Podcasts about salesloft

Why B2B Lead Qualification Fails and How to Fix It  Traffic is cheap, but qualified B2B sales conversions are not. Too many CMOs in the B2B space are watching brilliant creative go to waste at the top of the marketing funnel because what's passing through as a “qualified lead” often isn't really qualified. How can B2B marketers identify where the real lead qualification bottleneck is? Why is rethinking how MQLs are defined, scored, and routed one the most strategic fixes a CMO can make to improve pipeline performance? That's why we're talking to Gabe Lullo (CEO, Alleyoop), who shared some insights around why B2B lead qualification fails and how to fix it at the top of the funnel. During our discussion, Gabe challenged the common misconception that poor lead quality is the issue when sales aren't closing. Instead, he emphasized the importance of a clearly-defined Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), a strong product-market fit, and a well-mapped B2B sales journey. Gabe also stressed the need for A/B testing, identifying and resolving funnel bottlenecks, and using data-driven decision-making to improve lead conversion rates. He underscored the value of nurturing leads and cautioned B2B marketers against dismissing traditional marketing channels without rigorous testing. https://youtu.be/KXVmywNsfP0 Topics discussed in episode: [02:36] Why top-of-funnel lead qualification breaks down in B2B. [16:37] How to define and operationalize your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). [12:17] When MQLs hurt more than they help, and how to fix them. [26:14] How A/B testing and data-driven decisions improve lead conversion. [27:53] Why lead nurturing is critical to long sales cycles. [34:05] When to test (not abandon) traditional B2B marketing channels. Companies and links mentioned: Gabe Lullo on LinkedIn  Alleyoop  ZoomInfo  Salesloft  Adobe  Transcript SPEAKERS Gabe Lullo, Christian Klepp Gabe Lullo  00:00 So we’re doing top of funnel activities, and then we’re sending leads over. The sales team takes them, and then what we find, a lot, we hear this all the time, is leads aren’t closing. And what’s interesting is that it was never a lead problem. It was more of a, you know, seller problem. I don’t mean to put blame on it, but companies come to us saying, hey, my sellers are saying we don’t have enough leads, we don’t have better leads, we don’t have good leads, and they’re the ones complaining about the lead. So they come to us to fix the lead problem. We fix the lead problem, but it doesn’t fix the revenue problem. It’s still not closing. So what is it? Christian Klepp  00:30 Traffic is cheap, but conversion is not too many CMOs (Chief Marketing Officer) are watching brilliant, creative go to waste at the top of the funnel, because what’s passing through as qualified just isn’t so how can you identify where the real bottleneck is, and why is rethinking how MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) are defined and scored the single most strategic fix? A CMO can make welcome to this episode of the B2B Marketers on the Mission podcast, and I’m your host, Christian Klepp. Today, I’ll be talking to Gabe Lullo, who will be answering these questions. He’s the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development agency working with industry giants such as ZoomInfo, Salesloft and Adobe. Tune in to find out more about what this B2B Marketers Mission is, and off we go. Mr. Gabe Lullo, welcome to the show, sir. Gabe Lullo  01:17 Christian. Thank you so much. First off, I’m a huge fan of yours, so is my team, and we just appreciate all that you do for the industry. And I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for the invite. Christian Klepp  01:28 Wow, wow. Thank you. Thank you so much. Right off the gate with the praise, thank you, sir. Gabe Lullo  01:33 Well, you deserve it, man, you’re the best. What do you do. I love it. I love your show, and I love being a part of that. Christian Klepp  01:38 I appreciate that. I appreciate that. You know, we really had an awesome, like, pre-interview conversation. I’m gonna say, like, you know, talking about coming up to Toronto and Buffalo and what have you. And I’m really looking forward to this conversation, Gabe, because, man, you know, what? As much as some Marketers probably don’t want to hear this. It’s an, I think this is an absolutely necessary conversation to have. Right this topic that we’re going to talk about, and I will not keep the audience in suspense for too long. I’m just going to jump into the first question, if you don’t mind. Gabe Lullo  02:09 Yeah, no problem. Let’s get right into it. Christian Klepp  02:11 All right, so Gabe, you’re on a mission to provide the ultimate assist to your clients by setting them up for success. So for this conversation, let’s zero in on the following topic of how B2B Marketers can fix qualification at the top. So here comes the