Podcasts about enterprise saas

This week on The Six Five Podcast, Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman are back from their travels and diving headfirst into the whirlwind of tech news! From big tech earnings and deepening trade tensions to the evolution of enterprise AI, SaaS disruption, and the shifting role of software agents, the duo breaks down what's driving transformation across the tech landscape. The handpicked topics for this week are:   Market and Economic Updates: Discussion of the first trade deal between the UK and US. Analysis of tariff reductions and remaining trade barriers, and the implications for tech companies and services taxes.   Tech Company Earnings and Performance: @AMD's strong quarterly results, particularly in the datacenter and gaming sectors. @ARM's record-breaking quarter with $1 billion in revenue and Coherent, Lattice, and Astera Labs' recent performances and future prospects.   AI and Enterprise Technology Trends: @ServiceNow's Knowledge conference highlights and strategic direction. @IBMTechnology's IBM Think event insights and the company's positioning in the AI market.   Regulatory and Policy Development: Reversal of AI diffusion laws and potential implications. Debate on the effectiveness of technology export controls.   Tech Stock Market Performance: Quick overview of tech stock performance and market reactions to earnings reports.   The Six Five Summit Preview: Teaser of high-profile speakers and AI-focused content. For a deeper dive into each topic, please click on the links above. Be sure to subscribe to The Six Five Pod so you never miss an episode.

In this episode, Sam Jacobs and Asad Zaman are joined by Eric Wilford, a venture partner at Accel, to discuss venture investing with a focus on AI-first companies. The discussion delves into what defines an AI-first company, the implications of AI on product development and go-to-market strategies, and the influence of macroeconomic conditions on venture investments. Eric also shares his perspectives on valuation, the competitive dynamics in AI, and the role of authenticity in successful entrepreneurship.Thanks for tuning in! Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders, share insights, and keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!Subscribe to the Topline Newsletter to get the latest industry developments and emerging go-to-market trends delivered to your inbox every Thursday.Tune into The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton every Wednesday. Kyle dives deep into the strategies and tactics that drive success for revenue leaders like Jason Lemkins of SaaStr, Stevie Case of Vanta, and Ron Gabrisko of Databricks.Key Moments: (00:00) - Introduction(03:21) - Discussion on AI-First Companies(06:35) - AI in Enterprise SaaS and Product Customization(18:00) - Macro Economy and Venture Investing(22:23) - Navigating Recessions and AI Era(25:05) - Valuations in the AI Market(30:58) - Raising Capital: Strategies and Debates(35:57) - Founders' Goals and Investor Alignment(38:53) - Inspiration and Final Thoughts

saas.unbound is a podcast for and about founders who are working on scaling inspiring products that people love, brought to you by https://saas.group/, a serial acquirer of B2B SaaS companies.In episode #10 of season 5, Anna Nadeina talks with Julia Goelles, VP Marketing @Parloa--------------Episode's Chapters----------------02:39 Enterprise vs. SMB Marketing04:03 Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing14:21 Partner Marketing Strategies17:51 AI in Marketing and Branding23:54 Account-Based Marketing Insights26:56 Technical Glitch and Continuation27:19 The Importance of Account-Based Marketing28:16 Aligning Marketing and Sales Efforts34:55 Introduction to Women of SaaS37:21 Expanding Women of SaaS Globally43:01 Challenges and Trends in Gender RepresentationJulia- https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-goelles/Parloa - https://www.parloa.com/Subscribe to our channel to be the first to see the interviews that we publish twice a week - https://www.youtube.com/@saas-groupStay up to date: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaaS_groupLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/14790796

What does it really take to make go-to-market teams more efficient? Our guest on this episode, Jen Igartua, works on answering this question every day. Jen is the CEO of Go Nimbly, a 60-person RevOps agency for Mid-Market & Enterprise SaaS companies. With an amazing roster of clients that includes Zendesk, Twilio, Snowflake, Intercom, and others, she and her team help companies solve what's getting in the way of growth.When you spend your days advising companies on how to operate more effectively, it's easy to think you've seen it all. But not Jen. She's a relentless learner. In our conversation, we demystify what GTM efficiency actually looks like behind the scenes, how her team is implementing AI in practical ways for clients, and why, despite all of Go Nimbly's success, she doesn't really focus on innovating internally within their business.Be sure to check out Go Nimbly's first conference, RevFest, on June 10 in Brooklyn: https://revfest.gonimbly.com/Like this episode? Be sure to leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and share the pod with your friends! You can connect with Sean on LinkedIn or subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Shashank Saxena of Sierra Ventures joins Nick to discuss How AI Transforms Services into Software and Revolutionizes Enterprise SaaS. In this episode we cover: Vendor Management System Vinley The Future of Work and AI The Role of AI in Enterprise Adoption Regulation and AI Adoption Characteristics of Successful Founders Guest Links: Shashank's LinkedIn Company's LinkedIn Company's Website Company's Twitter The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

In this episode of Create Like The Greats, Ross Simmonds dives deep into the common mistakes that SaaS companies are making with their Google Ads strategies. Despite advancements in marketing and AI tools, many businesses are still falling into the same traps they did years ago. If you're struggling to make your paid search campaigns profitable, this episode will help you identify missteps and optimize your approach for better ROI. Episode Breakdown & Key Takeaways Why SaaS Companies Struggle with Google Ads Many SaaS businesses fail to drive ROI from paid search. The solution? Optimize your campaigns by improving efficiency in clicks, conversions, and lower costs. Common Mistake #1: Sending Traffic to the Homepage Why it's a bad idea: Homepages serve too many purposes and introduce distractions. Solution: Create dedicated landing pages aligned with specific user intent. Actionable tip: Remove navigation menus and unnecessary links to keep visitors focused. Common Mistake #2: Poor Above-the-Fold Experience 90% of visitors won't scroll past the first screen—so you need to make an instant impact. Essential components for above-the-fold success: Clear and compelling headline that connects with intent. Highlight a unique value proposition. Call-to-action (CTA) should be immediate and obvious (e.g., “Start Your Free Trial”). Social proof: Use testimonials or logos from recognizable brands. Common Mistake #3: Inefficient Bidding Strategies Ross recommends manual CPC bidding when starting. Test target CPA bidding only after gathering sufficient data. Be prepared to adjust bidding strategies based on real-time performance insights. Common Mistake #4: Running Ads on Low-Intent Keywords Stop wasting money on broad, irrelevant search terms like “sales tips” or “HR advice.” Focus on high-intent keywords, such as: Brand alternatives – Users searching for "Zoom alternatives" or "Slack alternatives" are actively looking for a switch. Solution-focused keywords – Category-driven searches like "best CRM software" indicate potential buyers. Problem-focused keywords – Queries that reveal pain points (e.g., “how to improve sales conversion rates”). Common Mistake #5: Not Using Advanced Audience Targeting Target smarter: Avoid blanket targeting by narrowing ads to key demographics. Enterprise SaaS should avoid targeting younger age groups (e.g., 16-20) as they are unlikely to be decision-makers. Use the "observation" setting first to track audience performance before shifting to specific targeting settings. Common Mistake #6: Weak Ad Copy That Fails to Convert Ross's winning copywriting framework for Google Ads: Headline 1: Match the exact search term (e.g., “Best CRM Software"). Headline 2: State a unique value prop (e.g., “User-friendly design for teams"). CTA Headline: Create urgency (e.g., “Boost revenue—Start your free trial!”). Description: Include social proof (e.g., "Trusted by 10,000+ businesses worldwide"). Leverage customer reviews from G2, TrustRadius, or Capterra for copy inspiration. Final Thoughts & Recap Google Ads can be a goldmine if done right—avoid common pitfalls and optimize for success. Focus on landing page relevance, audience targeting, and high-intent keywords for best results. Adjust campaigns based on performance metrics—don't "set and forget." —

What would happen to your business if your customer service operations went down right now? Do you have the tools and strategies in place to handle a sudden crisis, or would your contact center be scrambling to meet demand? Today, we're discussing how AI and cloud-based solutions can help organizations manage crises and enhance customer service operations with John Finch at RingCentral. We'll explore key strategies for building resilience in customer service, particularly in response to recent IT outages. John Finch leads product marketing at RingCentral for the customer engagement portfolio, which includes RingCX and RingSense AI, as RingCentral scales and expands its global customer engagement reach. He has held product marketing leadership roles at Zendesk, Dialpad, Serenova (LiveOps), and Genesys, launching Enterprise SaaS contact center solutions into the market. RESOURCES RingCentral: https://www.ringcentral.com RingCentral's 2025 Trends Report: https://www.ringcentral.com/us/en/blog/the-state-of-ai-in-business-communications-key-insights-from-ringcentrals-2025-trends-report/ Don't miss Medallia Experience 2025, March 24-26 in Las Vegas: Registration is now available: https://cvent.me/AmO1k0 Use code MEDEXP25 for $200 off registration Register now for HumanX 2025. This AI-focused event which brings some of the most forward-thinking minds in technology together. Register now with the code "HX25p_tab" for $250 off the regular price. Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Check out the New Bond account with an initial APY of 6.9%, only at https://public.com/csi Join us on Discord with Semiconductor Insider: https://ko-fi.com/chipstockinvestor/tiers Is Snowflake SNOW stock on its way to big AI profit in 2025? Chip Stock Investor enterprise SaaS edition discusses Snowflake's current position in the enterprise software market, recent financial performance and shortcomings that need to be fixed, and stock repurchases and acquisitions like Datavolo. Chip Stock Investor also reviews its software stock investments for 2025 as the AI era heats up. Supercharge your analysis with AI! Get 15% of your membership with our special link here: https://finchat.io/csi/ Safeguard your personal information with Aura's monitoring service – try it free for two weeks and see where your data might be lurking: https://aura.com/chipstockinvestor

Godard Abel of G2 joins Nick to discuss The Founder and CEO of G2 on AI's Impact on Enterprise SaaS, How to Embrace the Climb, and Insights on Managing Through Crisis. In this episode we cover: Founding G2 and Market Challenges Metrics and Marketplace Growth Investor Insights and Data Utilization Founder Mode and Leadership Building Strong Support Systems Embracing AI and Innovation Guest Links: Godard's LinkedIn G2's LinkedIn G2's Website Godard's Twitter/X The host of The Full Ratchet is Nick Moran of New Stack Ventures, a venture capital firm committed to investing in founders outside of the Bay Area. Want to keep up to date with The Full Ratchet? Follow us on social. You can learn more about New Stack Ventures by visiting our LinkedIn and Twitter. Are you a founder looking for your next investor? Visit our free tool VC-Rank and we'll send a list of potential investors right to your inbox!

