Cody Sunkel

CS teams NEED to start "managing up" with execs and the board by talking about REVENUE. Yes, you can keep talking about sentiment and feelings, but start with the $. Don't lead with churn- Bottom-line-focused execs don't like that headline, so you need to tell the story better. An informal poll had CS teams owning over 50% of the revenue of many SaaS companies. Lead with this and have it be your first talking point. From there you will be able to get more things done with other departments, as your requests will be revenue-focused Need to get a Customer Success Platform as you scale? Point to revenue and the potential to lose revenue without efficiencies Need to hire more to prevent burnout? Point to Revenue potential with renewals and upsells Talk in the language your execs and board want to hear.

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There’s a conundrum when it comes to measuring sales training impact… I’ve worked with a lot of enablement teams that use leading indicators to measure training impact: Workshop Attendance Gong Recordings SFDC Hygiene Rep Surveys The problem: There’s no clear way to connect these metrics to business outcomes. Then, on the other side, you have teams that focus mainly on lagging indicators: Win Rate Pipeline Creation Sales Cycle Length Average Contract Value The problem: It takes a minimum of 3 months to see any results, and even if you do, no one believes that the changes can be attributed to sales training. Basically, if you focus too far down the funnel, no one believes you, but if you focus too far up the funnel, no one cares. Here are the only 3 questions you need to be able to answer to know if your training worked: 1/ Did reps use the training? Did they show up and engage during the session? Are they practicing the skills covered? Are their skills improving as a result of practice? 2/ Is there a clear change in outputs as a result of the new behavior? This is where you can think about leading indicators like (talk ratio, buyer engagement, and business case creation) 3/ Did the the new behavior lead to a change in key outcomes. This is where you tie a thread from the leading indicator to the lagging indicator. (Eg. What’s our win-rate on opportunities that include a business case?) The team over at Replicate Labs are taking what used to be a long drawn out process of measuring impact (that involved lots of help from RevOps), and turning it into a few simple steps. They’ve built one of the only training adoption platforms I’ve seen that allows you to see how practice produces outputs that lead to outcomes. If you’re tired of relying on surveys or waiting 3+ months to see results that no one believes your team influenced, reach out to James Pursey, and see for yourself.

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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

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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!

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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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Wanna hear something wild? 🤨 Earlier this week, I moderated a panel discussion on how to overcome pricing friction in the closing and renewal process. Had Kevin Cragun from the SalesOps team at Domo and Allex Murphy from the CS team at Capchase We talked about a lot of great tactics for reducing pricing friction, like: 1️⃣ Why payment and billing terms should be separated from pricing and discount discussions 2️⃣ How RevOps can best deliver revenue enablement to your sales and CS teams 3️⃣ Why some friction in the process is okay, as long as it's driving your desired outcomes But you know what we didn't talk about at all? AI 🤯 That's right, we spent 60 minutes chatting, Even opened up the discussion with our favorite ice cream flavors (Allex is team cookie dough, Kevin team Bunny Tracks btw) 🍦 But we didn't mention #AI at all during our chat (proof below) 👇 How awesome is that? #revops #revenueoperations #salesops #salesoperations #marketingops #mops #marketingoperations

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One of the biggest disconnects preventing an AEs ability to provide a world class buying experience to prospects is this ⬇️ No visibility of marketings influence on the prospects journey prior to their first call with Sales 👀 By the time and AE speaks to a prospect they may have… - Opted out of a marketing list ✉️ - Had zero dwell time on a number of display ads 😢 - Skipped by video ads on social channels 👀 - Been to an event 3 years ago 😱 BUT 🥊 If you ask any AE do they have this information prior to their meetings 🙃 The answer is NO 🛑 That’s why connecting Marketing and Sales is more important than ever before 😀 Stellar advice to any AE in SaaS is to spend time with your Marketing team. It should be part of all companies onboarding programmes tbh 😎

