Nic Widhalm

ZoomInfo Copilot is working 24/7 — surfacing important updates you should know about your top accounts.  With breaking alerts delivered via Slack, you'll never miss when a buying group shifts or a key account spikes on intent. 🔔 Have a question about one of your accounts? Ask Copilot's interactive, AI-powered chat and get answers in seconds.  Ready to give Copilot a try? Request a demo: bit.ly/3Kj4myP #ZoomInfoCopilot

1

Everyone in your revenue org has a different view of what's going on. Learn how to leverage it: VPs: “We’re tracking behind on our Q3 revenue target. We need to increase our ACV by doubling down on Enterprise opportunities.” Sales Managers: “We’re tracking behind our Q3 revenue target. We don’t have enough opportunities to double down on. We need to increase our outbound activity to drive pipeline.” Account Executives: “I’m behind on my Q3 target. Building more pipeline isn’t going to help me this quarter. I need to close at least 50% of my open opportunities to get back on track (even though my average is 25%).” Same Problem. 3 Completely Different Approaches. If you work in revenue enablement, you have the unique opportunity to be a bridge between team members at every level. Here’s what that sounds like… To VP’s: “If we want to increase our team’s ACV by moving up market, we’ll need to audit how we qualify opportunities and make sure we’re getting the right stakeholders involved in discovery. Do you have time to collaborate on a new rubric for our SDR’s and AE’s to qualify champions? I’d expect this to take about 3 months before we start seeing consistent results. Is there any opportunity to focus on mid-market win rate in the meantime?” [Once approved, go to your sales managers] To Sales Managers: “I understand we need more activity, but until our reps are identifying the right people to get on a call, it’s going to be wasted effort. Leadership is working on a new qualification framework for next quarter, but in the meantime, you can still hit your target by focusing on moving more of your existing pipeline in S2 & S3 into later stages in the sales cycle. What are some high-value deals that you feel are stuck right now?” [Then, go to your reps] To Sellers: “Your managers have identified some deals that are stuck in the early stages of the sales cycle. In the past, I’ve noticed you tend to use discounts as a lever to push deals through faster. How would you go about advancing these deals if you weren’t able to discount them at all?” By taking the time to listen to different perspectives from across the org, Enablement becomes a force multiplier that get’s everyone moving towards the same goal.

27

4 Comments

If you are a #CSM then ask yourself this question every morning when you start work: "Why...?" And no...it is NOT: "Why...am I here?" 😅 As every CSM or #CS leader knows - every day in CS is a busy one. You have a long to-do list. Many KPIs to hit. Customers reaching out. Leaders asking you for things. Meetings back-to-back. It's easy to get overwhelmed. It is even easier to get distracted. And almost impossible to optimize your time. That is where "Why?" comes into the picture. When you start your day (or finish the previous day): 📆 Look at what you have on the calendar 📋 Look at your inevitable to-do list 📲 Look at your meetings for the day 🕺🏽 Look at how much "free" time you have that day Now consider your short-term goals & KPIs: weekly/monthly And consider your medium-term goals & KPIs: Quarterly/qualitative Here is where you ask yourself, "Why?" - Why should I spend time on this activity? - Why is that meeting important (or how to make it important)? - Why is this task at the top of my list? - Why, why, why... If the answer does not include something in line with..."because it best helps me get to this goal or KPI"...then you probably should not prioritize it. The reality in CS is that you never have enough time. There is always more. You can even spend TOO much time on GOOD activities. So don't waste it. Ask "why?". And maximize each day. *** 🛎️ If you enjoy my content, follow me for more ♻️ Repost to share with your network #CS #customersuccess #accountmanagement #timemanagement #csvalue #revsetter

9

2 Comments

Great post (...and I need that knife) on the topic of quota attainment and the impact it has on sales. While in this post it's about sales interviewees asking about it, it is important to realize that this is #SalesOps / #Revops as well as sales leaders' role to make them fair and achievable. But why do you rarely hear about any companies that really do this right? More often than not, the miss is that the incentive compensation plan is great, an awesome plan, opportunity to make great money, but....the quota makes hitting it unachievable. #SalesPlanning is the connective tissue between your #ICM solution and finance, and too often it is still managed in EXCEL! Quick Fact: If sales turnover averages 35%, many orgs have reps leaving and joining every day so when doing the annual sales planning, it can't even be completed before it needs to change and this process goes on daily throughout the year, a big reason why it is so often a miss. Oh and did I mention no data to inform the decisions the front line sales managers have to make? #TakeFinanceFurther #CFO #CRO