first question in our previous conversation. You talked about many marketing funnels being a leaky bucket. Can you please explain what you meant by that? Gabe Lullo  02:36 Yeah, I think companies right now are going to market in a very hodgepodge type of way, you know, ICP (Ideal Customer Profile), you know, we throw that terminal around a lot, and, you know, people think they know what it is, or feel like they have it drilled down, or feel like it’s completely locked, locked in. And then clients invite us in, and we realize it’s not the case, and it’s not just what the ideal client profile is, which, of course, is quintessential to going to market, and it’s really the first step to qualification, isn’t it, right? But on the other side of it, it is, you know, is there a product market fit? Is there a pricing that needs to be aligned? What’s the competitive landscape look like? So when we’re having live conversations, our sellers are making, you know, 11 million cold calls a year. That’s front of the line conversations, right? And we can hear, understand, and truly, you know, debrief with what each call is sounding like, so we can then narrow in what those qualifications should be. You know, a lot of you know, let’s say VPs of sales come into the sales development side of the house or the marketing side of the house, and they apply sales training methodologies to top of funnel qualifications, and it really gets broken as well. So there’s a lot to unpack, but I’ll give you an example. You know, band for instance, but you know budget authority needed timing. Like, is that really the right qualification at the top of the funnel, or does that really, you know, evolve the seller and the demo and the discovery call at that moment in time. So really understanding who’s in charge of that top of funnel and what their experience is also as a part of it, in my opinion. Christian Klepp  04:13 Absolutely, absolutely and you’re absolutely right. There’s so much to unpack here, but I have to ask just from your experience, and I know you have a lot, it seems like it’s just, there’s so many moving parts in this ecosystem, and a lot of like, well, what causes the leaky funnel? I’m gonna say is a lot of the things that you just mentioned, right? It’s a lack of understanding of who the actual ICP is. It’s probably also, especially the bigger the the organization gets sorry to everyone out there, but the lack of ownership and accountability, the lack of an actual strategy, like, where’s this all gonna go? Right? Gabe Lullo  04:54 Oh, it’s interesting. Yeah, I find this to be our except we so we’re doing top of the funnel activities, and we’re sending leads over, the sales team takes them, and then what we find, a lot, we hear this all the time, is leads aren’t closing. And what’s interesting is that it was never a lead problem. It was more of a seller problem. Now I don’t mean to put blame on it, but companies come to us saying, hey, my sellers are saying we don’t have enough leads, we don’t have better leads, we don’t have good leads, and they’re the ones complaining about the lead so they come to us to fix the lead problem. We fix the lead problem, but it doesn’t fix the revenue problem. It’s still not closing. So what is it? It’s the entire channel, right? It’s the entire sales journey, and we have to make sure that all of those things are working like an engine, right? All the cylinders are working at the same time in the same motion, to truly know what the problem may be. So that that’s really exposed a lot when we step in and start doing top of funnel activities, Christian Klepp  05:55 Absolutely, absolutely. And that segues into the next question, which I feel you’ve already answered to a certain extent. But where do you feel the true bottleneck lies, and that may be dependent on the company, right? Because each company maybe has a different set of challenges. And most importantly, okay, where does the bottleneck lie? And how do how can B2B Marketing teams help address the bottleneck and not be part of the bottleneck? Gabe Lullo  06:21 Yeah, absolutely. I mean, there’s an eight step approach to sales. That’s what we call your sales journey, right? You have, obviously, you know, list building, and then we have, of course, outreach, we have qualification, we have discovery call, we have demo, we have, you know, closing or negotiating. We have client success. I mean, that’s the basic funnel, if you will. So is our, I should say, all of those things operating at the best of its ability. And what is broken, and it’s, it’s the old, you know, Henry Ford approach the assembly line. You know, there’s an assembly line and building a car, and there’s an assembly line in sales. And you have to know those steps, firstly, two, you have to know if those steps are working correctly, and figure out where that bottleneck is, and then, you know, take those blockers away so that those cars are flowing in and the production