Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 18, 2022

The most consistent sales leader I’ve worked with hit plan 27 consecutive quarters. How can a sales leader develop similar repeatability? Each business’s PQR funnel will differ depending on their sales cycle, ACVs, and overall motion. Will the sales leader attain plan? Demo/meeting: sales meeting.

Scale 331

Scale Sales Forecasting Outsourced Development 331

Intercom, Inc.

JULY 24, 2019

We all know it’s impossible for a sales team (or anyone for that matter) to predict the future. But with rigorous sales forecasting, they can actually get pretty close. But forecasting isn’t as easy as asking your sales reps to give you a number. What is a sales forecast?

Forecasting 181

Forecasting Revenue Sales Technical Review 181

SaaStr

OCTOBER 20, 2022

Sales tools seem under more pressure right now than infrastructure, for example. If no one is buying sales and marketing tools, why are ZoomInfo and HubSpot growing at record rates, for example? The post Gartner: Business Software Spend Still Forecast to Rise 11.3% No doubt, something is clearly happening.

Forecasting 300

Forecasting Artificial Intelligence Software Business 300

SaaStr

MARCH 24, 2021

If you want to hire your first sales rep and close more deals, you need to understand how the sales process works, what tools your team needs to be successful and learn to speak sales. Sales definitions you should know. CRM objects — Represent the sales relationship you have with a specific person or company.

Sales Hiring 318

Sales Hiring Startup Sales Outsourced Development 318

Tom Tunguz

APRIL 14, 2020

Sam Jacobs created the Revenue Collective , a group of more than 1700 sales professionals at some of the fastest-growing companies. With chapters across the US, Revenue Collective has broad reach within the sales community. 72% of respondents have adjusted revenue targets and forecasts, or expect to soon.

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Sales Hiring Sales Forecasting Travel 334

SaaStr

MARCH 18, 2025

Radical Transparency in Growth Planning While most revenue leaders deliberately “sandbag” forecasts to ensure they can over-deliver, Colin Jones did the exact opposite at Wiz. Rather than seeing this as a liability, Wiz leveraged it as a strategic advantage — even in its sales team.

Scale 185

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Headcount 185

SaaStr

AUGUST 10, 2024

Dear VP of Sales: No One is Out to Get You. One of the themes is how many VPs of Sales and CROs think CEOs and Boards and VCs are essentially out to get them. Yes Does any founder I know >want< to fire a VP of Sales? The amount of energy that goes into a VP of Sales search is huge. Then, you can re-forecast once.

Sales Hiring 289

Sales Hiring Forecasting Sales Startup 289

Tom Tunguz

FEBRUARY 26, 2025

Many mid-market software companies price with the goal of revenue maximization, negotiating for the highest possible price in each sale. Penetration pricing leads to land-and-expand sales tactics. Salesforce sells CRM seats based on an aggregate ROI of increased sales productivity for example.

SaaS Payments 283

SaaS Payments Pricing Strategy Scale 283

Predictable Revenue

JUNE 10, 2024

In this episode Collin Stewart hosts Jeremy Painkin, SVP at Community Brands, to discuss the essentials of effective forecasting. The post A Guide to Effective Forecasting with Jeremy Painkin appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

Forecasting 162

Forecasting Branding Revenue Development 162

Sales Hacker

JULY 28, 2021

After spending many quarters creating sales forecasts, you should have the process down and deliver precision accuracy. Unfortunately, sales forecasting is not that straightforward. In fact, 60% of forecasted deals don’t close, leading to uncomfortable conversations about budgets and with investors. Just kidding.

Forecasting 131

Forecasting Scale Sales Hiring Sales 131

SaaStr

MAY 30, 2024

Sales-Led vs. Product-Led vs. Hybrid What are the pros and cons of different motions? Let’s start with a sales-led motion, which is traditionally how B2B software has been sold. Hybrid combines product-led and sales-led motions, and they work closely together. How does that collaboration and hand-off with sales work?

Scale 299

Scale AI Search Azure Sales 299

Tom Tunguz

SEPTEMBER 16, 2017

How much should a SaaS startup invest in sales and marketing at different stages of the business? Sales and marketing investment depends on many different factors including establishing product market fit, the business’s sales model (inside, field, freemium), and not least, cash balance and fundraising capacity.

