Pete Cowing

Hot Take… RIP #PLG, Long Live #SLG But before you throw shade, let me explain… 🔹 There are undoubtedly exceptions, I’m sure many will highlight monday.com, Freshworks, etc. 🔹 PLG works well for low ACV deals with low CAC… think SMB and mid-market customers. Target CAC payback <12 months 🔹 PLG is a fantastic top of funnel marketing channel for enterprise sales ⭐ But for 6-figure enterprise sales, you need enterprise salespeople pressing the flesh with customers

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At the Gainsight conference last week, I had several folks ask me some version of "everyone used to talk about adoption....now everyone says that it's just about outcomes and ROI. What's your take?" It is and has always been about both. Can you get ROI without adoption? No. Is adoption by itself sufficient to guarantee value realization? Also no. You have to have adoption of the right capabilities that tie to customer business priorities with attached measurable outcomes. That is and has always been the formula. This is easy to say, really hard to implement and manage at scale. Which is why very few companies do it.

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RevOps under the CFO? PROBLEM: RevOps should be solving for seamless alignment across Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success to optimize rev generation, drive efficiency, and deliver predictable, scalable growth. BACKGROUND: I've seen RevOps under both Sales and Marketing. Neither seemed optimal (as both have a functional bias), so at Base64 we placed RevOps under the CFO / Head of Finance. WHY THE CFO: 1) COMPANY HEALTH & ALIGNMENT: Modern AI / SaaS CFO’s have evolved from accounting leaders to strategic architects of company health. I work very closely with my CFO to optimize the entire revenue lifecycle...balancing growth with efficiency...unlike Sales, where I primarily focus on quarterly new license bookings and renewal targets, or Marketing where I primarily focus on top-of-funnel demand gen, positioning and brand equity. 2) DATA-DRIVEN OPTIMIZATION: RevOps thrives on cross-departmental data, and I work with my CFO to integrate insights to minimize inefficiencies and maximize ROI for the company and within each function. 3) LONG-TERM VALUE CREATION FOCUS: While Sales and Marketing prioritize short-term wins (absolutely critical), the CFO aligns RevOps with the company’s broader financial strategy for scalable, sustainable growth (i.e. preparing the business for funding rounds, identifying levers to hit annual growth targets). By placing RevOps under the CFO, I believe companies unlock a metrics-driven approach where every dollar fuels Profitable Efficient Growth (PEG). In AI-SaaS where commercial models are being disrupted (i.e. usage vs. consumption)...having a modern CFO that owns RevOps is proving to be a game-changer at Base64. The primary risk leaders need to look out for is 1) if you have a risk-averse or fixed mindset CFO that prioritizes expense mgmt over PEG 2) they do not value CX (1st class product experience is table-stakes, but the overall experience with your company needs to be 1st class...from buying to servicing to renewing). Thoughts? #CFO #RevOps #StrategicLeadership #RevenueOptimization #SaaSLeadership

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Gong has been named a leader in the new report, The Forrester Wave™: Revenue Orchestration Platforms, Q3 2024. In this report, Forrester analyzed and scored 12 top vendors in the market. Gong received the highest scores possible for more criteria than any other vendor, including:   ⭐ Innovation ⭐ AI and automation differentiators ⭐ Range of analytics insights ⭐ Platform UX and integration “Gong’s AI reveals unique buyer and seller insights to improve deal outcomes. One of the few companies founded with AI at its core, Gong has used its nine-year AI résumé to create transformative insights for revenue organization." Check out the full report here: https://lnkd.in/gNNFMaSi