line doesn’t stop and we’re, you know, executing on the results that we need to serve our clients. Christian Klepp  07:16 100% agree. But now I’m gonna throw in another like wild card question, and I know you can handle it, right? When companies like yours come in to help organizations, right, there are times, even from my own experience, where the internal teams look at you and go, What are those guys doing here? Right? Like, is my job on the line. So they feel, they feel threatened, right by by somebody coming in and providing an external perspective. So I guess the question is, how do you deal with that kind of push back to help fix this leaky marketing funnel? Gabe Lullo  07:57 Yeah, it’s very important, right? Because a lot of companies come, you know, come in like us, and say, You know what, we’re going to come in here and try to solve the problem, or rip and replace or threaten the job. And it’s interesting, our point of contact, usually is the person who may be, you know, being fired because of our success. Well, we don’t want to approach it that way. So we set clear expectations that, hey, listen, we’re not here to rip and replace we are here to work as a parallel to what you’re existing doing, so we can A/B test and share best practices and be collective in those results. A lot of companies who have existing teams in place usually put us in scenarios where we’re bringing something new to market, or we’re reaching out to a market that is you know, you know, a new product line or a new segment, and we’re bringing that in. We do, however, see about a 20 to 30% increase in existing production when an outside partner comes in, because, again, we are sharing best practices. We’re all working together, but there is some pressure on the line when they see it. You know, another great player on the team playing ball. However, we did put a mechanism in place that really helps alleviate the fear, if you will, of that rip and replace scenario. Very unique thing to us, only a handful of companies I know about, of hundreds and if not thousands, that do what we do, do this. And here’s what it is, a lot of companies want to hire everything within and bring everything in house, in the sales development side within, because they graduate those people into account executives or closers or higher level performers or managers, so that graduation of career placement is there if you do it in house. So what we say is, you know what? You can have that great feeling of growing and building your team in house with us too. So all of our reps (representatives) who come work here, and all of our clients who enroll with us know that they can hire our reps and and bring them into their payroll and into their in house team with our help. So that’s a really good way of curving the fear, because they know, hey, this person who’s executing this outbound activity could be our next closer, and we can hire them to not take again, to not take away from what their current teams are doing, but to add to and grow that existing team they have. Christian Klepp  10:14 Absolutely, absolutely, and you know where I’m going with this, right? Because, like, you know, far too often, especially the higher ups that are not involved in the day to day, that are looking at this from the, I call it the Mount Olympus perspective, right, looking down at the land of the living, right? Like, why are you bringing in an external partner? Isn’t that your job to fix it? Right? But there are benefits to your point of, like, bringing in somebody that’s external, that’s not privy to, perhaps, some of the bias, some of the, certainly, the, certainly the organizational like dynamics and politics, which may, may be more detrimental than useful, right? Gabe Lullo  10:50 Yeah. I mean, we do punchy contracts, right? We have a six month minimum engagement. But so when we do that, you know, we’re saying, Hey, listen, we’re, we’re going to work with you for six months. We’re going to give it everything we got. And if it’s something you want to bring in-house from our team, great. If it’s you want to continue, great, or if you’ve learned a lot and you’re able to duplicate our efforts, also great too. So again, we’re not going in there saying, Oh, this is our world. Now. Get out of the way. Good luck, you know, and giving pink slips to people, it’s about really, again, how can we help? How can we assist? How can we hit this number? It’s not getting hit. There has to be reasons why. And let’s figure those numbers out, and let’s figure out the reasons why. And then, and then we move on, you know. So there’s short contracts, and then there’s very, very long contracts, you know, ZoomInfo has been a client off and on for the last decade. We’re doing a program right now where they just launched a lot of cool things, and we’re helping them so companies like that, size and stature, still come to outside help when necessary, when the timing is right and the fit is