5

In sales, it’s important to have transparent—and sometimes tough—budget conversations early and often. In custom software development, it doesn’t help the buyer to hold their budget cards close to the vest. Costs can increase quickly if we don’t understand the most impactful requirements and determine an MVP that fits within a realistic budget. "Realistic budget" varies by buyer. We need to talk about it...even when it's tough. Here’s how to approach them confidently (without breaking a sweat): Know Your Stuff Get the Numbers Right: Be clear on both your budget and the client’s. Break down where the money will go and why that allocation makes sense. Show the Data: Back up your recommendations with data—how past investments led to growth or how future spend will deliver returns. Spell Out ROI: Be specific about how each dollar spent contributes to the overall outcome. The math will sell the value. Keep It Real Manage Expectations: Be upfront about what’s possible within the budget. No one likes surprises, so it’s better to be candid than face frustration later. Explain Trade-Offs: If certain features need to be cut to stay within budget, explain what will be impacted, helping the client see the trade-offs. Be a Problem Solver Offer Flexible Options: If budget is tight, suggest scalable solutions. Start with essentials and add more features over time. Help Prioritize: Collaborate to figure out what’s most important so you can focus resources on what matters and get more out of the budget. Tie the Budget to Big Picture Goals Link It to Strategy: Show how the budget ties into broader goals—sales targets, efficiency, or growth. People are more likely to approve when they see the bigger picture. Highlight Long-Term Benefits: Remind them the budget is an investment, not just an expense. Focus on things like customer retention, productivity, or gaining a competitive edge. Listen, Empathize, and Be Patient Hear Them Out: Understand their concerns. The more you listen, the easier it is to address pain points. Stay Calm and Respectful: Budget talks can be tense. Stay patient and respectful. Focus on Building a Partnership Be a Partner, Not Just a Vendor: Frame the conversation as a team effort. Work together to find the best solution for everyone. Stay Flexible: Be willing to adjust to meet their needs without compromising quality or results. Know When to Hold Your Ground Stick to Your Bottom Line: If the budget becomes too tight to deliver value, don’t be afraid to speak up. Don’t Overpromise: Avoid overpromising things that could hurt quality or cause issues down the road. In closing, having effective and meaningful budget conversations will build trust with the buyer and certainly increase your close rate. #sales, #budget, #toughconversations, #customsoftwaredevelopment, #baytechconsulting, #roi, #sellwithconfidence

2

Fighting about Renewal processes isn't adding any value to the ongoing CSM conversation. I get it. CSMs need to be more commercial CSMs have to own their book of business CSMs need to manage the renewal cycle CSMs need to go after the expansion CSMs ... What I struggle with is: We sometimes seem to care more about how to justify why something exists along the internal processes we run vs. looking at why something exists in the first place. As a result, the role of Customer Success has been watered down. It became a self justification of why QBR, why relationship, why x$ book of business, why z# of headcount, why CS needs to own this now. But why is Customer Success here? In recurring revenue businesses, the transaction with a customer doesn't end at the time of the sale. The traditional funnel is dead 💀 Revenue is only recurring if we deliver impact - recurringly. The traditional funnel expanded further into a bowtie, which mirrors the acquisition side onto retention. Long life the funnel 😇 And while Marketing needed to extend their own domain deeper into the Customer Journey from awareness to expansion, Customer Success owns most of the magic, helping customers achieving recurring impact. So what is impact? Well, that's for you to define. What does good look like (WGLL) for your customers? What do they expect and what are the outcomes they are holding you accountable for? That is what Customer Success is driving along the Customer Journey. As a CS team I then ask myself and build playbooks around: → How do I achieve frictionless onboarding & activation to first WOW? → What topic education & change management is needed at the customer? → What internal alignment do I need to create which elevates the customer experience, but goes unnoticed by the customer (they don't care about our processes) → What product enablement is crucial for the customer? → How does the customer ecosystem (e.g. partners) look like and how does it influence value delivery? → How are outcomes achieved, how do they happen recurringly and how are those experienced by the customer? ... and how can I deliver against that. Renewals, expansions, referrals all happen as a natural result of that. What questions are you asking yourself ? #CSM #saas #revenue and picture credit to Jennifer Peters 😎

17

10 Comments

Every AE ever - "I cannot find the information I need, and I need it now!" Sales Leaders, is it a common complaint from your teams that they cannot find the answers? They cannot find competitor information, that latest deck, or that marketing snippet. Do they lose time searching Salesforce, Sharepoint or name your company's resource of choice to find the information? We have the Answer! #Qlik Answers is a stand-alone GenAI (RAG) solution sitting over your unstructured data, every PowerPoint, PDF, email, and text field in your CRM, and so on. Allowing your team to ask a question and get the answer immediately. Demand your teams get the one tool they need!