In this episode, I break down the growing frustration with AI-generated content. However, ONLY if it is the wrong kind. Here is my logic on why a simple video went viral to over 700,000 people and had AI leaders from the biggest companies in the world reaching out to me. Authenticity: People crave realness. The video was genuine, not just another AI script. Value: It provided clear, actionable insights. No fluff, just straight to the point. Engagement: The content was interactive, encouraging viewers to comment and share their thoughts. Relevance: It addressed current pain points in the industry, making it highly relatable. Quality: High production values made it visually appealing and easy to watch. Timing: Released at a moment when people were actively seeking solutions.  Human Touch: Even though it involved AI, the human element was front and center. True success in content creation is about connecting on a human level. And that's not what generic AI content does. Tune in to discover how to create impactful, relatable content that truly connects.

In this episode, Ryan Staley shares his insights from recent experiences at a SaaS startup event in New York and the massive Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Ryan discusses the challenges faced by tech startups and large enterprises in implementing AI strategies, revealing that many companies lack a systematic approach to AI integration. Ryan highlights the importance of operationalizing AI across organizations and shares key takeaways from his interactions with Fortune 1000 and Fortune 500 companies. Ryan also delves into the emerging AgentForce initiative by Salesforce, exploring its potential impact on the industry and the innovative pricing models being introduced. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/   KEY TAKEAWAYS At a SaaS startup event, it was surprising to find that only one out of 26 companies had a systematic strategy for implementing AI into their products. During interactions with Fortune 1000 and Fortune 500 companies at Dreamforce, it was noted that many organizations are defaulting to using AI tools like Microsoft Copilot without proper training or systematic rollout. Salesforce's AgentForce initiative is focused on creating autonomous agents tailored to specific industries and functions, leveraging retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to provide higher-quality answers based on the data within Salesforce. Many companies expressed skepticism about the timeline for rolling out Salesforce's AgentForce, with some believing it could take up to a year and a half to fully implement, despite the potential benefits. There is a significant opportunity for both small tech startups and large enterprises to operationalize AI effectively. A systematic approach to AI can lead to substantial improvements in productivity and revenue growth.   BEST MOMENTS "Only one out of 26 companies could answer... what are your plans or your systematic strategy for implementing AI into your product?" "A lot of companies are defaulting company-wide to models like Microsoft Copilot because of the embedded security comfort factor." "By taking a systematic approach, you can multiply the output of your entire workforce." "Salesforce's new version is, in my opinion, no do-it-yourself AI; let Salesforce do that." "This could automate parts of people's jobs... it's going to be really interesting to see how it implements."   Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Ryan Staley flips the script and is the one who is being interviewed and engages in a thought-provoking conversation about the challenges and strategies of growing a VC-backed company without external investment. Ryan shares insights from his extensive experience in sales and leadership, discussing common pitfalls that CEOs encounter, such as focusing too heavily on product development at the expense of go-to-market strategies. The episode also delves into the transformative impact of AI on business operations, highlighting the importance of integrating AI tools effectively within teams to enhance productivity and efficiency. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/   KEY TAKEAWAYS Many leaders, particularly product-focused ones, can become so engrossed in their products that they neglect essential aspects like go-to-market strategies and customer distribution. Companies often overlook the value of their existing customers. Focusing on upselling and cross-selling to current clients can be more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. The rapid advancement of AI technologies presents both opportunities and challenges. Companies need to embrace AI tools and integrate them into their operations to enhance productivity and efficiency, rather than waiting for proven ROI. When hiring, especially for leadership roles, it's crucial to assess the company culture and ensure that candidates understand the realities of the organization. Small execution details can significantly impact a company's success. Leaders should focus on refining processes and ensuring that all team members are aligned and aware of their roles to avoid operational inefficiencies.   BEST MOMENTS "Your biggest strengths become your biggest blind spots... I've had product leaders that are so obsessed about the product that they ignore the go-to-market side." "I was so focused on ramping up because that was hardwired into me as a revenue leader that that's what I needed to do." "The cost of acquiring a new logo is far greater than the cost of generating more revenue from your existing customers." "Most people are not ready for it... they try it for five, 10 minutes and it sucks. And then they don't try it again." "You have to understand where they're at, contextualize that, because if you're talking to someone like they're a $30 million company, and they're a $1 million company, their eyes are going to glaze over."   Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Ryan Stanley welcomes Max Votek, a pharmacist turned entrepreneur and co-founder of Customer Times, a leading digital consultancy. They delve into the transformative role of AI in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, discussing how innovations like design memory tools are revolutionizing clinical trials and decision-making processes. Max shares insights from his extensive experience working with Fortune 500 companies and highlights the importance of capturing institutional memory to enhance efficiency and innovation. The conversation also touches on the advancements in no-code tools, such as Make.com, and their potential to streamline workflows and improve productivity. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/   KEY TAKEAWAYS The podcast discusses strategies for growing a business like a VC-backed company without taking on investors, emphasizing the importance of defining the type of business one wants to create—be it a lifestyle business, performance business, or an empire. Customer Times has evolved from a boutique consulting firm specializing in CRM to a global company with 1,300 specialists and 300 clients across various industries, including manufacturing, life sciences, and financial services while expanding its expertise into AI and other technology platforms. There is significant innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, particularly with AI tools that enhance clinical trial processes. These tools help capture and organize data, improving decision-making and efficiency in developing new treatments. The concept of institutional memory is highlighted as a critical area where AI can provide a "superpower" to clinical trial teams, allowing them to build on past experiences and streamline the trial process, ultimately leading to better and faster outcomes. The use of no-code tools like Make.com is discussed as a way to quickly prototype solutions that integrate various AI models and tools, enabling users to create content and automate processes efficiently without extensive coding knowledge.   BEST MOMENTS "Pharma has been very close to my heart... I was passionate about implementing technology for Big Pharma... bringing new technology and new tools for this industry." "One of the things that I think is really cool that you guys are doing is delivering breakthroughs in medicine and health due to AI." "With these tools, companies can capture every single step of the trial process... and make that knowledge accessible for the next trial." "The more data you feed, the more quality you would get with the newer models." "You're doing some really cool things in heavily standardized industries, which is definitely something that everyone should focus on."   Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io    Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode Ryan Staley welcomes back Jason Chikola, CEO and founder of Rev.com, to delve into the transformative concept of AI memory and its implications for both individuals and organizations. Jason discusses the profound changes in workplace dynamics since 2020, highlighting the challenges of remote communication and the overwhelming number of virtual meetings. He emphasizes the potential of AI to enhance our memory capabilities, allowing professionals to capture and recall vital information more effectively.    Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/   KEY TAKEAWAYS The transition to remote work has led to an increase in virtual meetings, resulting in employee fatigue and a sense of unproductiveness. Digital memory allows individuals and organizations to retain and recall important information more effectively. This includes capturing voice recordings and insights from meetings. AI can significantly reduce the time spent on tedious tasks, such as analyzing large volumes of transcripts or customer interactions. Combining various forms of communication (voice, email, chat) can provide a comprehensive understanding of customer needs and sentiments. This unified view is crucial for organizations to respond effectively to their clients. There are multiple ways to measure sentiment, including voice tone, word choice, and body language. Leveraging AI to analyze these elements can help organizations identify key moments in customer interactions.   BEST MOMENTS "I think that there's something wrong with the way we're working today. And I think we have the opportunity to kind of take back control." "If I want to recall something that I heard in a meeting, a computer can do that better than I could." "The real value is getting rid of those energy vampires." "If you could solve medical billing with AI, you'd make doctors happier and you'd have fewer retire early." "I believe there's three distinct ways to measure sentiment... voice, the words themselves, and body language."   Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io    Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Ryan welcomes Jason Chikola, a pioneer in the gig economy and the founder and CEO of Rev, a leading voice AI platform. Jason shares his fascinating journey from launching a labor marketplace to developing cutting-edge speech recognition technology. Jason discusses the evolution of Rev's services, including their new SaaS product, Voice Hub, which leverages large language models to enhance productivity for professionals like journalists and lawyers. The conversation delves into the importance of ethical recording practices, the future of voice technology, and how businesses can effectively utilize AI to improve their operations. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/   KEY TAKEAWAYS Jason's journey began in the gig economy, specifically with the founding of Upwork, and evolved into the AI space with the creation of Rev. Rev's new product, Voice Hub, serves as a centralized platform for managing important recordings, offering features like transcription, summarization, and custom prompts tailored to various professional needs. Jason emphasizes the need for quality assurance in remote work platforms, advocating for vetting talent and maintaining high standards to ensure customer satisfaction and effective service delivery. The integration of large language models (LLMs) into Rev's platform aims to enhance user productivity by providing tailored insights and summaries from recorded conversations, making it easier for professionals to extract valuable information. The discussion highlights the significance of social etiquette and ethical practices in voice recording, stressing the importance of transparency and consent to foster trust and comfort in professional interactions. BEST MOMENTS "We want to delight the customers. And we experimented with a couple of different kinds of work. We found our stride in what I would call speech detect services." "Your tool was one of the first AI tools that I ever used before AI was even sexy." "We think LLMs are just this tremendous breakthrough that's creating more productivity for people every single day." "If you ask everyone in the company to come up with their prompts, it's going to be a mess. What would make more sense is to define one template." "If you don't educate people on how to use it for their job-specific function, you're not going to realize an ROI with what you're doing."   Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Ryan Saley welcomes back Dan Gottlieb, VP of Sales Tech and Gen AI expert at Gartner, for a deep dive into the evolving landscape of sales technology, particularly focusing on generative AI. Building on their previous discussion, Ryan and Dan explore the differences between general-purpose large language models and niche-specific sales tools, emphasizing the importance of ease of use and integration within existing tech stacks. They discuss the challenges sales reps face in adopting new technologies and the critical role of sales leadership in leveraging data for competitive intelligence and talent development. Dan highlights the pressing need for tools that simplify administrative tasks, allowing sales teams to focus more on selling. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS There is a distinction between general-purpose technologies like large language models (e.g., ChatGPT) and niche-specific sales tools. While general-purpose tools require more effort to extract value, specific tools are designed to integrate seamlessly into sales workflows, making them more user-friendly and effective for sales reps. Sales professionals should familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of large language models. This knowledge will enhance their ability to leverage similar technologies that are tailored to their specific sales needs shortly. For sales leaders, the emphasis should be on using case-specific technologies that provide insights into deals and help communicate progress effectively. There is a significant opportunity for sales leadership to utilize technology for talent development. By providing managers with data-driven suggestions for coaching individual sales reps, organizations can enhance the overall performance of their teams. A major unmet need in sales teams is the reduction of time spent on non-selling activities. By focusing on automating administrative tasks and improving knowledge management. BEST MOMENTS "I think there's more limited upside in the general purpose technologies because of how much effort a sales rep has to put into learning how to use the technology today." "The value prop of this technology right now is time savings, a little bit of conversion benefit, but mainly time savings." "I think a lot of folks are jumping over [administrative tasks] because they want to think about AI for conversion, conversion, conversion." "How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors? Do you want to create a lifestyle business, a performance business, or an empire?" "I see some cool software that's focusing on this problem, trying to give managers in natural language suggestions for ways to help individual reps get better at their jobs." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io    Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Ryan Staley welcomes Dan Gottlieb, VP of Sales Tech and Gen AI expert at Gartner, to discuss the current chaos and future trends in the sales tech landscape. Dan shares insights from his extensive experience, including the evolution of sales technologies and the impact of generative AI on the market. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the underlying technologies and methodologies to leverage AI in sales processes effectively. The conversation delves into "technology as a teammate," exploring how sales professionals can collaborate with AI agents to enhance their workflows and decision-making. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS The sales tech market is currently experiencing significant disruption, with various categories of sales technologies converging to meet investor growth expectations. This has led to a state of "mayhem" where distinguishing between different products and their capabilities has become increasingly challenging. The introduction of generative AI has dramatically transformed the sales tech landscape, prompting companies to rethink how they position their products and the value they offer.  Organizations need to shift from a vendor-first perspective to a more informed approach focusing on understanding how technologies work. This includes grasping concepts like Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to ask better questions and make informed decisions about technology investments. Instead of solely focusing on metrics like expanding the pipeline, companies should thoroughly audit their processes at a granular level. Identifying specific workflows and pain points will help determine where AI can add the most value. The future of sales technology involves viewing AI not just as a tool but as a collaborative teammate. Sales representatives will increasingly work alongside AI agents to enhance their decision-making and execution capabilities. BEST MOMENTS "The state of the market in one word, I would call it mayhem." "A lot of companies right now are very much stuck in a vendor first point of view, where they're learning about what sales tech companies are providing." "How do you grow like a VC-backed company without taking on investors?" "AI is capable of handling tasks at a far more granular level." "I believe that that is really where it's going to be: an individual contributor seller is going to have a team of agents that they're managing." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan welcomes back Kyle York, CEO of York IE, for a deep dive into the innovative integration of AI within business operations. Kyle shares his unique approach to productizing services in the advisory and venture capital space, emphasizing the importance of creating scalable, tech-enabled solutions for startups. The discussion explores the evolving landscape of business models, particularly the shift towards results-driven services, and how companies can achieve efficiency without sacrificing quality. As they navigate the challenges facing early-stage startups in a chaotic economic environment, Kyle offers insights into the future of entrepreneurship and the potential for impactful innovation across various industries. Tune in to discover how to grow a VC-backed company without traditional investment and the strategies that can lead to sustainable success. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Integration of AI in Business Models: Kyle emphasizes the importance of integrating AI and technology into business operations to create scalable and efficient service offerings, particularly in the advisory and venture capital sectors. Productization of Services: The approach to productizing services involves listening to the needs of startups and creating a modular advisory-as-a-service platform that aligns with their financial goals, offering various subscription tiers across different business functions. Demand for Results as a Service: There is a growing trend among business leaders who prefer comprehensive solutions that deliver results rather than just purchasing tools or software. This shift reflects a desire for efficiency and effectiveness in operations. Market Disruption and Innovation: Ryan and Kyle highlight the potential for disruption in traditional consulting and professional services industries by leveraging technology, automation, and subscription models to create more agile and responsive business solutions. Future Outlook for Startups: Despite current economic challenges, there is optimism about the entrepreneurial class's ability to innovate and drive significant impact in the coming years, suggesting a resilient spirit within the startup ecosystem. BEST MOMENTS "There's a real gap on the go-to-market side for companies... I wanted to take that expertise and experience, but productize it and build it into a platform for the startup landscape." "I thought there was an opportunity for a one-stop resource hub... to integrate technology, AI, and automation to build the next great companies." "Every industry can be disrupted and models can be evolved... companies are going to take a different spin or slant on the company they want to build in that sector." "I think everybody's looking for a little bit of a lowering of the heat... and I have strong faith that the entrepreneurial class is going to make a huge impact in the next couple of decades." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