right. Christian Klepp  11:55 Amazing. Amazing. All right. Next question. So why do you believe rethinking how MQLs are defined and scored as the most strategic fix that a CMO can make, and what are some of these other key pitfalls that Marketers should avoid, and what should they be doing instead? I mean, let’s, let’s keep the conversation constructive here, right? Gabe Lullo  12:17 So defining and scoring MQLs is by far one of the first things, if not the most important thing, to start with, right? Because that is, again, the start of that assembly line. You know, garbage in, garbage out. And so if we’re not actually understanding why those MQLs are, the MQLs that we are saying they are, and what those triggering events are causing them to be considered. MQLs could truly dictate whether or not we’re receiving garbage into the funnel versus excellence and extraordinary leads and MQLs into the funnel. So again, it’s going back to that ICP, like we discussed earlier. It’s determining, okay, are these worthy and does it make sense to continue this, lead this MQL down the funnel, and will it produce results? Should it even be in the system at all? So knowing that up front, like I said earlier, it’s like the raw material. You know, if you have really bad raw material that you’re using to build your cars, you know, no matter how great it comes out at the other end, it’s not going to be a quality vehicle. So it’s that, it’s the raw material that we need to make sure that’s first and foremost, because it’s the start of the entire process. Christian Klepp  13:29 Yeah, yeah, no, that’s for sure. Because, you know, how many times have you heard that, right? Like the marketing team says, well, we’ve, we’ve got, we’ve generated the MQLs, we’ve passed them on to the sales team now, so we’re good, yeah, but that’s not where it stops, right? Like, so especially if the MQLs are, like, not qualified, right? Gabe Lullo  13:48 No, I couldn’t agree with you more. And again, having sales and marketing work synergistically in that determination is paramount. You know, so many companies, and it’s the old adage, and I think it’s almost a cliche now, because it’s been said so many times that you know, sales is throwing spears over the fence to marketing, and marketing is throwing another spear back to them, and they’re fighting back and forth over this wall. The deal is, you got to break down the wall and start having conversations. And again, sellers have to give feedback on why we’re seeing this to not be the right fit, and Marketers have to be curious and asking what those things may be happening on those conversations, so they can go find the MQLs that that is worthy. Christian Klepp  14:30 Absolutely, absolutely. And on that topic, what are some of these other pitfalls that marketers should be looking out for, and what should they be doing instead? Gabe Lullo  14:39 Yeah, I think what right now is that you have to really understand your channels. You know, a lot of Marketers right now are doubling down on things that may not be producing the results that they have been expecting. Maybe a year from now, two years from now, every company is different, every ICP is different, and every industry is different. I’ll give you an example. You know, if you’re reaching out to sellers and you know, red. Heads of revenue, you have to have a totally different approach than if you’re reaching out to VPs of technology and cyber security. Now that may sound basic, but if you were coming from a company and you’re in your head of marketing, and you’re coming from a company where your ICP and your persona is all tech based companies, or all tech based personas, and you go into a new industry or a new company, and you come with that lens. It’s not the right approach. You know, sellers like to pick up the phone. They think they’re customers. They use the phone all day long. They pick up the phone all the time. Maybe that’s the right channel, right? CTOs (Chief Technology Officers), CIOs (Chief Information Officers), CSOs (Chief Security Officers), they are not usually picking up the phone. Maybe they’re their channels significantly different, and so you have to realize, understand what your persona is, so you can do marketing activities towards that total addressable market that resonate and hit home and get their attention. And it could be just as much as where they live in regards to where, where do they associate with, what, what channel are they living on? Are they people that pick up the phone? Are they ones that live on LinkedIn? Are they ones that go to Instagram? Are they ones that go to conferences? Where is your audience? And know that first and then go talk to them? Christian Klepp  16:10 That’s definitely a great insight. You know it. I know it. The problem is that there’s so many teams out there that skip this part, right? Like that, like that. That detailed breakdown you just gave us about the different let’s call them