Investment 274

Investment Startup Marketing Sales 274

SaaStr

MARCH 12, 2025

The 4 Things Most Founders Get Wrong About Marketing: “We’re a product company, not a marketing company” – The hard truth is that 9 out of 10 B2B companies spend more on sales and marketing than R&D. Mix in the classic conflict between sales and marketing teams, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

Sales Hiring 202

Sales Hiring Marketing Technical Review Underperforming Technical Team 202

TechEmpower SaaS

MARCH 4, 2024

Key Functions with High Impact Generative AI is revolutionizing sales by enabling dynamic pricing and personalized customer interactions, boosting conversion rates and customer satisfaction. Post-sale, AI analyzes customer data to improve service and loyalty, making it a cornerstone of modern sales methodologies.

Generative AI 443

Generative AI CTO Hire AI Sales Recruiting 443

Teamgate

JUNE 21, 2023

In this article, we will explain the concept of CRM sales forecasting and its importance in business planning. You will learn how accurate sales forecasting can help you manage finances, make strategic decisions, and seize opportunities for growth.

Forecasting 98

Forecasting Sales Finance Management 98

SaaStr

JUNE 13, 2024

What Does AI-Enhanced Sales Look Like In Two Years Everyone’s thinking about it. What does the future of AI-enhanced sales look like from Amit’s perspective? Sometimes, it’s two hours a week; the rest is spent filling out forms, one-on-one meetings, forecasting calls, etc. First, no drudgery. The second is a blending of roles.

Scale 306

Scale AI Sales Underperforming Technical Team 306

SaaStr

JANUARY 12, 2022

When sales teams succeed, the company succeeds. But running a high-performing sales team isn’t an easy task. How can you ensure success within your sales organization in a way that scales with you? This score is then taken and compared to top performers already in our sales organization.

Scale 261

Scale Leadership Sales Hiring Sales 261

ChurnZero

APRIL 25, 2025

And the shift to better integrate CS and sales is well underway. How can we shift our mindset from reactive to future focused, from assessing past mishaps to forecasting ideal scenarios? Renewals forecasting was historically a sales game, but increasingly, CS teams are responsible for expansion revenue.

Forecasting 52

Forecasting Customer Success Payments Data 52

SaaStr

MARCH 7, 2022

The world of sales is evolving as rising costs and shifts in buyer behaviors continue to change. An emerging strategy that organizations are adopting to grow revenue more efficiently is inside sales. Inside sales refer to the practice of selling from office premises via phone, email, or video calls. Benefits of inside sales.

Scale 261

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Sales 261

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 28, 2023

The economy is settling into a new normal (at least this year’s version of normal) and after two years of rocketing sales, some newer salespeople are experiencing their first sales cyles that aren’t influenced by the recent funding boom. Nicole has spent almost five years leading sales at Stripe. Sign up HERE!

Sales 261

Sales Management Operational efficiency. Forecasting 261

SaaStr

AUGUST 5, 2024

When you find the answer to these questions, you can expand an existing customer base and create cool data-driven case studies to help your sales team bring in net business. They’re expected to back up forecasts and gut feelings with data. 1: Build a Value Narrative Value narratives have been around for some time in pre-sales motions.

Scale 284

Scale Customer Success Scaling Revenue 284

Kellblog

APRIL 29, 2021

This is the second in a three-part series focused on forecasting and pipeline. In part I , we examined triangulation forecasts with a detailed example. It draws a deadline for how long sales has to clean up after the end of a quarter: the end of week 2. 3] “Of what” meaning of what number? then: 7,000/2.2

Forecasting 143

Forecasting Scale Benchmarks Pricing 143

Blulogix

FEBRUARY 26, 2025

By BluLogix Team The Role of Invoice Forecasting in Financial Planning Introduction Predicting revenue accurately is a game-changer for businesses of all sizes. Invoice forecasting is not just a financial functionits a strategic tool that helps companies optimize cash flow, improve budgeting, and reduce financial risk.

Payment Features 59

Payment Features Forecasting Subscription Data Analysis 59

SaaStr

OCTOBER 30, 2021

I asked Aasif Osmany to share his learnings as a top-performing SMB VP of Sales, below. While at Gorgias, I expected to leave with as much knowledge to earn me an honorary bachelor’s in sales. On my second day of work, I was fully immersed in the sales pipeline and conducting demos for new prospects alongside the CEO.

Scale 284

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Underperforming Technical Team 284

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 16, 2020

More on why the great sales teams almost always end Q4 strong here. Your sales team should know what they are doing. Re-forecast cash — and Come Up With an Action Plan. Do a new forecast. Do not stick with the old forecast. They don’t re-forecast cash properly or their ZCD. times out of 10.

