Vivek Somani

How we captured 80 prospects in a simple technique of explaining the product to the folks we met at SaaStr, Dreamforce, and OpsStars 💡 Before delving into the technique, know what Buyerstage is: It is a digital salesroom software(https://lnkd.in/grue7tYA) for mid- and enterprise sales teams to engage buyers on a common link that helps to close deals faster. Stage 1️⃣ : Remember that you have only 10 seconds with each person after the ice breaks. ❌ Common mistake: We tend to explain everything—problems we solve, how we solve them, who we sell to, how we are different, etc. Don't do that. It will be overwhelming. Generally, people find it difficult to enter your world. ✅ Try this: Just say what you are selling. 👍🏻 This worked for me: "We help sales teams to close deals faster. We cut the deal cycle time by 30%." ⏭ Lead to the next stage: If the person asks "HOW?" then it's a successful outcome. You've got the next 30-60 seconds. Stage 2️⃣ : ❌ Common mistake: We will start focusing on the solution and explain the product features. ✅ Try this: Start with the problems, explain why you want to solve them, and then describe your approach. Don't talk about the features. Save them for Stage 3. 👍🏻 This worked for me: Start with the problem: "Email communications are cluncky when you sell to mid- and enterprise customers where the deal cycles are longer, say more than 3 months. It will lead to having 100+ emails in a single thread. So, it will be difficult for both buyers and sellers to find particular information at a given point in time. This potentially causes the delay." Now, introduce the approach: "We transform sales teams from email to a collaborative workspace where they can bring in all the information, processes, and stakeholders to gain more control and insights to become more proactive in running the deal." ⏭ Lead to the next stage: If the person guesses your product features, then it's a successful outcome. You almost captured the lead. Stage 3️⃣ : ❌ Common mistake: We try to convert the lead immediately by explaining all the features in depth. Avoid doing so, as you only have 10 seconds at this point. If you exceed this time limit, they may perceive your product as requiring a thorough evaluation, allowing you to connect with someone else within their company. ✅ Try this: Simply acknowledge or correct their guesses, and appreciate them if they are correct. 👍🏻 This worked for me: I was asked whether our platform has the capabilities to manage sales collateral, track its performance, and set up the plan to invite buying committee members, etc. My response was, "Yes, you're absolutely correct." A simple correction is that our platform not only allows you to set your side sales process but also enables buyers to map their purchase steps. You can customize the process for every customer because you cannot do it in your CRM." Keep it always under 2 minutes when you are at the events ⌚

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Experience the convenience of instant credit to your business account with Paycorp's NACH Payment Credits. No more waiting for settlements – receive payments directly into your current account instantly. Simplify your cash flow and enhance your business efficiency with Paycorp. Faster Fund Availability: With instant credits, NBFC's/Corporates can access collected payments immediately, improving liquidity and allowing for quicker reinvestment and growth opportunities. Reduced Collection Delays: Eliminate the waiting period for settlements and minimize delays in payment collection, ensuring your funds are available when you need them. Improved Cash Flow Management: Immediate payment collections provide better control over cash flow, enhancing financial stability and enabling proactive financial planning. Discover how Paycorp can transform your Instant payment collection process. Schedule a personalized demo https://lnkd.in/gb5Jnkie or contact us at [email protected] today! #Paycorp #NACHPayments #InstantCredit #BusinessAccounts #Fintech #Efficiency #CashFlow #FinancialServices #InstantPayments #loans #BusinessBanking #NBFCs #OperationalEfficiency #PaymentCollections Balaji Jagannathan Prashant Maroli Karthik Thenkarai Rajesh Thayial Sonia Sree

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SaaS is not a trend—it's a revolution that was born out of necessity. This article dives deep into how SaaS has evolved from time-sharing systems of the 60s to the powerhouse it is today, valued at over $240 billion. While some might be comfortable with legacy systems, savvy founders know you can't cling to the past. The rapid rise of cloud computing and the likes of Salesforce show us that agility in business tech is not just ideal—it's imperative. This industry is far from stagnant; it's exploding with innovations and possibilities. If you’re not paying attention, you’re already behind. As someone immersed in the entrepreneurial landscape, I can tell you that understanding SaaS isn't just for tech experts. It’s vital for anyone looking to future-proof their business. For more insights distilled into bite-sized knowledge, check out my newsletter, 5 Minute Founders. What are your thoughts on the evolution of SaaS? Are you in, or are you missing out? https://lnkd.in/eCqGw-2p