like, the different personas, the different behaviors, the different channels, like, Why do you think a lot of teams out there skip this part? Is it because of the the time crunch, the pressure to deliver immediately is all of the above? Gabe Lullo  16:37 Yeah, I think, you know, there’s a lot of boardrooms out there. They come out with this unique product, and then with all they do is they do is they look at the TAM, what’s the total addressable market? But that’s like saying, I want to go catch a tuna fish. But you know, let’s just look at the entire ocean. Like, okay, we have to be more specific. Where do the tuna fish actually swim? Where part of Do they like warm water? Do they like the coast? Are they more towards New Zealand, or are they up towards the Massachusetts? So you have to know where your school of fish are. If you want to go fishing, you can’t just look at the entire ocean as the market. And I think narrowing it down to understand patterns and where people are so you can go talk to them is the right approach, versus this spray and pray mentality that I feel marketing has been living in for many, many years, and now it’s becoming more self evident because of AI, right? Because AI can tell us a lot of these things. AI can do a lot of analysis and research, and it’s giving us insights that we’ve never been able to really see before because of the speed and quickness of it. And so I think we are getting to a point, and I’m hopeful that we are more specific with our total addressable markets in new companies specifically that may not have the experience or the capacity like they used to. And I think it’s exciting. Christian Klepp  16:37 Oh Gabe, you just open the door to another question there. Man. Gabe Lullo  16:37 Like, start with an A. Christian Klepp  16:37 Yeah, it starts with an A. But, like, you know, since you brought it up, I’ve got to ask AI, right? Gabe Lullo  16:37 Yeah. Christian Klepp  16:37 And in terms of, like, helping to fix a leaky marketing funnel, how do you from your experience and your perspective, how do you think AI is helpful, and how is it harmful? Gabe Lullo  17:23 Sure. I mean double edged sword, right? We love AI. We accept it. We know it’s here. We’re not scared of it. We’re not running away from it, but we’re also not ripping and replacing things too abruptly with with the implementation of it, either. For instance, I’ll give you real examples. Are we telling AI to go make cold calls? Well, no, it’s illegal, technically. Secondly, are we using it, though, on the flip side, to train our reps on how to effectively handle great questions and objections through an AI sparring partner? Yeah, we are, and it’s amazing at it. So we actually have our reps when they’re brand new and onboarding or launching into a new campaign. We program the robot, the AI right to be able to have conversations in real life time with our reps, to literally spar with them. And it’s like practice. It’s a sparring partner before they go live onto a campaign, and it prepares them immensely before the live show, before they’re before they’re active, right on the campaign. So this is one way we’re doing it. Other ways, obviously email, messaging, obviously personalization, obviously research, you know, pre-call research, account research, determining who’s picking up the phone when they pick up the phone, how many times does it take to call them? You know, time zones? What’s the best time to call them? And it’s crazy what it could do, but it’s really, really helpful. But it’s not a crutch. It’s an assistant, and that’s how we’re approaching it. It’s not replacing human to human communication. If it was. Maybe you and I would just have our AI avatars do this podcast right instead of we’ll be on a beach somewhere, maybe we’ll be there in the future. I’m not predicting it, but I will say there’s a huge, significant role it plays right now, but it is not a role that’s, in my opinion, supposed to replace everything. It can replace a lot, but not everything. Christian Klepp  20:20 Absolutely. I mean, it certainly requires a lot of like, human intervention, right? And it’s and it’s constantly learning, and it’s learning quickly, which I think is to its benefit, to its detriment. And I think that’s, that’s your point as well. There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s AI generated that just looks off, starting with videos even, even like in I don’t know if you’ve dabbled with Google notebook, right? It can, it can take all that content and turn it into an audio file. And it’s scary. How real it sounds. Gabe Lullo  20:54 It is pretty scary. And I have seen tools like that. I love there’s one right now, where it’s actually tracking not even what someone is saying, but how they’re saying it. So tonality, right is a huge piece of communication, as we know, and so it’s literally listening to calls and sales calls, and not just again, we’ve seen it before, like, you know, Gong and