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Here’s an uncomfortable truth about SaaS companies: the majority of first-time VPs of Sales don’t make it past 12 months. The 30-Day Evaluation Framework Test #1: Did They Bring in 1-2 Great Sales Reps in the First Month? The 30-Day Evaluation Framework Test #1: Did They Bring in 1-2 Great Sales Reps in the First Month?
Dear SaaStr: What Are Some Successful SaaS Leaders Without Sales Teams? Many that are self-serve and SMB-focused can start off without a sales team … for a while. But almost none stay without a sales team … forever. Yes, Atlassian since well past its IPO had almost no direct sales team. Maybe on Day 0.
Salesforce, Nov 2024: We're hiring 1,000 new sales execs to sell AI! in sales to sell AI. Per The Information , Benioff has also instructed his sales team to go all-in and put AI and Agentforce into every deal possible. They need 2,000 new sales execs for that. It doesn’t sell itself. Not really. SaaS is Back.
Dear SaaStr: What’s the #1 Reason You See Sales Reps Fail These Days? The #1 reason I see sales execs struggling today in new roles: they are convinced their playbook is better. And you have to run their playbook, 9 times out of 10, to succeed in sales. And refuse to run the one that is already working.
Traditional product sales training doesn’t always work for dispersed sales reps who can’t attend Demo Days or Lunch ‘N Learns. Choosing the right product sales training partner will have a significant impact on sales reps’ expertise and results. Drive more sales. Differentiate competitive advantages.
Per Carta’s latest data, only 18% of tech sales execs are women, and 26% of reps overall: I’m slightly heartened that overall it’s at 26% women outside of the executive suite. Do you want a bro culture in your sales team? But we have a long way to go, still. A long way. But still, it’s not enougjh.
Former Head of Revenue at BILL and HubSpot Americas leader Michelle Benfer recently joined us on a SaaStr Workshop Wednesday share her insights on one of the most critical roles in any SaaS organization: the frontline sales manager. “At HubSpot, I had over 100 frontline sales managers reporting to me.
So what does that mean for inside sales? A 50/50 Sales Team. At least for SMB and more routine mid-market sales. By 2026, these same AI systems will have evolved to manage entire sections of the sales process autonomously. An A+ AI will soon join every sales call, for real. Probably something similar by 2026.
You can talk about the roadmap or sales strategy until you’re blue in the face, but if you don’t have the team to do it at scale, there’s no point in talking a ‘big game.’ ” The best sales leaders are the ones that are even better recruiters than the CEO. It’s recruiting five or six.”
Will your B2B sales rep training program result in long-lasting sales performance improvement? Download this whitepaper – Training Reinforcement - Critical For B2B Sales Reps – to learn how to strategically develop your B2B sales training reinforcement and maximize sales rep behavior change (and your ROI).
Dear SaaStr: Should I Fire a Sales Rep That Lied To Several Customers? I think most sales execs lie, at least a little bit. But I’ve come to accept that you have to put gates and process around most sales execs, or most will lie, at least a little, to close the deal. I don’t like it. Unfortunately. appeared first on SaaStr.
Want to know how to be better than 95% of the world in SaaS sales? The 2 simple edges in sales: #1. Be a True Product Expert 95% of the sales reps I talk to don’t even really understand the products they are selling. The founders though left the sales rep in the lobby at the customer. Honestly it’s easy.
I’m not talking about any close friends in sales here. But — there are a ton of folks I know that used to be great in sales. The other day someone who used to be an A+ sales leader emailed me about a position I’d introduced to him as a super hot start-up. And Why You Really Need a VP of Sales, and Not a CRO.
They lost their entire sales team, except one exec. And a bit more on the deal itself here: The Power of Private Equity and a $1 Billion+ “Double Acquisiton” The post 5 Top Learnings from Legal SaaS Logikcull’s Almost $300,000,000 Sale to Private Equity appeared first on SaaStr. In 2021, they moved to a PE mindset.
Sales and marketing leaders have reached a tipping point when it comes to using intent data — and they’re not looking back. More than half of all B2B marketers are already using intent data to increase sales, and Gartner predicts this figure will grow to 70 percent. The bad news?