This episode features Ryan's interview on The Revenue Reimagined Podcast for a discussion on the transformative impact of AI in the tech and sales sectors. He explores the nuances of AI, distinguishes it from automation, and takes a look at the potential challenges and fears surrounding job displacement due to AI advancements. Ryan also touches on the future of autonomous agents and the need for regulatory measures to mitigate risks associated with rapid AI development. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS AI should be viewed as a tool for skill transformation and customization, while automation involves precise processes that need to be executed consistently. Many people mistakenly equate the two, which can lead to ineffective implementations. Clients come with varying levels of proficiency in AI, and even those who rate themselves highly often have untapped potential. Continuous learning and adaptation are crucial for maximizing the benefits of AI tools. There is a significant fear regarding job losses due to AI advancements. The potential for widespread unemployment raises concerns about macroeconomic stability and societal impacts if a large portion of the workforce becomes obsolete. Effective use of AI requires a deep understanding of prompt engineering and the nuances of how to interact with AI models. This foundational skill is essential for leveraging AI effectively in business processes. The development of autonomous agents, which can execute complex tasks with minimal human intervention, is on the horizon. However, without proper understanding and guidance, these agents could exacerbate existing issues, such as poor communication and ineffective outreach. BEST MOMENTS "AI is not a catch-all, but you could use it as a team of helpers for any individual department or organization." "There's going to be a lot of people that lose their jobs if the government doesn't get their shit together." "Even people that rate themselves as a four out of five still have a ton that they could use it for that they're not." "I think if the government doesn't step in and regulate, you're going to see significant wide-scale unemployment that is going to change the face of the country." "If you don't understand how to effectively even prompt, what you're going to do is have an autonomous agent that scales shit." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan sits down with Kyle York, CEO of York IE, to discuss his innovative business model that combines venture capital with advisory services. Kyle shares insights from his journey of scaling a company from zero to $200 million before its exit to Oracle, highlighting the unique challenges and opportunities of bootstrapping a service-heavy business. They look at the integration of AI and offshore outsourcing within their operations, as well as the importance of a pragmatic approach to growth, R&D, and go-to-market strategies. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS York IE combines advisory services with venture capital, offering a subscription-based model that provides tech-enabled services in research and development, go-to-market strategies, and general administrative support for startups. The company emphasizes a bottoms-up approach to business building, focusing on understanding market needs and gaps rather than solely on product capabilities. This includes a strong emphasis on financial engineering and capital strategy. York IE leverages AI and automation to enhance its advisory services, creating tools that streamline processes and improve efficiency. This includes using AI for market research, content creation, and operational analysis. With a significant portion of its workforce based in India, York IE utilizes offshore resources to provide cost-effective services while maintaining high-quality outputs across various operational functions. The company acknowledges the challenges of scaling and has learned to focus on optimizing existing services before expanding its offerings. This strategic approach allows for better resource allocation and operational efficiency as they grow. BEST MOMENTS "Our model is a subscription-based model where we sell tech-enabled services in R&D, go-to-market, and G&A. Each service is modularized and has different tiering structure and price points based on what your startup needs support on." "AI to me is only as good as the data that you feed it and humans' ability to leverage it... Too often, I'm seeing AI as the be-all, end-all and not the enhancement or differentiation of things." "We basically created a platform called Fuel... It'll go crawl the datasets that we have and look for companies and points of views and perspectives and spit you back those topics." "Business building is hard... Not everything I'm saying is created equal. Some of our services are growing faster, have higher revenue or higher margin, or are more tech and AI-enabled than others." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In today's episode, Ryan is interviewed by Anna Furmanov of the Modern Startup Marketing. Together, they explore the transformative power of AI in sales and marketing. Ryan shares insights on how sales professionals and revenue leaders can leverage AI tools to enhance productivity, streamline processes, and ultimately double their performance while working fewer hours.  Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS AI tools can significantly reduce the time spent on non-selling activities, allowing sales professionals to focus more on customer engagement and strategic work. For instance, leveraging AI can cut down research and preparation time, enabling salespeople to spend more time with clients. Specific use cases for AI in sales include analyzing company reports to tailor sales pitches and reframing customer inaction as a loss to encourage decision-making. These strategies can differentiate sales professionals from their competitors. Crafting effective prompts is crucial for maximizing the output from AI tools. Providing context about the organization and desired outcomes can lead to more relevant and actionable insights. AI can be used to analyze large datasets and visualize information, helping businesses identify key customer segments and trends. This can streamline the process of creating ideal customer profiles and inform marketing strategies. While AI can enhance productivity, there are concerns about data security and the potential for misuse. It's important to approach AI with a critical mindset, ensuring that outputs are validated and aligned with real-world insights and expertise. BEST MOMENTS "I think like kind of the way to look at it is most people just look at it as a productivity enhancer. You know, it helps me write emails. It helps me do this, which I think is a massive misappropriation." Give me 3 or 5 examples of companies that have successfully implemented this strategy and break down tactically exactly what they did. So then you have real-world examples to pull from. And then you could also say, ask it to cite its sources as well.  "Let's say you've got this challenge at work and maybe you don't have other folks on the team, right? Or you don't have other people to talk to about this challenge. You could literally just like tell it what the challenge is and then say, can you help me figure out how to solve this? What are three approaches you would take?" "If I don't need it, I'm not going to use the tool. Whereas some people are like, Oh my gosh, this is a new flashy, shiny object. I must use it." VALUABLE LINKS Modern Startup Marketing - Apple Podcasts Modern Startup Marketing - Spotify Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Ryan continues his discussion with Matt Van Itallie, the founder and CEO of SEMA, on the creation of an AI advisory council. Matt shares his vision and strategic approach for the council, focusing on helping technologists share benchmarking data and best practices related to using generative AI in coding. They delve into the different use cases for non-technical knowledge workers and the importance of senior developers in maximizing the benefits of Gen AI tools. Matt also highlights his favourite use cases for leveraging AI tools and the various tools he uses, such as OpenAI's tool, Claude, and Copilot. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Building an AI advisory council can help share benchmarking data, best practices, and ideas related to using Gen AI code. Gen AI tools are being used by both technical and non-technical knowledge workers for various tasks such as prototyping, document analysis, and brainstorming new ideas. Senior developers tend to get the most out of Gen AI tools due to their experience and ability to leverage tools effectively to get to the right answer. Different Gen AI tools like OpenAI's tool, Claude, Copilot, and ProSearch have different specialties and can be used based on the specific purpose. The format of the AI advisory council includes a Slack channel, occasional emails, meetups, and sending books to participants to ensure active engagement and value delivery. BEST MOMENTS "The most important thing is that teams pick an enterprise-level license, so they protect their IP." "We try to be experimentalist in everything we do, whether it's figuring out the products to build or features, including AI Advisory Council. So, we heard what they wanted to get out of it and how they wanted it structured. Today, it is a Slack channel, an occasional email and occasional meetup." "I am certain there is huge ROI on the coding side. It's at least 40x over a two year period in terms of how much more productive coders are relative to the to the cost of enterprise licenses." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In today's episode, Ryan interviews Matt Van Itallie, the founder and CEO of SEMA. They discuss the challenges of growing a company without taking on investors, and the impact of Gen AI on code analysis. Matt shares insights on SEMA's revenue, team size, go-to-market strategy, and the importance of building trust with private equity firms. They also look at the challenges and opportunities the use of AI in code checking presents, and the best practices for deploying Gen AI code. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Unique Go-to-Market Strategies: Utilizing trust-based partnerships and referrals, SEMA has successfully grown its business in the private equity space. Importance of Gen AI Code: With Gen AI code becoming more prevalent, it is crucial for organizations to manage it effectively to mitigate risks related to IP, security, and exit strategies. Enterprise-Level Licenses: Ensuring that team members have enterprise-level licenses for Gen AI tools is essential to protect trade secrets and data integrity. Encouraging Experimentation: Celebrating experimentation and sharing lessons within the team can lead to innovative uses of Gen AI tools and foster a culture of learning. Addressing Identity Concerns: By equating the use of Gen AI with open source tools, developers can overcome concerns about their coding identity and embrace the benefits of new technologies. BEST MOMENTS "Just replace the word Gen AI with open source. Are you a real developer if you use open source? Of course, I am." “We're absolute proponents of using AI where it makes sense to increase productivity and job satisfaction. And for us, coders using it is probably number one on the list in terms of how much more productive they can be, because it helps avoid some of the routine work. It lets them experiment faster, et cetera.” "My mission in life is to help founders and revenue leaders avoid all the pain and suffering in revenue growth so they can flip it and create a life of their own design." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Sahil continues to discuss Spiralyze's unique performance-based pricing model for A-B testing services. Sahil explains how they use a massive data set to predict lift for clients and only charge if results are achieved. Sharing insights on growth challenges, maximizing growth channels, and the need to resist the allure of shiny new tactics, the conversation delves into the evolution of Spiralyze's business model over the years, emphasizing the importance of continuous reinvention and rapid iterations to stay ahead in the market.  Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Spiralyze utilizes a unique performance-based pricing model where clients only pay if they achieve the predicted lift in conversions from A/B testing. The CEO emphasizes the importance of constantly reinventing and adapting the business model to stay ahead of the curve and avoid plateauing growth channels. Consistent practice and repetitions are key to mastering skills and improving outcomes, as seen in the CEO's dedication to daily sales pitches and LinkedIn posts. Identifying and overcoming bottlenecks in growth channels, knowing when to shift focus, and resisting the allure of shiny new strategies are crucial challenges in scaling the business. Sharing knowledge and insights with others in the industry can help build a supportive community and drive collective growth and success. BEST MOMENTS "We'll get you this much lift for this much. If we get you less than this, you pay nothing. If we hit a home run, and this is what we think a home run looks like, by the way, just to quantify, it's about 30% lift, conversion lift, in the first three months, you pay us our full fee." "I've been finding like 30 different use cases, most of them new per client that I work with." "I personally did about 100 sales pitches and reworked it over and over and over. I still am very involved. I do about five a day." "Here's the reality: what worked for us six years ago wasn't going to get us to the next level. And what's working for us now? I don't know what the shelf life on it is, but I think it's safe to say, whether it's a year from now, two years from now, three years from now, it's going to plateau." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan interviews Sahil Patel, the CEO of Spiralyze. Sahil discusses how SpiralEyes helps businesses improve their website conversion rates through conversion rate optimization. He explains the importance of pattern recognition and AI in identifying successful tests and executing them at high velocity. Sahil also shares insights on their unique pay-for-performance model and the advantages of being a self-funded company. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Spiralyze has a pay-for-performance model, allowing clients to pay based on the results achieved, which is a unique approach in the industry. The company runs about 40-50 tests a year for clients, significantly higher than the industry average of 10 tests a year, thanks to automation and AI integration. Spiralyze leverages pattern recognition and AI to identify successful tests across various websites and industries, providing valuable insights for clients. Using tools like ChatGPT, the company streamlines content creation by reducing unnecessary words and improving efficiency in drafting A/B tests. Spiralyze is self-funded and has organically grown to a team of 145 people, showcasing the advantages of bootstrapping in maintaining control over the company's destiny. BEST MOMENTS "Most of our clients on average get about 20 to 30 percent more conversions on their website when they work with us and use our product." "If you want to take and get big wins, you want to take big swings." "I found most marketing campaigns, a lot of the problems can be solved just by removing 30 to 50% of the words." "Sometimes 90% of people leave the site and don't do anything. If you had a restaurant, and 100 people walked in the restaurant, and all but three left, you'd say you have a big problem. And yet every day, generally speaking with B2B websites, that's what's happening. 100 people are coming, 97 of them leave and don't do anything. And it's really expensive to get all that traffic there." "A test that works on someone's paid landing page, paid traffic, has very different characteristics than say organic traffic. So to make a meaningful prediction, it needs to be relevant to the website." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode we are celebrating the career to date of Chris Kirby.Chris has been speaking about how technology will change the automotive landscape since he published a white paper on the subject in 2017. Since then, he co-founded Tomorrow's Journey, an Enterprise SaaS platform that enables automotive brands to launch and scale fully digital solutions, working globally with the likes of Hyundai, Jaguar and Leaseplan. Chris Kirby has a diverse career spanning multiple roles in the automotive industry including as a Strategic Advisor at Autofutura Limited, as the Automotive Director at WeCreateClarity and as the Head of Business Development at FGA Capital UK Ltd. As well as speaking at events across the globe, Chris also hosts the Autocar Change Makers Podcast, where he regularly meets and engages with automotive industry leaders on the future of the industry.In our conversation we talk about how he left school at 16 and how he had an early opportunity to demonstrate his leadership skills on the rugby field.Chris shares how he somewhat fell into a career in the automotive industry. He found himself with a good manager in his first role in a Ford dealership, he worked hard and made good progress.His father had been an entrepreneur and so he'd seen the reality of how hard that can be. Nevertheless he felt the need to step out of his corporate environment to be able to work on the significant change initiatives that he believed the industry needed.Even though he went in with his eyes wide open to the likely challenges, external factors like Covid and difficult conditions for fund raising proved strong headwinds. Chris explains his approach to navigating the ups and downs of start up life and is clear about what constitutes the right reason to become an entrepreneur.I enjoyed and appreciated getting to know Chris better through this conversation and look forward to hearing what resonates with you.Connect with ChrisLinkedIn: Chris Kirby Website: Tomorrow's Journey About AndyI'm an experienced business leader and a passionate developer of people in the automotive finance industry, internationally.During over twenty five years, I have played a key role in developing businesses including Alphabet UK, BMW Corporate Finance UK, BMW Financial Services Singapore, BMW Financial Services New Zealand and Tesla Financial Services UK. At the same time, I have coached individuals and delivered leadership development programmes in 17 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.I started Aquilae in 2016 to enable “Fulfilling Performance” in the mobility industry, internationally.Learn more about Fulfilling PerformanceCheck out Release the handbrake! The Fulfilling Performance Hub. Connect with AndyLinkedIn: Andy Follows Email: cvm@aquilae.co.ukJoin a guided peer mentoring team: Aquilae AcademyThank you to our sponsors: ASKE ConsultingEmail: hello@askeconsulting.co.ukAquilaeEmail: cvm@aquilae.co.ukEpisode Directory on Instagram @careerviewmirror  If you enjoy listening to our guests career stories, please follow CAREER-VIEW MIRROR in your podcast app. Episode recorded on 13 August, 2024.