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Imagine a world where selling is as easy as logging into your ZoomInfo home page. A world where your whole day was planned for you of who to contact, when, and how. A world with perfectly curated account summaries of your top ICP accounts served to you without you having do anything. That’s the world that ZoomInfo Copilot, the next big innovation to go-to-market promises to deliver. As a ZoomInfo partner and power user, I get to be one of the first ones to try out this new AI powered platform. Follow along with me as I explore the ins and outs! #ZoomInfoCopilot #zoominfo

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Pick Up The Convo. A Golden Nugget Sequence for SDRs and AEs starting at a new company. A great place to find quick meetings to help you hit your ramp quota and blow it out of the water. Build a closed lost opps report in Salesforce or HubSpot, or ask your manager to do so for ya. Do it at least 2-3 months prior. Check out the notes left from the previous AE. Understand why the deal fell flat. It's typically that follow up wasn't done properly or they got ghosted. Another common objection could be the key where timing was off. If you don't find any notes, use an easy objection. Don't be afraid to be simple. "Hey "name," Last we connected in 'month and or day,' you mentioned (timing was off, etc.). Let's set some time to pick up the convo. Tuesday at 3pm your time work?" GOLD. 🔑🥇 Go get 'em! #SDR #Sales #closedlostopps #pickuptheconvo #boom

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Every manager, director, and C-Suite executive at Alleyoop was an SDR at some point & we looked for that on purpose! To lead our team of SDRs, we want people who understand what SDRs are doing from first-hand experience. We believe that being an SDR prepares a strong career path for you. It can set you up to become a closer, sales manager, marketing manager, or go into operations. The SDR role is a great starting point! It can help you understand how a company's revenue engine works. Starting, learning, and growing as an SDR is one of the most rewarding career paths 🙂 Reach out to me if you are interested in starting your career in sales! #sdrcareerpath #salesleadership

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If you are an SDR manager, you can help your team get meetings by responding to the outbound you're receiving from other vendors. Ask the SDR who is emailing you if they use anything for revenue intelligence [obviously insert your category] and go from there. Find out the information, and then give it to the lowest performing rep on your team for an easy win. Here's the email you can draft for your SDR: "Hey VP of Sales, I spoke with my manager who mentioned you were using XYZ already, she talked to John (one of your SDRs) who gave us the tip. Would you be willing to have someone on your team evaluate us as an alternative?" ^^ It sets. Try it! #sdrlife #sales

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Outbound is moving in a new direction and revenue teams must keep up or get left behind. UserGems 💎 asked 100+ SaaS revenue leaders to weigh in on what's fueling their pipeline generation, what's breaking down, and how to navigate the road ahead. #marketingops #saasfounders #ceo #entrepreneurs #startupfounders #ai #playbook #techstack #bestpractices #expertadvice #b2bmarketing #saasmarketing #softwareindustry #softwarecompanies #outboundmarketing #saas #marketingtactics #marketingstrategies #cmo #marketingadvice #personalisation #marketingstrategy #marketingtips #growthmarketing #marketingdata #marketingpersonalization #martech #marketing2024 #marketingai #aipowered #aienabled #outboundstrategy #marketinginsights #saasbusiness #saasstartups #saasproduct #customervaluecreation #productvalue #valuecreation #successstrategy #gtmomentum #gotomarket #earlystagestartup #revenueboost #monetization #revenuegeneration #productgrowth #customerengagement #customeracquisition #gtmmotion #gtmplays #customerintelligence #marketingintelligence #gtmstack #revops #revenueoperations #revenueenablement #salesenablement #signalbasedselling #revops #revenueteams