53

✨ Think RevOps just has a magical fix for all your problems? Think again! ✨ What most people don’t realize is how even the simplest questions or requests to a RevOps team can spiral into a tangled mess of complexity.  Here’s why this can happen if RevOps teams dont have a proactive/agile approach to data governance, process documentation, & modular architecture: 💥 The Domino Effect Ever had someone ask, “Can we just get a report on X?” Sounds easy, right? That seemingly simple request can set off a chain reaction: you need to pull data from multiple sources, ensure it's clean and consistent, validate it against existing Reports/KPIs, and then format it in a way that makes sense to everyone. Before you know it, that “simple” report has consumed days of work, uncovered tech debt to fix,  and required the coordination of multiple teams. 🚧 Unintended Consequences One small change in your process or tech stack can ripple through the entire system. Let’s say someone wants to tweak the lead scoring model. Seems straightforward until you realize that change will affect every downstream process—automated workflows, sales handoffs, reporting metrics, and even how markrting nurtures prioritize accounts. What started as a quick adjustment turns into a major overhaul, with plenty of opportunities for things to break along the way. 🔄 Constant Recalibration A simple request like “Can we segment our contacts by XYZ?” sounds innocent enough. But in reality, it can lead to an endless loop of recalibration. You’ll need to validate the values of the field in question, update outliers, redefine the segments, update workflows, adjust reporting, and retrain the team on what was done. And let’s not forget the constant back-and-forth to ensure everyone’s on the same page about what those segments actually mean. 🐇Data Rabbit Holes You might think pulling a quick data point is no big deal, but data is rarely straightforward. A request for “last quarter’s sales by region” might lead you down a rabbit hole of data inconsistencies, missing fields, and conflicting sources. You’ll need to dig deep, reconcile differences, and verify accuracy—all while balancing the original timeline for the ask. By the time you have the answer, what seemed like a five-minute task has turned into a full-blown data archaeology project. In RevOps, sometimes even the simplest asks have a way of snowballing into massive undertakings.  It’s not just about doing the work—it’s about anticipating the ripple effects, managing expectations, and keeping everything running smoothly while you’re at #RevOps #RevenueOperations #ExpectationsVsReality #DataComplexity #ScopeCreep #TechChallenges #RevOpsLife

92

4 Comments

RevOps leaders are building their tech stacks around tools they are confident can scale alongside their growing teams (and complexities). Today QuotaPath has released a series of features that position us as the most adaptable commission software for high growth teams with complex compensation problems. I use QuotaPath constantly (a fun perk of the job), and we are constantly listening to our customers and evolving QuotaPath to address their biggest pain points. Features like a first-of-its-kind Mapping Manager that allows users to build data logic once in a template, save it, and re-use it anytime they need to add a new comp plan and connect to its data source. (A massive time saver.) Our Manager Plans and Dynamic Team Assignments are designed to seamlessly support the shifts that occur when reps transition between teams. These features ensure that your compensation plans stay aligned with your evolving team structure. And a new multi-level approval process promises that by the time Finance gives its final sign-off on commission earnings, reps and sales leadership have already seen and approved their earnings, streamlining the payout process while giving reps more ownership over their commissions. Congrats to our team and thank to every customer who has contributed to QuotaPath’s evolution. 

50

2 Comments

Here is the current version of my best practices for kickoffs. It's really an intro call - This is not requirements call. NOTE THE CSM interaction! Take about success criteria, not the weather Assign them homework that they need to do in order to "start" the project. This can help your metrics if you report on when project "starts" vs kickoff Are you doing any of these?