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The first version of the SaaS GTM playbook was written twenty years ago. Salesforce championed it. Mark Roberge published The Sales Acceleration Formula about Hubspot’s journey. Over the next two decades, we analyzed, quantified, instrumented, & optimized many aspects of the SaaS GTM. Account executive to SDR ratios, sales cycle lengths, conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, customer lifetime values, net dollar retention. The new software GTM playbook has yet to be written. But the companies who figure it out will become the next wave of massive businesses. On Tuesday, Theory held an event with [Dave Morse] formerly at Hebbia & Scale AI, Flo Crivello from Lindy, Paul Yacoubian from Copy.AI, & Chris Changfrom Gradient to discuss how AI changes these practices. These were my take aways : - Selling AI is being discovered because the technology is new. Buyers don’t know how to use it or how to buy it. - Because the sales motions are new, we can’t apply the previous playbook to the new sales process. The CEO/founder should hire a sales leader that they fully trust who focuses on ultimate success. The sales process is a part of the product : using both the customer’s language & the ultimate use of the product through success efforts - Between PLG vs sales led, more companies were sales-led. If starting with PLG, the template sells the product. Fight the empty box problem with great concrete templates that demonstrate how to use AI. If selling top-down, most of the conversations today are at the C-suite rather than the mid-market predominantly because the buying process is new. - Figuring out how to consistently produce wow moments with non-deterministic software is essential. - The room was split on pricing model : seats, usage, or some hybrid. Ultimately, pricing captures 15-30% of the value the software/AI creates. Developing a strong case for this with buyers will be key because the ROI question from buyers is real especially as the broader software market feels pressure. - Only VCs care about the word agents / agentic : for most enterprises, agents mean a customer support agent. Many teams don’t care about the underlying technology, they seek a solution to their problem. Tomorrow, we’ll be publish the results of the 2024 GTM Survey which we’ll reveal at Saastr in which we dig into the use of AI on sales processes & the impact to efficiency. Thanks to the panelists & attendees for a great discussion.

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Gong's GTM teams love DealHub! We're geeking out over how Gong, the Revenue Intelligence leaders, are using DealHub.io to, well, rock their sales world! Their Deal Desk, RevOps, and Sales teams are all raving about the platform. Here's why DealHub is a hit at Gong: * Less Busywork, More High Fives: DealHub slashed manual work by 50%, freeing up time for what matters – closing those deals. * Crystal Clear Visibility: Say goodbye to pipeline mysteries! Everyone at Gong has a bird's eye view of the sales process. * Faster Sales Cycles: DealHub helped Gong accelerate their deal cycles, meaning quicker wins and happier customers. * Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Collaboration is key! DealHub fosters seamless communication between all of Gong's awesome teams. Curious how DealHub can boost your RevOps magic? Check out the full story! https://okt.to/WeHlgw #RevOpsLife #SalesTeamWins #DealHubLove #CustomerSpotlight

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Amplitude Announces Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results: - Second quarter revenue of $73.3 million, up 8% year over year - Annual Recurring Revenue of $290 million, up 8% year over year - Number of customers representing $100,000 or more of ARR in Q2 grew to 547, an increase of 10% year over year This quarter was all about meeting our customers where they are. In Q2 we took our Snowflake Native offering GA, doubled down on our open ecosystem, and unveiled a self-serve portal that makes it easier than ever to integrate with Amplitude. To our customers, partners, and Ampliteers, thank you! Your trust, partnership, and hard work is invaluable! #PLG #ProductLedGrowth #DigitalAnalytics #ProductAnalytics #Retention #Acquisition #Monetization

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If you live in San Jose, then you’re in luck…. 🍀 The most forward-thinking minds in California’s financial landscape are coming together on February 25-26 at FP&A Summit San Jose. They will be exploring cutting-edge strategies & solutions for the industry's most relevant issues. Join other experts from companies like Google, Amazon, and HP as they share exclusive insights to help benchmark your processes and rejuvenate your procedures to future-proof your FP&A strategy. Delve into our series of insightful sessions: ✅ Transforming data with visualization: Making financial insights accessible ✅ Panel: Enhancing financial forecasting: Techniques for accurate, adaptive planning ✅ FP&A unleashed: Crafting strategic impact across every stage of growth ✅ Navigating FP&A career progression: Skills for the future ✅ Managing conversations with the C-Suite: communicating impactfully Join 150+ Finance leaders and optimize financial planning processes, build agile, high-performing teams, and accelerate your career in a data-driven finance environment. We can’t wait to see you there. Download your brochure: https://lnkd.in/ee_QNKSY #fpna #Sanjose #finance

