Revenue Builders

SHOW SUMMARYIn this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, our hosts John McMahon and John Kaplan talk to Saratoga Systems CEO and President Greg Fairbank. Greg, who served in key positions in the US Army for 26 years, talks about the intersection of military training and sales, and how his army background has immensely contributed to his success in the technology industry. Greg also talks about No One Left Behind, a non-profit organization working on evacuating the tens of thousands of U.S. government employees and interpreters who remain in Iraq and Afghanistan, and providing them critical assistance for housing, transportation, food and household goods.Additional Resources:Support No One Left Behind (NOLB): https://www.nooneleft.org/getinvolvedSaratoga Systems is hiring! To apply, connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregfairbank/5 Traits of Successful Leaders: https://forc.mx/3BrMkHhListen to More Revenue Builders: https://forc.mx/3bfW5OdHIGHLIGHTSHow military training can prepare you for salesEarn the right to build rapportLeading with competence: overcoming the Seller Deficit DisorderHiring a military vet can be a rare but golden opportunity What is commander's intent?Advice for companies that want to take on government contracts No One Left Behind: aftermath of the Afghan exit GUEST BIOGreg Fairbank is the president and CEO of Saratoga Data Systems. With an extensive background in enterprise software development and sales at high growth technology companies. Prior to Saratoga, Greg developed Endeca Technologies, which was acquired by oracle. Prior to that, Greg was a software development manager at Sapient Corporation. He managed Sapient's first offshore development effort and delivered online banking and commerce applications to Fortune 500 clients. As a colonel in the United States Army, Greg held battalion and strategic commands, as well as serving in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During his tenure with the Joint Chiefs, Greg represented his unit to the US Congress and provided briefings to the senior leadership of the departments of state and defense. Greg holds degrees from Cornell and Harvard, and is a distinguished graduate of the US Army War College. QUOTESGreg on the similarities between military training and sales: "Think about the things that you learn in your sales training. Not asking leading questions. Asking open-ended questions and not interjecting in the conversation. Letting silence be a good thing. These are all things which they unquestionably teach in that world and there's direct analogues in the sales world."Greg on commander's intent and why military vets are excellent hires: "It is core to our good non-commissioned officers and our officers that listen, I'm not gonna give you every little detail on how things are gonna happen. I'm gonna give you my intent, and you figure out how it's gonna happen. And it works really, really well."Greg on the goal of No One Left Behind: "Our goal is to get these people here and make them productive members of society. Get them over here, we try to set them up with apartments. We also try to get them vehicles. We're giving cars to these folks so they could get to and from work or be an UBER driver, be a Lyft driver, do some of these on-demand delivery functions. They can make a living and not just be reliant on any sort of public handouts."Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, Neeraj Agrawal, General Partner at Battery Ventures, joins our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon to discuss the nitty gritty of doing business in today’s markets. Neeraj sits on more than a dozen boards and has invested in several companies that have gone on to stage IPOs. As a serial investor with a long list of companies in his portfolio, Neeraj knows a thing or two about helping startups turn an idea into a full-fledged company. Tune in to hear actionable tips on leadership, growth, and revenue from the man himself, including how he chooses the companies he works with as an investor. Additional Resources:Donate to Hack Diversity: https://www.hackdiversity.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neerajagrawal2000/5 Traits of Successful Leaders: https://forc.mx/3BrMkHhListen to More Revenue Builders: https://forc.mx/3bfW5OdHIGHLIGHTS4 key dimensions that determine the success of companies Timing is more predictive of success than market sizeGreat product and sales processes are crucial for sustainable growthLessons learned from successful and failed investments Technical founders aren't necessarily the best CEOs The bull market is on its way out, what about it?Your company reputation is everythingHow Neeraj chooses the companies that he works withGUEST BIONeeraj joined Battery in 2000 and invests in SaaS and internet companies across all stages. He has invested in several companies that have gone on to stage IPOs, including Bazaarvoice (NASDAQ: BV); Coupa (NASDAQ: COUP); Guidewire Software (NYSE: GWRE); Marketo (NASDAQ: MKTO, acquired by Vista Equity Partners); Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX); Omniture (NASDAQ: OMTR, acquired by Adobe); RealPage (NASDAQ: RP); and Wayfair (NYSE: W).He also invested in several companies that have experienced M&A events, such as A Place for Mom (acquired by Warburg Pincus); AppDynamics (acquired by Cisco); Brightree (acquired by ResMed); Chef (acquired by