Martin Roth is the former CRO of Levelset, where he led the company from its first dollar in ARR to a $500 million acquisition by Procore in 2021. Currently, he's the founder of MartinRoth.com, specializing in helping startups scale from $1M to $10M in ARR. Martin brings a wealth of experience in building and scaling sales teams, developing effective go-to-market strategies, and navigating the challenges of startup growth. Discussed in this Episode:Martin's journey from selling flip-flops to leading a $500M exitThe challenges and lessons learned in scaling Levelset from $1M to $25M+ ARRInsights on building effective sales playbooks and team structuresThe importance of in-person customer interactions in today's digital worldDebunking myths about cold outreach and micromanagement in salesHighlights:(08:58) Building the first SaaS product and transitioning to recurring revenue.(14:58) The evolution of Levelset's sales motion and pricing strategy.(29:06) The importance of sales playbooks and codifying the sales process.(35:30) Optimal team structures for SMB sales organizations.(52:25) Why in-person sales environments are crucial for early-career development.(53:46) Debunking the myth that cold outreach is dead.(57:57) The effectiveness of in-person field events and road shows.(52:25) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Martin thinks is bull$***(57:57) One thing that is working for Martin in go-to-market right nowGuest Speaker Links (Martin Roth):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinrothsaas/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/Twitter/X: https://x.com/SalesHackerYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowThe GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Resource we Recommend:HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? The GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Mark Kosoglow is the Co-Founder and CEO of Operator.ai, a company incubated by GTMfund. Mark was employee #1 at Outreach and former SVP of Global Sales, where he helped grow the company from zero to over $200 million in revenue. He is joined in this special edition podcast episode by Max Altschuler, Founder and General Partner of GTMfund. Discussed in this Episode:The fallacy of "what got you here won't get you there" in revenue leadership.The current state of sales technology and its impact on buyer engagement.The vision for Operator and how it aims to revolutionize the sales process.The importance of personalization and relevance in sales outreach.Strategies for breaking through the noise and attracting buyers into conversations.Highlights:(1:35) Mark's journey from Outreach to founding Operator.(4:33) Challenging the notion of constantly changing leadership in growing companies.(10:00) The problem with current sales automation and AI strategies.(20:25) The concept of "the great ignore" in sales messaging.(24:11) How Operator aims to change the day-to-day activities of salespeople.(37:47) The importance of creativity, connection, and focus in sales.(45:48) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Mark thinks is bull$***.(47:48) One thing that is working for Mark in go-to-market right now.Guest Speaker Links (Mark Kosoglow)LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkosoglow/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/Product Recommendation: Apollo"The revenue tech stack is messy right now. If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of my list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over.We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page. You can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtmAlmost all I hear these days is “we need to figure out how to best leverage AI in our sales process” and “how can we consolidate/simplify our tech stack.” With Apollo I believe you can accomplish both."  - Scott BarkerThe GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Kim Peretti, a seasoned Customer Success executive with over 25 years in tech, shares her insights on building a customer-first culture. She emphasizes the importance of aligning sales, marketing, and customer success teams to foster business growth. Kim discusses the role of data in understanding customer health and encourages companies to shift focus from acquiring new customers to retaining existing ones. She also highlights the value of shared compensation goals in enhancing collaboration and dispels the myth that customer churn is solely the responsibility of customer success managers.