others, where it’s telling, hey, maybe say this. Don’t say that, but it’s also giving that score of how they’re delivering that message, which, in my world, is huge because, you know, I could read a script, or I can, you know, have an amazing performance, and that’s how we approach, you know, the way we communicate on a phone call. So that is why we’re so excited. Because there’s new tools coming out all the time that are really, really impactful, for sure. Christian Klepp  21:42 Absolutely, absolutely. So you’ve touched on this a little bit like in the past couple of minutes, but explain how market research and strategy help to develop a solid marketing funnel, not a leaky one. Gabe Lullo  21:55 Yeah. I mean, I think it’s your playbook, right? You know, you have to have a built out playbook, and it’s your guide. And it’s not just important to go to market with a playbook, but it’s also going to market to scale, right? You know, once you get it to work, the ever everything after that is, how do we duplicate and how do we scale? So the playbook is that design is the architecture behind your strategy. So when we do start pouring fuel on the fire and we’re adding people, we’re adding leads, we’re adding workflows, we’re adding everything outside of that, we still go back to the playbook. It’s like the Constitution, right? Everything based off that in our country. I know we’re in different ones, but my point is is, is you have a framework, right, that we go off of and that playbook is so vital to our importance of market research gives us a great understanding of where that playbook is built and how it’s designed and how it’s architected, and that’s how we that’s how we do it here. Christian Klepp  22:55 And even how the playbook can be iterated, right? Because let’s not forget that it’s not written in stone. Gabe Lullo  23:01 Evolving. Yeah, absolutely. I do want to warn people, though, evolve with time. Be patient, right? You know, marketing, sales, development, it’s not a light switch. Yeah, I always say it’s like boiling water, right? So a watch pot technically does boil. It’s just painful to watch. So, but the point is, is that you have to give it enough time to see if that playbook is yielding results. What you don’t want to do is change the play, you know, too many times in the middle of the game, because then you look confused and confused. People do nothing, right? So, yes, is it evolving? Does it pivot? Does it grow? Do you do you change things up, of course. But also you want to do it in a tactful timeline to make sure that it is truly a working playbook or not. Christian Klepp  23:47 Absolutely, absolutely. And you brought something up, and I have to ask this, this next question, it’s… We know, from a marketing point of view, that rolling out these initiatives and seeing the results takes time, yeah, but we’ve had, I’ve certainly had this experience in B2B, that there are people, again, at the top, that don’t have oversight into the day to day, and probably also don’t understand quite how the process works, that don’t have that patience, right, that are telling you, like, hurry up and deliver like, we want results right now. So what do you say to those, I guess the people that are doubting that this initiative needs more time than they think it does. Gabe Lullo  24:30 Yeah. I mean, I think looking at benchmarks and case studies and past results is very important, like I said, Back to the boiling of water. You can show a thermometer as well, like you can see, is it working well? You can put a thermometer in a boiling pot of water and watch the temperature go up, right? And it gives you a clear indication and forecast, if you will, that you’re going to achieve boiling point eventually. It’s not just again, you put the water in and then. And you all of a sudden, measure boiling. You have to measure along the way, and that’s we want to do. So what the ways we do it specifically is, if we’re working on a campaign that is almost a look alike campaign to another company, maybe it’s in the same industry, same ICP, you know, same your size, same scope, we can look at that historical result and say, Hey, by the way, if we do these, these, these and these, you’re going to we’re going to expect boiling point at this time based on a company that’s very similar to yours. Now, is it identical? No, maybe that company has really bad sellers we talked about. Maybe that company doesn’t really care about content and they’re just missing the boat there. Maybe they have a crappy website, like, I don’t, there’s different levers that could, you know, alter the recipe, but we can absolutely make highly educated guesses, as opposed to just trying to wing it or give false expectations. Christian Klepp  25:54 Yeah, yeah, no, that’s absolutely right, all right. I mean, you’ve given us a lot of, like, recommendations, a lot of actionable tips. So walk us through, and I know it varies from company to company and