Revenue Builders

Chris Riley serves as President of Worldwide Field Operations of DataRobot, where he is responsible for accelerating the company’s revenue growth and global footprint, bringing DataRobot to organizations across all industries and geographies. Riley previously served as Chief Revenue Officer for Robotic Process Automation (RPA) leader Automation Anywhere, where he led global sales in over 90 countries and managed an ecosystem of over 1,900 partners. Prior to Automation Anywhere, Riley served as President of Global Sales at Dell Technologies, where he was responsible for a multi-billion dollar route to market. Riley also served as Vice President and General Manager for HP’s storage business at HPE. Riley lives in Naples, FL with his family.In this conversation with John McMahon, Chris discusses the importance of understanding the culture and processes of a new organization when stepping into a leadership role. He emphasizes the need for leaders to be adaptable and willing to learn from their teams. Chris also highlights the significance of metrics and productivity in managing a sales organization, as well as the importance of hiring the right people and providing them with the necessary training and development. He shares insights on building trust with the sales team, prioritizing pipeline generation, and the role of mentors, coaches, and godfathers in a leader's career.HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT:[00:01:51] Overview of what DataRobot does and its applications[00:15:13] The importance of work ethic, coachability, and aptitude in hiring[00:23:47] Characteristics of successful leaders and the consequences of failure[00:38:48] The most critical step in the sales process and the importance of a champion[00:47:26] Navigating a sluggish economy and advice for salespeople[00:54:15] The importance of hard work, generating pipeline, and following the processHIGHLIGHT QUOTES[00:22:02] "A mentor is somebody you can speak openly without fear of judgment." - Chris Riley[00:36:35] “A good leader builds trust with the team and shows genuine interest in their success.” - Chris RileyLearn more about Chris through this link:https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisriley3/Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Adam Aarons is a seasoned sales executive with extensive knowledge of the risk and compliance space. Adam is well known and admired for his time as the CRO of Okta, during which Okta grew from a $1M startup to a publicly traded $300M+ ARR category winner. Adam was previously an active advisor to Drata, and has now joined the company full time to drive revenue at scale as CRO.In this conversation with John McMahon, Adam discusses the keys to scaling a salesforce, including productivity per head, average deal size, and ramp times. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the ideal customer profile and where they are located. Adam also highlights the critical role of qualification in the sales process, focusing on the ICE framework (Identify pain, Champion, Economic buyer). He stresses the need for continuous discovery and the importance of establishing decision criteria. Adam shares insights on forecasting, metrics, and the value of customer success in reducing churn and driving revenue. He also discusses the challenges and lessons learned when transitioning from a sales rep to a manager, VP, and CRO on this episode of Revenue Builders.HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT:[0:00:42] Introduction to Drata and its automation of compliance data collection[0:49:52] Using an automation platform to coordinate customer outreach and marketing campaigns[0:55:18] The need for effective communication and expectation setting between managers[1:00:55] The importance of coaching for young CROsHIGHLIGHT QUOTES[0:57:08] "Having respect and empathy for people that haven't done it before, that you're working with to make sure that they understand the why versus just saying, hey. Trust me, let me go do my job like I know what I'm doing.”