76

13 Comments

Your Sales to CS handoff process needs work. Call Comcast and you'll get a full lesson in how not to treat customers. Ask them to go through a bunch of prompts and repeat the issue 20x before speaking to an agent. You are probably thinking: well our process isn't THAT bad. Are you sure? I bet your process looks something like this: 1. Someone submits a lead or responds to an outbound message (information sharing 1) 2. A BDR follows up to qualify them and set a meeting (person 1, information sharing 2) 3. An AE sets up a Discovery meeting (person 2, information sharing 3) 4. 60-90 day sales cycle (information sharing 4-5) 5. Closed won, handed to implementation for 30 days (person 3, information sharing 6) 6. Moved over to CS (person 4, information sharing 7) Imagine the frustration customers have when they have to share the same info (company information, business problems, etc.) 7 times to 4 different people. It sucks! I had a great time talking about the broken handoff processes in SaaS with Cory Pitt on the Wiser AI podcast.

11

6 Comments

Are your renewals killing your quarter? Here are 10 ways to make sure you have a terrible Q4 10. Don't update them on new features they were asking for 9. Have a complicated renewal process. 8. Having misaligned data in the CRM  7. Mismanage your renewal process by not tracking discounts or giving away free services that weren't budgeted for. 6. Ignore them because usage is high, so "everything is cool" 5. Ignore them because it's auto-renewed 4. Never contact the Champion and just work with the admins 3. Don't have meaningful renewal conversations. 2. Start the renewal process in the same month its due 1. Never articulate the value they are getting from your product How are you going to have better Q4 numbers?

15

11 Comments

ZoomInfo Copilot is transforming the way sales teams work. Just ask Joy Rohde, Sales Director at Earnix. Leveraging customer intent data and AI, ZoomInfo Copilot helps sales teams focus on the best accounts and confidently reach out when they're ready to buy. ⏰ T-minus 24 hours until ZoomInfo Copilot is here — you don't want to miss it! #ZoomInfoCopilot

3

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!  

121

23 Comments

It all starts with getting your company values right.

1

How to know if you have a good comp plan? Ask your GTM team what type of revenue it's motivating them to close, and why. The revenue that earns a seller the highest commission rate should be the revenue that is best for the business. "I earn the highest commission rate on 3-year contracts in the pharmaceutical industry because we're trying to drive long-term relationships in pharma." If your marketer/BDR/AE/AM can't give you that sentence, your comp plan isn't driving their performance in real-time. And at that point, your comp plan isn't doing its job.

25

1 Comment

"So in Enablement, you kind of have to just be an expert at everything don't you?" 🧐 The more our profession tries to move away from talking about what #enablement is and more toward doing, the more hearing these questions pulls me back. We've all felt it. You show up to a new company, people think being in enablement means you're saying you're the expert on every topic and at best, they question your credibility. At worst, they get defensive. The answer to this question is of course no because that would be impossible for any human, especially with how quickly information changes these days. The problem is, and it's hard for many to accept, that those who are actual experts usually either can't communicate their expertise to others or don't have time. That's why companies can't scale with a few SME's, and that's why leaders go hire an Enablement professional. Connect teams through improved process with aligned technology to overcome blockers to revenue. 💰 You can define it in a million different ways, but that's the job. When you have a leadership team that gets that, it makes a world of difference, and I'm thankful to be in that situation now. If you're an Enablement professional who isn't that fortunate, we've all been there... and it's pretty terrible. It's terrible because you aren't doing the job you signed up for, then you're evaluated by the wrong criteria and held accountable to results you can't drive. I've been quiet lately because I've been busy doing, but we must keep advocating for what our profession is meant to be and never accept anything less. If you're not sure how to do that, let me know and I'm happy to help. 🤝

42

2 Comments

"We keep losing deals where the rep is single-threaded." Easy to critique reps for this, but what if they've actually tried dozens of times to reach new contacts? Is it "all on them" to solve this? We've seen enablement teams stepping it up in a big way the last quarter to eliminate that risk and improve win rates in $1M+ deals, and I'm learning a ton from their efforts The slide below is from a workshop our CS team recently led with SE teams who want to head off the problem early. The workflow: 1. CRM rule triggers flags an opportunity that reaches a critical stage in without Champion or Economic Buyer qualified 2. Sales manager prioritizes that deal in the next 1:1 with the rep, and if they're blocked, assigns them an Emissary call 3. Emissary call yields (on average) 7-9 new contacts in the buying group and strategies to engage each, which rep documents 4. Sales manager reviews, approves plan Simple right? And it has a success rate: >80-90% 🤯 🎉

5

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!

13

3 Comments