In today's SaaS Fuel Expert Series. we dive deep into the world of financial planning, data-driven decision-making, and the challenges faced by SaaS companies with our guest, Eric Mersch. Eric is the author of "Hacking SaaS, an Insider's Guide to Managing Software Business Success," and shares invaluable insights on managing financial metrics and navigating the complexities of cash flow management. We'll also explore the significance of aligning metrics with success, building a solid go-to-market strategy, and the essential role of a CFO in supporting a company's growth. So, grab your coffee, lean in, and get ready to fuel your SaaS journey!Key Takeaways00:00 SaaS Fuel podcast: Growth, connections, and adventures.03:29 Peer groups provide support for leadership challenges.07:33 Learning and developing SaaS metrics independently was crucial.11:33 CFO and CRO confusion, new CFO reconciled.14:45 Avoid time-consuming arguments in board meetings.18:07 Enterprise SaaS companies need direct sales strategy.20:55 Job involves working with large companies, go-to-market strategies.25:10 Understanding, profitability, repeatable process, good data, measurement.29:14 Step-by-step growth principles to attract ideal clients.32:06 Prepaid SaaS leads to negative working capital.35:00 Risk of working capital hole from increasing costs.39:25 Forecasting deferred revenue is crucial for businesses.41:36 Educate board on KPIs and fundamentals.43:56 Managing unstructured data for actionable insights discussion.Tweetable Quotes"Company should pick 1 to 3 channels, test them, and then whatever works, go back to the funders and say, okay, this is what works." — Eric Mersch 00:18:12Go-to-Market Strategy: "If the CFO can't support the go-to-market strategy, then no one really knows how that sales motion affects the P and L." — Eric Mersch 00:21:34 "Business Growth Strategies: For early-stage companies, you don't have to put something down on paper, but you should be going to events. You should be learning about the industry. You should look for threats. You should look for opportunities, and that'll feed into the budget later on." — Eric Mersch 00:30:13 "The higher your deferred revenue, you know, the more trouble you will be in if you have high churn a year from now." — Eric Mersch 00:39:52 Quote: "One of my first big takeaways was shared wisdom and experience. A great community or peer group brings together leaders from diverse industries and backgrounds and that's absolutely the case here. And in engaging with peers, I've gained a wealth of knowledge and experience that can provide fresh perspectives on common challenges." — Jeff Mains 00:02:41 "Being part of a peer group can lead to valuable connections that might otherwise be beyond our reach." — Jeff Mains 00:05:06 "The Only Solution for Growth Principles: Inside, you'll find step-by-step frameworks and time-tested growth principles to attract your ideal clients, convert them, and then turn them into your passionate brand ambassadors."...

