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.

A transformational leader who specializes in data driven GTM, Allison Metcalfe has had a non-traditional path to the C Suite - starting in Account Management, and being a leader in the evolution of Customer Success, Allison has held a variety of leadership roles across sales and operations in some of Silicon Valley’s most successful companies including Jigsaw (acquired by Salesforce), Demandbase, Quotient (NYSE: QUOT) and Liveramp (NYSE: RAMP), which went from $30M to $500M in revenue and IPO under her tenure.Discussed in this Episode:Allison's non-traditional journey from customer success to CRO.The importance of building a strong post-sales function early on.Balancing product-led growth with an enterprise sales motion.The qualities that make an effective modern CRO.Leveraging customer stories as a powerful growth lever.Lessons learned from LiveRamp's explosive growth and acquisition by Acxiom.Highlights:(2:13) Choosing companies based on people and gut instinct.(7:40) The transition from purely product-led growth to supporting an enterprise sales motion.(11:52) The risk of neglecting your core customers during growth.(16:31) Operationalizing the transition from self-service to enterprise.(23:55) Lessons learned from LiveRamp's acquisition by Acxiom.(28:14) Overcoming the desire to be liked as a leader.(35:25) Beyoncé's "Sasha Fierce" persona as a leadership tool.(39:16) The role and skills required of a modern CRO.(45:18) The importance of separating new logo sales from account management.(48:29) The power of word-of-mouth and focusing on customer outcomes.Guest Speaker Links (Allison Metcalfe):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonmetcalfe/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.

Adam Robinson, the Founder/CEO of Retention.com and RB2B, dives into the art of building an audience before launching a product. He discusses the importance of personal branding and thought leadership in driving early-stage growth, particularly on LinkedIn. Adam shares insights on transforming major challenges into breakthroughs and emphasizes the need for SaaS founders to utilize organic social media to connect with their audience. With a focus on storytelling and authenticity, he reveals how genuine engagement can become a powerful growth engine.

Mark Kosoglow, Co-founder and CEO of Operator.ai, and Max Altschuler, Founder and General Partner of GTMfund, dive into the shifting landscape of sales and marketing tech. They discuss the alarming trend of buyers tuning out 90% of sales outreach, known as The Great Ignore. Mark shares how Operator.ai leverages AI to personalize outreach by uncovering unique insights, radically streamlining the process from 20 contacts to just 2 touches needed to secure a meeting. The duo reflects on their shared history and the challenges of relying on outdated data practices in a rapidly evolving market.

Austin Hay, Co-Founder of Clarify and MarTech expert, shares insights on the chaotic state of MarTech and RevTech, highlighting the impending 'great contraction.' He discusses the need for next-gen CRMs that unify data and improve functionality. Austin emphasizes the importance of focusing on quality tools and treating people with respect during their transitions. He critiques common misconceptions in revenue leadership and reveals what's truly effective in go-to-market strategies. His journey underscores the power of brand, culture, and community in driving success.

Leandra Fishman is the Chief Revenue Officer at Apollo.io, a leading go-to-market solution for sales and marketing teams. Apollo.io is one of the fastest-growing companies in SaaS, with 9x ARR growth since 2021 and currently valued at $1.6 billion. Leandra brings over 30 years of experience to Apollo.io. Most recently, Fishman was the CRO at Intercom, which during her tenure ranked No. 35 on the 2022 Forbes Cloud 100 List with over $200 million in annual revenue. Previously, as the SVP of Sales and Success for SendGrid, she led the company through a successful IPO and helped double its market cap in its first year as a public company. As an executive consultant, she has executed projects ranging from developing sales and marketing strategies for startups to creating business plans and serving in an advisory role for venture capitalist firms and board members. Discussed in this Episode:Apollo's product-led growth (PLG) model and how it enables a great customer experience.Balancing self-serve and sales-assisted motions to drive growth across segments.The role of AI in enhancing sales productivity rather than replacing salespeople.Advice for salespeople on redefining success and being kind to yourself.Leandra's unconventional journey to becoming a CRO and lessons learned along the way.Highlights:(10:25) The power of Apollo's PLG model in driving growth.(13:13) Balancing self-serve and sales-assisted motions.(18:01) How larger deals can come through with minimal sales interaction in a PLG model.(23:47) The future of AI in sales as an enhancement rather than replacement.(29:46) Leandra's journey from starting in sales to becoming a CRO.(44:15) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Leandra thinks is bull$***.(49:30) One thing that is working for Leandra in go-to-market right now.Guest Speaker Links (Leandra Fishman):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/leandra-fishman/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/Sponsors:Brought to you by Upland Altify. A leading provider of AI-enhanced sales solutions, Altify is designed to help revenue teams work smarter. This Salesforce-native suite of sales solutions empowers seller productivity, streamlines workflows, and uncovers hidden opportunities – all leading to significant revenue growth - learn more.Brought to you by IPS. Most recruiting firms fill an order, but IPS is a different breed of search firm. They dig into your business to understand its current state and the future vision and are relentlessly in pursuit of the very best leaders, sales people, marketers, and engineering talent out there. 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.