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There is a murder scene happening in your GTM org right now. 🎃 But not with people (phew). But with FY2025 budgets getting dished out, many GTM leaders are slashing and redlining their current expenses to adapt to the change in budget or getting rid of things that didn’t work. 🔪 Now, if you are a new CMO/CRO, be careful not to just slash for slashing sake. Especially on operations support. Take the time to dig into what is useful for the team and better yet, lean on your operational support to give you the insights to make these “cost-saving” slashes. And on that topic of “cost-saving” here are places I would look into “slashing” first to save money instead of reducing on brand programs, operations, and consultants that provide value. 😊 • The full GTM tech stack  This is the very first place I would look to find tech bloat. It’s likely you might have tools that do similar things, tools no one has touched in ages, and tools that you could easily replace by building functionality within existing tools. • “Lead acquisition” data vendors Buying lists of “verified buyers” or buying “meetings” is not the way to go. Trust me. • Syndicated Content Maybe you don’t need to completely get rid of this channel (although I would think about it based on all the data I have seen). But the better thing is to invest in building your own content program that your team can consistently stick to and that resonates with buyers. • “Silver-bullet” reporting tools This kinda relates to point #1 but just letting you know - there isn’t one. • Any channel that you have invested a lot of time into but see little pipeline $ Use your data to the best of your ability when making cost changes. But know that marketing takes time and pipeline attribution is a lagging indicator. But if a certain channel or program is just not working - then make the case to stop and invest in an experiment instead. Any others you would add? Would love to hear it!

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As Hugh Hopkins and I are building 42ai, we're acutely aware that up until recently the trajectory in GTM tech has been veering exclusively to "market consolidation". Acquisitions like Hubspot -> Clearbit, Clari -> Groove or companies like Gong going full DIY are aimed at winning more wallet share and 'proving' market leadership... But more wallet share + market leadership for vendors doesn't always translate into whats good for the end customer and there are a lot of things we're not so keen on about this approach: 🔴 These companies want to own as much of their particular GTM Activity/Process as possible making them incredibly sticky 🔴 They roll out/acquire more functionality to achieve this and let's face it, it's rarely as good as the initial product 🔴 This not only locks you into their way of working, but is likely wrapped up in expensive per seat billing 🔴 And for a long time after implementation the data and insight these platforms capture only benefits the target persona in their own "walled garden" 🔴 Quickly these tools become inflexible and adapting them to the nuance of your business requires data and ops resources or manual workarounds 🔴 And maximising results is often about adding more headcount and functionality/features For post-sale productivity software in particular (gainsight, catalyst et al) these problems are particularly challenging because by this stage of the customer lifecycle, every company operates very different internally. That's why there are a gazillion top of funnel software tools out there today and just a few post-sale platforms. But there is another way... 🤠 There are a growing number of companies who believe in a different approach (Clay, Attio, 42ai as examples). A way where low cost of ownership gives access to highly adaptable workflows (AI or otherwise), leverages real-time data, and integrates with best in class tools so you can make the most out of your existing stack. All without tying you in to paying for seats or functionality you don't need. For the next phase of GTM Tech, more consolidation is not the default way forward - it has many downsides. While change may be slow initially, for some use-cases and segments of the market, value will shift away from these platforms into usage-billed workflows that address a wider number of vertically integrated problems - at a fraction of the cost of traditional saas. Try as they may, incumbents will struggle to go there...