In this episode, Ryan continues his conversation with Robin Daniels, the CMO at Zensai, as they discuss various use cases of AI in human development. The episode delves into how Zensai leverages AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT in their products to enhance learning, performance management, and employee engagement.  Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Zensai leverages AI in their products, specifically with Microsoft Copilot and ChatGBT, to enhance learning, performance management, and employee engagement. Zensai strategically focuses on Microsoft technologies for rapid development, distribution, and trust in the industry, rather than building their own AI team. AI helps in creating courses quickly by analyzing documents or videos, reducing the time spent by learning and development teams significantly. AI provides recommendations for managers on how to respond to employee feedback, enhancing communication and problem-solving in the team. Robin uses AI daily for various tasks, such as summarizing documents, analyzing data, and improving efficiency in workflow, showcasing the practical benefits of AI integration. BEST MOMENTS "We are building what we call the 'human success platform', and it's really focused around three core vectors. One is around learning, one is around performance management, and the third one is really around employee engagement." "We've now instituted what we call AI coaching, where the AI can read through that [data] and come up with a couple of recommendations for how I can respond in the best, most human way." "Why do 70% of people want to quit their jobs? Because they don't feel like there's any future in what they're doing. They're not learning, they're not growing, they're not developing, they feel like stuck." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan interviews Robin Daniels, the Chief Business and Product Officer at Zensei. Robin shares his wealth of experience as a CMO and CPO, discussing how AI can impact human transformation and how Zensei's Human Success Platform leverages AI to empower individuals to reach their full potential.  Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Zensei's mission is to empower individuals to be the best version of themselves through their human success platform, leveraging AI to guide personal and professional development. By creating emotional connections and standing for something, B2B companies can create a strong brand identity that resonates with customers and drives loyalty. Zensei's decision to standardize on Microsoft's platform has led to faster time to value, tighter integration, and benefits from platform upgrades. AI can be used to analyze data points and patterns to guide individuals on their career paths, helping them set goals, learn new skills, and stay engaged. Leveraging Microsoft's massive distribution network has been a strategic advantage for Zensei, allowing for easy adoption and implementation for their customers. BEST MOMENTS "I love the mission of what we're trying to do. We basically want to change the way that companies think about getting the best out of their people. We call this 'human success'." "The more we know about you and what you care about, the more we can guide you, meaning AI can guide you, and we use Microsoft AI in our products to do that." "I think in my experience, the brands that have done well have courage, conviction, and a point of view. And I think it's very rare to find that honestly in the B2B world." "It's so impressive what they've done. I mean, talking that much for water, it's not cheap. And it's just water. It's freaking water." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In today's episode, Ryan continues his conversation with renowned podcast host, Will Barron. They consider high-performer traits in sales, focusing on the importance of habits and how they can impact success. Will also shares his insights on the use of AI in sales, sharing a practical example of leveraging AI tools to streamline content creation for his YouTube shorts. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Setting habits, especially in prospecting, can lead to consistent performance and success in sales. Assertiveness, comfort with talking about money, optimism, not being a people pleaser, high self-esteem, personal accountability, and goal-setting are key traits of high performers. Controlling emotions and pushing through tasks even when not feeling like it is essential for success. AI tools can be beneficial for speeding up processes, such as generating content ideas and questions for content creation. Using AI tools for generating questions for content creation can save time and increase content output, leading to higher engagement and views. BEST MOMENTS "One of the things that I get the all new starters in our program to do is to prospect daily. And that is such a transformational leap in most salespeople's and small business owners and founders, if they're doing founder-led sales." "Nobody wants to do cold outreach. Nobody wants to do content creation if you're doing inbound marketing, inbound lead sales. Nobody wants to do cold calls. But you have to do them routinely, systematically, every day to build that habit. And then it becomes like brushing your teeth, where it's an activity which is neutral." "I used to be a massive procrastinator. Unless the deadline was three minutes from this moment in time, I wouldn't have started any project. I got over that by understanding this concept of the emotional, 'caveman' part of my brain." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.ioSaas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan sits down with Will Barron, the renowned host of The Salesman Podcast. Will shares his expertise on how to effectively combine attention and prospecting strategies to overcome challenges in sales, particularly in acquiring new customers. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Combining attention and prospecting in sales is incredibly important in overcoming challenges in pipeline activation. Will Barron emphasizes the importance of creating content that answers buyers' questions and aligns with their desires to attract and engage prospects effectively. The key elements of a successful outbound strategy include targeting the right person, crafting buyer-centric messages, and focusing on booking meetings rather than closing deals. Consistent exposure through multiple platforms and interactions can help build unconscious trust with prospects, making them more likely to engage. Simplifying messaging to create curiosity and elicit a response from prospects can be more effective than overwhelming them with product details. BEST MOMENTS "If you can just call someone, or you are just able to email someone to book meetings, you absolutely shouldn't be doing content marketing." "You've got features, benefits, great, no one gives a shit. What are the desires of the buyer? How can you tie what you do with not even solving a problem, the desire behind that problem, why they want to solve it?"  "You're just trying to give them just enough where they go 'Wills emails me, and I would not be doing my due diligence in my role if I don't jump on a quick call of him." "I think there's a lot of value of being like hyper direct. At least that's the way it is. I've shifted and I'm like, hey, this is where I'm at. This is what my pricing is." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

