SaaS Talk™ with the Metrics Brothers - Strategies, Insights, & Metrics for B2B SaaS Executive Leaders

Go-to-Market is a term often used to describe the strategy, processes, and organizations that B2B companies employ to acquire, retain, and expand their customer base.In this episode, Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike discuss the recently published ICONIQ report on the State of GTM 2025...and yes, it includes a lot about how AI-native and AI utilization are impacting all things GTM. Topics include:Funnel Conversion Rate TrendsAI-Native Funnel Performance Advantages Cost per OpportunityCustomer Renewal TimingGo-to-Market Headcount allocation (AI-Native vs Legacy SaaS)AI's impact on Sales ProductivityAI Spend TrendsIf you are a GTM leader, are responsible for the financial performance of your B2B SaaS company, or are interested in how AI is impacting all things customer acquisition, retention, and expansion, this episode has something for you!!!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dive into the debate around the evolving definition of Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in the SaaS world. Explore how variable pricing models, like usage-based pricing, complicate revenue reporting. The hosts share insights from industry influencers and their experiences, discussing how these changes impact financial forecasting and investor perception. Uncover strategic pricing models that align business growth with revenue metrics while navigating the complexities of software pricing. It's a thought-provoking look at whether ARR is truly 'dead' or just transforming.

Mary Meeker’s experience dates back to her role as a leading technology analyst at Morgan Stanley with her “Internet Trends Report”, she was in the middle of the Netscape, Amazon, and Google IPOs, and became a VC at Kleiner Perkins (2010) and then founded Bond in 2018 which has raised $5.75B to fund companies including Canva, Stripe, Plaid, Ironclad and Nextdoor to name just a few.During this episode of SaaS Talk with the Metrics, CAC and Growth discuss some of the KEY highlights of the 339-page report, Bond and Mary Meeker just released on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Trends - 2025 including:ChatGPT and Generative AI are the fastest growing technology adoption of all time - with contextExponential growth of the AI ecosystemHow Generative AI is reinventing the technology stack and economic modelsGeo-political impact of the race to AI leadershipCapital intensive nature of AI and the operating profitability realityLegacy SaaS companies or native language models applications - who will win...and whyThe Metrics Brothers go beyond legacy SaaS to discuss the AI Trends captured in the Mary Meeker - Bond report and guess what - it includes numbers and metrics!!!Full report available at: https://www.bondcap.com/report/pdf/Trends_Artificial_Intelligence.pdfSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Discover insights from recent benchmarks on B2B marketing budgets and productivity. Learn how marketing spend as a percentage of revenue varies across company sizes and affects growth rates. Explore the contrasts between product-led and sales-led growth strategies in budget allocation. The importance of metrics is emphasized, with recommendations for assessing effectiveness through pipeline coverage and efficiency. Finally, understand how historical data can aid in strategic marketing planning and goal setting.

Dive into the world of B2B SaaS metrics as experts explore the crucial Cost per Opportunity and Pipe to Spend ratios. Discover how these metrics help evaluate pipeline generation efficiency and the return on marketing investments. The discussion highlights the importance of accurate sales pipeline data and its role in enhancing decision-making. Additional insights into pipeline conversion and the differences between pipeline coverage versus generation metrics provide valuable knowledge for anyone involved in demand generation and budget management.

Dive into the world of B2B SaaS as the hosts dissect the critical need for harmony between marketing and sales teams. Discover what true alignment looks like and the pitfalls of misalignment through engaging analogies. The conversation reveals top strategies for achieving collaboration that enhances performance and customer acquisition. They also explore the importance of shared goals, effective communication, and metrics like Customer Acquisition Cost, all pivotal for driving growth and improving revenue efficiency.

The conversation dives into the crucial alignment between finance and go-to-market strategies in SaaS. Real-life stories highlight the pitfalls of misalignment, adding a dash of humor to serious insights. The hosts explore how to rekindle strategic planning and emphasize the importance of genuine agreement on metrics. They also discuss shifting revenue metrics and the complexities of forecasting in usage-based pricing models, providing valuable perspectives for B2B SaaS leaders.

Stock-based Compensation (SBC) has been a hallmark of the SaaS and Cloud industry since the early days. Stock Options, Restricted Stock Units, Strike Price, and vesting periods continue to be a key discussion point for potential hires. Today's episode covers how Stock-based compensation impacts Operating Expenses on the Income Statement...and how SBC can impact SaaS metrics.Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike dive into the details of Stock-Based Compensation in today's episode including:What is Stock-Based Compensation (SBC)How does a company pay/account for SBCWhat kind of expense is Stock-Based CompensationWhere does SBC show up on an Income StatementHow can SBC impact SaaS metricsStock-Based Compensation can be a very complex and nuanced topic, but if you are a SaaS executive, a SaaS employee with stock options, or a SaaS company investor, this conversation and episode is full of detailed insights.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

B2B SaaS Benchmark reports are popping up like mushrooms - but how do you know if the benchmark report is good, contains valuable insights and how to use the benchmarks to inform your own objectives and SaaS metrics goals? Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike take on a topic that is near and dear to their hearts and discuss several key factors that are a tell for a good benchmark report including:Top things to consider when reading a benchmark reportAttributes of a good benchmark reportAttributes of a "not so good" benchmark reportBenchmark utilization best practicesGood Benchmark reports to reviewIf you read benchmark reports and use them in helping to establish goals and objectives in your B2B SaaS company - this episode is a must listen!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a term commonly used across the SaaS industry - but what does it really mean, how can a company effectively build a customer acquisition strategy around it and what METRICS can be used to determine a company's ICP and then measure if it really is the best target customer segment?During this week's episode, Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike discuss the following ICP elements to understand, execute and measure the ROI on the "Ideal Customer Profile":What variables are used to determine the ICPHow to measure the relevant fit of a prospect to the ICPHow to measure if the identified "ICP" is the best target customer segment(s)What metrics can be added to the traditional ICP criteria to enhance the targeting strategyAs always - CAC and Growth introduce a new pairing and an attempt at humor throughout the episode 😱See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.