AI's first go-to-market win is lifting rep selling time from 25% to 80%, says Mark Roberge Roberge.
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Mark Roberge Roberge said on ToplineAI's first milestone in go-to-market is raising rep selling time from about 25% to 80%; strip out admin with skills and demand unchanged, and rep productivity could roughly triple.ListenSales process & deals
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The first milestone for AI in go-to-market is raising rep selling time from about 25% to 80%. Listen
Mark defined selling time as the share of a rep's week spent face to face or on Zoom with a customer or prospect. He said this is possible today but not easy. He said that if admin work is removed while skills, demand and product-market fit stay the same, rep productivity could roughly triple.
“what is accessible to unlock massive efficiency improvements in every go to market org is first milestone drive selling time from 25 % to 80%”
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Mark's second milestone is collapsing SDR, AE, AM and CS into one role that owns the whole customer cycle. Listen
Mark said the SaaS era specialized roles, starting when SDRs were carved out from AEs and later when CSMs were carved out, and he said that went too far. He said AI should allow the field to reverse specialization and reach a much higher level of efficiency. He called this and the selling time target his two convictions.
“collapse your go to market org from SDR plus AE plus AM plus CS to one role that owns the whole thing”
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Michelle Donnelly said on The Revenue Leadership PodcastShe considered cutting planned sales headcount 20% because of AI but didn't, since she'd rather overreach on heads and overachieve than fail (she also noted nine out of 10 companies under-hire capacity); she plans to use AI to shrink rep ramp from five months to three instead.ListenSales team, hiring & comp
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Michelle would rather overreach on sales headcount than fall short, so she planned for more reps than an AI-based cut would imply. Listen
She said she built the numbers backwards from the target to work out how many people were needed, then considered reducing headcount by 20 percent because of AI but did not. She said there is no path for failure in the role, so she prefers to overachieve.
“I would rather overreach on the number of heads I need and overachieve versus fail.”
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Most companies do not hire enough sales capacity, she says. Listen
Michelle said that as her first priority as CRO, scale was the top item, and that nine out of 10 companies do not hire enough capacity to hit their numbers. She said she then had to decide whether to hire in a traditional way or use AI to reduce headcount.
“nine out of 10 companies don't hire enough capacity.”
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Crescendo aims to cut new-rep ramp from five months to three months using AI. Listen
Michelle said she did not cut headcount by 20 percent on the basis of AI, and that she would rather overreach on heads than fail. She said her plan is to use AI to take the five-month ramp down to three months, which describes an intention she is working towards rather than a result.
“What I'm going to use AI for is to take my five month ramp down to three months.”
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Mark Roberge Roberge said on ToplineEven HubSpot, a master of inbound, saw only about 30% of inbound leads fit its ICP, and ICP should be set by highest lifetime value, not inbound volume or lowest CAC.ListenPipeline & demand generation
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Even HubSpot, a master of inbound, had about 30% of its inbound leads within its ICP. Listen
Mark said HubSpot had a very broad market, and about 30% of its inbound leads were ICP. He said he has never seen a business where more than 50% of inbound leads should be sold to. A host added that with outbound you know a prospect fits and must check for pain, while with inbound you must check fit, and that an inbound lead that does not retain is no good.
“30 % of our inbound leads were ICP”
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ICP should be defined by where lifetime value is highest, not by where inbound demand is strongest or where CAC is lowest. Listen
Mark said that the two common answers, where the most inbound demand is and where CAC is lowest, are both brutally wrong. He said ICP should be correlated with the highest LTV, meaning the customers who succeed, want to retain and buy more. He said the business should then work backward to acquire those customers profitably.
“It should be correlated to where you have the highest LTV.”
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Chris Degnan said on Revenue BuildersSnowflake reps carried "a booking quota and a consumption quota," earning full commission only once customers actually used what they committed to buy.ListenSales team, hiring & comp
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Under a consumption model, reps carry a consumption quota alongside their booking quota and earn full commission only once the customer uses the product. Listen
Chris Degnan said Snowflake's land-and-expand model meant reps owned the customer contract and needed the customer to consume what it committed to before they fully earned commission on a deal. Reps can influence consumption through customer education, partner introductions and professional services engagement. He said the benefit to the customer is a business partner that is invested in its success.
“So the sales team has a booking quota and a consumption quota.”
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In consumption-based models, customer commitment is now the minimum, and the ultimate measure of value will be the customer's use of the product. Listen
John Kaplan said that getting a customer to commit is now table stakes and that the customer has to use what was bought. He predicted that the ultimate measure of value in the future will be how much the customer uses what a company provides. He told listeners to start thinking this way now.
“the ultimate measure of value in the future is going to be the use of what you are providing.”
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Guy Galon said on [Un]Churned"The AI told me that it would be 50/50% renewal chances. Nobody will accept it": CFOs and CROs will need a human CS leader standing behind any AI renewal forecast.ListenMetrics & finance
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An AI renewal probability will not be accepted by CFOs and CROs on its own, so a human CS leader has to stand behind it. Listen
He sees AI as another input to revenue projections, and says a human CS leader would have to confirm it can be put into the plan. He says there is still a human aspect that AI agents will not fully cover. He says the business needs to be confident in the plan, using AI together with the team's own capabilities.
“Because eventually when the CFO and the CRO are doing their revenue projecting for next year, even in a couple of years from now, it's not going to be OK. The AI told me that it would be 50/50% renewal chances. Nobody will accept it, right?”
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Most discussed this week: Retention & customer successStrategy & marketSales team, hiring & comp