Phil Hernandez is the VP of Sales Services at TaskUs. He has spent the past 20 years skillfully building and transforming numerous Go-To-Market (GTM) teams. He possesses an unwavering commitment to mastering sales systems and demonstrates expertise in orchestrating organizational change aimed at cultivating high-performance revenue teams. His diverse industry background ranges from Tech/SaaS, Big Data, Adtech/Media, and CPG. He has implemented best practices in Startup, Scale Up, Public, and Private Equity operating environments as well as driving many transformational initiatives. As a revenue architecture expert, Phil specializes in operationalizing best practices and implementing scalable, data-driven solutions to elevate customer satisfaction throughout their buyer’s journey. Discussed in this Episode:The importance of cross-functional alignment in go-to-market strategiesBalancing strategic planning with day-to-day sales executionTactics for breaking down silos between marketing, sales, and customer successThe myth of work-life balance and finding personal equilibriumStrategies for incentivizing sales teams and driving desired behaviorsThe danger of seeking "silver bullet" solutions in sales leadershipHighlights:(2:49) Phil's journey from Coca-Cola delivery driver to sales leader. (9:41) Challenges in aligning different go-to-market functions. (14:12) Time-blocking strategies for sales leaders. (20:26) How TaskUs increased opportunity conversion 4x through better lead engagement. (24:20) Designing effective sales compensation plans.(32:33) The importance of focusing on micro-wins rather than silver bullets.(35:09) Phil's framework for evaluating go-to-market success: People, Process, Platforms, and Performance. (38:05) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Phil thinks is bull$***.(39:36) One thing that is working for Phil in go-to-market right now.Guest Speaker Links (Phil Hernandez):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hernandezphillip/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/Product Recommendation: Apollo"The revenue tech stack is messy right now. If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of my list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over.We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page. You can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtmAlmost all I hear these days is “we need to figure out how to best leverage AI in our sales process” and “how can we consolidate/simplify our tech stack” - with Apollo I believe you can accomplish both." -Scott BarkerThe GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Nealesh Patel is the Chief Revenue Officer at Crunchbase, an AI-powered platform that helps over 80 million dealmakers discover and prioritize the right opportunities using best-in-class company data. With over 25 years of experience in the tech industry, Neal has a proven track record of executing progressive growth strategies, landing innovative partnerships, developing revenue streams, and building winning teams. As the leader of Crunchbase's go-to-market functions, and the de facto general manager of its data licensing business, Neal has a cross-functional and holistic understanding of how to provide value to customers and generate revenue. Under his leadership, Crunchbase has more than 4X'd its unique users, increased its annual recurring revenue by over 75x, and secured partnerships with large brands like S&P, LinkedIn, Meta, Oracle, NASDAQ, Amazon, and Snowflake. Neal is also an active board member, advisor, and investor in several high-growth startups.Discussed in this Episode:The importance of listening to customers without blindly obeying their requestsHow Crunchbase adapted to the rise of ChatGPT and generative AIThe value of conducting ongoing customer tours to inform product development and strategyInsights on career growth and taking risks in professional developmentThe future of sales management in the age of AI and rev tech platformsHighlights:(03:45) The concept of "listening to customers without obeying"(09:12) Crunchbase's response to the release of ChatGPT(13:58) Developing predictive signals using Crunchbase's proprietary data(19:32) Career advice: The importance of curiosity and authenticity(22:15) Taking risks and daring to be "stupid" in your career(25:37) The ongoing need for human sales managers in the age of AI(30:42) Why traditional sales playbooks may become obsolete(34:21) Institutionalizing customer tours as a core business practice(37:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Neal thinks is bull$***(39:47) One thing that is working for Neal in go-to-market right nowGuest Speaker Links (Neal Patel):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealeshpatel/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/Sponsors:Apollo. The revenue tech stack is messy right now. All the leaders that I’m talking to are reevaluating their stacks from the ground up. Do we really need ten different solutions? If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of our list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over. We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page - you can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtm The GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Peter Kazanjy, a serial founder and SaaS executive, shares his insights on sales performance management. He discusses the effects of zero interest rates on buyer behavior and emphasizes the need for accountability in sales management. Kazanjy highlights the risks of over-reliance on AI, warning against skills atrophy among sales teams. He advocates for a 'back to basics' approach, focusing on pipeline generation and rigorous performance management to adapt to current economic challenges. His expertise offers valuable strategies for navigating today’s sales landscape.

David Knight is the Co-founder and CEO of Avarra, an AI-powered platform that simulates human-to-human interactions to accelerate sales onboarding and training. With over 30 years of experience scaling companies from tens of millions to billions in revenue, including WebEx and Proofpoint, David brings a unique perspective on the intertwined nature of product and go-to-market.Discussed in this Episode:The power of AI simulations in providing experiential learning for sales reps.Designing products backwards from the go-to-market motion.Strategies for aligning product and sales teams to drive revenue growth.Rethinking ramp time: it's about at-bats, not arbitrary time periods.Shifting perspective from the sales funnel to the buyer's journey.The future of AI in sales training and enablement.Highlights:(02:24) Simulating human-to-human interactions with AI avatars.(07:44) Creating a fun, engaging environment for sales training.(13:26) Designing products from the go-to-market motion backwards.(19:32) Helping sales leaders win deals as a product leader.(27:08) Listening for pain points, not feature requests, from customers.(31:07) Completely changing the go-to-market motion at Proofpoint.(37:43) Aligning motivations between product and sales teams.(38:43) Rethinking the sales funnel as a buyer's journey.(41:50) Building customized simulations for qualified prospects.(34:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that David thinks is bull$***.(41:50) One thing that is working for David in go-to-market right now.Guest Speaker Links (David Knight):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrknight/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/Sponsors:HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? This free and ungated report has you covered. The GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Kyle Poyar, Co-founder and Operating Partner at Tremont and a leading voice in product-led growth (PLG), shares valuable insights on integrating PLG into modern businesses. He discusses why PLG is essential in an AI-driven world and how companies can leverage their products for organic customer acquisition. Kyle emphasizes the importance of social proof and offers strategic advice for early-stage founders. Plus, he shares his own journey into venture capital and highlights key growth tactics that are reshaping the industry.