Progress); Glassdoor (acquired by Recruit Holdings); Internet Brands (acquired by Hellman & Friedman); Kustomer (acquired by Meta); OpsGenie (acquired by Atlassian); Stella Connect (acquired by Medallia, Inc.); and VSS Monitoring (acquired by Danaher). Neeraj also played a key role in several other Battery investments including Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN); ITA Software (acquired by Google); and Sabre (NASDAQ: SABR).Neeraj is currently on the boards of Braze (NASDAQ: BRZE), Compt, Catchpoint, Dataiku, Level AI, LogRocket, Pendo, Reify Health, Repeat, Scopely, Shortcut (formerly Clubhouse), Sprinklr (NYSE: CXM), Tealium, Wunderkind (formerly BounceX), Workato and Yesware. He is a board observer for InVision and Mattermost. Neeraj has also made seed investments in companies including 8fig, Dooly, PayStand, Proton, Reibus International and UserGems since 2020.QUOTESNeeraj on the challenge of timing your investment: "The challenge often is if you invest too early, you've got a good idea but you run out of money before the inflection point happens. And if you invest too late, somebody else captures the market. Having a sense of the timing is really important and like most things in life, luck has a lot to do with it."Neeraj on why both product and sales are crucial for success: "Ultimately, great companies are built on great products and great sales. You can kind of fake it for a while now on the sales side, but the longer you wait to put in the fundamentals, the harder it is to do later." Neeraj on how he chooses the companies that he backs: "Life's too short. If this isn't a person that I want to back from beginning to exit, they don't have the right coachability and skill to read my mind, it's probably time to move on and look at other investments."Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, Doug Holladay joins our hosts John Kaplan and John McMahon to discuss the importance of purpose as a leader. Doug has found meaning in his long and successful career spanning from Goldman Sachs to international government and now, higher education as an executive-in-residence at Georgetown University. In their conversation, you’ll hear many of the lessons Doug shares in his MBA class on the importance of authenticity, purpose, and vulnerability in becoming a truly impactful leader - and feeling fulfilled while doing it.Additional Resources:Donate to Morehouse College: https://www.giving.morehouse.edu/s/Get Doug's Book: https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Success-Essential-Practices-Finding/dp/0062897888LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougholladay/Website: https://www.dougholladay.com/5 Traits of Successful Leaders: https://forc.mx/3BrMkHhListen to More Revenue Builders: https://forc.mx/3bfW5Od HIGHLIGHTSKnow your purpose and where you can add valueWhy business leaders are lonely at the topOur point of connection is our brokennessEulogy virtues vs Resume virtuesThe difference between happiness and meaningLife changes when we bother knowing other people's storiesThe neuroscience behind gratitudeGUEST BIOThe career trajectory of Doug Holladay has been unique and varied with its blend of public service, finance and business, non-profit work, and more recently, teaching and journalism.J. Douglas Holladay is a co-founder of Park Avenue Equity Partners, L.P. with offices in New York, a private equity fund which makes equity investments in middle market operating companies. He is a co-founder and general partner in Elgin Capital Partners LP, a private equity partnership focused on domestic energy development. While Mr. Holladay continues as an active investor, the main focus of his time is on several not-for-profit efforts, including PathNorth, which helps business owners and CEOs define success more broadly, and ABC2 (Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure), working to find a cure for brain cancer. Additionally, he holds the Heinz Christian Prechter Executive in Residence position at Georgetown University where he teaches MBA students.QUOTESDoug on why many executives are lonely at the top: "The unintended consequences of success can be loneliness and disconnection. You can be the principal of a middle school or sheriff of a police force in a small town, and the same phenomenon is true there. Particularly with men; we're not taught. We don't have a language of the heart."Doug on the difference between happiness and meaning: "Happiness is correlated with externalities. I have a girlfriend. My son got into a good college. I did this, I did that. And that comes and goes. Sometimes we're happy about these things. Sometimes we're not. But meaning is what you want to go for. Meaning, you can be in the most god-awful situations and still find meaning."Doug on understanding people through their stories: "Everybody is what they're like because of the sum total of all the craziness and goodness that they've experienced in life. Once you understand that, it's powerful."Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

Cedric Pech, Chief Revenue Officer at MongoDB, shares his thoughts on leadership, purpose, and success. He discusses challenges faced in transitioning to CRO, the importance of having a purpose for teams, and the difference between slow and fast success. Cedric also shares a personal story about writing letters to an Olympic ski racer and emphasizes the power of authentic leadership.