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Both Santosh Sharan, COO at Retention.com, and Mark Boothe, CMO at Domo, have posted something in common and concerning. They are both CXOs, and they don't answer any cold calls. However, they are both active on LinkedIn every day. As a sales rep, would you rather prospect them on LinkedIn with personalization than call them 10 times only to go unanswered, wasting time and burning your phone number reputation? It's high time sales reps know which prospects to email vs cold call vs LinkedIn. Yes, I mean channel validation. We all know a ton of tools that do email validation. PhoneVerify AI validates phone numbers, telling reps who are "Likely to Answer" the phone. LinkedIn validation. Is that a thing? Are there tools to tell if someone is active on LI or not? I am sure you all love to hear from the experts as well. I am tagging a few to share their thoughts on channel validation and any tools to validate LinkedIn. Links to Santosh Sharan and Mark Boothe's posts in the comments. Felix Frank ⚙️Jordan Crawford Michel Lieben 🧠 Matt Aird Scott Martinis Josh Norris John Welch James Hanzimanolis Tim Savage Benjamin Douablin Justin Michael Ronen R. Pessar Giulio Segantini Harris Kenny Hunter Deskin Florin Tatulea Saad Khan 🦾Eric Nowoslawski Elliott Garcia

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"FinTech Not A Winner-Takes-All Market": Akshar Shah of Fixerra & Trivesh D. of Tradejini | Shrija Agrawal of RizingTV In the latest dispatch of the podcast 'Hard Thing about Hard Launches', two fintech founders - Akshar Shah of Fixerra and Trivesh D of Tradejini open up on the opportunity set of the Indian fintech market. According to both the founders, the Indian fintech market is not a winner takes all market and there will be room for multiple players. While on the surface, it might appear that there are too many players, the Indian financial services market still remains fairly underpenetrated. The retail participation of this country in the Indian stock markets still remains close to about 2 per cent which is fairly low compared to those of more mature markets. In a free wheeling discussion, Askhar and Trivesh talk about why they have opted for the particular niches. While Akshar is focused on the fixed income markets, Trivesh is looking at mobilizing retail participation towards equities - mutual funds and stock markets. Both open up on expansion plans, bootstrapping vs fundraising from investors, the hard realities about entrepreneurship and more. Watch/ listen to this meaningful podcast. #startupstories #Fixerra #Tradejini #rizingtv

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You don't wait for outbound deals to mature You mature them by creating urgency using COI Here's how ⤵ Storytime I was selling Zendesk against a competitor who is notoriously famous for heavy discounting in India To the extent, that our list pricing is 2x their contract pricing From a BDR pov, that's a suicide mission in India: A country that's highly price-sensitive and negotiates on everything.....I mean, we negotiate on a cab, auto, groceries, bus tickets, bloody everything...even try our hands at negotiating flight and train ticket So in a country like this, when I'm priced 2x as my competitor, it's almost impossible to get a meeting - let alone close that deal Prospects come to the meeting to tell us: "I'm not happy with X because they're overpriced" I'm already judging him for that statement but okay. Let's play this game. I asked him: "What's your pricing with X?" "We have the Pro Plan at $40/m/u" How many users is that? "8" In my head, I've already disqualified the deal. Our list pricing is $99/m/u and there is no way we'll get a 60% discount. Even for 100 seats. No way is he going through the pain of switching to a costlier tool unless there's a burning fire Something in me didn't want to give up that day. Usually, I would've told him we were not a good fit and moved on I asked him - "Are you happy with X?" He goes "Yes - we're very happy" "So only price is an issue?" "Yes" So I asked him - "Oftentimes when prospects tell me products are overpriced, it's because they don't get the value for money. Is my assumption right?" Maybe In my head, I'm thinking - good. We're progressing (Welcome to Outbound) "Specifically what do you feel is not working for you with X that's leading you to feel it's not worth $40/m/u?" He said, "Omnichannel experience is not good". That's all I needed. I jumped on him. "What do you mean by that?" "I need to open 3 tabs to monitor tickets from 3 channels. On top of that, I need to pull reports from 3 tools and sometimes their tools don't talk to each other" BOOOOOM! Now I go into impact. Then their business problem. Then quantify it. In 15 mins, we concluded they're losing 20 hours/week across 3 dedicated resources for reporting and data analysis. That's 60 manhours lost every week they don't switch. Is that urgent enough for a serious eval? (despite cost) Yes Is that urgent enough for a switch? Not yet (now onto the AE's skill) Discovery like this needs to consistently happen throughout the outbound process for successful outbound revenue That's where I see most AEs slacking and focusing on inbound deals. That's why Outbound is dead Because people would rather focus on inbound deals that get them rev today, rather than do the hard work for the rev tomorrow. People follow the money. They always have. It's the Law of the Land. Unfortunately, the coins of inbound on the floor distract people from the treasures of outbound under the ground