Cliff Simon is the CRO of Carabiner Group, a part of SBI Growth, an advisor, and fractional executive for several high-growth start-ups, where he utilizes his expertise in all things GTM and RevOps. He is an active leader in multiple GTM communities. With almost two decades of broad technology experience, he has anchored GTM teams in SaaS & Service industries including consulting, network & communications, software, e-commerce, and supply chain. Having worked in both Fortune 20 and High-Growth Startups, Cliff prefers the fast pace and the ability to deliver significant impact that comes with working in the startup space. Cliff is a recipient of the 2024 Modern Sales Leader award from HubSpot and a 2024Top 50 CRO to Watch by Pavilion. Discussed in this Episode:The power of community-led growth in driving customer acquisition and revenue.Lessons learned from growing and selling a bootstrapped services business.Navigating the challenges of rapid growth, including hiring and managing cash flow.The importance of RevOps and when to invest in a full-time RevOps hire.Predictions for the future of go-to-market, including the rise of micro-businesses and AI.Highlights:(15:43) Driving growth through community involvement and providing value.(22:58) Hiring challenges during rapid growth. (27:34) Identifying potential acquirers and navigating the acquisition process.(33:00) Lessons learned from the acquisition and what Cliff would do differently.(38:27) Predictions for the future of SaaS businesses and go-to-market.(42:16) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Cliff thinks is bull$***.(44:55) One thing that is working for Cliff in go-to-market right now.Guest Speaker Links (Cliff Simon):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliff-simonHost Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/Sponsors:Brought to you by Attention. Attention’s AI-powered call recording platform ensures that your deals are executed flawlessly. It records your calls, generates next-step summaries, action items, and even creates scorecards for every single call, so your reps can continuously improve. But that’s just the beginning. Attention’s generalized insights allow you to ask any question across all of your conversations - think of it like ChatGPT for your sales calls. Attention also lets you build automated workflows tailored to your needs. For example, if a customer mentions they’re at risk of churning during a call, Attention can automatically loop in a sales director and solutions engineer to ensure that customer receives the full white-glove treatment, reducing churn and keeping your business thriving. Attention is helping companies onboard reps faster, increase the productivity of their existing teams, and giving revenue leaders unparalleled visibility into their pipelines—all while automating those tedious manual tasks.The GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Eli Schwartz is an SEO expert and consultant with over a decade of experience driving successful SEO and growth programs for both B2B and B2C companies. He has worked with major brands like Shutterstock, Gusto, WordPress, Quora, Mixpanel, and Zendesk to build and execute global SEO strategies that dramatically increase their visibility at scale. Previously, Eli led the SEO team at SurveyMonkey, growing organic search from nearly zero to one of the largest growth channels at the company.Discussed in this Episode:The product-led SEO framework Eli used to drive SurveyMonkey from 0 to $100M+ in revenue.Why the old model of churning out SEO content is dead and how AI is disrupting the space.Eli's journey from getting rejected at top tech companies to becoming a thriving consultant.The power of deeply understanding your target user and building products for their needs.Actionable advice for making the transition from operator to successful consultant.Highlights:(4:14) Building SEO products tailored to the user intent, not just keywords.(8:19) How Zapier unlocked massive growth with a product-led SEO approach(17:15) Why AI content generation is not a silver bullet - it still requires a purposeful strategy.(22:54) Examples of Eli's product-led SEO wins at SurveyMonkey, Tinder, and Coinbase.(29:31) The biggest mistake people make with SEO is having a diminished understanding of what it can accomplish.(41:28) Eli's best consulting gigs came from job interviews where he got rejected.(44:33) To succeed as a consultant, develop a niche specialty and have customer success stories.(52:23) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Eli thinks is bull$***.(54:49) One thing that is working for Eli in go-to-market right now.Guest Speaker Links (Eli Schwartz):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartze/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/Sponsors:HG Insights. Feeling that AI FOMO? You’re not alone. That’s why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report — to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Why HG Insights? Simple. They’ve been writing market reports for years as the pioneer of tech adoption and market insights. Trusted by GTM leaders at the likes of Snowflake Five9 and Google Cloud to improve GTM efficiency. Thinking about AI for your sales team but unsure where to start? This free and ungated report has you covered. The GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.