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20Sales: How to Build Vertical Sales Teams, Why No Customer Success is BS and Everyone Needs it, How to Hire, Train and Retain the First Reps and Lessons Scaling to $2.1BN Revenue and 1,300 People with Larry Schurtz, CRO @ Genesys

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May 10, 2024

Larry Schurtz, Chief Sales Officer at Genesys with a rich background in driving sales at Salesforce and Confluent, shares his journey from aspiring roboticist to sales leader. He reveals the secrets behind scaling teams to $2.1 billion and offers insights on building vertical sales playbooks. Larry explains the critical role of prioritization in sales leadership and shares his '3 Rs' approach. He emphasizes the blend of art and science in sales, while discussing effective hiring processes and nurturing new reps for success.

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ADVICE

Ruthless Prioritization

Prioritize ruthlessly: people, hitting targets, and customer success.
Focus on these core areas to avoid spreading yourself and your team too thin, leading to burnout and diminished returns.

INSIGHT

Art vs. Science of Sales

Sales is a blend of art (talent/EQ) and science (skills/processes), with perhaps a 60/40 split.
High EQ, like empathy and reading people, is hardwired and crucial for separating the great from the truly exceptional.

ADVICE

Outcome-Focused Playbooks

Define sales playbooks by desired outcomes, working backward to identify necessary steps and personnel.
Include measurement criteria and potential pivots to ensure progress and adaptability.

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Larry Shurtz is the Chief Sales Officer at Genesys where he oversees the company’s global go-to-market strategies, including commercial activities, field sales and partner ecosystem operations. Larry has nearly three decades of experience in the software industry, from leading Confluent to delivering more than 60% revenue growth and doubling customer count as Chief Revenue Officer, to scaling a 1,300-person team at Salesforce to $2.1 billion in revenue.

In Today’s Episode with Larry Shurtz We Discuss:

From Robotics Student to $2.1BN Sales Leader at Salesforce

How did Larry lead 1300 people to $2.1 billion revenue at Salesforce? What were his takeaways?
What did Larry learn about building vertical sales playbooks at Salesforce?
Which framework did Larry learn at Salesforce that he still uses at Genesys?

Mastering Sales Leadership

What are the biggest mistakes sales leaders make on prioritization today?
What are Larry’s “3 Rs” to master prioritization?
What does Larry think are the most common reasons fast-scaling teams break in sales?
Has Larry ever caused bad culture in a sales team? What did he learn from the experience?
Does Larry think sales is more art or science? How does Larry blend the two?

Building the Best Sales Team

How does Larry structure the hiring process for a new sales hire?
How big should your recruitment team be?
What are Larry’s most commonly asked questions when interviewing?
What were Larry’s biggest hiring mistakes? What did he learn from them?
How does Larry structure the comp? How does he get it right? What do most new hires care about today?

The Onboarding: The Dos & Don’ts

How does Larry structure the onboarding process?
Why does Larry onboard new hires with big customers? What is the buddy system?
How does Larry tell if a new hire is bad? What are the biggest red flags to look out for?
What does Larry mean when he says “You can make all the physical errors, you cannot make mental errors?”
Does Larry agree with Max Levchin @ Affirm that “When there’s doubt, there’s no doubt?”