[0:52:03] "If you're a leader and you're doing this work, it's hard work. You should expect it to be hard. You should enjoy the grind and enjoy the challenges because you learn so much in these jobs that even with the things that you and I have talked about, there's so much more depth that you could dive down into."Learn more about Adam through this link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-aarons-438111/Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Brian McCarthy is an accomplished executive and leader with progressive sales and leadership experience building and leading talented teams to achieve hyper-growth within the enterprise software and information services industry. Brian serves as Rubrik’s Chief Revenue Officer, where he leads the global go-to-market sales strategy. Previously he led the sales, services and support teams at ThoughtSpot, where he led the go-to-market function and the company’s SaaS transformation. Preceding his time at ThoughtSpot, Brian came from AppDynamics, which was acquired by Cisco, where he was responsible for leading the Americas organization as GVP and from QlikTech where he served as President of the Americas. He graduated from Franciscan University.Join us as Brian shares shares insights on managing and enabling sales teams. He emphasizes the importance of caring for and developing employees, and the need for leaders to have a secure mindset. McCarthy and John McMahon discuss tracking deals and stages in the sales process, forecasting, and improving the probability of closing deals. Tons of lessons from two top-tier sales leaders shared on this episode of Revenue Builders.HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT:[0:01:15] Brian's background and experience in sales and leadership roles[0:09:30] Brian's approach to managing and training people[0:17:23] The importance of listening skills in leadership[0:24:33] The unique approach to enablement at Rubrik[0:42:04] The critical stage in the sales process for forecasting[0:56:50] The metrics Brian tracks during and after the quarter[1:02:03] The importance of focusing on productivity in a growth company[1:04:35] The impact of churn on productivity and the importance of recruiting and training[1:14:55] Leaders who consistently over forecast or wear rose-colored glassesHIGHLIGHT QUOTES[0:40:33] Leaders job as an ultimate success - John McMahon: “Your job is to get the best players and coaches on your team. And then if you do, you're going to look like a freaking hero, right? And you also hit on something that's really critical is that ‘when is a leader's job done?’. A leader's job's done is when they've been able to prove that they were able to recruit people, train and develop those people to take their spot.That's when it's ultimate success”[1:13:49] The importance of looking at new and existing deals in the forecast - Brian: “I have a much better idea of exactly where they're going to land, plus or minus. And I usually tell them too, as I'm going through, I'll go through and be like, okay, so here's where each of your people are. Here's the range: worst is this all right, I think you're going to be about two and a half million more than you're calling here, but okay, got it.” Learn more about Brian through this link:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkmccarthy/Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Former Chief Revenue Officer of Procore, Dennis Lyandres, discusses his journey to sales leadership and the core fundamentals of prospecting. He also highlights the importance of teaching and training sales teams, creating certifications and self-service materials, and scaling a company. Dennis shares valuable lessons learned and reflects on regrets, accomplishments, and impact in his successful career.