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When it comes to your #ABM strategy, feel like you're barely surviving instead of thriving? 😅 At RevOps Co-op, we recently got a few CMOs and a CEO together to share tips and tricks for fueling your ABM engine, and they absolutely brought the 🔥 My favorite part of this was Eric Westerkamp, CEO at CaliberMind sharing specifics on their ABM journey, like: How they started with 125 accounts, expanded to 250, and cracked the code by focusing on engagement metrics. Here’s the secret sauce 🍝 Narrowing Down the Field They used firmographics and technographics to identify target sub-industries. Basically, they found their tribe! 🏹 Engagement is Everything By leveraging Google AI Gemini, they discovered that the most engaged accounts were the ones most likely to convert. Engagement became their North Star. 🌟 Scaling Like a Pro 📈 When do you know it’s time to scale your ABM efforts? When your orchestration (fancy word for coordination) across all channels is on point. Ensure you have 10-30 touchpoints per account. Think of these as little love notes across all platforms. 💌 Consistent Messaging Your message should be like your favorite song on repeat—consistent and catchy. 🎶 High-Value Offers Don’t just talk; give them something they can’t refuse. 🍫 It Takes a Village 🏘️ ABM isn’t a one-person show. It’s a full-on team sport. It’s like planning a surprise party; everyone needs to be in on the secret to pull it off successfully. 🎉 ABM can be your ticket to a lean, mean marketing machine that scales efficiently and effectively. Remember, it’s not for the faint of heart, but if you’re ready to take the plunge, the rewards are well worth it. Curious if any of y'all have any ABM success stories? What's worked for you? What hasn't worked? Drop your feedback in the comments below. 👇 Keep hustling y'all 💪 PS - see the full recording and write-up on our website revopscoop(dot)com 🔗 #ABM #MarketingStrategy #RevOps #Sales #BusinessGrowth #MarketingTips

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On 67% of CS leaders now having a quota… 1. This is a trend I think will continue as the CRO role continues to absorb all GTM functions. This trend is a big reason we were passionate about building retain and enabling the future of customer sales. 2. This is a good thing because it creates accountability for CS teams who often struggle to demonstrate their worth and earn a seat at the table. 3. This is driving really bad renewal and expansion behavior, and your most urgent sales enablement job is to teach your team how to sell to customers. HINT: giant price increases and BDR-like upsell process are not the answer. https://lnkd.in/gpQbCNCn

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Attention SDRs and Sales Reps🎙️ If you are not getting enough coaching, use Chat GPT to supplement the lack of support - P.S sorry you aren’t getting support 😥 Paste a transcript of your recorded call or role-play you did with a co-worker into ChatGPT (check with legal if you can do this) Ask ChatGPT to: • Analyze your call based on your call framework or script • Identify areas for improvement by asking Chat GPT (or whatever tool you may use) questions • Suggest alternative phrases to communicate value better Prompts you could use: "What did I do well on this call?” - Start off feeling good "What did I not do well?” "How could I have dug into the pain more? Please provide questions I could have asked?” “Can you give me 3 ways I could have handled the objections?” "Suggest alternative ways I could have gone for the close?” “Did I miss anything in the call that could have helped me go for the close?” A.I. will not replace you; the Reps who learn how to use it to help them improve will. If you are a sales or enablement leader and want to learn more about how you could leverage A.I. to help improve your team. Come to the Allego Sales Success Summit, where Sam Richter CSP, CPAE, will discuss how to use AI to help improve your sales team. https://lnkd.in/eKg3w7w2

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One of my favorite leader development exercises is “Start, Stop, Continue.” I meet with the AEs, without their leader present, and we discuss what they want their manager to start, stop, and continue doing. I’ve run dozens of these. Here are the most impactful “stops” and “continues” I hear: Stop: 1) Holding “check-the-box” meetings AEs can’t stand pointless or extended meetings. If there isn’t a meaningful agenda for a recurring meeting (like team meetings) cut it short or cut it out. 2) Accountability to worthless metrics AEs tolerate metrics that matter. AEs hate reporting on and being held accountable to metrics that don’t impact their success. 3) Sugarcoating the suck AEs know when company changes aren’t in their favor. Managers lose trust and credibility when they sugarcoat those changes and try to make them seem like a good thing. Sometimes changes are necessary but unfavorable. Call it what it is and rally the team around reality instead of fluff. Continue: 1) Caring personally I love it when AEs tell me they know their manager cares about them as a person. A lot of leadership mistakes are forgiven when they trust your intent. 2) Developing/coaching Reps are hungry for improvement and love to work with leaders that help them get better. 3) Fostering peer learning environment Great managers know they don’t have to teach everything. Instead, they create an environment where everyone shares best practices in meetings, slack channels, and one-off mentorship conversations. I’ve been lucky to work with great leaders throughout my entire career. I hope the feedback shared by their teams is as helpful for you as it’s been for me!

