How To Build A World-Class Revenue Org with Mark Cranney, Former a16z Partner | IO Podcast Ep. 5
Nov 28, 2023
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Learn from Mark Cranney, former a16z partner, as he shares his playbook for building world-class revenue organizations. Topics include finding sales leaders, hiring courageous team members, running a sales playbook, building cohesion through bootcamps, and avoiding common mistakes made by first-time founders.
Building a customized playbook is crucial for success in the revenue organization.
Investing in comprehensive training programs, like boot camps, can improve productivity and efficiency.
Deep dives
Importance of Building a Customized Playbook
Building and deploying a playbook specific to a company's needs is crucial for success. It is important to differentiate between running someone else's playbook and creating a customized one.
The Value of Granular Training and Enablement
Investing in detailed and comprehensive training programs, such as boot camps, can lead to significant improvements in productivity and efficiency. By involving the entire organization in the training process and focusing on hands-on activities, teams can align and improve together.
Cultivating a Winning Culture
Establishing a culture of winning, where everyone is committed to continuous improvement and the pursuit of excellence, is vital for success. It requires aligning the organization around a common mission and creating an environment where individuals are motivated and passionate about their work.
The Importance of Hiring the Right Leaders
When hiring leaders, it is essential to look for individuals who have experience building and deploying their own playbook, rather than those who simply execute someone else's strategy. It is important to find leaders who are intellectually curious, have courage, and can create and implement innovative strategies.
How did this small town farm kid go on to lead the revenue orgs for Silicon Valley's biggest companies? Mark Cranney credits his success to the lessons he learned growing up: work hard and run things efficiently. Mark shares the playbook he's used to build billions in pipeline through his career as an executive, sales leader and most famously as a partner at Andreessen Horowitz. If you're a founder, there's no better person to learn from than Mark.
Chapters
00:37 Introducing Mark Cranney
04:45 Find Sales Leaders Who Can Perform
07:03 What To Look For In Potential Hires
13:03 Find Courageous People To Join Your Team
17:07 The Sales Playbook - Are You Running It Or Can You Put It Together?
22:51 Putting Together The Revenue Org At SignalFx
25:15 How Mark Uses Company Bootcamps To Build Cohesion
31:47 Getting Everyone To Buy Into the Vision
37:25 Common Mistakes First Time Founders Make With Their Sales Org