ve given reps the ability to rapid fire at their prospects… but what’s in the chamber? Are sellers even better off? The same data mess that plagues the buyer manifests as noise for the seller. Yet another todo, yet another system, yet another distraction from BUILDING TRUST WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS. The more fascinating paradigm shift of LLMs is that it offers a change in this pattern. We can go beyond the basic CRUD apps of old. LLMs can actually offload portions of human work– the rote stuff that doesn’t add value to customers. LLMs offer the ability to augment the seller by actually doing the work, not just offering a place to catalog the work that has already been done, or to provide contact information lookup. We’re early, and you still have to squint a bit. But the revenue organizations committed to winning the future are doing it, and they’re doing it at breakneck speed. And they're finding immense value TODAY, even in the early innings. We find some leaders paralyzed with indecision. “We have 15 tools– why do we need another?” Yet we find others who are charting a course into the future. “We can reinvent how we sell, and outcompete our competition… with AI centric platforms that augment the people we’ve already invested so much in, and trust already.” The future is already here, but as always… it’s not evenly distributed. 

25

Has anyone else been following this Reddit thread? 👀 (link in the comments) Salesforce reps are pushing Data Cloud super hard - regardless of what your company actually needs :) Frankly, I don't envy their position. Data Cloud was the highlight of Dreamforce and is the big push at Salesforce (for now...). Sales reps are undoubtedly getting tons of pressure and special incentives to sell it. But... Friends don't let friends buy Salesforce Data Cloud. We've spoken to tons of companies who were sold the dream, invested 6-18 months to stand it up, and the platform ultimately didn't end up delivering. 🤦‍♂️ The hard reality is that Salesforce will never be your "source of truth", *especially* in an enterprise or B2C context ❌ It's not flexible enough ❌ It's not scalable enough ❌ It's quite expensive to "put all your data in Salesforce" ❌ It's a closed ecosystem - Salesforce integrates w/ Salesforce. Great, but what about everything else...? Sure, it's possible with Mulesoft and APIs, but that's more work that no one has time for All enterprises are moving to a Composable world where they keep investing in their cloud data platform of choice (Snowflake, Databricks, GCP, Azure, etc.) and then adopt a solution like Hightouch on top that helps you - establish Customer 360 in the warehouse (collect additional data, identity resolution, etc.) if you're not pursuing this in-house - empower marketers to build audiences and personalized journeys on top of ALL your data - deliver personalized experiences across ALL channels from email/sms/push to web to mobile to advertising and more What do you think? Has anyone else here run into problems with Data Cloud? Or aggressive sales teams?

311

38 Comments

Do you know the 5 minute rule? It was key for Salesforce during their "hyper-growth" phase. Check it out: If you can respond to a warm lead in under 5 minutes you're 100x more likely to get them into a first sales meeting; and you're 20x more likely to get them engaged as a sales opportunity. This is in comparison to simply responding just 30 minutes later. How long does it take your team to respond to a warm inbound lead? 42 hours is the industry average. 5 minutes is what Salesforce strived for.

25

9 Comments

Curious what our SFDC custom object for funnel/lifecycle/pipeline looks like? We get a ton of questions on this, so here is a demo: https://lnkd.in/gyRtmnGQ We demo a few use cases, the Lifecycle records themselves, and a quick overview of how you can leverage the data. Let us know if you have questions and/or what else you would want to see from it. ____________________ If you don't know what it is: (1) Tracks your buying process from Sales Ready (aka MQL) > Closed Won on a custom object in SFDC. (2) Unifies the data across Lead, Contact, Campaign, Account, Opportunity objects for EASY reporting. (3) Enables a 1:many relationship between a buyer and a sales process to account for non-linear buying journeys without overwriting data (e.g. buyer gets recycled and re-MQLs and you'd previously have to overwrite the last MQL date). (4) Unifies the data in CRM (and not BI) for easier paper trail and troubleshooting, but custom object data can still be leveraged in BI for more advanced reporting. (5) Ties pipeline back to "tipping point" (aka the reason the buyer was sent to sales) which is better than original source or last touch/primary campaign source. (6) Also, works for tracking sales outbound, partner, product qualified leads, customer expansion. (7) Unmanaged SFDC package (meaning you have access to all the flows/object/metadata/etc and there is no subscription fee). You can install in SFDC (with our help). Hundreds of hours put into it to account for edge cases, 35 different Lead conversion scenarios, merging, and more. (8) We're coming up to our 20th deployment in the last 18 months in complex B2B SaaS orgs. 20 is a lot for a small agency like CS2 that has most clients on long term retainers (and not in the business of churn/burn through clients). Case studies coming soon.