This is the second part of Ryan's conversation with Tyler Barron, CRO of Encapture,  where they discuss AI use cases for sales and marketing. From leveraging AI for strategic research and RFP automation to creative prospecting and collaborative ideation, Tyler and Ryan share their expertise on using AI to enhance efficiency, scale ABM efforts, and improve deal scoring. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS AI tools can significantly enhance strategic research for high value deals, allowing sales teams to efficiently analyze financial documents and earnings calls to identify potential problems and align solutions with strategic initiatives. Automating RFP and vendor questionnaire responses using AI can save significant time and resources, especially for companies dealing with similar questions across multiple clients. Leveraging AI for one-to-one creative prospecting can lead to highly customized outreach using a prospect's own language and quotes from their public appearances. AI powered call analysis tools can be used for efficient "game film" sessions, allowing teams to quickly review and learn from customer interactions without listening to entire calls. Collaborative use of AI tools across departments can dramatically reduce project timelines and enable rapid implementation of time sensitive campaigns. AI presents opportunities to scale ABM efforts by enabling the creation of custom content for specific accounts more efficiently. Data driven deal scoring using AI can help identify patterns in successful deals and apply those insights to future opportunities, improving win rates and deal velocity. Focusing on analyzing top performing customers and deals can lead to significant increases in deal size and help identify the most promising opportunities in the market. BEST MOMENTS "We primarily are getting value out of AI tools right now for strategic research. We have higher ACV deals, longer sales cycles, and we're trying to prospect up to the C suite." "I think one of the biggest things that I've learned about kind of the scale up stage is that you can't outrun your supply line as a revenue leader and so you really got to bring everybody along with you at the company" "Every year doubled our deal size and a hundred X, our largest deal. Just from that alone. Vista equity uses it to actually to convert companies from a bill to three bill in like three years." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Tyler Barron, CRO at Encapture joins Ryan in this episode. In this part 1 of 2 episodes, Tyler shares his journey transitioning an AI company from consulting to SaaS, focusing on FinTech solutions. They explore the challenges of demonstrating ROI in AI, adapting to market changes, and the importance of customer-driven product development. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Transitioning from consulting to SaaS requires repositioning the company, developing repeatable processes, and building the right team. Market listening is crucial for product development; focus on what customers are willing to spend money on, especially during economic shifts. Demonstrating AI ROI involves quantifying problems, focusing on practical use cases, and tying solutions to tangible business outcomes. Simplicity in execution and low-friction processes are key to the successful implementation of new systems and technologies. Executive level sponsorship, particularly from operations leaders with P&L responsibility, is vital for AI adoption in organizations. AI solutions don't need to be perfect. Even 50% improvements can significantly move the needle financially for businesses. Selling AI solutions involves working on a "big math problem" with customers, making it an intellectually engaging and partnership driven process. AI implementation often faces resistance due to a lack of comparison points; persistence and demonstrating value over time are crucial for success. BEST MOMENTS "We saw a lot of companies out there in our space, like really, really getting to a lot of pain around that. A  lot of our peers in FinTech have had a tough time." "Why does it have to be 99 percent accurate if 50 percent actually moves the needle financially." "The biggest thing with AI is that your unit economics improve over time one, because the AI gets smarter, but to your cost basis on a lot of these tasks can ultimately stay flat and you can pick up the efficiency." "Look, I'm not an AI expert, so I think I can probably give some very pragmatic answers to what I, what I see and hear, which... there's a lot of buzz and there's a lot of over promising around just AI in general, but there's also some very good quantifiable common sense use cases." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode of Confessions of a B2B Entrepreneur, Tom Hunt interviews Jesse Pujji, a seasoned entrepreneur who scaled Ampush to multi-million dollar success and now leads Gateway X. Pujji shares valuable lessons from his journey and discusses his latest venture, Growth Assistant, which has already reached $10 million in revenue.

Join Ryan in part 2 of his conversation with podcaster Andy Paul as they explore the pros and cons of AI in sales. They discuss new use cases for AI and share transformative examples for revenue growth. Andy provides interesting ideas around the challenges of AI adoption, the importance of helping buyers make decisions, and the need for thoughtful application of technology in sales processes. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS AI is currently being used primarily to automate repetitive tasks, but there's untapped potential in helping buyers make decisions. Despite technological advancements, B2B selling productivity may have decreased over the past 20-25 years due to misuse of technology. The focus on using AI for building pipeline may be misguided; the real issue is often not knowing how to win deals and help buyers make decisions. AI can be used to rapidly condense annual reports and customize information for more relevant first appointments with potential clients. Many salespeople fail to understand company pressures and industry-specific problems beyond their own offerings, which AI can help address. Thoughtfulness and curiosity are superpowers in sales, but current sales processes may be training these qualities out of sellers. The goal of sales interactions should shift from "discovering" information to helping buyers define what they want to achieve. High win rates are crucial for efficiency; a team with a 50% win rate needs to do significantly less selling than one with a 20% win rate. BEST MOMENTS "We need to have thoughtful people who are looking at the problem from the right perspective "Pipeline is the siren song that's going to cure all for companies. That's what most folks are attracted to." "If we're gonna make the decision to actually sell to this person, actually bring this opportunity into our pipeline, we should win it. It's that simple." "Thoughtfulness is definitely a superpower. I agree with you on that, man. And I think like one, one other one that I'm seeing that's... is curiosity as well, right?" "We're training curiosity out of our sellers and saying that this is the way they should act when really we want the opposite." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan is joined by fellow podcaster Andy Paul to uncover the secrets of building massive attention and growing connections in today's digital landscape. With nine years of podcasting experience and over 200k LinkedIn followers, Andy shares his knowledge on scaling attention, creating distribution, and the power of consistency. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Consistency is crucial in podcasting. Train your audience to expect your content at regular intervals to build a loyal following. Focus on creating high-quality, engaging content that keeps listeners coming back for more. The size of your audience isn't as important as having the right audience. Target your content to your ideal listeners. Prepare thoroughly for interviews and don't hesitate to challenge guests' ideas to create more engaging conversations. Podcasting can be an excellent tool for prospecting and reaching your target audience. Being thoughtful and developing a perspective on your circumstances can set you apart in sales and business. Success in sales often comes down to being human-first, building relationships, and genuinely helping customers make decisions. The key traits for success in sales are connection, curiosity, understanding, and generosity. BEST MOMENTS "I was inspired to start this podcast... I heard John Lee Dumas speak... And I was thinking, well, yeah, that sounds like a fun way to create content that people will find valuable." "Consistency, I think, is really the thing that I keep coming back to... you're trying to sort of train the audience that you are going to be there at a certain time or a certain point in time every week." "For me, over all the years that I've been doing this, my focus has always been, is I'm going to be as prepared as I can be overprepared for every conversation." "We're one person throughout our entire lives, you know, as we are in our life, we are in sales and, you know, if we show up interested in other people, if we show up and are curious about things that are important to them, we make a real effort to understand them, if we're willing to give of ourselves to help them achieve what's important to them, we'll succeed." "The only reason somebody talks to you as a salesperson these days is because they need your help." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan speaks to Brendan Kamm, the CEO of Thnks for the second time in this episode. Ryan and Brendan talk about his AI use cases as a CEO and discuss how Brendan leverages it to enhance his daily operations within the business and improve communication within his team. Brendan also talks about how to adapt and engage with AI to improve it and make it work for you and your business.   Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Brendan uses AI to improve his writing, ensuring it aligns with his brand values, and engages in conversational interactions with AI models to generate ideas and gather feedback. AI can significantly reduce time spent on non-customer-related activities, allowing salespeople to focus more on building relationships. Creating custom AI models for your brand can help ensure consistency in communication and improve team members' ability to provide clear, detailed instructions. Leveraging AI for sales research, such as analyzing 10K reports and industry trends, can help representatives be more prepared and in tune with their prospects' concerns and goals. Experimenting with different AI tools and prompts can lead to more effective outputs and a deeper understanding of how to utilize these technologies for various tasks. Uploading multiple sources to AI models like Notebook LLM allows for a comprehensive analysis of an industry, providing valuable insights for sales and strategy. Brendan has found one of the biggest challenges in growing a business, is instilling the same level of passion and care in team members as the CEO has. BEST MOMENTS "I've created sort of custom bots that reflect our sort of brand values, and that's been really helpful, and I can just run it through and say, Hey, am I, you know, am I on target?"  "If I can take all my non human interactions and make that less time consuming and less focused on the operational and the sort of behind the scenes things, I have more time to spend building relationships."  "I'll also tell you I use a lot of explain to me like I'm five, explain to me like I'm 12. Like I'll go through the whole progression just to make sure I understand something."  "I think you need to instill that level of care and confidence. And like, Hey, man, we're all on the same team headed in the same direction." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Join Ryan for part 1 of 2 as he speaks with Brendan Kamm, founder and CEO of Thnks. Kamm shares insights on leveraging gratitude in business, discussing his company's innovative platform for expressing appreciation in professional contexts. The conversation explores the human element in sales, revealing top use cases for connecting with people authentically. Kamm's approach to scaling a business without losing sight of personal relationships offers valuable tips for closing revenue and building successful companies. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Thnks is a gratitude expression platform targeting large distributed sales teams, allowing for easy sending of small appreciation gestures. The company has grown to $30-40 million in ARR since 2016, with a team of about 50 people and under $15 million in total funding. Thnks relies heavily on network effects and product-led growth, with recent expansion into paid advertising and enterprise-level deals. Brendan emphasizes the importance of authenticity and relationship-building in sales, moving beyond mere tactics to focus on long-term connections. The company has observed measurable business outcomes from gratitude gestures, such as faster rescheduling of cancelled meetings. Brendan suggests focusing on thoughtful, personalized gestures rather than relying solely on traditional gifting occasions like birthdays or holidays. Ryan and Brendan highlight the balance between leveraging technology and maintaining human connection in modern business relationships. BEST MOMENTS "We call it a gratitude expression platform. Basically, it's a way to send a small gesture of appreciation in a business context.” "Our philosophy is people like to do business with people they like. I think that's always been the case and everyone likes someone who appreciates them." "It's easy to fall a little bit into the trap of tactics, right? And it's not that you write, you need tactics and you need to get your numbers, but it's, it's too easy to kind of let go of the end result, what you're really looking for." "We want to focus on that sort of authenticity and that idea that these things take time. It's not just, I sent a thing. Did I get what I want back? It's gotta be less transactional than that over time." "You can have hard business outcomes and track how these things affect even not in something as simple as that." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Join Ryan for part 2 with Thomas Hansen, COO of Amplitude Analytics. Thomas talks with Ryan about the steps he took to uniquely climb the corporate ladder and how anyone can do the same. Ryan and Thomas also talk about how to leverage AI in your career and how AI is creating a new opportunity that has never before been possible! Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Even as COO, Thomas still has an SDR role. Thomas built out his knowledge and skillset, allowing himself to create a diverse portfolio, enabling him to climb the corporate ladder. You have to know your strength and your superpower, then apply that. Thomas encourages everyone to get diversity in their career early on to discover this but also to teach you how to spot new ways of creatively doing things. Saying yes and working towards things that may not be seen as the obvious or linear option, has created the most value for Thomas in his career. Look for AI roles that might not be in your comfort zone, to gain experience and exposure. Or become the internal champion in your existing role and company. Industry after industry will be revolutionized by AI, including VC, particularly in entry level positions. BEST MOMENTS “You've got to know yourself, you've got to figure out what is your one superpower” “I just think that early in your career, doing stuff that's not the linear boring path, that's not so obvious, it teaches you to be scrappy, tenacity, to open up your eyes to different ways of doing things” “One of the things that has created the most value in my career has been taking on the non-linear and the non-obvious choices” “Think about what you can embrace in the current role you're in, in terms of being the internal champion for use case and how you're leveraging internally for your own business in AI” Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan is joined by Thomas Hansen, the COO of Amplitude Analytics. Thomas has an impressive track record, having worked at companies like Microsoft and taken UiPath public as the chief revenue officer. He shares some really interesting insights about leadership, how to grow, inspire, and leverage AI to elevate your team. He also discusses an unexpected topic from the company's CEO in part one of two of Ryan and Thomas' conversation. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Amplitude Analytics provides insights on customer product usage, helping companies build better products and monetize their user base more effectively. Different growth stages require different leadership skills; it's crucial to understand where your strengths lie and hire stage-appropriate executives. Situational leadership involves adapting your approach based on individual team member's needs and circumstances to maximize their potential. AI is a transformative force in business, with Amplitude leveraging it both for customer-facing features and internal operations. Consolidating tech stacks can increase efficiency and productivity, allowing sales teams to spend more time selling and less time managing tools. Embracing AI technologies like conversational intelligence can lead to significant improvements in metrics such as Average Selling Price (ASP). Leaders should lead by example. Thomas personally conducts cold outreach to 10 potential clients weekly, demonstrating the importance of staying hands-on. Continuous learning and experimentation with new AI tools and technologies are essential for staying competitive in today's business environment. BEST MOMENTS "Every stage of a company and its formation is unique. And frankly, different stages also tend to by and large require different folks."  "My point of view on situational leadership is, it's not about others adapting to work with me. It's a bit about me recognizing where a person is at any given point in time in their journey, including having a sense for what's going on in their personal life." "In my 32 years being an operator in the tech space, I've seen some tectonic changes. You had the arrival of the internet, you had the mobile explosion, you had the cloud. And then for me, the fourth big change, the biggest change of everything is the arrival of AI."  "As much as I may be the president of Amplitude, my role every day is I'm selling. I also work as an SDR. Every day. It is on me personally, as it's on all of us to take personal ownership for growing our businesses."  "I do a lot of cold calling outreach through LinkedIn and through email.  I do, if you believe it or not, I do 10 a week." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan continues his conversation with AI expert Jeff Mills from iMerit. They explore the future of work, the impact of AI on various industries, and how individuals can adapt to thrive in an AI-driven world. Mills shares invaluable insights on job automation, the importance of adaptability, and the exciting opportunities that AI presents. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS AI will automate back office tasks, but it's a tool that enhances human productivity rather than completely replacing workers. Adaptability is crucial in the AI era, as people will need to switch industries and professions more frequently. AI skills, both technical and non-technical, are becoming essential for nearly all jobs across industries. The job market will evolve, with new industries and opportunities emerging as AI technology advances. AI is not just a vertical or niche; it will be embedded in everything we do, from social media to household appliances. Model stacking and multimodal AI are creating exciting new applications and opportunities in various fields. AI tools are empowering individuals to perform tasks that were previously limited to specialized professionals or agencies. Understanding and embracing AI is crucial for future success, as it will be integrated into all aspects of work and daily life. BEST MOMENTS "Darwin taught us that it's really not the strongest that's going to win. And it's not the smartest that's going to win. It's the most adaptable that's going to win." "AI is going to be a lot like Excel. You're going to have people who actually are the coders, they're, they're, they're actually in there building the software, building the program, right?" "There's gonna be issues. Yeah. I mean, there's gonna be problems, but at the same time, like. Don't be super scared of it (AI) either." "I've effectively hired, I don't know, 10 employees for 30 a month now because they all have skills that I didn't have." "There's no job that's going to exist that doesn't, have AI in it soon." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In this episode, Ryan is joined by Jeff Mills, a veteran in the AI and machine learning space. With over 25 years of experience, Jeff shares invaluable insights on scaling businesses, particularly in the AI industry. From his early days at Yahoo to his current role as President at iMerit, Jeff offers a unique perspective on growing companies while maintaining a social impact focus. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS iMerit works with leading AI companies in mobility, tech, and medical verticals, providing data solutions and annotation services for AI model development. Jeff talks about the importance of high-quality data in AI development, comparing it to a chef selecting the best ingredients for a Michelin-star restaurant. iMerit has evolved to include automation and a platform for data labelling, while still maintaining human-in-the-loop processes for validation and verification. The company employs a workforce pyramid, ranging from general workers to highly specialized experts in various fields, to meet diverse AI development needs. Retrieval Augmentation Generation (RAG) models are expected to be a significant trend in AI development over the next year and a half. iMerit adapts to customer needs, focusing on problem-solving and developing expertise in specific domains as required by clients. Jeff stresses the importance of domain expertise in prompt engineering and evaluating AI model outputs. BEST MOMENTS "You are literally a prompt engineer. You have created the box." "We like to write, but we also are good readers. We want to lead by example, but we also are good at reading, hearing what someone's challenges are, what their problems are. And ultimately we're in the problem solving business.” "We've built a workforce pyramid, so there's certain work that can be done if you have kind of expertise at a wide level." "I've been in AI for about, you know, 25 years in different ways." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

