I recently shared a few quick thoughts on how the SaaS sales playbook has to be adapted to work well in a product-led organization. Here are some more details on those thoughts…in no particular order. Assess the current state. The biggest mistake you can make when building the sales motion at a product-led growth is […]
Adapting the Traditional SaaS Sales Playbook for Product-Led Growth
There is an inside sales playbook that many SaaS companies use. And with good reason. It’s a tried and true, time-tested way to sell SaaS. It’s effective and proven. If you work for a B2B SaaS company you probably know this playbook well. It’s some variation of…. BDRs work inbound leads (generated by marketing and […]
Improve Your OKR Results by Focusing on the How
I think the biggest reason that people, and companies, don’t achieve goals is that they forget to think through HOW the goal will be achieved. How will the goal be accomplished? Examples best illustrate the limited thinking we do when it comes to planning how we will accomplish our goals. Objective (a.k.a. goal): lose 10 […]
Build Your Sales Plan Based on Reality
I meet with a lot—and I mean a lot—of startup founders and early-stage sales leaders who build their sales plans based on what they want to happen, versus the reality of what is happening. I get it, because I did it myself the first time I needed to build a sales plan. Here’s how the […]
Does Work Suck? No, but…
I read “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It” by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson right before the Coronavirus hit. And because many business leaders are thinking about if, how, and when their staff will return to the office this is an interesting book to consider right now. Not sure how this one got on […]
An OKR Primer
Just when I think the world doesn’t need yet another introduction to OKRs, I talk to a company struggling to implement them. As an OKR convert (someone who didn’t like them, and now enthusiastically loves them), I think this stems from over complicating it and getting in your own way. While it can take a while […]
7 Reasons Why Companies Should Offer Workplace Flexibility
Full disclosure, I wrote this article just before companies started sending employees home to work due to the Coronavirus. It was scheduled to go live mid-March and I hit the pause button. But with companies starting to re-consider opening their offices in a limited capacity, it seemed like the time to resurrect this. Running a […]
How to Successfully Onboard Remote Employees
At my last company, at least 50% of the staff we hired were onboarded remotely. You CAN onboard a new hire successfully and have them fully engaged in your organization, whether you are a “butts in seat” company or totally remote-friendly. Onboarding a remote employee is similar to onboarding an in-office employee, so a lot of […]
Create a Culture of Say-Do
Do you have a culture of Say-Do? I heard this new term in a meeting the other day, and I loved its simplicity—“say-do”. As in, say you are going to do something and then do it. Say-do is an aspect of culture many companies struggle with, especially in hyper-growth mode or times of upheaval and […]
The Importance of Customer Success in SaaS—and How to Help Your Customers Succeed
Customer success in SaaS is fast becoming the first line of attack to boost conversions, raise customer happiness, and reduce churn. Every day, a strong customer success strategy is becoming more and more essential for SaaS companies. So what exactly is customer success, how does it work, and are you “doing it right”? Don’t worry, […]