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Shout out to Todd Caponi, an inspired sales leader I was fortunate enough to work with at ExactTarget and author of "The Transparent Sales Leader". In the dozens of books that I have read on this subject; why does this one stand out as being more memorable, accurate and useful than the rest? Todd's nerdery of changing sales practices over the last 150 years make this a fun read and reminds us that perhaps there's not so much that's new in the world - for instance drawing present day parallels with the NCR team who were writing playbooks in the 1880's and rarely came into the office due to the travel demands of covering territories in a pre-phone era. Going forward I will use his simple five F's framework (Focus, Field, Fundamentals, Forecast and Fun) - not because it blows my mind, but because it is reassuringly complete, and elegant framework for organising my own thoughts, knowing that nothing will be overlooked. What pleased me most about this book is that nearly half of it is dedicated to exploring the behavioural neuroscience of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivators. This is absolutely essential reading and accurately reflects why some companies have magnetic cultures and consistent retention of top performers- because they have nailed abstract concepts like predictability, aim, security, recognition and fairness. https://lnkd.in/e_swM3pB

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A wave of consolidation is sweeping through the sales tech industry. I recently listened to a brilliant episode from the Topline podcast, featuring Salesloft CEO David Obrand, that shed light on the current state of the GTM tech landscape. As highlighted in the episode, key players like Clari, Gong and Outreach are expanding their offering to boost their TAM and offer more comprehensive solutions. Whilst the trend is understandable, the danger is long-standing partnerships start to fray as overlapping functionalities emerge - partnerships that were once the lifeblood of the sales tech ecosystem. For us, it begs the question. In a world of all-encompassing GTM suites, is there still a place for specialized, best-in-breed solutions? I believe the answer is a resounding yes - but only if they can offer extraordinary value. To thrive in this new era, point solutions must not only deliver great results but also seamlessly integrate into a company’s core tech stack and existing workflows. At MultiplyGTM, we’re laser-focused on providing planning intelligence that complements rather than competes with the everyday solutions revenue teams rely on, and goes deep in addressing a critical need - empowering revenue leaders with the confidence and clarity to achieve their goals. Whilst we may lack the resources of larger players, our goal is to provide unparalleled planning intelligence and insights that drive revenue, while growing sustainably and delivering immense value to our customers with our domain expertise. We're on the cusp of announcing some game-changing partnerships too that will extend our reach and impact, while maintaining our focus on delivering the revenue planning capabilities that drive profitable efficient growth. Stay tuned! 🚀

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#NACDA2024 Advice: If you have "Athletic Director" in your title, ignore any topic that doesn't align with the following... - New Revenue from Existing Assets: The key here is "existing." Across all leagues, we're seeing (1) the use of LLMs to drive low-risk, high-yield campaigns and (2) content monetization as the low-hanging fruit in this space. This year, you're not adding toys to the garage - you're figuring out how to run the best possible garage sale. - Personalization: Stakeholder trust and perception of clarity with departments are historically low. Learn everything you can about improving specific touchpoints with Athletes, Sponsors, Donors, and Fans. Then do it. That's it. That's the list.

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How to build $10 million sales pipeline with 2500+ demos in just 6 months! I discussed this amazing feat. in detail with Cynthia H. on the Sprouts.ai podcast'. She talks about her journey from being laid off to becoming the Head of Global Sales at Simera and shared nuggets on how to build a $10M worth pipeline. Here are the key learnings from our discussion: 1️⃣ Cold calling still works if done right Cynthia and her team book 75% of meetings through cold calling. With an average success rate of 2-5%, the numbers add up if you do it right. She highly recommends following a script and using parallel dialers to improve efficiency. 2️⃣ Focus on ICP accounts Instead of letting her BDRs do prospecting, Cynthia gives them weekly lists created by the Revops team based on an ICP defined by her. This strategy helps BDRs to focus more on high propensity to convert clients and ultimately makes them more productive. 3️⃣ Use a lead qualification BINGO sheet Make a “BINGO” sheet of qualifying questions that you can ask your prospects to further assign them to a stage in your funnel. The questions you ask must flow naturally into the conversation and not feel like an interrogation to the prospect. 4️⃣ Prioritize hunger over experience while hiring  One strategy that Cynthia swears by is to always go for people with potential and a hunger to learn over someone with experience. She states that her most valued BDRs are people who fall into this bucket. 5️⃣ Actively train your BDRs  BDRs at Simera go through extensive weekly training sessions aimed purely at increasing cold call success rates. Activities such as role play for different personas and live cold calls where one member makes the call and others listen in, discuss, and share feedback are conducted periodically. 6️⃣ Aim to become a full-cycle sales leader  There is no shortcut to leading by example. Cynthia manages a team of 30 BDRs, she still is actively involved in the selling process. 30% of Simera’s pipeline comes directly from her. 7️⃣ Use LinkedIn as a demand gen model Cynthia has over 23K followers on LinkedIn and the key to her fandom is showing up everyday, sharing learnings in relatable posts, focusing on comments as a true metric of engagement and commenting on posts of other leaders in the same domain. Catch a small glimpse of our insightful session here!  To watch the full video: Link is shared in the first comment #GTMGuy #B2Bsales #GTM #ICP #SalesLeadership #ColdCalling #Sprouts

