Podcasts about revops

AI is not going to replace real sales. It's going to expose who was never really selling in the first place.In this episode, John sits down with Jeff Kirchick, author of Authentic Selling and a sales leader who has closed multi-million dollar contracts without ever going through formal sales training, to talk about why AI made personalization easier to fake and easier for buyers to spot, why authenticity is not the same as being liked, and why disqualifying the wrong buyer matters more than qualifying the right one.If you are in sales, sales leadership, enablement, or RevOps, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about AI-generated outreach, hiring for coachability over polish, the give and get scorecard behind real qualification, and why a smooth call is not always a good sign.Want to build a sales team that stays authentic as AI changes the job? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.What You'll LearnWhy AI made personalization easier to fake, and easier for buyers to spotWhy authenticity is about being trusted, not being likedWhy Jeff hires SDRs on exactly two traits, work ethic and coachabilityWhy a smooth sales call without objections is a warning sign, not a good signWhy disqualifying the wrong buyer matters more than qualifying the right oneJeff Kirchick is the author of Authentic Selling and a sales leader who built his career without formal sales training, closing multi-million dollar enterprise contracts through intuition, empathy, and direct relationship building. He hires his team on two filters, work ethic and coachability, and has built his own sales org's AI infrastructure in house, including deal scoring and call coaching.Visit jeffkirchick.com to read more of Jeff's writing on sales, authenticity, and AI.Connect with Jeff Kirchick:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffkirchick Website: jeffkirchick.com John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution, helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today's AI-driven sales environment.Connect with John Barrows:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows Instagram: instagram.com/johnmbarrows TikTok: tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packagesJoin John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

Want the playbook, not just the conversation? Subscribe for deep-dive, actionable breakdowns from every episode at unchurned.substack.com.What does it take to run 60% of a company? Garrett Marker, Chief Revenue Officer at Brex, oversees about 700 people across sales, customer success, RevOps, partnerships, enablement, and support - and this year, his goal was to aggressively scale a sales team that industry data recently ranked the third-fastest growing in tech, without letting rep performance slip. It hasn't all gone to plan. Garrett is refreshingly candid with host Josh Schachter, grading the scaling effort a "B" - what held up, what broke, and how his team turned around a slumping segment in dramatic fashion. Along the way, he explains why the battle cards that used to last a quarter now go stale in about a week, why Brex bet on human SDRs while the market rushed toward AI ones, and why the hardest part of AI products isn't selling them at all.It's a look inside the operating decisions of a CRO whose remit spans the entire customer lifecycle - from first touch through renewal and expansion. ---What You'll Learn- How a struggling Brex segment did two months' worth of revenue in eight days and the AI-assisted diagnosis behind the course correction- Why battle cards that used to last a quarter are now stale within about a week- How AI role plays and automated call scoring turned weeks or months of rep ramp into hours or days- Garrett's build-vs-buy rule- What Brex's internally built "narrative platform" does that seller-productivity tools don't (mapping the full buyer's journey across sales, CS, and support)- The question Garrett asked at the end of every demo as a seller and the rep whose career it transformed in three months- How the TAP program works- Why adoption, not sales, is the bottleneck for AI products- How a shift in CS conversations (not product changes) grew book-closing adoption 20% in twelve months- What Garrett believes it will take to increase NRR by 30 points in the next couple of years---Timestamps0:00 - Preview & Intro1:52 - Meet Garrett Marker (CRO, Brex) 4:03 - Why founders buy like consumers5:28 - Scaling the third-fastest-growing sales team in tech7:28 - Solving today's AND tomorrow's problems9:25 - 2 months of revenue in 8 days after a segment course correction11:22 - How AI made competitive diagnosis faster14:37 - Rebuilding enablement around AI and ramping reps in days17:27 - How Brex decides build vs. buy18:35 - Mapping the full buyer's journey across sales, CS, and support21:38 - Success plans and buyer psychology25:56 - Why won't you move forward?27:53 - How SDRs earn on-the-spot promotions to AE32:52 - Post-sale priorities: cracking AI product adoption at scale35:11 - Why CS teams must understand the whole tech stack, not just their product (+20% book-closing adoption)---Josh is writing a book on building customer relationships. Follow his journey and insights at www.joshschachter.com---Where to Find the GuestGarrett Marker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmarker/---Where to Find the Hosts: Josh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/Unchurned Substack: https://unchurned.substack.com/

AI role-play is not another tool to dump on your sales team.In this episode, John sits down with Neha Gupta, Founder and CEO of Breakthrough AI, to talk about why traditional role-play fails, why managers are often asked to coach without the tools or time to do it, and how AI can help reps practice hard conversations before the pressure hits. Neha breaks down what makes AI role-play feel realistic, why audio can be more effective than distracting avatars, and why adoption depends on structure, leadership energy, and deliberate practice.If you are in sales, leadership, enablement, RevOps, or any role responsible for improving rep performance, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about AI coaching, realistic role-play, feedback loops, remote sales teams, and the communication skills that still separate good reps from average ones.Want to help your team practice before the pressure hits? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.What You'll LearnWhy traditional role-play feels awkward, subjective, and hard to scaleHow AI role-play can help reps build realistic muscle memory before live conversationsWhy sales managers are often expected to coach without enough tools, time, or trainingHow leadership energy and structure can make AI training adoption actually workWhy remote teams lost some of the bullpen learning that used to happen naturallyWhy communication skills need deliberate practice before the pressure moment hitsNeha Gupta is the Founder and CEO of Breakthrough AI, a practice-first AI coaching platform helping teams master the high-stakes conversations that shape performance, client relationships, and career growth. With more than twenty years of experience across client management, strategic marketing and sales, growth strategy, brand marketing, product marketing, and business development, Neha is focused on helping teams spot communication blind spots, strengthen feedback processes, and build stronger practice loops.Visit https://joinbreakthrough.ai/ to see Breakthrough AI in action, including a demo comparing weak versus strong responses to price objections.Connect with Neha Gupta:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nehagupta/John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today's AI-driven sales environment.Connect with John Barrows:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

The problem with marketing is that so many teams think their job ends when a lead becomes an opportunity. The highest-performing GTM teams know that's where the REAL work begins.In this episode, Amber sits down with Aviv Canaani, CRO at Datarails, to unpack how the company transformed from a 90% outbound sales motion into a scalable revenue engine powered primarily by inbound demand. Rather than optimizing marketing and sales separately, Aviv shares why the entire funnel should be treated as one connected revenue system and how RevOps, automation, and marketing architecture make that possible.In this episode:Why marketing and sales should operate as one revenue engineHow Datarails shifted from 90% outbound to 90% inboundWhy the best marketers take bigger creative risksHow RevOps can automate the revenue engine, not just report on itWhy attribution has limits, and what leaders should measure insteadHow AI is changing the future of GTM operationsIf you're trying to create more pipeline, improve sales efficiency, or better align marketing and revenue teams, this episode will absolutely challenge how you think about building a modern GTM organization.-----------------------------------------------------

Keith Gerson, CFE, Founder and CEO of Gerson Advisory Services and former President of FranConnect, has advised over 1,500 franchise brands across 50+ years. He joins Brendon Dennewill to unpack why royalty architecture, franchisee coaching, and FDD analysis matter more than dashboards, and why the most profitable franchisees are often the most frustrated ones. A candid look at what actually separates franchise systems that scale from those that stall. What You'll LearnWhy unit-level profitability predicts franchise successThe FDD's hidden competitive intelligence goldmineRoyalty structures that reward growth, not punish itWhy your best franchisees may be the unhappiestThe real difference between coaching and inspectingInflection points every scaling franchise system hitsWhere AI actually earns its keep in franchisingWhy dashboards rarely change franchisee behavior Resources MentionedGerson Advisory Services FranConnect  Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) Competitive Analysis & Strategy Reports Franchise Sales Index Report  Mrs. Fields Cookies "Singing, Selling, and Sampling" hiring framework  Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