The Chief Financial Officer is a critical, but often misunderstood role in growing companies. In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, John Kaplan and John MacMahon talk shop with four-time CFO Jim Kelliher about the intricacies of the CFO role. With vast experience under his belt, Jim talks about specific strategies that companies can use to scale effectively, and how CFOs can best guide their companies towards financial soundness. Additional Resources:Connect with Jim Kelliher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-kelliher-8a3100/Donate to the Irish American Partnership | https://www.irishap.org/Drive Consistency in Your Sales Planning Process: https://forc.mx/3PuYNOaA CFO Perspective on Healthy Revenue Growth: https://forc.mx/3yIMhE6HIGHLIGHTSWhat keeps CFOs up at night?Things to prepare before pitching to a CFOWhat is a frugal spend culture?All markets eventually bounce backWhat does a financially-sound company look like?Financial forecasting is a critical skill in businessCost-justification needs to come from an internal championQUOTESJim: "Our job is to control the business. We have to make sure we're not doing silly things with our cash, we're not doing things that don't make sense longer term. But our objective is really to grow the business." Jim: "When I say frugal, it's usually around an investment you're making in the company or in the infrastructure, or in a person that you expect to be paid back and have thought through. That's what I mean by frugal. Do it in the right way." Jim: "Let's do it a bit at a time, so that if it doesn't work, you haven't made  a big bet and you can kind of pull your foot off. If it doesn't work, you understand why it doesn't work and maybe you can self-correct in the middle of that process. That's what I mean by experimenting." Jim: "It will probably be volatile for a period of time. But longer term, good companies get the bulk of markets, good companies are successful, good companies are bought. So create a good company, create a good culture, create a scalable model, and you'll be just fine." Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk to John Mosley, Jr., Head Men's Basketball Coach at East Los Angeles College. Mosley and the story of their Huskies basketball program are covered in the popular Netflix series Last Chance U: Basketball. Mosley shares his strategies for leading even the most difficult teams successfully, focusing on relationship building and leading by example. He concludes that if you can make a sincere impact on one person’s life and career, the chain reaction benefits many others.Additional Resources:Connect with John Mosley, Jr. on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mosley-jr-b5269239/Donate to the ELAC Men’s Basketball Program | https://org.eteamsponsor.com/ETS/supportUs/411913647?fund_participant_id=411913648For larger donations that require tax deductions:Donate to the ELAC Student-Athlete Fund |  https://elacfoundation.com/elac-student-athletes-fund/Specify "Men's Basketball" in the comments.The foundation is a 501C3Federal Tax ID# 33-0034221Coach Your Managers To Learn From Wins and Losses: https://forc.mx/3NKvQNf5 Leadership Tactics That Get Results: https://forc.mx/3P3PCEAHIGHLIGHTSBehind the scenes of Netflix’s 'Last Chance University' Why great leaders are great coaches Ditch the playbook and meet your team where they areSpeech is silver, silence is goldenTo lead people is to carry their burden for them Rules without relationship equals rebellionQUOTESKaplan: "We believe great leaders are great coaches, and they have the ability to meet kids wherever they're at and understand their story." Mosley: "In leadership, you direct behavior. In order to direct behavior in leadership, I think you have to have that personal relationship. And when you go down and you have those personal relationships and you live out, I think it's important to live out the burdens with these young men. That's what I'm called to do." Mosley: "Whenever I see a young man or anybody who didn't want to listen to me, even little kids. It works on little babies. You think of a five-year old and you say, hey, sit down and do this. It won't sit down. You take a five-year-old and before you tell him to sit down, you say, hey, you like this color? What's your favorite color? What do you like to eat? And then you tell the five-year-old, hey, have a seat here. Guess what, they're gonna go sit down." Kaplan: "Do not confuse the coach's kindness with weakness."Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, John Kaplan and John McMahon are joined by Alan Chhabra, Executive Vice President of WW Partners at MongoDB. Alan talks about starting the partner program at MongoDB and how he overcame some of the role’s biggest challenges.Alan shares what he’s learned about establishing great partnerships, managing connections, and growing relationships with partners to maximize efficiency and long-term results. He also talks about his experience managing the complexities of client relationships, especially when it comes to competition.Additional Resources:Connect with Alan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alanchhabra/Visit MongoDB's website: https://www.mongodb.com/Donate to The Home for Little Wanderers: https://www.thehome.org/Support Vision-Aid: https://visionaid.org/More about Force Management | https://forc.mx/3waMDDSIncrease Revenue by Improving the Manager/Seller Relationship | https://forc.mx/3bt8jTlDrive Revenue Growth Through Indirect Sales Channels | https://forc.mx/3nsioThHIGHLIGHTSHow to manage the diversity of partnershipsGaining traction early with a partnerThe challenges of managing channel conflictThe characteristics of the right people for a channelEstablishing trust for enablement informationAlan's advice on things you can get from a partner communityQUOTESAlan: "When you put that together, then you get a handful of partners that you double down. I'm not one for where you just have hundreds of partners that you focus on. You really should get the ones that fit into all those buckets, and then you go deep."Alan: "It does start on the street. If local sales leadership from both companies are not tight at the hip, global partnerships do not work. They may help with some marketing awareness, they may get people excited on LinkedIn, but if there's no real tight-at-the-hip at the geos, it doesn't work.Alan: "The reason for that mistrust is usually because of misalignment on what's in it for them and what's in it for us. For example, if all that partner's job is to ambulance chase your deals in the field and steal points, the last thing you're going to do is share information with them."Alan: "The customers' buying motion has changed. In the last five to seven years, customers now buy upfront infrastructure and commitments with the cloud provider."Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk to mental performance coach Greg Poss. Greg, who played professional Hockey and later on went to make a name for himself as coach, talks about tapping into your higher brain in a consistent manner to achieve success. Greg describes a state of higher energy, where you are able to shut down your fear centers in favor of higher brain functions. He also talks about valuing the process as the most important reward, which is also the key to sustainable happiness and success and fulfillment.Additional Resources:Buy Fearless: The Winner's Mind | https://starkemind.com/page-1Visit Greg’s website: https://www.starkemind.com/Check out Greg’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-poss-a0a8a72b/More about Force Management | https://forc.mx/3waMDDSUsing MEDDICC to Drive Revenue Predictability | https://forc.mx/3mZ5r3i  How To Enable Your Sales Team To Execute At The Buyer Level | https://forc.mx/3QGXq0D  HIGHLIGHTSGreg's Hockey playing and coaching career How to go from low energy to a high energy stateThe lower brain vs the higher brainThe edge of our comfort zone is where life beginsThe most important reward is the process Analyze, Iterate, Move ForwardNobody cares, play better QUOTESGreg: "When we get into the right state of mind, everything is gonna flow around us the way it should and it's gonna optimize our performance." Greg: "We want to impress other people, or we do it for external pleasure: to make money, to win a trophy, to get a promotion, whatever the case might be. I'm not saying that going after those things is bad. We should go after those things. But our major motivation has got to be the moment to moment gamification and joy of the journey." Greg: "When we can intentionally control our thoughts and rewire our brains to be higher brain dominant, we're automatically turning off our lower brain, or the fear centers of our brain. And there's a big difference between being fearless and reckless." Greg: "The only way to have sustainable happiness and success and fulfillment is through internal gratification, which we get in the creative fearlessness of our process or journey."Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk to Anne Gary, Director at Force Management. With several sales management roles under her belt, Anne knows a thing or two about building and operating large complex sales organizations from scratch, resulting in closing multi-million dollar sales. Anne talks about her journey from engineer to sales leader, the value of understanding a company’s political landscape, and how to identify and cultivate potential in people. Additional Resources:Connect With Anne Gary on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-gary-a054aa96/Donate to The Boys & Girls Clubs of America | https://www.bgca.org/More about Force Management | https://forc.mx/3waMDDSUsing MEDDICC to Drive Revenue Predictability | https://forc.mx/3mZ5r3i  How To Enable Your Sales Team To Execute At The Buyer Level | https://forc.mx/3QGXq0D  HIGHLIGHTSFrom engineering to sales Always look for a problem to solve How to separate the great salespeople from the good onesHiring for startups, then and nowGo wide and deep on the buying organization's political landscape Look out for an organization's championsIf you're not constantly training, you're stagnatingHow to spot a great leaderQUOTESAnne: "So many people, they keep trying to change things up all the time instead of just staying the course for a while. Pick something that you know needs to be done, implement it, stay the course and see what happens. Because we know from engineering, you don't change 10 or 12 variables and try to figure out what's working because you won't know." Anne: "Probably the biggest thing for me when I was interviewing was to ask a salesperson about a sale that they had been through recently, and I wanted to know about the political landscape. I would ask them to go up the board, draw the organization chart, and tell me who are the people that are the influencers in the situation and have them walk me through that." Anne: "I find that the best champions are the ones that are not just about themselves and a personal win for themselves but also about the organization win as well." McMahon: "I always say that you know you have a champion when the sales process has moved from unpredictable to predictable." Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064

In this episode of the Revenue Builders podcast, John Kaplan and John McMahon talk to Sahir Azam, Chief Product Officer of MongoDB. Sahir shares his insight gained working in the intersection of product and go-to-market teams. Sahir also touches on creating synergy between pre-sales and sales teams, and the need to balance innovation and solving actual customer problems. Additional Resources:Connect With Sahir Azam on LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/in/sahirazamDonate to The Jed Foundation | https://jedfoundation.org/Quoted in this episode | https://neilpatel.com/blog/how-saas-marketing-is-different/ More about Force Management | https://forc.mx/3waMDDSAligning Your Sales Engine With Product Development | https://forc.mx/3Hd1QYvProduct-Led Growth: Driving Cross-Functional Support to Evolve Your Go-to-Market Strategy | https://forc.mx/3mE2iW8HIGHLIGHTSThe focus of a Chief Product OfficerAligning with your customer's buying behaviorEncourage synergy between sales and pre-sales teamsSitting in the seat in the moment of the customer's painHow to balance innovation with solving a needTake the time to do a proper discovery callSelling internally can be harder than selling externallyQUOTESSahir: "Product marketing and product management, there's sort of a Venn diagram of overlap of skillset there and different organizations align slightly different on how those things are defined. But we think it's really important, regardless of how they report organizationally, but for those two functions to be paired up really closely to have a successful outcome." Sahir: "If you don't have a very seamless way for your end-customers to try and use a product, you're many times never gonna get in the door." Sahir: "Great product people can really articulate and translate that pain from the way that it's articulated by the customer, which isn't always like, here's my pain point, here's the business value but extracting that, qualifying that, documenting that in a way that's crisp and concise." Sahir: "The most cohesive team is where everyone knows the role, but there's a natural overlap of trust built here and everyone knows what you're solving for." Check out John McMahon’s book here: https://www.amazon.com/Qualified-Sales-Leader-Proven-Lessons/dp/0578895064