Reveal: The Revenue AI Podcast by Gong
Gong
The best sales leaders in the world are revealing their points of view, playbooks, and tried and true tactics...only on Reveal: The Revenue AI Podcast by Gong.Join us each month as host Dana Feldman digs deep into the world of the sales leaders she admires and aspires to be from some of the largest and most prominent organizations. Whether you're a CRO or aspiring to be one, these conversations will help you lead teams well, surpass revenue goals, and stay ahead of industry trends.Dana Feldman is the VP of Enterprise Sales at Gong, where she’s building and scaling strategic sales. Before joining Gong, Dana led Amazon's Enterprise & Mid-Market Sales team on the Amazon Business side for over three years. Her extensive experience also includes serving as the Head of Enterprise, Sales Solutions (A/NZ) at LinkedIn, and as a Sales Manager for the Financial Services Vertical at Salesforce.Dana's professional passion lies in disruptive technologies and guiding customers to those transformative "aha moments" that showcase the power of great technology in revolutionizing their businesses. She is dedicated to leading high-performing teams and empowering them to exceed customer expectations. Additionally, Dana is an advocate for women in the workplace, actively promoting diversity and inclusion.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 22, 2021 • 37min
Recruiting and retaining sales leaders with Jason Andrew, CRO, BMC Software
How do you identify high-performing sales professionals? Jason Andrew, Chief Revenue Officer at BMC Software, shares his tried-and-true insights.His advice boils down to problem solving. It sounds simple but healing root causes (rather than symptoms) is key to success in sales leadership. Listen to hear more about why talent acquisition is so important and how you can retain your top people. Key Takeaways:07:39 - 10:26 Lessons from experience - What Jason wish he knew when starting at BMC12:26 - 13:18 Data Breakout: Sales employee turnover rate13:20 - 16:35 How to keep employees engaged long-term21:14 - 24:59 Identifying the right people for first-time leadership/seniority roles35:46 - 36:42 Micro Action: Giving people opportunities to growWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Jason Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonwandrew/
Nov 15, 2021 • 32min
Shifting from a funnel to a flywheel with Yamini Rangan, CEO, Hubspot
“Customer retention is more important than customer acquisition,” says Yamini Rangan, CEO of Hubspot. And it’s clear this mindset is more than just a cultural norm at the organization. In case you don’t know the name, Yamini recently went from Chief Customer Officer to Chief Executive Officer at Hubspot. Her ‘customer first’ mentality creates a fundamental shift in the B2B space from the traditional funnel approach to a flywheel. Learn how to provide value, starting with the first sales conversation. Key Takeaways09:09 - 11:28 Why shifting to the flywheel view instead of the funnel view will benefit your business15:51 - 18:31 How to turn the flywheel vision into an actionable plan18:33 - 19:15 Data Breakout: Cost of acquiring a new customer vs retaining an existing customer21:37 - 23:40 Incentives shape behavior: Care about customer success31:03 - 32:00 Micro Action: Find when and why customers churnWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Yamini Rangan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan/
Nov 8, 2021 • 36min
Stop best-guess forecasting with John Lorenc, Ph.D.
Accurate forecasts are core to running a successful business. Yet more often than not, forecasting is rarely that... accurate.When John Lorenc, Vice President of Sales Operations, joined Point Click Care they didn’t really have a sales operations function. Today, the company operates a data-fueled forecasting approach putting them within 3% of accuracy. Hear how they said good-bye to a “best-guess” model and get a crash course on how to set up a sales operations function that has massive impacts on the health of your organization.Key Takeaways:10:12 - Why it's so difficult to forecast the right way14:03 - Support your forecast with data16:19 - Tips for reps building their forecast bottoms up19:43 - Data Breakout: Forecasting accuracy20:43 - Crash course to build an accurate forecast29:43 - How to automate your forecasting34:22 - Micro Action: Building your idea forecasting processWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with John Lorenc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-lorenc-ph-d-a1791345/
Nov 1, 2021 • 36min
Why you don't need a title to be a mentor
Being exceptional in sales isn’t a solo mission — it’s a team effort. To be successful in any revenue-generating function, you need mentorship. Peter Kim, Chief Sales Officer at Relativity, shares how to budget time, intentionally seek out mentorship opportunities, and why mentors are key to developing the next generation of go-to-market leaders. This episode gives you the playbook you need to build career and life-changing relationships. Key Takeaways:08:51 - The building blocks to being a great leader15:22 - What mentorship actually looks like20:37 - How to know when a mentor/mentee relationship is working26:24 - Data Breakout: The power behind mentorship programs27:33 - How to become a more effective leader34:53 - Micro Action: Be intentional about creating a mentor relationshipSave your seat for Celebrate: https://gongh.it/celebrate21-revealWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Peter Kim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterxkim/
Oct 25, 2021 • 37min
How to “know and grow” your largest accounts