If you work with an agency, there are a few things you usually only learn once the campaign is already running. In this special in-person episode, Michael sits down with Belkins Managing Director Alex Sribnyi to talk about what actually happens behind the scenes of B2B lead generation: why some agency-client relationships work, why others fall apart, what companies often misunderstand about outbound, and how the role of an SDR is changing. Alex has spent more than 10 years in the industry, managed hundreds of SDRs and Account Managers, and worked across thousands of B2B client strategies. So this conversation goes well beyond theory. Michael and Alex get into:

Welcome to the CanadianSME Small Business Podcast, hosted by Kripa Anand. Your biggest revenue opportunity may already be sitting inside your customer database. Today, we explore how businesses can transform overlooked data, AI tools, and sales processes into powerful growth engines. Joining us is Julio Viskovich, Chief Marketing Officer at Set 2 Close. A Forbes Top 30 Social Selling Influencer and former Hootsuite and Microsoft digital transformation leader, Julio helps B2B organizations unlock hidden revenue through smarter RevOps strategies. Key Highlights CRM Transformation: Turning scattered customer data into predictable revenue systems. Hidden Revenue: Recovering growth opportunities from dormant customer accounts. AI-Powered Selling: Using AI strategies to improve B2B visibility and conversions. Sales Efficiency: Unlocking team potential without increasing headcount. Pipeline Optimization: Practical steps to accelerate revenue growth quickly. Special Thanks to Our Partners: UPS: https://solutions.ups.com/ca-beunstoppable.html?WT.mc_id=BUSMEWA ADP Canada: https://www.adp.ca/en.aspx For more expert insights, visit https://canadiansme.ca/ and subscribe to the CanadianSME Small Business Magazine. Stay innovative, stay informed, and thrive in the digital age! To learn more about how we are supporting the ecosystem, please visit the CanadianSME Small Business Foundation at https://smbfoundation.ca/. Disclaimer: The information shared in this podcast is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as direct financial or business advice. Always consult with a qualified professional for advice specific to your situation.

Doug Imholte, Franchise Programs Practice Leader at Marsh McLennan Agency and a former franchisee turned trusted advisor, unpacks why so many franchise brands stall between 30 and 40 units, and it's rarely the concept that's broken. From misaligned franchisor-franchisee KPIs to the overlooked link between risk management and growth, Doug reveals what separates brands that scale responsibly from those that just scale fast. If you're building revenue systems for a franchise network, this conversation on unit economics, brand standards, and total cost of risk will change how you think about your next growth stage.What You'll LearnWhy growth alone isn't the answerThe real reason brands stall at 40 unitsHow franchisor and franchisee KPIs conflictWhat "total cost of risk" actually meansWhy cheap insurance costs more laterThe four pillars behind scalable systemsHow to keep culture intact through growthWhy brand standards make or break trustResources MentionedFranchise Disclosure Document (FDD) Franchisors Errors & Omissions Coverage Total Cost of Risk (TCOR)  Ready, Fire, Aim Leadership Philosophy  HubSpot Royalty Self-Sufficiency Benchmark Franchise Update Media IFA Franchise Summit Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

In this episode of the CRO Spotlight podcast, Warren Zenna hosts Matthew Darrow, CEO at Vivun, to discuss why slapping artificial intelligence onto legacy software is a dead end. Recognizing that specialized revenue teams will no longer work inside static SaaS portals, Vivun pivoted to build something entirely new. This bold move reflects a hard reality: revenue execution demands an expert teammate, not just surface-level automation.Generic foundational models fall short in complex enterprise deals because they lack domain-specific reasoning. Standard AI tools frequently produce mediocre outputs that fail in high-stakes selling. Darrow explains that true operational leverage requires an engine capable of modeling how top-tier experts evaluate deals, rather than relying on broad systems that merely regurgitate basic product documentation and text.Replacing human sellers with autonomous avatars is a flawed strategy that misunderstands buyer behavior. The real competitive advantage occurs live during actual customer calls, where execution makes or breaks a deal. By embedding real-time guidance directly into these critical moments, revenue leaders can discreetly assist sellers with accurate insights. This approach scales institutional knowledge without damaging organic human connections.This technological evolution alters what is required of the modern chief revenue officer. Executives can no longer rely solely on traditional top-down sales methodologies to drive growth. Success now requires partnering closely with product leaders to construct a cohesive motion that combines product-led accessibility with enterprise strategy. The future belongs to leaders who successfully augment their teams to accelerate execution at scale.

There's an instinct every marketing leader is trained to have: fight for credit on pipeline. The best CMOs have realized it's exactly what's holding them back.In this episode, Carolyn breaks down the behavioral traits that separate the best CMOs from everyone else — the patterns she sees every day working with marketing leaders across B2B SaaS. Rather than another set of tactics or a borrowed playbook, she unpacks why the highest-performing CMOs let go of credit, obsess over data integrity, stop waiting on RevOps, and build a culture of making decisions from evidence instead of assumptions.In this episode:(01:45) Why the best CMOs let go of marketing credit and what they focus on instead(07:33) Why a relentless commitment to data integrity is the foundation every good decision rests on(09:55) How elite CMOs stop waiting on RevOps to hand them the numbers that matter(14:45) Why the strongest leaders play offense and defense with their board at the same time(19:55) How ruthless experimentation drives real breakout results(27:12) Why nobody understands your buyer better than your own team(28:56) What it actually takes to survive the mental grind of modern marketing leadershipIf you're trying to prove marketing's impact, make sharper decisions with your data, or build the resilience to lead through constant change, this episode will challenge how you think about what it takes to be a great CMO today.-----------------------------------------------------

Sales reps who cannot speak the language of business are going to get exposed fast.In this episode, John sits down with Kevin Cope, founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and See the Big Picture, to talk about why business acumen is now one of the most important skills in sales. Kevin shares lessons from his time at the Covey Leadership Center, the start of Acumen Learning, and 25 years helping companies close the gap between functional expertise and real business understanding.If you are in sales, leadership, RevOps, enablement, or any role where you need to speak with executives, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about cash, profit, assets, growth, people, discounting, cashflow, AI, and how to connect your solution to the business results buyers actually care about.Want to build stronger business acumen and sell with more executive relevance? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.What You'll LearnWhy business acumen is one of the first skills sales reps need to buildWhy round-number discounts can signal weak negotiation and weak business understandingHow a small discount can create a much larger hit to profitabilityWhy cash, profit, assets, growth, and people give reps a clearer business lensHow salespeople affect cashflow before and after a deal closesWhy AI research only matters if reps can translate it into business relevanceHow curiosity helps reps use AI as a learning tool instead of a shortcutKevin Cope is the founder of Acumen Learning and co-author of Business Acumen for Sales Success and the bestselling See the Big Picture. He built his career at the Covey Leadership Center, joining just before the release of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and later served as president of international for the combined organization following its 1997 merger with Franklin Quest to form Franklin Covey. Through Acumen Learning, Kevin helps organizations close the business acumen gap and connect everyday decisions to cash, profit, assets, growth, and people.Connect with Kevin Cope on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinrcope/) and grab his book, Seeing the Big Picture: Business Acumen to Build Your Credibility, Career, and Company, at https://www.amazon.com/Seeing-Big-Picture-Business-Credibility-ebook/dp/B07DPWFK7T?ref_=ast_author_mpb, to build the business acumen that earns you a seat at the table. Learn more about Acumen:Website: https://www.acumenlearning.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acumenlearning/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AcumenLearningFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcumenLearning/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/acumen-learning/?viewAsMember=trueJohn Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today's AI-driven sales environment.Connect with John Barrows:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcast Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

Neste episódio do Vamos de Vendas, Gustavo Pagotto recebe Fabio Duran, cofundador e CEO da 8D Hubify, para uma conversa sobre Revenue Operations, integração entre marketing, vendas e pós-vendas, e os perigos de seguir fórmulas prontas vendidas por gurus do mercado.Ao longo do episódio, Fabio compartilha sua trajetória do Direito ao marketing digital e explica como descobriu o conceito de RevOps ao perceber que vender mais não significava necessariamente crescer de forma sustentável. Ele mostra por que empresas precisam abandonar a visão de departamentos isolados e começar a operar com foco em receita, eficiência e previsibilidade.Outro destaque do episódio é a crítica à cultura dos "gurus de vendas" e à crença de que ferramentas de IA resolvem problemas estruturais sozinhas.