The best advice comes from people who have been there, done that. In this episode, we bring you insights from sales leaders who have led their teams to incredible outcomes. You’ll hear what it’s like to be the first salesperson into a raw startup, why it’s vitally important for leaders to give their people a purpose, how to keep your top sales performers from leaving your company, why execution of all the details in a process matter, the 3 H’s of Interviewing, why sales leaders need to remove “friction” in the sales process and other wisdom shared on this podcast.We’ll hear from Mark Roberge, former CRO at Hubspot, current Harvard Sales Professor and Managing Director of Stage 2 Capital, Cedric Pech, the CRO at MongoDB and Chris Degnan, the CRO at Snowflake:https://www.linkedin.com/in/markroberge/https://www.linkedin.com/in/cedricpech/https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-degnan-524470/  Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064Learn More About Force Management: https://www.forcemanagement.com/

Carlos Delatorre is a seasoned sales leader with a career spanning several companies, including PTC, Oracle, Symantec, BMC, VMware, ClearSlide, MongoDB, Vera, and TripActions. He is also an active investor and advisor in several software companies and sits on the board of Yellow. In this episode, Carlos talks about the three basic things he considers when making a career move: market size, product differentiation, and the team. He also discusses the importance of focusing on the customer and the value proposition when selling. Additionally, Carlos delves into the complexity of a product and the selling environment, highlighting the importance of having a sales team that can effectively differentiate from the competition and create demand. ChaptersCarlos' background and achievements (0:01:16)Carlos' career moves and acquisitions (0:01:56)Carlos' decision-making process for his next move (0:02:30)Three basic things Carlos considers when making a career move (0:04:31)The importance of focusing on the customer and the value proposition when selling (0:06:00)The complexity of a product and selling environment (0:06:41)Carlos' lessons learned from climbing the sales leadership ranks (0:10:54)The importance of persistence and going as high as you need to go to get your message heard (0:15:58)The importance of paying attention to the little things about people (0:32:22)Importance of new logos and expansion revenue (0:43:12)Looking at conversion rates to learn from successful sales reps (0:45:23)The danger of only relying on existing new deals (0:48:18)Gaining insights from a combination of metrics (0:48:46)The importance of a Management Operating Rhythm (0:51:23)Defining priorities in each time frame (0:52:11)Quotable Phrases"If there's not a big market, there's a chance everything else could be okay, and then you just run out of market and you can't grow anymore." (0:04:48)"You're really trying to solve a problem for the customer, and that's what you're selling." (0:06:30)"You want to hire people that are going to be able to scale with the business." (0:09:40)"The role of technology is to make the sales process more efficient." (0:11:55)"Data is absolutely critical in sales." (0:13:45)"The most important thing is to focus on the customer and the value proposition." (0:16:20)"The future of sales is about being more customer-centric." (0:18:25)"COVID-19 has accelerated the trend towards digital selling." (0:20:15)"You have to be persistent and creative in sales." (0:11:34)"Your job as a manager is to make the sales reps self-sufficient." (0:18:14)"It's really about developing your people." (0:19:53)Additional ResourcesConnect with Carlos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cadelatorre/5 Questions to Answer in Every CFO Deal: https://forc.mx/46Dhqcq3 Strategies to Cultivate a Customer-First Mindset: https://forc.mx/3NP899K 

Communication is a critical element of any team. Today, our guest Kevin Haverty, Vice Chairman of the Global Public Sector at ServiceNow, talks about the importance of consistent and approachable communication as a sales leader. Drawing on over 15 years of sales leadership experience and his background as a veteran, Kevin shares insight on communication styles that he’s seen drive success across his career. His conversation with John McMahon touches on recruiting, leading by example, and increasing value for customers. Tune in for lessons on building a stronger and more collaborative team on this episode of Revenue Builders. Here are some key sections to check out:07:25 Developing executive presence23:50 How do you stay in touch with your reps?36:35 The power of being a good listener45:20 Recruiting and hiring a great salesperson49:50 Managing teams with effective communication as a leader55:55 Help your customers gain valueAdditional Resources:Connect with Kevin Haverty on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-haverty-0a74091/Leading Sales Teams Through a Challenging Economy https://forc.mx/3JpLFJYFive Characteristics that Build Successful Leaders https://forc.mx/42U1y1QQUOTESRecruiting as a leadership must-have: “Recruiting, it’s probably your most important sale. Look at your biggest deal. Hiring a great salesperson, if you’re a manager, is way more important than your biggest deal. Because that person is going to affect dozens of deals, and if they don’t make it, that’s probably going to set you back for a year… So that’s when you should really be turning on your charm; that’s when you should really be selling – is landing that great prospect.”Advice for young leaders on handling rejection in a tough economy: “Don’t retract and lick your wounds because it’s tough. You gotta stay in the game and just persist. Tough times are made for tough people, and they are the ones who are going to come out the other side – and be better for it. We’ve been through these cycles, and every time we hit these tough times, people get shedded and some leave the industry. But the ones who have great careers are the ones that persist and find a way to grind through it.”If you're confused, there are probably others who are confused too: "Confused people don't buy. If you have a customer and your product pitch is confusing them, you're not getting the deal. And so we all have a lot coming at us, so we've got to keep it simple. We've got to just have the language be crisp and communicate to be understood, don't communicate to sound sophisticated or to use all the buzzwords."Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064HOST: John McMahon GUEST: Kevin HavertyRevenue Builders Podcast