27

1 Comment

Building Weflow, I've spoken to 200+ #RevOps folks the last 12 months about common Salesforce data capture challenges. Here are things that come up: 1) Poor Salesforce adoption - Shadow tooling - Reps avoid Salesforce - 42% forecast in sheets 2) Poor activity capture - EAC not reportable, nor stored - Missing activities on opportunities - Limited insights based on activities 3) Missing contact data - No contact roles - Buying committees unclear - Multi-threading happening? 4) Process in-compliance - Missing stage entry/ exit criteria - MEDDIC (etc.) not populated - Close date pushed/ overdue 5) CRM bloat - Ops-debt (fields, integrations) - Over customization - Consolidation nightmares after acquisitions 6) Historical data - Opportunity snapshots missing - Process change, data worthless - No unlimited field history tracking Takeaway: Poor Salesforce data quality > missing insights > poor visibility > ineffective deal execution > low predictability > broken revenue engine. What would you add? Comment 👇 -- ➕ Follow me for RevOps content 🔊 Listen to the "RevOps Lab" podcast - link in profile 👀 Visit my free RevOps content library - link in profile ♻️ Share with your friends #RevOps #GTM #Sales

34

16 Comments

F*** is my favorite four-letter F-word. F*** = Free...obviously. 😏 Speaking of free, here's something I'm really excited about. Over at RevOps Co-op, we've got not one, but TWO complimentary RevOpsAF conference passes to give away courtesy of our friends at Enlyft. 🎁 Maybe you're a revenue operator in between gigs who wants to expand your network? 🤝 Or an employed RevOps pro who wants to attend #RevOpsAF 2024 in San Diego but your company isn't able to sponsor you? If this sounds like you then throw the 🙋 emoji in the comments and DM me to toss your name in the literal raffle hat. Sound like someone you know? Tag 'em on this post and have them do the same! Big shout out to Michael Schultz and Phil Gray from Enlyft for making this happen. ❤️ PS - learn more about RevOpsAF 2024 at revopsaf(dot)com #revops #revenueoperations #salesops #salesoperations #marketingops #marketingoperations #mops

33

16 Comments

I like money. A lot. I also like saving money. (So I can spend more of it later 😂). So when looking at what SaaS to integrate into our marketing and sales stack, Total Cost of Ownership is a pretty huge metric for us. https://buff.ly/3SexH1J #salesforce #hubspot #finance #marketing

1

The more I sit with the term "GTM (Go-to-Market) Ops" the more I feel like it is a better description of what we "do" at CS2. I have been pretty vocal about how both MOps and RevOps were not perfect fits so we ditched calling what we do and instead focused on naming what we deliver (aka revenue growth architecture.) But the term GTM Ops was always the one in the back of my head that I felt like fit the best. But the more we hone in on what our biggest value prop is which is building the foundation and processes to support a unified go-to-market strategy the more I am a fan of it. Here are some of my thoughts prompted by an image  Andrew Nadeau  shared and I agree Andrew that GTM Ops might be a better "target." And I am more confident in us leaning into that name. But what do you think? Are you a fan of GTM ops? Do you think this better represents the work you are delivering to your org? #revenuegrowtharchitecture #gtmops #gotomarket