Esqueça os gurus e as fórmulas mágicas. Junte-se aos líderes que transformam dados em receita e garanta seu ingresso para o RevOps Summit 2026 com 50% OFF! (Até 15 de agosto)Clique no LINK: ⁠Quero 50% no RevOps SummitSua empresa está crescendo… mas marketing, vendas e pós-venda parecem jogar em times diferentes?Essa é uma das dores mais comuns (e caras) para gestores.Enquanto o marketing comemora o número de leads, vendas reclama da qualidade. Quando a venda acontece, o pós-venda precisa resolver problemas que começaram lá no início da jornada.O resultado? Muito esforço, conflitos entre áreas e uma receita que poderia ser muito maior.Neste episódio do Papo de Vendedor, você vai conhecer o conceito de Revenue Operations (RevOps) e entender por que tantas empresas estão mudando a forma de integrar marketing, vendas e Customer Success.

In this clip, Alex Bilmes, CEO of Endgame, joins Revenue Builders to share what his team learned from analyzing more than 30,000 real AI workflows across go-to-market teams. The data shows AI gaining traction in account intelligence, conversation readiness, deal acceleration, pipeline inspection, and team enablement. But the larger lesson is that the strongest teams are not just using AI to generate decks, briefs, or follow-ups faster. They are using it to create shared understanding across reps, managers, executives, RevOps, and cross-functional teams. For revenue leaders, the opportunity is not simply more automation. It is connecting the organization around the same account context, methodology, and customer truth. Alex Bilmes is the CEO and founder of Endgame, a revenue intelligence platform built for go-to-market teams. His work focuses on helping revenue organizations centralize customer, methodology, and account knowledge so both humans and AI agents can operate from a consistent foundation. Connect with Alex: LinkedIn Listen to the full episode: Revenue per Employee Is the New Endgame with Alex Bilmes Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

This week, Frank talks with AI intelligence architect and author Carl Peterlin about practical AI in business, emphasizing that AI depends on structured, governed knowledge rather than simply buying chatbot licenses. They discuss risks of exposing proprietary data in public LLMs, how bad processes become "crappy at the speed of AI," and how AI can humanize work by removing machine-like tasks while preserving institutional knowledge before employees retire. Carl outlines "full sale" RevOps concepts and the post-close communication gap, using Domino's-style status updates as an example, and shares a car-detailing workflow that drives responsive service and upsells. He unveils a "First Region Mandate" idea to help Northeastern Pennsylvania manufacturing leverage underused federal/SBA AI-related funding (up to $200M) to transform the region's manufacturing economy.If you or someone you know wants to be featured on our podcast, visit our website! 

Every franchise brand hits a point where the playbook that got them to 100 locations quietly stops working, and most leaders don't see it coming. Kristin Dennewill of Denamico joins Brendon to unpack the four hidden stall points (visibility, attribution, intelligence, and development) that quietly cap franchise growth, and why the fix isn't another tool, but a rebuilt revenue operating system. She shares real numbers from clients running 800+ locations, and what changes when franchise data finally lives in one place.What You'll LearnWhy growth playbooks expire at scaleThe four hidden franchise stall pointsLeading vs. lagging indicators, explainedWhat "franchise performance intelligence" really meansWhy RevOps is a system, not a projectWhere CEOs, CMOs, and COOs feel the gap differentlyReal hour-savings from a single source of truthHow AI will predict franchisee successResources MentionedDenamico Franchise Growth PlaybookHubSpotRevOps Champions PodcastIs your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

In this episode of CRO Spotlight, host Warren Zenna sits down with Joey Gilkey, CEO at TitanX, to dismantle the outdated strategies infecting modern revenue organizations. The traditional outbound volume playbook is dead, and blindly throwing headcount at the problem is a losing game. Joey unpacks the urgent need to pivot toward precision and away from the morale-crushing grind of endless activity.Moving beyond surface-level tactics, the conversation shifts to a contrarian view on organizational design. Joey introduces the concept of temporary scaffolding—building dynamic, mission-specific structures rather than rigid hierarchies. This approach demands that chief revenue officers step out of traditional power struggles and prioritize functional agility over defending their departmental turf.The discussion also tackles the intense pressure modern revenue leaders face from investors and boards driven by short-term results. Joey shares blunt, actionable insights on how to build trust with a board while actively protecting the long-term vision of the company. It requires a rare combination of radical transparency, extreme accountability, and the courage to challenge quarterly-obsessed metrics.Finally, the episode explores why the early obsession with customer acquisition must eventually surrender to a rigorous focus on post-sales retention. Joey challenges leaders to identify their core internal motivations rather than allowing external market forces to dictate their behavior. This is a must-listen for executives determined to eliminate complexity and build highly efficient growth engines.

AI isn't just changing sales. It's completely rewriting how revenue teams operate. In this episode of Topline Spotlight, Sam Jacobs sits down with Justin Shriber, CEO of Terret AI, to break down how modern revenue organizations are using AI to improve forecasting, shorten sales cycles, ramp reps faster, and operationalize winning sales behavior in real time. Justin shares: Why traditional sales enablement is broken How AI helped reduce rep ramp time by 40% The "answer-to-action" engine powering modern RevOps The hidden dangers of decentralized AI adoption Why companies are struggling with inconsistent AI-generated data The real debate: build your own AI stack vs buy from vendors How leading teams are using AI agents today One of the most interesting conversations in GTM right now. If you're a CRO, RevOps leader, founder, or GTM operator trying to understand where AI is actually delivering value, this episode is worth your time. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:40 Meet Justin Schreiber and Terret 04:17 How AI is changing sales productivity 06:07 The biggest problem in revenue execution 09:37 Why great strategies never get executed 11:01 Building AI that's secure, accurate, and scalable 13:32 Buy vs. build: The future of enterprise AI 16:25 Why AI needs centralized governance 17:35 Jurassic Park, AI agents, and organizational chaos 20:15 Justin's biggest inspirations for building great companies 22:58 Where to find Justin and Terret Try Terret: terret.ai

In this episode, Jason and John Eitel from Orum, talk about why top sales teams admit they haven't cracked AI, how to centralize AI through RevOps without hurting rep productivity, why skill still beats tool stack, and the pipegen mix by segment that holds up from high velocity to enterprise. Check out more free content and get help with outbound at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://outboundsquad.com.⁠

AI can speed up the work, but it still cannot replace the human connection that moves trust forward.In this episode, John sits down with Katrin Gurvich, a GTM Strategy & Operations leader at Navan, to talk about networking, referrals, AI, hiring, and what modern sales teams need to protect as the go-to-market world gets more automated. Katrin shares how she built connection as a skill, why referrals have lost meaning when they become a checkmark, and why AI-assisted work still requires real ownership from the person using it.If you are in sales, RevOps, enablement, leadership, or any GTM role where AI is changing the way work gets done, this conversation gives you a practical way to think about human touch, buyer trust, personal brand, and how reps should use the time AI gives back.Want to build a team AI can support but never replace? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.What You'll LearnWhy networking is a skill you can build through repetitionWhy referrals only matter when real trust sits behind themHow AI use reveals ownership, curiosity, and judgmentWhy human connection still matters in modern GTM executionHow onsites, events, and personal touches can change sales conversationsWhy reps need to use AI-given time to get sharper, not just fasterKatrin Gurvich is a GTM Strategy & Operations leader at Navan, where she partners across sales and revenue teams to translate high-level strategy into day-to-day execution. Her work spans diagnosing business health, improving pipeline visibility, and helping revenue leaders separate real signal from vanity metrics like quota attainment.Before Navan, Katrin held roles in sales planning and analytics at Dropbox, management consulting at HealthScape Advisors, and corporate and institutional banking at PNC, giving her a cross-functional view of how strategy, data, and operations intersect. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Case Western Reserve University, where she studied economics, psychology, and world literature.Visit and learn more about Navan:Website: https://navan.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/navan/?viewAsMember=trueFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GetNavanInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/getnavan/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@navan?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pcYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@GetNavanConnect with Katrin Gurvich:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrin-gurvich-559142130/John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today's AI-driven sales environment.Connect with John Barrows:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrowsCheck out John's Membership: https://learn.jbarrows.com/pages/individual-packages?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=podcastJoin John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