In the second part of Ryan's conversation with Jordan Wilson of Everyday AI, they dive deep into the world of AI tools and agents. From favorite tools like Chat GPT and Cast Magic to exploring the future of AI agents, this episode is packed with insights for businesses looking to leverage AI effectively. Jordan shares his expertise on strategic byproducts, micro GPTs, and the exciting developments in AI from tech giants. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Jordan Wilson uses Chat GPT extensively and recommends Cast Magic for podcasting tasks, praising its ability to run multiple custom prompts simultaneously on audio content. Creating micro GPTs for specific tasks is more effective than trying to build one large GPT to handle multiple functions, ensuring better quality output. Major tech companies like Microsoft, Google, and Meta are heavily investing in AI agents, signalling a shift in the future of work towards AI-directed tasks. The adoption of AI agents in businesses is expected to follow a similar pattern to large language models, with early adopters gaining significant advantages. Advancements in GPU technology, particularly from NVIDIA, are driving down compute costs and energy requirements, making AI agents more accessible. The podcast industry is leveraging AI tools for content creation, transcription, and keyword extraction, enhancing productivity and output quality. Strategic byproducts from AI tools, such as creating a "customer Grammarly" from sales call transcriptions, can provide valuable insights for businesses. The future of work may involve skilled workers becoming directors of AI agents, and managing multiple tools across platforms to perform various tasks. BEST MOMENTS "I'm a huge chat GPT fan. I have been a fan of the GPT technology for a very long time. So I would say that still chat GPT is the most used tool." "Instead let's create, you know, 10 micro GPTs that do the smallest little task, but they do it very, very well. Right. So it's this balance of productivity and saving time with quality and kind of this granular control." "Every single big company in the world is sprinting toward agents because they see that's kind of the next goldmine, right?" "I think we're having similar conversations that we've had about large language models and all these AI tools with companies that are implementing agents and those that are not" "If the adoption rate is, you know, 20 percent for large language models, what do you think the adoption rate is going to be for you know, agents? It's going to be much lower, right?" Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanwilson04/Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan talks with Jordan Wilson, founder of Everyday AI, about the rapidly evolving world of generative AI. The conversation explores the current state of AI technology, its impact on businesses, and the risks of falling behind. Wilson gives his take on how companies can integrate AI into their workflows and why leadership must take an active role in adoption. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS The state of generative AI is both fascinating and alarming, with rapid advancements occurring across various domains including language models, sound generation, and multimodal capabilities. Companies still on the fence about adopting generative AI are at risk of losing market share to more nimble competitors who embrace the technology. Integrating generative AI into workflows doesn't necessarily mean building custom models; it can be as simple as using AI-powered tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot or advanced web browsers. Leaders should lead by example in AI adoption, understanding that it's not just another SaaS solution but a fundamentally different way of operating. Using outdated or non-internet-connected AI models for business decisions can be detrimental, as up-to-date information is crucial in today's fast-paced environment. Understanding the basics of how large language models work, including their limitations and best practices, is essential for effective implementation. Upgrading hardware, such as PCs with new AI capabilities, can significantly enhance productivity and AI integration in the workplace. Transitioning from traditional search engines to AI-powered tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT can save hours of research time and improve efficiency. BEST MOMENTS "If you're still reading through 50 page PDFs to pull out that one little bit that's relevant for you or your company, all of these things that are part of our day to day tasks, you should be using generative AI." "If you are still using traditional search engines, you are waiting hours a day" "Think if you worked through the whole two thousands, the decade of the two thousands, the entire decade without using the internet?" "If you don't understand it at its core you are probably going to misuse it and you could end up doing more harm than good."  "Here we are every day waking up and scratching our heads, looking at what's happening and saying, there's no way this is happening."  Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io  EPISODE RESOURCES https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordanwilson04/Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