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A seasoned sales leader with a $150 million ARR company shares the initial struggle of adopting a comprehensive RevOps function. The traditional approach? Hire tactical ops resources for siloed functions like sales, marketing, and CS. But as companies grow, the need for cohesive leadership becomes crucial. Have you faced such transitional challenges in your organization? Explore the RevOps journey in my latest video! #RevOps #SalesLeadership #RevenueGrowth #BusinessStrategy

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🔓 Unlock recurring benefits with automatic bank payments. → Lower costs - Save up to 72% on transaction fees with ACH. → Reliable cash flow - Predictable, steady deposits. → Fewer manual tasks - Reduce admin time spent on data entry and management. → Reduced customer churn - Link bank accounts that last 17+ years, avoiding payment disruptions. → Enhanced security - ACH offers real-time fraud detection, multi-factor authentication, and verified account info. → Fast processing - Access funds up to same-day or instantly. → Guaranteed payments - Enable guaranteed ACH for full, on-time payments every time. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gK4eqHxi

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We miss the mark when we cling to outdated practices while the world demands agility and innovation. The growth potential in SaaS is undeniable—expected to soar from $3 trillion to a staggering $10 trillion by 2030. It’s not just a numbers game; it's about how businesses approach this dynamic landscape. Many companies are stuck in their oldways, believing that their legacy practices will still deliver results. It won't. The path to success in SaaS is paved with a few non-negotiable strategies: innovate rapidly, scale from day one, and leverage existing digital assets. It's essential to bring tech talent to the table and rethink traditional product development cycles. My co-founder Matthew Spurr often emphasizes the importance of co-creation and authentic partnerships. If you're serious about growth and not just throwing money at the next shiny object, stop treating innovation as a side project. It’s time to rethink your entire strategy around SaaS. What stops you from diving into the SaaS revolution? https://lnkd.in/eQqDjZbW

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After 16 years in SaaS and payments, I've learned this: unlocking a vertical SaaS business’ full potential is about more than just delivering software or adding payments. It's about crafting a market strategy and finding those transformative "second acts" that deepen customer relationships and open new markets. Follow Parachute Advisory for expert tips on navigating the ecosystem, building a success plan, and bridging the gap between vendor selection and speed to revenue generation. #verticalsaas #saasgrowth #saasrevenue #payments #embeddedpayments

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All CEOs know revenue target for runway & valuation at next funding round (& CROs their number for equity release / bonus) BUT crazily few think about (& take ownership of) resource allocation to achieve these GTM objectives. Despite 1)Efficient growth & sales productivity being top C-Suite priority 2) Where you play being top controllable determinant of how you win. To maximise revenue growth & margin in your business you must 1) Know what you are doing today that works / doesn't work across sales, marketing and CS: clarity of input and attribution / cause & effect / unit economics of GTM components 2) Learn what you are not doing that is proving successful outside your business that is worth testing / integrating 3) Apply "first principle" and "80/20" thinking to knowledge blocks 1 & 2 4) Re-engineer process with sero-based budgeting to make strategic bets by re-allocating resource to where most likely to get bang for buck within your resource constraints. After 100s of audits I've learned that you can reliably - Cut > 25% of current sales & marketing budget - AND increase revenue growth by > 50% YoY - obviously with better margin / runway / valuation So much of revenue success is - Despite current process / from not following playbook - Accidental as opposed to intentional - Limited by not knowing a) what works and can be scaled / improved b) what doesn't work and can be cut with near zero downside You can't do everything and you don't need to, but you surely must intelligently allocate resource to where you are most likely to win and not dilute resource effectiveness by doing what doesn't work? Too many leaders focus on making what is not effective more efficient, rather than actually leading the change to establish what is effective #ceo #managingdirector #founder #salesleadership CRO Connected RevGenius Pavilion GTMfund Modern Sales Pros