The Agents #11 - Are Our AI Agents Finally Consolidating? We hit 20+ agents. Now we're cutting back - and our productivity has never been higher. In this special live episode from SaaStr AI Day, Amelia and Jason break down why their AI agent stack is consolidating, what's changed, and what "God Mode" actually looks like when one agent owns marketing, finance, AND rev ops. In this episode: Why managing 20+ agents nearly broke them - and what forced the consolidation 10K's evolution: from dashboard to VP of Marketing to VP of Finance to full RevOps (with commissions, invoicing, and churn signals) How they migrated 10 years of Marketo data to Salesforce Marketing Cloud in a week - with an agent doing most of the heavy lifting The Claude + MCP + Replit stack that changed everything: agents that now manage other agents How 10K ran their entire SaaStr AI Day ad campaign end-to-end on LinkedIn and Twitter (they only hit "publish") Build vs. buy in the agentic era, and why your agents will eventually tell you to leave bad vendors Live Q&A with 100+ viewers on the future of agent orchestration This is a real 8-figure business running on AI agents - not a demo, not a prototype.

Databox is an easy-to-use Analytics Platform for growing businesses. We make it easy to centralize and view your entire company's marketing, sales, revenue, and product data in one place, so you always know how you're performing. Learn More About DataboxSubscribe to our newsletter for episode summaries, benchmark data, and moreIn this episode, Rick and Pete break down exactly why: the semantic layer, the metric definitions, and the standardized math that make an AI's answer trustworthy instead of a guess. If you've ever wondered why connecting five random MCP servers to Claude doesn't give you the same results as a purpose-built data layer, this is the episode.What you'll learn:Why raw data connected directly to AI can actively mislead youThe three things a system needs (semantic relationships, metric definitions, consistent statistical math) before AI can safely draw conclusionsReal examples of AI skills built on Databox MCP — sales pulse, content performance partner, weekly growth dashboardWhy "just hook up your MCPs" burns through AI credits without getting you a real answer

Bryan Byler, revenue operations leader at 4CAST GTM and former CRO/COO at Aptitude 8, joins Brendon to unpack why misalignment, not missing technology, is what quietly stalls revenue teams as they scale. Comparing notes across the franchise and healthcare industries, they dig into why "people before process" still beats every CRM decision, and how AI is reshaping buyer confidence in implementation partners. Expect a candid take on quotas, compelling events, and the real reason specialization now wins deals over platform expertise alone.What You'll LearnWhy alignment beats a perfect strategyThe real trigger for a CRM upgradeHow to build process without bureaucracySetting quotas your team can actually hitWhy industry specialization now wins dealsWhat AI means for implementation riskThe "but why" test for adoptionWhen Excel finally becomes a liabilityResources MentionedHubSpot Salesforce Clay Zoho Monday.com Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini  Excel / Google Sheets  4CAST GTM Aptitude 8  Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

CRM is finally moving closer to where sellers actually work.In this episode, John sits down with Ryan Braastad from Microsoft to talk about agentic CRM, AI adoption, productivity tools, and why the old system-of-record model has created so much friction for sales teams. Ryan shares lessons from Forrester, Yammer, Salesforce, his own startup, and Microsoft as he explains how the next wave of CRM can move closer to the flow of work.If you are in sales leadership, RevOps, enablement, or go-to-market strategy, this conversation gives you a practical look at what AI should actually do for reps: reduce admin, improve data quality, support better habits, help leaders coach more effectively, and give sellers more time to focus on customers and revenue.Want to prepare your sales team for the next version of CRM before the market moves again? Visit www.jbarrows.com and learn how you can Make It Happen.What You'll LearnWhy CRM is shifting from a system of record to a system of actionHow AI can support sellers inside the tools they already use every dayWhy CRM adoption has often failed to give reps a clear benefitHow sales leaders can think about revenue per seller as AI becomes part of the workflowWhy AI adoption should start with one specific use case, not a company-wide free-for-allWhat agentic CRM actually means and why it is different from bolting AI onto old softwareRyan Braastad is a customer-obsessed tech marketing leader at Microsoft, where he works on product strategy across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft 365, helping shape the future of agentic CRM and AI-powered productivity tools. His background spans Forrester, Yammer, Salesforce, and a self-founded fitness startup, with experience across product marketing, go-to-market strategy, productivity, collaboration, enterprise social, and business applications.Connect with Ryan Braastad:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rbraastad/John Barrows is a sales trainer, speaker, and founder of JB Sales with over 25 years of experience in the industry. He has made hundreds of cold calls a week, led startups to acquisition, and trained high-performing teams at companies like Salesforce, LinkedIn, Amazon, and Okta. Through JB Sales, John focuses on practical sales execution—helping reps fill pipeline, close deals, and build trust with buyers in today's AI-driven sales environment.Connect with John Barrows:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnbarrows/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnmbarrows/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@johnmbarrows Check out John's Membership: https://go.jbarrows.com/ Join John's Newsletter: https://www.jbarrows.com/newsletter

In this video, I sit down with rev ops expert Pasha and Adem to unpack why revenue is really an architecture problem, not a sales problem. We get into cutting through the AI noise, why your CRM ends up as a record of optimism, and what it actually takes to get sales, marketing, and success working as one unit.We cover:→ Why the hardest part of rev ops today is separating what's real from the AI hype→ How stacking tools and methodologies on a broken operating system only compounds the mess→ Why your CRM fills up with inflated pipeline and deals that advance on optimism→ How misaligned incentives pull sales, marketing and success in different directions→ The simple cataloging questions most teams still never ask their buyersIf you are a founder, rev ops leader or B2B marketer drowning in tools and dashboards but still can't get clean data or a straight answer on which accounts are actually in market.Tune in and learn:→ Why revenue is an architecture problem and what that changes about how you build your systems→ Where AI genuinely helps in the sales motion and where it just makes better spam→ How to spot the difference between real alignment and another meeting that changes nothing→ Why marketing was never equipped to decide who's in market, and who should own it instead→ Practical, bite size AI use cases that actually move the needle without a 90th operating system-----------------------------------------------------

Michelle and Colleen reunite for a wide-ranging season closer: Claude/Fable maxing anxiety, Colleen's very opinionated meal planning app, using Claude in the actual kitchen, Geocodio updates (Laracon US, ice cream truck, two open positions), and Colleen's big news. Plus: Matthias's coding agent Yak, the Yakkity Yak connection, secret RevOps plans, and an honest conversation about deliberate growth vs. quality of life.

