Eleanor Dorfman, a seasoned sales leader with experience at Retool and Segment, shares her insights on effective sales leadership. She emphasizes the 'no-exception' strategy for building trust and consistency within teams. Eleanor discusses the importance of SPFs for short-term behavior changes, while advocating for robust metrics, including win rates and forecast accuracy. Her approach to customer-first processes aims to minimize disruptions in sales, ultimately enhancing both team accountability and customer experience.

Eleanor Dorfman is a Sales Leader @ Retool, the company that allows you to build internal tools, remarkably fast. Prior to Retool, Eleanor joined Retool when there were only three account executives and has scaled the sales org sales to over 30 AEs, many SEs, and an entire SDR team. Before Retool, Eleanor was at Segment, where she built out the company’s customer success operations team before pivoting to creating an expansion sales team, renewals team, and a new business sales team. Finally, before Segment, Eleanor made her way into startups, starting as an unpaid intern at Clever, just four years later, Eleanor was Head of Customer Success and Solutions Engineering. In Today's Episode with Eleanor Dorfman We Discuss: 1.) Entry into Sales from Working with the US Education Department: How did Eleanor get her first role as an unpaid intern at Clever? What are 1-2 of her biggest takeaways from her time at Segment? What are the biggest advantages of sales reps having experience in customer success? 2.) The Sales Playbook: How does Eleanor define, "a sales playbook"? When does it need to be created? Does it need to be the founder who creates it or can it be a Head of Sales? Is it possible to run a PLG and enterprise motion from Day 1? How does this change your sales playbook? How does Eleanor advise founders on when is the right time to layer on an enterprise motion, on top of a PLG motion? 3.) Who, What and When: Building the Sales Team Should founders hire a Head of Sales first or sales reps first? If sales reps, should founders always hire sales reps in two's? How does Eleanor structure the hiring process for all new sales team recruits? What are the clearest signals of 10x sales hires? What are red flags in the interview process? How does Eleanor use demo's and case studies to determine technical ability? 4.) The First 30, 60 and 90 Days: The Onboarding: What is the right structure for all new sales hires to be onboarded? Why does Eleanor believe you will always hire your Head of Sales Enablement too late? What are the signs that now is the right time to hire your Head of Sales Enablement? What tools, materials and resources can founders provide to shorten the ramp time for new AEs? What are the single biggest mistakes founders make in the onboarding of new sales reps?  

Eleanor Dorfman, Head of Sales at Retool, has a remarkable track record, growing the company to $100 million ARR in just four years. She shares insights on structuring sales teams to maximize both acquisition and expansion. Eleanor discusses the importance of a 'land and expand' strategy, emphasizing internal advocates and demonstrating ROI. She highlights systematic deal inspections and a consistent review rhythm to keep the sales pipeline efficient. Plus, learn how structured compensation plans can enhance customer retention and align team incentives.

Eleanor Dorfman, a seasoned sales leader at companies like Retool and Segment, shares her expertise in value-based selling and team training. She emphasizes the importance of banning product lingo to foster deeper customer conversations and explores how to align incentives with certifications to boost team performance. Consistency in messaging throughout the sales process is a key focus, along with embedding new frameworks into daily practices. She advocates for ongoing training and structured methods to enhance discovery, ensuring that sales teams adapt and thrive.

Dominic Grill from OpenAI and Eleanor Dorfman from Retool share insights on SaaS sales hiring and customer retention. They discuss the changing roles in sales, AI's impact, and lessons from hyper-growth companies. Topics include mastering the customer lifecycle, sales team building, and the transformative potential of AI in companies.