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🎉 We’ve been busy making funding even better for you at Clearco! Our latest improvements are here to make your life easier. Here’s what’s new: 1️⃣ No More Duplicate Accounts 2️⃣ Easier Account Management 3️⃣ Clearer In-App Guidance Curious about the details? Check out our latest blog for the full scoop! Cheers to smoother funding! 🥂 #ecommerce #funding #entrepreneur #dtc

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CoinDCX has promoted Mridul Gupta to Founding Partner, a role where he will spearhead the company’s growth strategies, international expansion, and profitability initiatives. Gupta, who joined CoinDCX in 2021 as Chief Operating Officer, has been pivotal in developing compliant crypto investment and trading products. His promotion aligns with CoinDCX’s recent international expansion into the Middle East and North Africa through the acquisition of BitOasis. Sumit Gupta, Co-Founder of CoinDCX, commended Mridul’s role in scaling the company and navigating new markets, while Mridul expressed his commitment to advancing CoinDCX’s mission in India and the broader global crypto landscape. #CoinDCX #MridulGupta #CryptoExpansion #Web3 #CryptoInvestment #Fintech #Leadership #InternationalGrowth #BitOasis #Innovation #cxolanes

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Datadog added $570,000,000 in ARR over the last 12 months $179,000,000 in just the last 90 days. That gives them ARR growth of 26% YOY GTM efficiency also remains best in class. CAC payback of 15.7 months (up slightly from 14.3 last year) And Magic number of 0.96 down slightly from 1.03 last year. What we also get from Datadog that we don't get from a lot of Sub $5B ARR SaaS companies is positive earnings They had $20M in operating income and $52M in net income for the quarter With $204M in FCF. 30% FCF margins are insane. NRR remains strong north of 110% And GRR mid to high 90's They're also very much a multi product company. Jason Lemkin at SaaStr talks about SaaS becoming multi-product as a key factor for continued growth 15 of Datadogs products now exceeded $10 million in ARR As of the end of Q3, 83% of customers were using 2 or more products 49% of customers were using 4 or more products and 12% of customers were using 8 or more products They're on fire. Trading at a 19X ARR

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Nobody realizes that Apollo and ZoomInfo were both stuck at single-digit ARR for YEARS. When they finally got unstuck, unlocked rapid growth, and hit billion dollar valuations, both companies had ONE THING in common: They hired Santosh Sharan. Here are the 7 things that makes Santosh a top 0.1% unicorn builder: 1. He understands the mechanics of exponential growth Santosh believes that sustained growth is about “Stacking S-Curves”. Meaning, you bang your head against the wall for years, then something hits, explosively. During that explosion you're working on your next S-curve. Steady exponential growth is about stacking these curve. He also appreciates initiatives that have the potential to unlock non-linear growth (such as LinkedIn for RB2B), and the drivers of growth you can’t measure. 2. He doesn’t play to win; he plays to destroy all competitors Santosh’s instinct is to design businesses and GTM strategies that are impossible to compete with, which usually means forgoing near-term revenue in favor of virally expanding user bases. When you become the 800lb gorilla and synonymous with the category you can charge premium prices and see exponential revenue growth. 3. He deeply understands all of the key departments of a startup Santosh started as an engineer, moved into Product and Growth, and then moved on to running Sales and Marketing teams. He approaches all teams with an engineer’s mindset. He sees his role as removing blockers in one department and moving to the next. 4. He knows what the building blocks of massive future success look like Santosh has been a part of the largest data companies when they were fledgling startups. He has seen, over and over again, what a unicorn looks like as it’s being born, and knows the opportunities worth pursuing. 5. He is empathetic towards employees and customers No matter the problem, Santosh has seen it. He understands the immense pain that we go through as we grow. He also believes in creating businesses that treat customers well and make the world a better place. 6. He knows how to put together a killer data asset Few people in the world could put together a fixed-price data asset that would allow us to make the free offer we have at RB2B. Santosh is one of them. 7. He understands fundraising and M&A Santosh has run many transactions as the buyer and seller, and has done countless VC and Growth Equity rounds. He understands what investors and acquirers look for in companies, which informs growth and product strategy. TAKEAWAY Santosh is a Unicorn builder. A look at his LinkedIn profile will show you exactly what I’m talking about. People always ask me how I convinced him to work with us. I don’t have a great answer, other than “I somehow did”. Next Tuesday (3pm EST), we all have the honor of learning from him directly He’s going to talk: - The Mechanics of Growth - How he gets exec teams unstuck - The building blocks of unicorns Join here: https://lnkd.in/gkSJSGeu

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