Nobody ever shows first-time sales leaders how to actually know their numbers. In this episode, Mark Kosoglow breaks down their exact playbook, including: 

Alison "Ali" McElroy, Founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope Growth Advisors, has spent nearly two decades helping franchise brands scale across global markets, and she's seen exactly where growth quietly turns into fragility. In this conversation, she breaks down why unit-level economics, not sales momentum, determine whether a brand survives its next stage, and why "slow to go fast" beats scaling on optimism alone. If you're leading growth through a complexity ceiling, this episode reframes what actually needs to be solid before you push further.What You'll LearnWhy growth and scale aren't the same thingThe real cost of skipping foundational homeworkHow unit economics predict long-term survivalWhat "royalty self-sufficiency" actually protectsWhy culture cracks first at scaleThe mindset shared by founders who break throughWhere AI should. and shouldn't, enter your opsA framework for balancing agility with structureResources MentionedKaleidoscope Growth Advisors  Certified Franchise Executive (CFE)  Global Franchise Magazine's 100 Influential Women in Franchising FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document)  Royalty Self-Sufficiency Green in the Grain  Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

Free GTM Prompt Pack for Perplexity Computer: https://clickhubspot.com/gbvs Ep. 434 Can one RevOps leader and a team of AI agents really replace a 10-15 person operations team?  Kieran and guest Nate Follen (Head of strategy and Ops for Perplexity) dive into the real-world impact of Perplexity on modern go-to-market and RevOps workflows. Learn more on automating tedious CRM audits, building thoughtful event workflows with AI-powered model councils, and creating a scalable skills library for proactive, agent-driven teams. Mentions Nate Follen https://www.linkedin.com/in/follen Perplexity https://www.perplexity.ai/ Ramp https://ramp.com/ Ironclad https://ironcladapp.com/ Apollo https://www.apollo.io/ Nvidia https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/ Gemini https://gemini.google.com/app Claude https://claude.ai/ Get our guide to build your own Custom GPT: https://clickhubspot.com/customgpt Resource [Free] Steal our favorite AI Prompts featured on the show! Grab them here: https://clickhubspot.com/aip We're on Social Media! Follow us for everyday marketing wisdom straight to your feed YouTube: ​​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGtXqPiNV8YC0GMUzY-EUFg  Twitter: https://twitter.com/matgpod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matgpod  Thank you for tuning into Marketing Against The Grain! Don't forget to hit subscribe and follow us on Apple Podcasts (so you never miss an episode)! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-against-the-grain/id1616700934   If you love this show, please leave us a 5-Star Review https://link.chtbl.com/h9_sjBKH and share your favorite episodes with friends. We really appreciate your support. Host Links: Kipp Bodnar, https://twitter.com/kippbodnar   Kieran Flanagan, https://twitter.com/searchbrat  ‘Marketing Against The Grain' is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by Hubspot Media // Produced by Darren Clarke.

Chantel Soumis, Head of Marketing and Partnerships at Franchise Empire, joins host Brendon Dennewill to challenge how brands are approaching AI, customer engagement, and content strategy in 2026. With two decades of experience as a fractional CMO and franchise marketing leader, Chantel makes the case for human-first marketing, a structured listening tour approach, and a deliberate "anti-AI policy" that protects brand trust. If you lead marketing, revenue, or operations in a franchise or multi-location brand, this episode will reshape how you think about consistency, differentiation, and the real cost of getting it wrong.What You'll LearnWhy your customers are your brandThe case for an anti-AI policyWhat the EOS framework reveals about marketing gapsHow listening tours shape content strategyThe hidden cost of AI-generated brand damageWorking Genius and right-seat leadershipCAC and LTV as the marketing "holy grail"Resources MentionedEOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System)The Six Types of Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni Who Not How by Dan Sullivan HubSpot Culver's Frozen Custard Franchise Business Review (FBR) Survey Vistage Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

In this episode of The Private Equity Podcast, Alex Rawlings speaks with Bobby Ocampo and Sheldon Lewis, co-founders and managing partners of Blueprint Equity.Following the successful close of Blueprint Equity's $333 million third fund, Bobby and Sheldon explain how the firm identifies and supports high-growth B2B software companies. They discuss Blueprint's early growth investment strategy, its direct sourcing infrastructure and the role its six-person operations team plays in supporting portfolio companies.The conversation also explores the impact of artificial intelligence on software valuations, underwriting and value creation. Bobby and Sheldon explain how Blueprint has integrated multiple AI tools across sourcing, deal evaluation, portfolio operations and internal workflows.They also share why vertical software businesses with deeply embedded customer workflows may be better positioned to withstand AI disruption than lightweight horizontal software products.Key TopicsBlueprint Equity's early growth investment strategyRaising a $333 million third fundInvesting in B2B vertical software businessesBuilding a large direct sourcing functionSupporting founders with recruiting, go-to-market and RevOpsUsing AI to identify, prioritise and track investment opportunitiesConnecting multiple AI tools through an integrated technology stackUnderwriting software businesses in an uncertain marketAssessing founders in minority growth investmentsMoving quickly without creating employee burnoutTimestamps00:00 Introduction00:28 Blueprint Equity and the successful Fund III raise00:53 The firm's early growth equity investment thesis01:43 Building the team and operations function02:50 Common mistakes made by investment firms04:21 Underwriting software businesses in the AI era06:33 How Blueprint structures its value creation team07:41 Recruiting and institutionalising portfolio companies08:35 RevOps, reporting and financial visibility09:53 How Blueprint uses AI internally10:37 AI-driven sourcing and opportunity prioritisation11:06 Using proprietary data in underwriting12:32 Blueprint's AI technology stack14:01 Building a genuine direct sourcing strategy15:24 The resources required for proprietary origination16:46 Less obvious investment signals17:14 Assessing the entrepreneur behind the business18:13 Vertical software and the threat of AI disruption20:25 Creating a fast-moving culture without burnout22:09 Recommended private equity news and content23:34 How to connect with Blueprint EquityRaw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.

In this episode of CRO Spotlight, Warren Zenna sits down with Sam Jacobs, the visionary Founder and CEO of Pavilion. They dive deep into Sam's extensive background as a revenue leader and trace the origins of Pavilion as a peer-led community. They explore the all-too-common challenges modern executives face regarding job security, shifting expectations, and the isolation of leadership in the evolving tech ecosystem.A major focus of their conversation revolves around the true definition and architecture of the Chief Revenue Officer role. Sam shares his candid perspective on past roles, emphasizing that product-market fit often dictates success more than any individual heroics. The discussion highlights the critical necessity of treating revenue generation as a highly collaborative, cross-functional team sport rather than a solo endeavor.Warren and Sam also tackle the vital, often misunderstood role of marketing within the broader go-to-market engine. They debate how short-term incentives and immense board pressures can force revenue leaders to sacrifice long-term brand building for immediate lead generation. Sam argues passionately that mastering the art of the meeting and cohesive storytelling are true organizational differentiators.Finally, they examine the growing importance of specialization in business strategy and the immense value of maintaining a distinct competitive edge. Sam details his current vision for the future of executive development, highlighting how intimate, peer-led group experiences create unparalleled opportunities for operators to solve complex problems without ever relying on outdated playbooks or isolated solo heroism.

Sally Facinelli, growth strategist and franchise advisor with nearly 30 years in the industry, joins Brendon Dennewill to challenge the instinct to scale fast and instead make the case for intentional, systems-driven growth. From leadership transitions and organizational clarity to real-time data visibility and the accelerating impact of AI on franchise operations, Sally brings a practitioner's lens to the questions most brands avoid until it's too late. If your franchise is hitting a ceiling and you can't figure out why, this conversation will tell you exactly where to look.What You'll LearnWhy pausing momentum actually protects itThe leadership change most growing brands delay too longGrowth exposes problems, it doesn't create themBrand consistency requires more than standards documentsData without adoption is just expensive noiseWhy franchisee success is the real FranDev strategyAI as an efficiency multiplier, not a headcount replacementProactive vs. reactive brands: the COVID test caseResourcesFranchise Business Coaches (FBCs) IFA (International Franchise Association)  Sally Facinelli's upcoming book – In progress, focused on franchise leadership and sustainable growth (watch for release)Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

