CarGuru's $900M ICP framework, "sales math" and more CRO lessons ft. Josh Allen

“Sales is hard again… Good.”

That’s what Josh Allen (ex-CRO of Drift, Owl Labs, VP Sales CarGurus) told me on this week's episode of the PeerSignal podcast.

We talked about what WON’T change in GTM. His sales fundamentals and insights learned from 20+ years as one of the best CROs in the industry, and how he's applying them as CRO at Quickbase.

What we covered:

* His "sales math" framework for predictable revenue growth.

* The outbound that actually works (still).

* How to build a culture where salespeople control their own destiny.

* The special trait to look for in the very best reps.

* Why sales enablement leaders MUST have carried a quota.

* How running ultra-marathons shapes his leadership approach.

We covered a lot of the "simple but not easy" practices that separate the best sales leaders from the rest.

1️⃣ Sales Math

Josh shared his "Sales Math" framework. Proving, with real data, how a rep will hit their number should be every CRO's #1 goal. Proof begets belief which begets results. Without it, reps don't put in full effort because they never believed they could hit their number in the first place. This is how Josh gets more out of every rep and builds a culture of real accountability.

2️⃣ CarGurus $900M ICP Framework

Josh shared how the best teams map TAM, SAM, & ICP. We talked about what good looks like. How, at CarGurus their ICP was so clear "that we never even had to talk about it" and how that clarity propelled them from $198m to $454m in revenue in the 2 years he was there.

3️⃣ Intensity + Focus = Outbound Success (this still works)

Josh shared his playbook for building an outbound culture that actually drives results; intensity & focus. Focus, on the right plays to the right accounts, and intensity in how they execute those plays.

4️⃣ How to win when "Sales is hard again"

"There's a group of sales people who leave the workforce in technology and never come back." Sales is hard again. Josh has been through hard times before and shared how he responds quickly and decisively. From how he builds teams who actually enjoy, and thrive, in this new environment, to how he re-works revenue forecasts to reflect the new reality.

This episode was one of my favorites. It's one I'll continue to come back to as the work evolves.

What did you think? Would love any feedback or guest ideas! Just reply to this email, I read them all.