“Land and expand” is vendor-centric. “Know and grow” is customer-centric. There’s a difference. Daniela Becker, Area Vice President Major Accounts EMEA at DocuSign, shares her secrets to success in enterprise sales. Tune in to learn how to set massive deals up for long-term wins – including the tactics that lead to record-breaking upsells. Key Takeaways:07:01 - The 3 elements to being an impactful sales leader09:22 - What is "knowing and growing"?11:48 - How to ensure you have the right success metrics with your buyers18:25 - Criteria for entering a proof of concept20:19 - Data Breakout: Successful POCs24:33 - You're only as successful as your firs adoption30:51 - How to find your passion project within your organization43:58 - Micro Action: Land and expand KPIsWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Daniela Becker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniela-becker-8b41998/
Oct 18, 2021 • 42min
The DNA of a high-impact leader
Want to provide vision, direction, and inspiration to your team? Ryan Longfield, Chief Revenue Officer at Gong, breaks down the critical role employee retention plays in sustainable long-term success. Learn how to manage your team’s emotional state (and hear the impact it has on performance). Consider this a crash course on how to level-up as a leader.Key Takeaways:05:35 - What leadership means to Ryan Longfield06:48 - What was the moment you decided to go into leadership10:34 - Small team vs. Large team aspect19:35 - What does a leader need to do in the tough times to keep motivation25:06 - Setting expectation for your team35:46 - Revenue intelligence is all about seeing clearly38:44 - Describing sales in one wordWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Ryan Longfield: linkedin.com/in/rlongfield
Oct 11, 2021 • 40min
Driving deals with value-based conversations
To sell more, you have to sell less. It sounds counterintuitive — but that’s what value-based conversations are all about. Vin Messina, VP of Sales Execution at Blackline, shares how he identifies his buyer’s problems and partners with them to find solutions. Tune in to get a step-by-step playbook on how to sell to the c-suite. (Spoiler: C-suite alignment should happen on the FIRST call.)Key Takeaways:00:55 - Introducing Gong's rebranding11:07 - Differentiating sales execution and sales enablement15:46 - Sales: A series of well-executed value-based conversations19:40 - Data Breakout: Sales processes and buyer expectations20:39 - Vin's value-based formula - Problem, impact, value25:17 - Enabling sellers to coach buyers not press them32:19 - The difference between a champion and a change agent38:15 - Micro Action: Are you fulfilling your buyers needs?Want to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Vin Messina: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vmessina/
Oct 6, 2021 • 13min
Opinions vs Reality: Which CTAs book more meetings?
After analyzing 300,000 cold emails, we debunked one of sales’ greatest mysteries — and unlocked a strategy to DOUBLE the amount of meetings you book. Here's a hint: The CTA (call to action) you use at the end of your email, matters more than you think. And according to the data, there's one cold email CTA that reigns supreme. Ready to craft the perfect cold email? Tune in to the episode.43 Highly effective email CTAs: https://gongh.it/43-ctas-gong-aspKey Takeaways:00:53 - What is the most effective CTA? 03:54 - The answer from Gong Labs data07:27 - Why asking for a meeting too early is risky08:02 - Does the answer change depending on the stage?08:49 - Do online calendars impact the ask?If you missed the Opinions portion of this podcast (aka the first half of the episode), you can listen here: https://link.chtbl.com/PWHzpEQ7Want to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: 43 Highly effective email CTAs: https://gongh.it/43-ctas-gong-aspConnect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Bryan Neale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanneale/Connect with Bill Caskey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billcaskey/
Oct 4, 2021 • 36min
How sales guides product-led growth
PLG (product lead growth) flips the traditional sales model on its head. Kai Mak, VP of Sales and Customer Success at Webflow, knows that an end-user-focused growth model isn’t just good for customers -- it’s also good for business. Learn how sales teams can influence product design, what it means to truly delight customers, and why the term 'product qualifying lead' will soon be common sales vocab.Key Takeaways:05:27 - What a product-led growth company(PLG) is10:56 - Focus on the user experience - Bring support and customer success together13:33 - Data Breakout: PLG companies scale faster once they hit 10 million ARR21:03 - Leading a team with builder mentalities27:23 - How Kai and his team use Gong34:34 - Micro-Action: How to build a strong start for a product-led businessWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: https://www.gong.io/revenue-intelligence/Connect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Kai Mak: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaimaksf/
Sep 29, 2021 • 10min
Opinions vs Reality: Selling with slides?
Should you use slides on a discovery call? Choose wisely: it impacts your chances of booking the next meeting by 17%. On this episode of Opinions vs Reality with Bill and Bryan from The Advanced Selling Podcast, we share the data you need to close more deals.9 Tips for crafting great sales decks: https://gongh.it/crafting-sales-decks-gong-aspKey Takeaways:01:01 - Myth bust: Should you use slides on your discovery call?03:28 - The answer from Gong’s research04:14 - Slides’ effect on question asking, monologuing, and listeningIf you missed the Opinions portion of this podcast (aka the first half of the episode), you can listen here: https://link.chtbl.com/pGK1YxqIWant to explore Revenue Intelligence for your org? It starts here: 9 Tips for drafting great sales decks: https://gongh.it/crafting-sales-decks-gong-aspConnect with Devin Reed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devinreed/Connect with Sheena Badani: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheenabadani/Connect with Bryan Neale: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryanneale/Connect with Bill Caskey: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billcaskey/