43

9 Comments

Live demo days - have seen a lot of these pop up lately, and just gotta say...I don't get it and have no plans to do this at RevOps Co-op. Here's why 👇🏻 1️⃣ Misleading value prop for attendees Watch demos without jumping into a sales cycle. That's the pitch with these live demo days. But when you sign up, your information gets shared with the companies showcasing their products. So you then get dropped into a sales sequence. Which is no different than if you booked a live demo yourself. And this will happen multiple times, With every company that participates in the live demo day, So the outcome is actually the complete opposite of what was pitched, Because instead of not getting put into any sales cycle, You get dropped into multiple. 2️⃣ Misleading value prop for participating companies Get in front of 300 people, convert just 1% of them and that's 3 new customers. Easy to calculate ROI, right? Wrong. The buying journey isn't linear, And the decision to buy is never based on one, single event...like a live demo day. It's based on a series of things like 👇🏻 Research the prospect has done. LinkedIn posts the prospect has seen. Questions they've asked in communities like RevOps Co-op. Free trials they've taken advantage of. Even watching un-gated recorded product demos. So while I get the appeal of the "easy ROI math", The truth is there are no shortcuts, and this is no different. Here's the kicker though 👇🏻 As a company, you should absolutely 100% be participating in these live demo days, But approach them differently and focus on educating the market on your product, Which should tie to all of the other initiatives and campaigns you do. Because collectively, that's how you generate pipeline. Let me be clear - I've got nothing against companies doing these live demo days. And like I've said above, if you're a software company you should be participating in these. But I've been asked multiple times why we aren't doing them at RevOps Co-op, and that's why. Shields up. 🛡️ Happy Thursday y'all ✌🏻 #revops #revenueoperations #salesops #salesoperations #marketingops #marketingoperations #mops #sops #cxops #csops #gtmops #alltheops

13

4 Comments

A mature #RevOps org has three pillars: 1. Data Infrastructure layer This is where all your tech stack, the intricacies of how data flows between different systems, your #CRM architecture - all of it gets designed. This is the layer that generates data for all your decisions. 2. Process & Programs #AI might be all the rage but there is no system out there yet that can connect all your systems and generate the output in the context you want to see. And that is why gaps between systems continue to exist. This is why a #process comes in as a magical glue to connect your systems. CI to CRM, CRM to ERP, etc. This is the layer where you decide what a #SDR to #AE handshake looks like, what an AE to #CSM handshake looks like. This is the project management layer where you work cross-functionally to get things done. This is where your Forecasting, your commissioning, your sales processes, your annual planning - all of it happens. 3. Analytics This is the layer where you harness all the data and the outcomes from your systems and processes. This is where the funnel metrics are benchmarked and measured: #MQL, #SQL, Win Rate, CPL, Retention Rate, etc. This is where you are talking numbers. This is where you are writing playbooks off the patterns and squaring off outliers in your data. In the absence of any of these three pillars, RevOps ain't true #RevenueOperations. And the beauty of this is you will find many careers building out of any of these branches of this RevOps tree as a whole: Commissions Expert, Business Analyst, Tech Stack Specialist, #Salesforce Admin, #SalesOps Expert and so on.

7

Salesforce revised its pipeline coverage ratio to 3x, shedding light on the math keeping execs up at night. How can 1 ratio blow up your entire GTM model? It's not rocket science. It's just math. Particularly, pipeline generation math. Salesforce went from 2x to 3x. You might be going from 3x to 4x, or even 4x to 5x. What does this mean? Assumptions about pipeline coverage are falling like dominos and leaving GTM orgs with a massive hole in their forecasts. When this happens, the math gets really bad, really fast. Picture this: you're a best in class GTM org like Salesforce and you've just updated your pipe coverage ratio from 2x to 3x. Needing 50% more pipeline is painful enough. But the punishment doesn't stop there. Pipeline generated by your sellers is also down. Buyers are reluctant to champion products, and budgets are tight. This leads to longer sales cycles, more discounting, and plummeting deal sizes. Across the board, reps are producing less pipeline. Ranges vary by category, but let's assume pipeline creation is down 25% for illustrative purposes. (We're going to keep the math simple, because specifics will vary by company). On a $100M new business goal, you'd previously need $200M in pipeline. At $1M in pipeline per AE, you could bring it in with a team of 200. Now you need $300M of pipeline to close that same $100M in revenue. AEs are creating $750k instead of $1M, so that same team of 200 is bringing in $150M in pipeline, only half what you need for the year. Draw out the math and you suddenly need 200 additional (fully ramped!) sellers to deliver the same $100M in revenue. That's DOUBLE the headcount. Your CEO and CFO's heads are spinning, because this wreaks absolute havoc on a company's operating model. But that's a post for another time. You can tweak the assumptions if you'd like, but it's terrifying any way you look at it. No amount of passion, skill, or dedication can overcome math. You can't escape math. The bad news? This doesn't seem to be going away any time soon. The good news? Recent advances in AI can change some of the assumptions around the people, process, and technology equation required to generate new pipeline. In the old world, the only answer would be to double headcount. In the new world, there are ways to drive enormous leverage into the equation. Scaling with people doesn't have to be the answer, you can scale people with AI like no time in history. Which means the cavalry could be on the way...