Your first few sales reps have to be … different. "That early sales team … they have to be product gurus. And Have They Sold Somewhere Where Sales Is Hard? Look for someone with a track record of hustlemaybe theyve done door-to-door sales or worked in a tough outbound role. A bit of a product savant.
A little ways back Databricks VP of Sales Heather Akuiyibo joined SaaStr to share unexpected things that work well at Databricks GTM organization as well as some things that havent worked as well. Deep Dive: Unexpected Learnings Time Management as Competitive Advantage Most sales organizations guess how reps should spend their time.
Dear SaaStr: How Many Opportunities Should a Sales Rep Handle? And less than 10% just makes sales … start to get even harder. The post Dear SaaStr: How Many Opportunities Should a Sales Rep Handle? You sort of need to back into it based on your opportunity-to-closed deal ratio. appeared first on SaaStr.
What’s Changing in Sales: The AI Revolution is Here — and Coming Fast After analyzing 139,000+ conversations through SaaStr’s New AI, it’s now clear from the data: AI is about to fundamentally transform B2B sales. This isn’t some distant futureit’s happening right now.
In 2022 sales management challenges will grow. Customer meetings will be harder to schedule, sales rep turnover will be higher, and traditional Product Sales Training (Lunch ‘N Learns, Demo Days, Sales Meetings) will be tougher to execute. Understanding the options. Assessing the need. Content creation.
The 40% Problem: How AI Will Finally Fix Sales Coverage and Customer Face Time A wake-up call from HubSpot’s CEO Yamini Rangan on why your sales team is failing 60% of their accountsand how AI will change everything There’s a brutal truth about B2B sales that most founders refuse to acknowledge. Forty percent.
On everything from how to hire a great VP of Sales, to reviewing investor memos, to helping (many!) Not for selling per se, but for answering sales-related questions. It’s not perfect, but in its first month alone, it’s answered over 6,000 chats and questions from the SaaStr community! Try it here.
Workato’s SVP of Embedded Sales and Director of Solutions Marketing joined us at SaaStr Annual to talk about how to nurture customers — a great topic in general, but especially for embedded sales and APIs that can take a while to scale. The Second Most Important SaaS Hire? Customer Success. But the results?
Dear SaaStr: What are the most common mistakes first-time founders make when building enterprise sales teams? The most common mistakes first-time founders make when building enterprise sales teams are surprisingly consistent. Heres the breakdown: Hiring a VP of Sales Too Early : This is a classic. Its harsh, but necessary.
Sales enablement is the strategic process of providing sales teams with the content, guidance, and mentorship needed to engage targeted buyers. It’s all about equipping sales professionals with the tools they need to put their best-selling foot forward. Get started today.
Dear SaaStr: What Are The Best Ways to Transition From The Founder-Led Sales Stage? Transitioning from founder-led sales to a commissioned sales team is one of the most criticaland trickysteps in scaling a SaaS business. You Never Get to Leave Sales. This is non-negotiableeven if you hate sales. Be specific.
Dear SaaStr: How Do The Best Sales Leaders Retain Their High Performers? A few ways Ive observed that the best sales leaders retain the best: They promote the best. Great sales leaders ask their top performers what they want to achieve this year. You cant promote everyone, but you can almost always promote your best.
At SaaStr + AI Summit 2025, Jason Lemkin and Kyle Norton CRO of $1B+ vertical SaaS leader Owner (where Jason is on the board) did a deep dive on AI in Sales today. This isn’t about being an AI expertit’s about demonstrating active engagement with AI tools and genuine interest in how they can transform sales outcomes.
Dear SaaStr: Do SaaS Companies Typically Pay Their Sales Reps a Bonus on Renewals? Simple answer: almost no SaaS companies pay sales reps on standard renewals. A deep dive on this and more with MongoDBs SVP of Sales Ops here: The post Dear SaaStr: Do SaaS Companies Typically Pay Their Sales Reps a Bonus on Renewals?
Sales outreach is an art and a science. By the time you reach the end of our guide, you’ll be a sales outreach pro. The art is what you bring to the table—your flair for conversation, your work ethic, your dedication. We bring the science—proven tactics, strategies, and methods that really work.