Today’s episode features world-class insight on driving revenue growth from investors behind some of the most successful startups in recent history. We offer perspectives from both Venture Capital and Private Equity with our guests, Neeraj Agrawal, General Partner Battery Ventures, Dave Tiley, Senior Operating Partner Align Capital Partners, and Izhar Armony, General Partner CRV. Tune in for tips on what to look for when investing in early-stage companies, the attributes investors seek when making leadership hires, and the four key dimensions of investing: market, team, technology, and the deal itself. Learn all of this and more in this conversation with our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon. Here are some key sections to check out:01:42 Successful versus unsuccessful start-ups7:50 How CEO selection determines success 16:47 The investor’s “Rule of 40”21:47 Differences between VC and PE investors29:47 Focus on growth or earnings?35:10 Attributes to look for when hiring leaders45:10 Common mistakes of early-stage companies53:07 Product-market fit in early-stage companies HIGHLIGHT QUOTESNeeraj on looking for a strong sales mentality when hiring CEOs: “The art of sales is more important than it was a few years ago because there's scrutiny in every decision. Having somebody who can connect the dots between the business problem, the value property or product, ROI, dealing with CFO scrutiny… that's all gone from “nice-to-haves” to super important right now.”Dave on the mindset of going from good to great: “If we're not getting better each and every day in every phase of the business, and we think somebody else is, then we're not putting our best foot forward for our employees, shareholders and investors… You're just trying to optimize it and take it to the next level. Building companies to get to $20 million is one thing, but to get to $50 and then $100, you know, they're just different stages and steps; there's a different playbook for each.” Connect with our amazing guests in the links below:Neeraj Agrawal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neerajagrawal2000/Dave Tiley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davetiley/Izar Armony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/izhararmony/ Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064HOST: John McMahon GUESTS: Neeraj Agrawal, Dave Tiley, and Izhar ArmonyRevenue Builders Podcast

In today's episode of Revenue Builders, we have another conversation with Force Management Director Anne Gary. Anne is a skilled sales consultant and trainer with more than 20 years of experience in direct and indirect and channel sales, sales management, sales development, and sales operations. This time, we talk about misconceptions around who the economic buyer actually is, how their role has shifted with recent economic challenges, and strategies for gaining access to the economic buyer effectively by training and educating the champion.Here are some key sections to check out: 01:58 Who is the economic buyer?08:24 The key to a successful EB meeting15:11 Critical things to do prior to the meeting20:33 Salespeople need to understand the pains of the customer process28:13 What questions should you expect from the economic buyer? Additional Resources:Connect with Anne Gary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-gary-a054aa96/Selling to the CFO - 5 Questions to Answer: https://forc.mx/3qs24qC Listen to our first conversation with Anne: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-champion-with-anne-gary/id1610203369?i=1000567466279QUOTESWe should recognize that we should convert KPIs: “This is why, as salespeople, we need to have done all the correct work prior to the EB meeting. So we can ensure that the proposal that we're providing is strong enough for the EB to want to allocate budget, and reallocate budget dollars to our project instead of other projects. And the other thing that salespeople need to think about here is you're not just competing against your competition in the sale, a lot of times you're competing against all the other things that people are fighting for to steal budget dollars also.”

Force Management Facilitator Anne Gary joins the Revenue Builders. Anne is a skilled sales consultant and trainer with more than 20 years of experience in direct and indirect and channel sales, sales management, sales development, and sales operations. John and I both worked with her at PTC – she was there when PTC was a startup and helped us grow to a $10 billion dollar market cap. Anne spends her time now working with companies and leadership teams – helping them improve their sales performance and helping their reps grasp those key sales fundamentals that are so critical.In this episode, John McMahon and Anne Gary talk about the MEDDICC concept of Coaches and Champions. They discuss common mistakes salespeople make distinguishing a Coach from a Champion, as well as what sales leaders need to do to push their teams to identify and test the coveted role.  Additional Resources:Connect with Anne Gary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-gary-a054aa96/Listen to our first conversation with Anne: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-champion-with-anne-gary/id1610203369?i=1000567466279Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064