50

4 Comments

It’s great to see another CEO that is so intune with CSMs and the impact their role has. I think 1️⃣ is so important. Too many companies I talk with overlook this and it’s detrimental to their end of year numbers. Setting up a retention comp. plan can not only be extremely motivating but also provide tangible deliverable expectations for everyone. #csm #saas #b2b #customersuccess

2

2.8k SFCC stores do $1m+/yr. 1.4k do $5m+/yr 1k do $10m+/yr 704 do $50m+/yr 281 do $100m+/yr There are huge brands on Salesforce Commerce Cloud. Definitely a higher concentration of public brands than on Shopify. But the Shopify market is so much larger in the $1m - $100m segment. It’s still the greatest opportunity in eCom. #Shopify

60

17 Comments

The AEs and SDRs from 5 years ago are the CROs and VPs today. This may sound somewhat self-serving, but here it goes. It’s been cool to see the goodwill I created with those AEs and SDRs over the years turn into meaningful opportunities, pipeline, and revenue for Copy.ai. This has never been the primary intent of my presence or content here. But I will say, it’s a nice benefit. Build trust, provide value, be kind, build your network. It’s worth it for many reasons. #sales #sdr #gtmai

176

12 Comments

Salesforce now needs 3x pipeline coverage compared to 2x due to: - longer sales cycle - deal size pressure due to cut backs - lower demand in general In times like these, your win rate matters more than ever. Here are 5 strategies to improve your win rate: 1) Fight pipeline bloat Don't accept: - Unqualified opportunities - Poor deal hygiene - Missing deal insights & signals - Gut-driven deal reviews 2) Simplify your sales process & exit criteria - Clear entry criteria for opportunity creation. So important! - Simple sales process everyone understands + follows - Clear process governance - Simplify exit criteria to ensure your team actually follow them 3) Operationalize your methodologies Remember: Most reps hate sales methodologies as it's "more" work‼ - Help your team understand the "why it matters" to close more deal - Understand what are the key criteria to closing deals and incorporate them - Run ongoing trainings - Train the managers and the reps - Support coaching with hard numbers to showcase success - Tie hard numbers back to leaderboards and commission success 4) Become great at multi-threading Without multi-threading most deals are dead these days‼ - Coach reps on multi-threading tactics - Managers should proactively help multi-thread - Leverage exec & board members to multi-thread further and higher in org 5) Incentivize the right behavior Combine compensation and management to change behavior‼ - E.g. comp more for e.g. higher TCVs and upfront payments - E.g. coach managers to amplify change management aspects - E.g. use CRO to communicate importance of the above - E.g. use data to showcase success This list is by no means extensive and all those topics deserve more details! What would you add? Comment 👇 — 👀 Get free RevOps content like Cheat Sheets, Salary Report - link in profile ➕ Follow me for tips on how RevOps can impact revenue growth ♻️ Share with your friends #revops #saas