Seller productivity is being redefined in real time, and the divide is no longer about effort or experience. In this segment, Alex Varel shares a grounded look at how AI is already reshaping the role, from a RevOps leader training multiple agents in a single weekend to the expectation that sellers will augment their own output. The conversation highlights a growing reality for revenue teams: those who get hands-on with AI will operate at a different level, while those who don't risk falling behind faster than they expect. Alex Varel is EVP of Worldwide Sales at Cerebras Systems, where he leads global go-to-market efforts at the forefront of AI infrastructure. He has built and scaled high-performing teams across MongoDB, Zscaler, and Multiverse, driving growth through IPO, hyper-scale expansion, and emerging technology shifts. Connect with Alex: LinkedIn Resources mentioned: "The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell "AI Superpowers" by Kai-Fu Lee “Leonardo da Vinci” by Walter Isaacson "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy “The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley” by Jimmy Soni Listen to the full episode: How AI Is Rewriting the Sales Playbook and Raising the Bar on Human Performance with Alex Varel Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

In this episode of the CPQ Podcast, Frank Sohn speaks with Jagadish Bandhole, CEO and Founder of MobileForce.ai, about how CPQ is changing as AI, no-code administration, mobile workforces, and broader revenue operations requirements reshape the market. Jagadish describes himself as an engineer turned entrepreneur and shares how MobileForce has evolved since his last appearance on the CPQ Podcast in 2023. The discussion covers the company's move from Mobile Force Software to MobileForce.ai, why the shift is more than a rebrand, and how the company's approach has moved from AI-enabled toward AI-first while still recognizing that fully AI-native CPQ is an ongoing journey. The conversation also explores what CPQ customers can realistically expect from AI today. Topics include AI-assisted quote creation, automatic renewal quotes, catalog and price book updates, approval and pricing rule support, and upsell recommendations. At the same time, Jagadish explains why highly configurable products, complex rules, dynamic pricing, and cross-system orchestration remain difficult problems that require careful implementation and governance. Frank and Jagadish also discuss why CPQ projects are often delayed or fail, including poor documentation of current processes, unclear KPIs, and underestimating the need for ongoing business-led updates. The episode provides practical guidance for CPQ buyers, sales operations teams, RevOps leaders, and business analysts evaluating no-code CPQ platforms. Additional topics include CRM-agnostic CPQ, direct and indirect sales channels, partner portals, headless CPQ, offline mobile CPQ, field service integration, and quote-to-service-to-cash workflows for manufacturing, industrial, trade, and service-oriented businesses.

Revenue growth becomes harder to sustain when leadership relies on a handful of top performers, inconsistent processes, or reactive decision-making. Jason Forget, President and CRO of Cockroach Labs, shares lessons from building revenue organizations from the earliest startup stages through large-scale growth, explaining why sales motions must continuously evolve as companies scale. The conversation explores the role of RevOps as a strategic advisor to leadership, the importance of building a strong middle class of sellers, hiring for adaptability and coachability, and creating cultures where problems surface early. Jason also shares how open-source adoption can be transformed into enterprise-wide business outcomes through disciplined account planning, executive engagement, and scalable go-to-market execution. Jason Forget is President and CRO of Cockroach Labs and has spent his career building revenue organizations from multiple vantage points, including finance, RevOps, sales, and executive leadership. That uncommon path has shaped his approach to predictable growth, helping companies scale from early-stage startups to enterprise revenue organizations through operational discipline, coaching, and repeatable sales systems. Connect with Jason: LinkedIn Resources mentioned: "The Locker Room is Not for Sale" by Coach Brian White Key takeaways from this episode:  00:00 – Why the most effective RevOps leaders act less like operators and more like trusted advisors to the business. 02:52 – What it really takes to turn product adoption into an executive-level business conversation. 05:26 – A look inside how enterprise momentum is built long before an executive meeting is secured. 12:26 – Why many CROs underestimate how dramatically a sales motion must evolve as a company scales. 21:38 – What leaders often overlook about the group that drives the most predictable revenue growth. 37:08 – Why the best hires are not always the most experienced candidates on paper. 54:31 – The mistake many leaders make when performance issues appear without understanding the full context. Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

Brian Schnell, Partner and Chair of the Franchise Practice at Faegre Drinker, brings nearly four decades of franchise law, operations, and executive leadership to one of franchising's most persistent tensions: the breakdown between franchisors and franchisees. In this conversation with host Brendon Dennewill, Brian challenges the command-and-control model still used by too many brands and makes the case for a collaborative leadership philosophy rooted in trust, franchisee voice, and unit-level profitability. If you lead or advise a franchise system and want to understand what separates sustainable brands from those that stagnate, this episode is required listening.What You'll LearnWhy franchisee voice matters more than franchisee voteThe first habit of highly successful franchise systemsWhen command and control actually destroys brand equityHow leadership gaps compound as systems scaleWhat most franchise disputes actually start asThe role private equity is beginning to play in franchising's futureWhy data without the human element still leads to bad decisionsResources Mentioned2026 Franchise SummitFaegre Drinker "The Five Habits of the Highly Successful Franchise System"  framework developed by Brian Schnell and Bill Killian"The AI-Driven Leader" by Geoff Woods HubSpot CRM IFA (International Franchise Association)Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

Helena Klaus and Will Aitken audited nine sales tool categories live and named what to keep at each team size.Helena Klaus, founder of Sales in DACH, surveys her members on stack adoption. They worked through CRM, sales engagement, contact data, intent, dialers, scheduling, conversation intelligence, deal execution and AI, and recommended no single stack.When is Salesforce the wrong answer?Will: teams buy on brand recognition. With no RevOps person or admin, Salesforce slows you down at roughly three times the price of a right-sized tool. His ladder runs spreadsheet, Pipedrive, HubSpot, Salesforce. Helena's real constraint is adoption, because a young team finds excuses when the UX is bad. Will's warning on all-in-one: HubSpot's built-in sequences will usually cost you deliverability.What separates intent from timing?Helena: people confuse intent and signals with relevance and timing. She is getting a dog and searching for a leash she does not need for three months. Intent sorts a list. It does not mean someone is ready to buy.How do you pick a data provider?Will keeps ZoomInfo, Prospeo and FullEnrich open at once. Sometimes one has the mobile number, sometimes all three, sometimes none. Test across a large sample, because accuracy swings by geography and job title. Helena reads the logos on a vendor's site and calls those customers. For DACH prospecting, check GDPR compliance first.Where does AI stop?Helena will not hand forecasting to a tool, because she sat in the room and read the body language. Will will not run autonomous prospecting, since anything sent in his name can be screenshotted. He uses AI for research, list building, call prep, drafts and recaps. On build versus buy, he prices a seller's hour against quota at $200 to $300, making nine hours of building a false saving against a $50 tool.Resources mentionedTario's AI cold calling reportThe Speakers:Will Aitken, Host, Sell BetterHelena Klaus, Founder, Sales in DACHCatch The Daily Sales Show liveFollow Sell BetterExplore our YouTube ChannelWatch the replayThank you to our sponsors: Tario, Aligned, Prospeo