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Timeless dilemma: Build versus Buy There are always conversations during the sales cycle where a prospect brings up the possibility of building their own tool instead of buying yours--in fact, that topic may come up during pricing conversations. Building is *never* less expensive. That doesn't mean it's not the right option for you to choose. It means the reason you choose building shouldn't be for cost savings. If good software solutions were so easy to build, then software companies wouldn't exist. Tons of work goes in to: - user experience - features - ability to scale - integrations with other tools - compatibility - flexibility - security - ease of administration - updates, bug fixes, patches, general support When companies build a tool that's outside of their core competency, there's also opportunity cost. What would those employees be doing if they weren't working on building some other tool? What value could they have added to your product? Enhancing any of the bullet points I described above, likely. There's also lost time. You can have your solution now, or you can take 6,12,18 months to build your own....delaying any benefit that solution would provide. If you're a hobbyist, you'll spend your time and money on supplies to, say, build your own chair, or maybe knit your own blanket. You're gaining value that is more than the object itself. You're getting joy in the creation. Businesses, to be clear, is not a hobby. You want your teams to get value and joy from their work, for sure. The trick is to help them get that value and joy in a way that can also benefit your customers. When is building your own tool the best way forward? Please add your suggestions to the comments!

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Why is setting the bar so important?? Especially in Sales + CS? As a leader, making crystal clear 'what great looks like' is your first job 🫡 - Setting standards for how we engage with customers - Sharing HOW the best reps consistently win, and WHY - Driving accountability when folks are / aren't meeting the mark Killer convo with Phillip Dantas from Clio about setting winning standards, creating accountability, and driving operational rigor 🔥 My 3 key takeaways? 1. Set the standard  Aka, create clear expectations so you can remove the guesswork for your team,  improve accountability, drive focus, and build for a repeatable / standardized process to scale. 2. Perfect practice makes perfect The best teams don't just show up to game day and execute 10/10, they put in the work before and practice like it's the real thing. Training + coaching isn't optional in this environment. Up-skilling is a requirement to get your team productive. 3. Inspect what you expect   You don’t know what you don’t know. Consistently reinforce your standards of excellence by operationalizing your inspection process... - End of week forecast reviews - Pipeline hygiene meetings - Key deal deep dives - Call recording reviews Get the notepad out for this one!

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Someone recently shared an interesting thought with me. Less-tenured sales leaders working in the SaaS space likely have little experience with economic adversity. Let’s face it: until 2022, times were pretty good in SaaS! Less so now. Those of us who experienced the “dot com bubble” and the recession of 2008/9 have experienced severe headwinds and learned how to weather them. Our newest sales leaders may be experiencing their first SaaS “storm” in real time. Forbes said, “The 2010s were a period of unparalleled prosperity for the world of SaaS companies.” 2022, however, ushered in SaaS’s “first recession.” Today, quota attainment is down, and generating pipeline, especially outbound pipeline, is more challenging than ever.  Add budget cuts and layoffs, and the newer sales leaders face challenges they’ve never seen. I have been racking my brain to determine what advice I can offer. Here is what I came up with. There is better advice out there. I hope people will share that advice in the comments 1). Stay close to your best people. Invest in them. Retain them. 2). Ensure your sellers get close to their prospects and understand the “power line.” Sam Jacobs had a great post on the topic. Read it. (Link in comments.) 3). Get even closer to your customers. Today, growing accounts is much easier than winning new ones. 4). Play a long game. By all means, abandon a sinking ship, but stay put if possible. 5). Prospect and help your team prospect. Being a leader should not prevent you from helping to develop the pipeline; this has never been truer than it is today. 6). Nearbound is your best friend. Work your network. Seek referrals. 7). Raise your hand. Ask for help. This is not a time to “turtle up” and hope for the best. Image: Cumulative Market Capitalization of all Public SaaS Companies ($ in 000s), Meritech

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