27

9 Comments

I spoke with the CRO of a $70M revenue tech company who complained that their Salesforce partnership doesn't drive enough revenue. I asked why Salesforce should send them more business, and he talked about why their company is awesome (which they are). Here's the thing: it's not about you; it's about your partner and the value you bring to the table. Want Salesforce (and other tech platforms) to take you seriously? Here's what you need. There are five types of value: 💰 Making It Rain Tech platforms don't usually expect an ISV to land big deals, which is why it's a game-changer when you do. Deliver multiple wins, and you'll secure your spot on their radar. If you can pull this off and make sure the right people know about it, you'll position yourself as an indispensable partner, receiving the support needed to keep delivering. 🤝 Closing the Deal Sometimes niche expertise is the key to finalizing a deal. Providing this mission-critical knowledge can make you an unforgettable partner. They'll be motivated to bring you to the table for future deals, which is exactly where you want to be. 🔍 Detecting Gaps and Closing Them Even the biggest tech platforms can't solve every problem, especially as user needs evolve. Spotting feature gaps and creating solutions to fill them makes you essential for customer satisfaction, keeping you top of mind with your partners. 😊 Keeping Customers (Really) Happy Tech platforms aim to replace heavy lifting with automation magic, but specialized integrations often enhance customer satisfaction even further. If you can make their customers even happier, your partners will start wondering if they can do it without you. 🌟 Exerting Influence Being the "it" company in your space can excite your partners. Even the big players will be interested in amplifying their reach by associating with you. This works well in the short term and can make tech platforms proactive about partnering with you. If none of these apply, rethink your strategy because success will be unlikely. Did I miss any? PS The picture is unrelated but was taken at this year's Arcadia Leadership Experience, an amazing event organized by Jason & Sam. I got to chat with Sienna Quirk!

111

24 Comments

CROs often make the mistake of thinking a database cleanup will magically drive efficient revenue. They see the CRM mess, hire a systems admin to tidy things up, and expect growth to follow. But here’s the problem: Cleaning up Salesforce without a clear revenue strategy is like putting the cart before the horse. The system ends up driving revenue generation (poorly), instead of being shaped by a solid growth plan. To fix this, start with a specific revenue goal. Too many admins don’t know what the larger target is, which makes it nearly impossible to build a system that supports real growth. Set a clear revenue target first—whether it’s new business, net revenue retention, or both—then narrow down to top priorities. Where’s the biggest opportunity? More pipeline, better conversion rates, or a mix? Focus on one area at a time, like refining your outbound process or improving inbound engagement. Once you’ve prioritized, build the basics around that focus area. For example, if Demand Gen is your priority, nail down your ideal customer profile, setup your conversion events, and define clear messaging. Drive adoption by mapping out these processes in your CRM, training reps, and monitoring execution in reports. Your team needs to be fully aligned with the system to make any cleanup worthwhile. Next, iterate based on real data. Dig into the metrics to see what’s working and refine as needed—maybe that’s shifting your ICP, evolving messaging, or adding in different channels or ABM. Finally, automate only what’s proven to work. Too often, automation is used as a shortcut, but it’s only valuable when it’s amplifying a well-functioning process. In short, don’t start with a CRM cleanup. Start with your revenue strategy, then let that shape the CRM. This way, you’re building a system that truly supports growth, instead of just creating a neater mess. #revops #CRO #revenue

13

1 Comment

How much revenue am I losing with my abandoned carts?🤷 We recently had the pleasure of working with a customer to help grow their top line revenue by integrating their Adobe Commerce store with Salesforce Marketing Cloud. 💡 Current Volumes: • $1.5M per month order volume. • $95k per month in abandoned carts and lost revenue (excluding guest abandoned carts). • $1.14M in top-line opportunity annually from abandoned carts for all registered customers alone. 📈 The Total Opportunity: • The average cart abandonment rate in eCommerce is around 70-80%. • Assuming a 70% abandonment rate, their orders represent less than 30% of all possible orders. • If orders make up 30% of total possible orders, the total monthly opportunity is around $5M. • This translates to a staggering $3.5M per month in abandoned cart opportunity. 📧 Recovery Potential: • Abandoned cart recovery emails have a conversion rate of around 8.76%, compared to the typical email conversion rate of 2-5%. • Businesses can recover up to 30% of abandoned carts with effective recovery strategies. • Even at a conservative recovery rate of 10%, this customer could see an additional $350k per month, or $4.2M per year, in recovered revenue. 💪 Takeaway: Never underestimate the value you deliver to your customers. By leveraging powerful integrations and effective strategies, the potential to unlock significant revenue growth is immense! #eCommerce #SalesforceMarketingCloud #Magento #RevenueGrowth #CustomerSuccess #AbandonedCarts #BusinessStrategy

10