Dear SaaStr: I Fired My VP of Sales. Here’s what you should do next: Step in as Interim VP of Sales (If Needed) If you don’t have someone ready to step up, you’ll need to take the reins yourself temporarily. You know the product, the customers, and the sales process better than anyone else. What you do need to do is have a plan.
Dear SaaStr: What Should I Do in a Sales Audit? A sales audit should be comprehensive and focus on identifying strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities across your sales process. Sales Process Efficiency : Analyze how well your sales process is working. Are customers satisfied with the sales process?
5 Key Learnings from Scaling from 3 to 75 Go-To-Market Team Members in Less Than 12 Months The latest SaaStr CRO Confidential is out and Sam Blond did a great deep dive with Graham Mareno, VP of Worldwide Sales at Codeium. Create Compelling Economic Incentives For sales talent, compensation is critical.
Dear SaaStr: What percentage do commissioned salespeople earn on gross sale or profit? But in any event, 20% of the net profit generally goes to sales. A related post here: A Framework For Your First SaaS Sales Comp Plan (Updated) The post Dear SaaStr: What Percentage Do Commissioned Salespeople Earn on Gross Sales or Profits?
Often, sales reps who fail to hit the phones hard are left wondering how they missed their quota. While dialing away at targeted prospects, it’s important for them to remember that not all sales outreach is created equal. How can you (and your sales team) benefit from this eBook?
One thing is clear is the team that send this isnt the A or B sales team. It took just a few minutes The post Its 2025 And Even Salesforces Sales Team is Kind of Phoning It In (At Least Some Of It) appeared first on SaaStr. Its being sent by the C team. Which makes sense, since Salesforce is mainly hunting big enterprise deals.
SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15✨ Lemkin (@jasonlk) November 11, 2024 Salesforce says it’s seeing such high demand for AgentForce … which replaces humans for agents … that it’s hiring an additional 1,000 folks in sales and product to sell it. If it’s the latter, maybe AI will just create even more enterprise sales jobs.
Dear SaaStr: How Do I Become a Great Sales Rep? To become a great sales rep, you need to focus on a few key principles and habits that separate the top performers from the rest: 1. Truly Solve Problems, Dont Just Sell The best sales reps dont just pitch productsthey solve problems. How to Create Urgency in Sales.
Dear SaaStr: What is The Best Way to Set Sales Rep Quotas at Each Stage of a B2B Business? Setting sales rep quotas in a SaaS business depends heavily on your stage of growth and ARR. It’s not scalable, but it keeps them engaged while you figure out your sales motion. More here: A Framework For Your First SaaS Sales Comp Plan 2.
Every sales forecasting model has a different strength and predictability method. Your future sales forecast? It’s recommended to test out which one is best for your team. This way, you’ll be able to further enhance – and optimize – your newly-developed pipeline. Sunny skies (and success) are just ahead!
It begs the question: is the sales and revenue acceleration space back? It shows budget remains in the sales acceleration space where and when its earned. Gong in the early days of this wave was often hurt by consolidation, but today it seems to be benefitting as it itself has become a much broader platform and multi-product.
Dear SaaStr: How Should I Specialize My Sales Team? One thing is clear: most founders and VPs of Sales and CROs look back and wish they’d specialized their sales team earlier. SMBs often require a high-velocity sales motion, while enterprise deals are slower and more relationship-driven.
When I look at the VP of Sales / CRO that didnt work out the past 12-18 months across the SaaStr Fund portfolio and my ecosystem, one thing stands out. And its an old SaaStr theme: #1: You have to hire folks in sales where their last job was harder. There may exceptions at rocketships. You often fly. Youll never be an expert.
Dear SaaStr: How Should I Actually Set the Sales Plan for the Year For My VP Sales? This is where you build your operational model: sales hiring, marketing spend, product investments, etc. If sales slow down or the market shifts, this is the plan that keeps the lights on. Try the C10, C60, and C90 framework.
Over the last two years, there’s been a 76 percent increase in AI adoption across sales organizations. For sales teams, AI opens up a world of new possibilities, including automating outreach, identifying best-fit buyers, and keeping CRMs flush with fresh data. The reason for its rise?
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