Casey Cease, Founder of scalingbusiness.ai, joins host Brendon Dennewill to challenge the most common mistake leaders make when scaling with AI: reaching for tactics before they have a strategy. Drawing on decades of experience across branding, publishing, franchising, and emerging technology, Casey breaks down why operational complexity, people systems, and decision-making clarity must come before any tool deployment. If your team is drowning in subscriptions they don't use, or your franchisees are calling the same repetitive questions, this episode will reframe how you think about AI, automation, and what it actually means to scale.What You'll LearnWhy strategy always comes before toolsThe three components of every AI agentSystems that protect people, not just processesWhen to trust AI with a decision (and when not to)The hidden reason leaders resist necessary changeWhat separates high performers in an AI-enabled teamFranchising's "rule of threes and tens" explainedAI as rocket fuel, not a replacementResources Mentionedscalingbusiness.aiPlanify AgencyLucid BooksStrategic Coach  The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber  Scaling Up / Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish Predictable Success by Les McKeown  The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni  The AI-Driven Leader by Geoff Woods  Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni  Zapier / Make / n8n  ClickUp / TeamGantt  Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!What if the biggest marketing problem in your organization isn't the marketing team at all?In this episode, Michael Hartmann sits down with Charral Izhiman, Head of Marketing at Bayobab and author of The Marketing Movement, for a conversation about why so many organizations still misunderstand what marketing is supposed to do, and what it takes to fix that from both sides.Charral's perspective is refreshingly different. Her book isn't written to teach marketers how to market. It's written to help non-marketing leaders understand how to actually work with marketing. That framing opens up a rich discussion about the gap between strategy and execution, and why Ops professionals may be the best-positioned people in the business to close it. In this conversation, they discuss:The outdated assumptions organizations still hold about marketing, and how marketers unintentionally reinforce themWhy Ops teams sitting at the intersection of marketing, sales, finance, and leadership are uniquely positioned as translators across the businessThe SHAPE framework, and why "Activation" is the overlooked layer between planning and resultsWhy organizations romanticize strategy and celebrate execution but skip operational readiness in the middleThe Formula 1 metaphor for marketing leadership: everything that has to come together before you can even competeWhether you're in Marketing Ops, RevOps, or marketing leadership, this episode is full of ideas for anyone trying to bridge the gap between strategy, operations, and the rest of the business. The conversation doesn't end here. Explore the full SHAPE framework and more in Charral's book, The Marketing Movement: https://themarketing-movement.com/Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations ProfessionalsSupport the show

Michael Iannuzzi, Partner and Franchise Practice Leader at Citrin Cooperman, joins host Brendon Dennewill to unpack the financial and operational fault lines that quietly derail growing franchise systems. From the tension between top-line and bottom-line incentives to the infamous "100-unit ceiling," Michael brings a practitioner's lens to unit economics, royalty self-sufficiency, and the decisions leaders delay until it's too late. If you're scaling a franchise brand and wondering when to rebuild your systems, hire your next leader, or fire yourself from your current role, this episode delivers the framework.What You'll LearnWhy franchisors and franchisees have competing financial interestsThe metric that signals when real growth beginsWhat the "100-unit ceiling" looks like in practiceWhen to fire yourself as a founderHow to build a tech stack from day oneWhat private equity actually looks for in a franchise systemThe rule of threes and tens in franchise growthResources MentionedIFA (International Franchise Association)Restaurant Leadership Conference  Franchise and Fitness Conference (Chicago) Citrin Cooperman Franchise Practice QuickBooks / XERO  FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) Franchisee Advisory Council (FAC) The Rule of Threes and Tens - Growth framework referenced by CEO of Rakuten Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

Kary Oberbrunner, Founder of Instant IP and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, joins Brendon Dennewill to challenge everything founders think they know about intellectual property. As AI accelerates IP theft across every industry, from musicians to franchise brands to solo entrepreneurs, Kary makes the case that protecting your ideas isn't a legal formality, it's a revenue strategy. If you've ever said "I don't mind if people steal my ideas," this episode will change how you run your business.What You'll Learn:Why thinking "I'm not an IP company" makes you a commodityThe shift from 17% to 90% intangible asset value in the S&P 500The offensive vs. defensive sides of IP strategyWhy using "TM" may actually invite theftHow AI is creating a new category of IP riskThe "publish, protect, promote" flywheel12 steps to becoming an IP companyResources Mentioned:Instant IP IP Toolbox"You Are an IP Company" by Kary Oberbrunner and Katie RobinoUSPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) Story Brand by Donald Miller  Working Genius by Patrick Lencioni  Strategic Coach by Dan Sullivan  Suno  Plaud AIMeta Glasses Is your business ready to scale? Take the Growth Readiness Score to find out. In 5 minutes, you'll see: Benchmark data showing how you stack up to other organizationsA clear view of your operational maturity Whether your business is ready to scale (and what to do next if it's not)Let's ConnectSubscribe to the RevOps Champions NewsletterLinkedInYouTubeExplore the show at revopschampions.com. Ready to unite your teams with RevOps strategies that eliminate costly silos and drive growth? Let's talk!

Text us your thoughts on the episode or the show!Today, most teams aren't just struggling to build their AI strategies. The real struggle begins when they try to execute their strategies. In this episode of Ops Cast, host Michael Hartmann sits down with David York, Chief AI and Innovation Officer at Helix CXM, to get practical answers about what it really takes for GTM organizations to move from talking about AI to operationalizing it.David has spent years working at the intersection of marketing operations, RevOps, automation, and AI transformation. Together, he and Michael discovered an uncomfortable truth about how most teams are already overwhelmed by manual work, fragmented processes, shadow systems, and operational debt. Piling "figure out AI" on top of all that creates more chaos. In this conversation, you'll hear:Why the gap between AI strategy and implementation is so hard to closeWhat operational excellence actually looks like in practice, and why it has to come firstWhy mapping how work gets done today is the critical first step before introducing AIThe real difference between automation and "automation plus intelligence"How to identify low-risk, high-value AI use cases (like partially manual lead routing) versus harder onesThe hidden costs teams underestimate: tooling, LLM costs, maintenance, and human monitoringWhere human judgment is still absolutely requiredPractical advice on where to start if you're feeling overwhelmed by AI pressure right nowWhether you lead a scrappy SMB or a specialized team inside a large enterprise, this is a grounded discussion about the reality of AI in modern GTM, beyond the hype and the LinkedIn hot takes.David also published a new book this week, AI-Powered Growth: A 7-Step Adoption and Transformation Framework, which goes deeper into how Marketing Ops leaders can systematically prioritize and operationalize AI initiatives. Grab a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/AI-Powered-Growth-7-Step-Adoption-Transformation/dp/B0H2QCZG5M/Enjoy the episode!Episode Brought to You By MO Pros The #1 Community for Marketing Operations Professionals MarketingOps.com is curating the GTM Ops Track at Demand & Expand (May 19-20, San Francisco) - the premier B2B marketing event featuring 600+ practitioners sharing real solutions to real problems. Use code MOPS20 for 20% off tickets, or get 35-50% off as a MarketingOps.com member. Learn more at demandandexpand.com.Support the show

Ryan Alford sits down with Josh Troy for a deep conversation on what actually creates predictable revenue in modern B2B sales. Josh explains how revenue operations, outbound systems, content, trust, and AI all fit together, and why most businesses are still chasing activity instead of building a true revenue engine. He also breaks down the difference between generating leads and generating pipeline, why cold calling still works, and how smarter follow-up systems can unlock more revenue without spending more on new leads. Ryan brings the operator and marketing lens, Josh brings the sales systems and RevOps lens, and together they unpack what founders, sales leaders, and growth-minded businesses need to understand if they want their revenue to become more reliable. Topics Covered What RevOps really means in practice Why predictable revenue matters more than one-off wins The role of AI in modern outbound strategy Why cold calling is still working How content builds trust and pipeline What businesses get wrong about lead quality Why pipeline reactivation is an underrated growth lever How founders can think more strategically about revenue systems

Andy Mowat has run RevOps at four unicorns, and between every role he's gone out and built something new. His latest is Whispered, an AI platform that helps top GTM execs build their careers through shared insights, warm introductions, and access to the roles that never get posted.In this episode, Andy and Justin get into why the entire GTM tech stack is heading for a two-year rebuild, what the move to a data-warehouse-first model means for RevOps teams, and why smaller companies are suddenly more nimble than the enterprise. Andy shares hard-won lessons from scaling Culture Amp, including the speed-to-lead system he built around time-critical leads and the market-maturity question he buried in the win-loss forms. They also dig into whether the fractional exec wave is real, why thoughtful gifting and distinctive events still beat automated outbound, and what it actually feels like to run a proactive job search at the VP level for the first time.A candid conversation between two friends about category strategy, positioning, and building a career in go-to-market when the ground keeps shifting.Buzzsprout Chapter Markers00:00 — Intro: how Justin and Andy met around Culture Amp 01:40 — Andy's background: RevOps at four unicorns, and why he keeps building 03:30 — Founders as a hiring profile, and the trap of "ambiguous roles" 05:30 — Rebuilding the GTM tech stack: data warehouse first, the semantic layer, and two years of turmoil 07:00 — The give-to-get ratio and why AI-era outbound still comes down to better emails 08:30 — Strategic gifting, distinctive events, and the Wisconsin business school cold open 11:00 — Podcasts as relationship engines, not just content 11:30 — Inside Culture Amp: 180 events a year and the speed-to-lead system 13:00 — The multi-prospect demo experiment, and the market-maturity question that predicts a category's breakout14:45 — The fractional exec wave: real shift or euphemism for "between jobs"16:15 — Why early-stage marketing needs people to "grok what you do" before top of funnel 18:00 — What's next for Whispered: the network, the community, and the roles that get whispered