This is part two of Ryan's conversation with Aytekin Tank, the founder and CEO of Jotform, a form building platform created from his desire to help automate the communication between people. Author of Automate Your Busy Work, Aytekin shares his framework for cutting time spent on menial tasks by 70% and reveals how AI is transforming Jotform's products. From the importance of prioritization to embracing system thinking, this episode shares actionable insights for entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses efficiently in the age of AI. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Clarify priorities through time audits to understand how you spend your time and identify tasks to automate or delegate. Embrace "laziness" and impatience as drivers for finding efficient solutions and automating repetitive tasks. Make time to save time by researching automation tools and learning new technologies like AI and prompt engineering. Adopt a system thinking approach, transitioning from an individual contributor to a manager of automations and AI. Use tools like Dead Man's Snitch to monitor and maintain your automated systems, ensuring they continue to function properly. Focus on important tasks that are often not urgent, following Eisenhower's wisdom on prioritization. Leverage AI for code reviews and fraud detection to significantly improve efficiency and accuracy in tech development. Explore AI integration in products through copilots and agents to reduce learning curves and enhance user experience. BEST MOMENTS "Bill Gates said, 'I would always hire a lazy person to do a hard job. Because he will find an easy way to do it.'” "Eisenhower says that he had two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The important are never urgent and the urgent are seldom important." "With copilots, you can actually give people an option... They don't have to learn it anymore, they can just tell us what they need." "It's about figuring out your priorities. For example, for me, in the morning, that's my best time." "We use AI for code reviews... It becomes easier because it's going to catch many types of code problems." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Aytekin Tank is the founder and CEO of Jotform, a form building platform created from his desire to help automate communication between people. Aytekin, a trained developer, bootstrapped Jotform from scratch. He is also the author of "Automate Your Busy Work" and is passionate about writing and sharing business advice. He joins Ryan to discuss his experience of bootstrapping his company from the ground up and the strategies that helped accelerate the growth of the business. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Growth often takes time in the first few years of a bootstrapped company but Aytekin highlight the many positives of bootstrapping your company, including the independence you retain and less pressure externally. Jotform is a free product but where there are paid add ons and options. Aytekin wanted to create a simple to use form building platform after being unable to find what he needed himself. The pandemic helped accelerate the transformation into digital and Jotform was on of the businesses to feel that. A developer by trade, Aytekin had to train himself on everything including the management of people. Creating a culture of independence and innovation, supported with a clear mission statement has helped Aytekin grow his teams and scale the company effectively. To compete with the growing competition, including Google forms, Aytekin focuses on automation and delegation in his own work and across his teams. BEST MOMENTS “It's about the [business] journey, it's not about reaching one state, it's about what we can do for people” “I love seeing other people use it [Jotform] and get value from it” “It's a very horizontal product, everybody uses forms” “Starting my company was all about independence, building my own product” "We also improved out product in terms of automation" Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Kaveh Rostampor is the co-founder and CEO of Planhat, a customer success platform that helps businesses keep customers and grow revenue. Show Notes: https://saasclub.io/401 Join Email List: Get weekly SaaS learnings, new podcast episodes, and actionable insights right in your inbox: https://saasclub.io/email/ Join Community: SaaS Club is the community for early-stage SaaS founders and entrepreneurs: https://saasclub.co/join

Ryan Staley interviews Randy Wootton who shares his incredible journey from the U.S. Navy to working for tech giants like Microsoft and Salesforce to becoming the CEO of Maxio, a company that has integrated a platform with over 2,400 customers and $13 billion in annual invoicing. Randy reveals the seven secrets of success for SaaS CEOs, offering invaluable insights on navigating the challenges of scaling a business. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Randy Wooten transitioned from a successful career in the U.S. Navy and working for tech giants like Microsoft and Salesforce to becoming the CEO of Maxio, a company that has integrated a platform with over 2,400 customers and $13 billion in annual invoicing. As a CEO, Randy emphasizes the importance of delivering shareholder value, establishing a winning strategy, shaping company values and standards, building an effective executive team, managing the board and investors, allocating capital strategically, and investing in your personal growth. Randy discusses the challenges of selling to CFOs compared to CMOs, highlighting the need for a different go-to-market motion that involves bringing in influencers and references, as CFOs tend to be more introverted and rely heavily on relationships when making purchase decisions. Maxio uses the McKinsey Horizon Model to allocate funds for current and future growth, dedicating resources to core business (Horizon 1), near-term opportunities like payments (Horizon 2), and long-term game-changing initiatives (Horizon 3). Randy believes that AI will significantly impact go-to-market strategies, with boards expecting companies to incorporate AI efficiency assumptions into their fiscal year 2025 planning, and he advises businesses to start experimenting with AI tools now to stay ahead of the curve. To navigate the challenges of being a CEO, Randy recommends finding a mentor who has been in a similar position, working with a coach to improve interpersonal effectiveness, joining peer groups like EO or YPO, and cultivating a personal advisory board for support and guidance. Randy highlights the importance of being a system of record and having differentiated data that can be leveraged with AI to create intelligent engines that offer benchmarks and insights to help customers run their businesses more effectively. By sharing his experience co-founding the VetForce platform at Salesforce, which empowers military veterans, Randy demonstrates his commitment to making a positive social impact alongside his professional achievements. BEST MOMENTS "I am there to deliver shareholder value. That's primarily driven by delivering the results." "One of the things when I became CEO, the first time was I wanted a mentor, someone who had been in the same context." "I think for my own career growth, I had reached this inflection point where I thought, gosh, the patterns that I've seen in this scenarios, would it apply to a different vertical in this case, selling to the CFO?" "Unless you're absolutely crushing it and everyone's gonna make a whole bunch of money, like there is [something] everyone starts to revert to it's like Maslow's hierarchy of need. They're all nice until it becomes, okay, how are we going to carve up the pie?" "I think anyone who's truly appreciative of what's happened in their life will also recognize how much luck has played and connections, and we'll be willing to give back to other folks." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan speaks with Bill Strogis, CRO of Trax Technologies with a wealth of experience in enterprise software sales. Together, they dive deep into the mind of buyers, uncovering the predictable patterns that drive purchasing decisions. Bill shares his unique perspective on the biggest mistakes companies make in sales and provides hyper-tactical advice for growing your business like a VC-backed company without losing your freedom. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS Aligning your sales process with how buyers make decisions can give you a significant advantage over competitors who rely on outdated practices. Leveraging the neuroscience of buyer behaviour can help you create a sales motion that is aligned with the buyer's journey, increasing your chances of success. Creating a customer engagement model that outlines what both parties need from each other can help build trust and prevent misalignments later in the sales process. Effective selling is about having meaningful conversations that create intrigue and get buyers to rethink how they want to solve their problems, ultimately leading them to see the unique value your solution provides. Building a truly profitable, sustainable, and durable business requires doing things the hard way, focusing on excellence and effectiveness rather than volume. Sellers often make the mistake of assuming buyers know exactly what they need and how to buy it, when in reality, buyers rarely evaluate software for a living. Educating buyers with all the information upfront is ineffective. Instead, focus on creating intrigue and getting them to rethink how they want to solve their problems. An analytical, engineering-like approach to building a sales motion, considering variables and objectives, is essential for enterprise selling success. BEST MOMENTS I don't want to talk to 50 people in a week when 49 of them can't buy my software, right, or don't have the capacity to." "Every time you get asked for something, you should ask for something in return. And you've created this dance where you're starting to get really good at negotiating without it being an overt negotiation." "Buyer behaviour is a fairly predictable thing. Most people go through the same things and they ask themselves the same whys, why should I do this? Why should I do it now? Why you like those things are fairly predictable if you understand them." "It's hard to get somebody who's not paying attention to pay attention. It's not an easy thing." Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets

Ryan speaks with Andrew Johnston the head of sales at Superhuman for a second time, to explore the landscape of AI tools. Andrew shares his unique perspective on what makes an investable AI company, the importance of seamless integration and workflow, and the future of AI. Join 2,500+ readers getting weekly practical guidance to scale themselves and their companies using Artificial Intelligence and Revenue Cheat Codes.   Explore becoming Superhuman here: https://superhumanrevenue.beehiiv.com/ KEY TAKEAWAYS AI agents and chatbots are limited in their effectiveness unless they are built with seamless integration and have their own unique value as part of the chain within AI. Successful AI tools have integrated in a smart way, with 75% of their own built IP or workflow and 25% leveraging LLMs or fine-tuned data. Security is a huge concern in the AI space, and tools like Liminal AI are addressing this by enabling secure use of LLMs within highly regulated institutions. RevOps teams can benefit from AI tools like Cinch, which enable sales leaders to build dashboards, reports, and alerts using natural language and prompting. AI research tools like Agent Herbie bring resources directly to the user's email, making market analysis more accessible for sales reps and marketers. Microsoft is going deep on AI integration across their entire stack, including a proactive team copilot and AI capabilities built into PCs. When investing in AI companies, distribution and go-to-market strategy are key differentiators, along with good UI/UX design and core software fundamentals. The simplest AI use cases that save 10-30 minutes of time and deliver clear outcomes are often the most powerful and effective tools for CEOs and CROs. BEST MOMENTS "What I try to look for is for companies that have integrated in a smart way, but have built a unique IP or workflow so that it's more like 75 per cent of what they've built." "I think what's important is two things. One is. If you're going to invest in a tool or you're going to find a tool that you use, like, does it get you to an outcome or is it just a chatbot?" "Distribution is key. You know, who's your market, who you're going after, why is the product sticky? I think that's really, really important to think through."   Ryan Staley Founder and CEO Whale Boss ryan@whalesellingsystem.com www.ryanstaley.io Saas, Saas growth, Scale, Business Growth, B2b Saas, Saas Sales, Enterprise Saas, Business growth strategy, founder, ceo: https://www.whalesellingsystem.com/closingsecrets