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Scale Forecasting Revenue Consulting 343

Predictable Revenue

FEBRUARY 10, 2025

Learn what revenue forecasting is and why it's crucial. Here's a guide for building accurate forecasts for better financial planning. The post What Is Revenue Forecasting and How Can You Use it? appeared first on Predictable Revenue.

Forecasting 130

Forecasting Revenue Development Sales 130

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 21, 2023

So you’ve heard that product-led growth is all the rage, and now you want to transition from a sales-led motion to a product-led one. He creates a culture of experimentation versus only looking at historical data and forecasting. Some companies go really hard,” he shares. What needs to be true to become closer to PLG?

Scale 243

Scale Strategy Marketing Sales 243

SaaStr

OCTOBER 20, 2023

OpenAI’s Head of Sales, Aliisa Rosenthal, joined OpenAI a year and a half ago — before ChatGPT launched. A friend joined Jasper as president and asked her to run the sales team. Sam said he had no idea what sales would look like at OpenAI or how to go to market with their products, but they went for it. They’re on a rocket ship.

ChatGPT 292

ChatGPT Scale AI Search Sales Hiring 292

SaaStr

MARCH 13, 2020

Calmly re-forecast for the year based on a bottoms-up analysis (e.g., longer sales cycles). Just “cutting the burn” or freezing hiring isn’t a real, re-forecasted plan. Maybe the sales projection will be cut 30%. You may need some relief in sales quotas, etc. A bit more here. More here.

Sales Hiring 321

Sales Hiring Forecasting Enterprise Metrics 321

SaaStr

DECEMBER 11, 2022

Check out this week’s top blog posts, podcasts, and videos: Top Blog Posts This Week: Salesforce: “Things Are Too Unpredictable to Provide a Forecast”. 8 Ideas On How to Motivate The Sales Team After a Rough Patch. If things are tougher for you right now, here are some ideas to rally the sales team through it.

Scale 243

Scale Venture Capital Sales Forecasting 243

SaaStr

MAY 27, 2021

For the past 10 years, I’ve been a sales advisor for the portfolio companies of early stage venture capital firm True Ventures. It’s fascinating work for a sales mind like mine that’s focused on helping brilliant people turn ideas into revenue-driving businesses. . A Pair of Sales Development Representatives. By Lars Nilsson.

Sales Hiring 247

Sales Hiring Scale Venture Capital Sales 247

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

Hear from Duo Security’s VP of Inside Sales America on how to build a $2.3B sales team. Jennifer Lawrence | VP, Inside Sales @ Duo Security. Today I’m going to start by telling you a little bit about me, a little bit about Duo, and then the secrets to building a killer inside sales org. FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW.

Scale 294

Scale Sales Hiring Underperforming Technical Team Sales 294

SaaStr

DECEMBER 12, 2023

Traditional Sales Teams Vs. Modern Sales Teams Traditionally, most people learned to sell by taking a product, showing the sales team with a demo of how to use it, and then sending them off to sell it. This can lead to making changes to the product, longer sales cycles, and not focusing on the right customer for your product.

Forecasting 293

Forecasting Point of Sale Technical Review SMB 293

Intercom, Inc.

JULY 6, 2018

If you’ve ever looked at your diary, notebook, sticky notes and email inbox in the middle of a busy sales period and thought, “This isn’t working,” you’re not alone. For years, I used to try to organize my thoughts and ideas without structure, missing sales opportunities and forecasts as a result. But that’s only part of it.

Management 197

Management Sales Forecasting Software 197

SaaStr

OCTOBER 30, 2022

Gartner: Business Software Spend Still Forecast to Rise 11.3% SaaStr 602: Secrets To Combining PLG and Enterprise Sales with Grammarly CEO Brad Hoover. ?. SaaStr 603: SaaStr CRO Confidential Presents the Ultimate Guide to Sales Compensation, Quotas and Recruiting with SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin. Go Do More of Them.

Sales Recruiting 301

Sales Recruiting CTO Compensation Software Review 301

Clouded Judgement

JULY 16, 2024

With embedded applied AI and machine learning technologies built specifically for Finance, our platform automates and streamlines workflows, accelerates analysis and improves forecast accuracy, equipping the Office of the CFO to report on, predict and guide business performance. Financial and Operational Planning and Analysis. months and 23.4

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Benchmarks Data Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence 295

SaaStr

APRIL 4, 2022

Rather than operating on our own in silos, marketers must extend our focus beyond top-of-funnel metrics and partner with sales to create a pipeline velocity. . Affecting change in the sales ecosystem. Revenue marketing should affect the entire ecosystem and therefore changes should happen in the sales process. Here’s how: .

Scale 274

Scale Revenue Scaling Marketing 274