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"How many CSMs do we need?" "How many customers do my CSMs manage"? We've dug into our nearly $2 billion in client revenue data, analyzed industry standards like the Jason M. Lemkin and Gainsight suggestions, and crafted our own Infinite Renewals approach. Whether you're managing too many accounts or wondering how many CSMs you need, this is for you. A sample is below, but the good stuff is in the full report. The Infinite Renewals team of Kate Mazzini, Kristine Vallila, and Renee Murphy really dug in, and also put together a "choose your adventure" approach, which accounts for ACV, ARR, and allocated time per account. Next Thursday, October 3rd, from 1-2 PM EST, we'll be hosting an exclusive Ask Me Anything session. 📈 Drop "REPORT" in the comments to get the report. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gain invaluable insights! 🗓️ Spread the word!

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Great Place To Work® and Fortune magazine have honored Five9 as one of this year's Best Workplaces in the Bay Area. 🌟 This is Five9's second time being named to this prestigious list, coming in at No. 17. Earning a spot means that Five9 has surpassed rigorous benchmarks, establishing itself as one of the best workplaces among companies headquartered in the San Francisco Bay region. Learn more: #Five9 #BestPlacesToWork #CustomerExperience

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🚀 Planning Your Most Impactful GTM Kickoff Yet? 📅 Friday, November 15th Join us for a deep dive into planning a successful GTM Kickoff that drives results. GTM Kickoffs (often called SKOs) are one of the highest-profile initiatives Enablement teams lead each year—and typically the biggest investment the company makes in their internal teams. If you’re starting to plan your Kickoff event, you won’t want to miss our upcoming AMA with OneGuide based on the chapter from Accelerating Revenue! In this webinar, we’ll discuss:  📅 Planning a Kickoff event, whether in person or remote 🎉 Balancing education, celebration, fun, and team building 🔑 Incorporating the customer perspective for better insights 🎤 Running an effective rehearsal session (and why it’s critical!) 🎯 Aligning your GTM Kickoff with key initiatives If you’re looking to elevate your revenue team’s performance and ensure your kickoff drives value, this AMA is for you! 📚 Plus, get insights straight from the book chapter dedicated to GTM Kickoffs. 👉 Here’s the link to register: https://shorturl.at/pgnug For a deeper dive into Accelerating Revenue and how it can guide your enablement strategy, stay tuned for ordering details coming soon! #webinar #SKO #RKO #AMA

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Amplitude Announces Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results: - Third quarter revenue was $75.2M, up 6% year-over-year - ARR was $298M, up $8M from the end of the second quarter - We now have almost 3,500 paying customers, with 567 of those representing more than $100k or more per year Q3 was all about winning the enterprise. We are starting customer conversations differently, reaching key decision-makers, and demonstrating fast value in ways we weren’t before. The result is a higher-quality book of business, with better attach rates, longer contracts, and bigger expansions (we had multiple expansions exceeding 7 figures in Q3). Consolidation is another big theme that's been playing out for several quarters. It’s clear that our customers are looking for an all-in-one platform, and they are finding that in Amplitude. And we've continued to make our platform better. In Q3, we launched Amplitude Made Easy, our completely redesigned platform experience that takes the difficulty out of analytics. We also deepened our partnership with our friends at HubSpot, launched Web Experimentation, and acquired Command AI (fka CommandBar). To our Ampliteers, partners, and customers—we couldn’t do it without you! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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