Revenue leaders are under increasing pressure to grow without adding headcount at the same rate, and AI is forcing a deeper conversation about productivity, consistency, governance, and organizational design. Alex Bilmes, CEO of Endgame, joins John Kaplan and John McMahon to discuss what his team learned from analyzing more than 30,000 real AI workflows across go-to-market teams. The conversation moves beyond tool adoption and into the harder leadership questions: how to create a centralized intelligence layer, how to prevent inconsistent messaging at scale, how RevOps must evolve, where AI can accelerate ramp and account coverage, and why human judgment becomes more important as automation gets better. Alex Bilmes is the CEO and founder of Endgame, a revenue intelligence platform built for go-to-market teams. His work focuses on helping revenue organizations centralize customer, methodology, and account knowledge so both humans and AI agents can operate from a consistent foundation. Connect with Alex: LinkedIn Key takeaways from this episode:  00:00 - A look inside what happens when AI agents move from task automation to managing real revenue workflows. 06:02 - Why agent sprawl quietly creates new execution risks for CROs trying to scale AI across the revenue organization. 09:09 - What leaders often overlook about the knowledge foundation required to keep humans and AI working from the same truth. 29:29 - Why RevOps has to evolve from fulfilling requests to building systems that change how revenue teams operate. 35:04 - What it really takes for AI to improve productivity beyond simple headcount reduction. 48:28 - The governance risk many revenue leaders underestimate when AI adoption moves faster than controls. 51:26 - Why human judgment becomes more important, not less, as AI takes on more of the sales workflow. Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

In this episode of Run the Numbers, CJ sits down with ParkerGale Operating Partner Paul Stansik to break down five ways CFOs can help build a better sales engine: making the budget mean something, improving forecasting, sharpening metrics, getting involved in key RevOps moments, and building real trust with sales.—SPONSORS:Aleph is a modern FP&A platform built for teams that want more than another planning tool. By connecting your ERP, CRM, and other systems into one trusted data layer with AI workflows, Aleph helps you move faster with real-time insights. Get a personalized demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRightRev is an automated revenue recognition platform built for teams that have outgrown spreadsheets and billing tool workarounds. It handles high-volume subscriptions, usage-based contracts, and mid-cycle upgrades, so you can scale without scrambling at month-end. For RevRec that keeps your books clean, visit https://www.rightrev.com/CJRillet is an AI-native ERP built for modern finance teams that want to replace NetSuite and close faster. With revenue recognition, close management, multi-entity support, and native Stripe and Salesforce integrations, Rillet helps scaling companies run their finance stack in one place. Hundreds of teams, including Windsurf and Mercor, use Rillet to make the zero-day close real. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/cjEY works with high-growth tech companies to navigate the messy realities of scaling—from regulatory requirements to IPO readiness. By helping teams get it right early and often, EY lets founders stay focused on building while reducing risk as they grow. Learn more at https://www.ey.com/techstartupsSpendHound is a SaaS spend management platform built for finance and procurement teams that want visibility and leverage in every deal. By tracking all your software, benchmarking pricing across thousands of vendors, and surfacing contracts and renewals, SpendHound helps you stop overpaying and negotiate with confidence. Trusted by teams at ZoomInfo and Hootsuite. Get started at https://www.spendhound.com/cjBrex is an intelligent finance platform that combines corporate cards, built-in expense management, and AI agents to eliminate manual finance work. By automating expense reviews and reconciliations, Brex gives CFOs more time for the high-impact work that drives growth. Join 35,000+ companies like Anthropic, Coinbase, and DoorDash at https://www.brex.com/metrics—LINKS: Mostly Talent: https://mostlymetrics.typeform.com/to/cLTxtAsNGuest: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulstansik/Company: https://www.parkergale.com/Hello Operator: https://hellooperator.substack.com/CJ: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.com—RELATED EPISODES:Is a weekly martini ARR? | with Dave Kellogghttps://youtu.be/Yb1lUQLJ6qw—TIMESTAMPS:All verified. Here are the timestamps:0:00 Preview and intro2:27 Parker Gale and Paul's role3:52 Topic: how CFOs build a better sales engine6:21 1: Make the budget mean something8:11 Budget segmentation and cleaving the business10:54 Sponsors — Aleph | RightRev | Rillet14:08 2: Help emphasize forecasting17:23 Forecasting as non-threatening co-construction19:37 Sponsors — EY | SpendHound | Brex23:06 3: Lend a hand with data and metrics25:32 Walking sales through NDR levers27:16 Metrics tied to exit readiness28:00 4: Get involved in a few RevOps spots29:04 Pricing, proposals, and quoting31:22 Kill your SKUs32:51 Selling with certainty: quote formatting34:26 CFO letter for enterprise deals37:37 5: Build a great relationship with sales37:59 You can't fix a secret39:23 EQ over IQ for finance leaders40:41 Recap: all five tips42:11 Credits#RunTheNumbersPodcast #CFO #SalesStrategy #FinanceLeadership #RevenueOperations

Consumption pricing puts pressure on the forecast in places traditional SaaS models rarely exposed. Total usage may be easier to model from the CFO's seat, but the field still has to answer harder questions: which customer, which channel, which rep, and when. In this replay segment, Devavrat Shah explains how AI can help teams learn across cohorts, spot patterns in uneven data, and create more trust in a forecast that would otherwise depend on isolated judgment calls.  Devavrat Shah is an MIT professor, director of MIT's Statistics and Data Science Center, and co-founder and CEO of Ikigai Labs. He brings a data science and operator's perspective to forecasting, consumption pricing, and enterprise AI. Connect with Devavrat: LinkedIn Listen to the full episode here: Understanding AI Through History and Practical Application with Devavrat Shah Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results. This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management

Dr. Amy Osmond Cook, is the Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of Fullcast, an AI-native go-to-market platform that helps companies align strategy with revenue execution. A seasoned marketing executive, she has led high-growth companies like Simplus, PathologyWatch, and Onboard from Series A to acquisition. Dr. Cook founded Stage Marketing, a successful full-funnel marketing firm, and has a PhD in Communication from the University of Utah. She is a recognized thought leader in business and healthcare marketing and has taught at ASU, BYU, and the University of Utah. In this episode… What happens when the friction between sales and marketing slows down growth, even in companies with great products? Can AI truly fix that gap — or does real acceleration still depend on how people and teams work together? And what does it take to scale revenue without losing alignment along the way? Dr. Amy Osmond Cook, a seasoned marketing and RevOps leader, explains that growth accelerates when AI-powered systems are combined with strong human alignment across sales and marketing. She highlights how Fullcast unifies forecasting, commissions, territory planning, and revenue operations into one platform to remove friction and improve execution. The result is faster alignment, clearer visibility, and more predictable revenue outcomes. She also shares how strategic acquisitions and deep data integration helped build a scalable system that still prioritizes onboarding and client relationships.  In this episode of the Inspired Insider Podcast, host Dr. Jeremy Weisz sits down with Dr. Amy Osmond Cook, to talk about AI, RevOps, and scaling revenue through better alignment. They discuss building Fullcast through acquisitions, using AI for forecasting and commissions, and improving sales territory planning. Dr. Cook also shares insights on onboarding, post-sale relationships, and maintaining trust during growth.