The Power of a Playbook with Steve McCluskey

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Jul 31, 2025

Steve McCluskey brings a wealth of experience from IBM and various leadership roles in tech to discuss data-driven sales leadership. He emphasizes the importance of a foundational playbook before diving into metrics. Steve highlights the need to balance activity with outcomes and introduces the 'Magnificent Seven' principle for coaching. He also stresses creating a simple operating rhythm and adapting strategies to the buyer's journey, all while ensuring managers understand accountability in metrics to drive performance.

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ANECDOTE

Early Sales Career Transformation

Steve McCluskey shares his early sales career experience with little standardization and an apprenticeship model at IBM.
His transformation began under Jeremy Duggan, who introduced discipline, precision, and a sales playbook focused on foundational execution.

ADVICE

Three Key Sales Metrics

Track three key metric dimensions: rep performance, deal metrics, and business metrics.
Use these metrics to cut through noise and gain control as a sales leader.

ADVICE

Balance Activity and Accomplishments

Balance activity quantity with quality accomplishments like EB meetings and POVs.
Use data insights to identify where reps struggle and provide targeted coaching.

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In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan welcome Steve McCluskey to delve into the essentials of data-driven sales leadership. They discuss why a foundational "playbook" is crucial before implementing metrics, how to balance activity with accomplishment, and the importance of creating a simple, effective operating rhythm. Drawing on extensive experience, Steve shares practical examples, like the "Magnificent Seven" principle, to illustrate how leaders can use data not for micromanagement, but for targeted coaching, developing talent, and ultimately, driving predictable revenue growth.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about Steve McCluskey:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemccluskey/

Watch Force Management’s Panel Discussion on AI in Sales Leadership: https://hubs.ly/Q03rlW4Z

Download the CRO Strategy Checklist: https://hubs.li/Q03f8LmX0

Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox: https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT

[00:01:45] The Playbook: The Foundation of Data-Driven Leadership
[00:06:12] The Three Dimensions of Sales Metrics
[00:08:30] Balancing Activity vs. Accomplishment
[00:13:21] The "Magnificent Seven": Learning from Top Performers
[00:19:05] Adapting the Playbook to the Buyer's Journey
[00:21:48] Holding Leaders Accountable for New Rep Ramp Time
[00:29:45] Rock Management: How to Settle on the Critical Few Metrics
[00:34:10] The Importance of a Cross-Functional Operating Rhythm
[00:41:02] Why Data is Just the Starting Point for Coaching
[00:44:31] Churn, Accountability, and Regretted Attrition
[00:46:15] The Criticality of a Rep's First Deal
[00:52:19] Management vs. Leadership: It's a Mindset
[00:55:01] The Power of Simplicity in Metrics
[00:58:12] Getting Emotionally Connected to Measurement

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

"I don't think that data-driven leadership really means anything without that playbook foundation."

"One man's micromanagement is another man's success formula. It's just mindset."

"The biggest point of leadership is the coaching aspect of it. You're not gonna read a list of metrics and be able to tell somebody what they're doing great... You have to watch the swing."

"People don't leave their job. They leave their leaders."

"If you can navigate that simply and, and in a, you know, through those metrics, that's so important. But then the second piece... is the difference between management and leadership."