case by case, but walk us through the process of how you actually fix a leaky marketing funnel. Like, what are the steps? What are those key components that absolutely have to be in that process? Gabe Lullo  26:14 Yeah, you have to, you know, inspect what you expect. You have to understand what your messaging is, and you have to A/B test it all the time. I A/B test everything, whether it’s data vendors, whether it’s email messaging, whether it’s LinkedIn content, what you have, obviously mechanisms, depending on what tech you’re working with, what vendors you’re working with, or your history or historical results are to give you grades and scores and A/B testing everything. So if you have, you know campaigns that are running that are successful, you should be able to know how to measure that. That’s what’s so important. So you have to have inspect, inspection tools in place across everything you’re doing on those campaigns to tell you, Hey, this is broken, this is leaky. This isn’t working. Or on the flip side, this is crushing right now. This is totally resonating right now, and we’re loving these, seeing these numbers, and then pour fuel on that fire and focus on that and remove the other ones, and still A/B test, because you always want to keep getting better. So A/B test everything, define the leaks, and then try to fix those leaks as fast as possible. Christian Klepp  27:23 Fantastic, fantastic. And because we’re talking about marketing funnels, I mean, like, I can’t help myself but ask you, okay, but what about metrics? Because that’s something that people want to see, right? But I’m not talking about like, let’s, let’s come up with this like, laundry list of like metrics, and you go down this deep rabbit hole. Like, what are the metrics that you would say, or you would advise B2B Marketers to look at to say, like, okay, we’re trying to fix the leaky marketing funnel here, and these metrics will help you to indicate that there is progress. Gabe Lullo  27:53 Yeah. I mean, it’s harder now than ever before to metric things out, and it’s because of tech that’s kind of getting in the way. You know, for instance, in an email campaign, there’s been some rules and regulations in the last recent years that prevents us from seeing whether or not there’s clicks and opens that are happening on email campaigns. I’ve actually removed many of those triggers completely away from our campaigns, because it’s preventing deliverability, and it’s preventing our ability to keep domains healthy. So there are a lot of moving parts right now that’s happening because of these AI filtration tools. I just heard Google just released that it’s going to now put disclaimers and emails saying that this was written by AI. And so there’s it’s ever involving so depending on I guess when your listeners are hearing this, it may be completely different in a year, but I will tell you that there are definitely things that we need to metric and we need to have KPIs for. But I think the priority of what we used to measure two, three years ago, is significantly different than what we measure today, because of those rules and regulations. So if we’re talking about emails, I want to know what we’re sending, who we’re sending it to, who obviously is responding. What are those responses look like? Is it turning to an actual lead? Are we turning on warm leads, or are we just looking at set meetings? You know, it’s interesting, right? There is only about 2 to 3% of the market ever wants to truly buy, and they’re in buying mode, and I think a lot of companies are just looking for those people, and about 20% of the market is actually interested in buying and we turn that entire segment off. It’s about 10 times more people. But if we can warm the nurture them correctly, and message them correctly, that’s where the rubber meets the road, and that’s where your gold is. I like to analogize everything. So, yeah, when you have a green apple, right? What do you do with the green apple? You put it on the window sill, and then the sun on the windowsill warms it up. Now, that doesn’t mean you just throw out the apple. That means you have a lot of opportunity. You just have. To nurture, and you be patient. And you have to know that timing is everything in business. So if you’re just looking for the red apples, you’re only gonna get 3% if you’re looking for green apples that turn into red apples, now you’re getting 25% so focus on the 25, be patient. Fix those leaky buckets, of course. A/B test, and then then you measure. Christian Klepp  30:20 Yeah or you get yourself an apple orchard. You mentioned one keyword there, nurture, right? I think that’s the one that’ll I see a lot of, like people in sales and even in marketing, right? They just don’t take that time to nurture those leads. They close in. I keep saying they close in for the kill too fast, right? Gabe Lullo  30:44 Yeah. I mean, go back to that food analogy, that the fruit analogy, again. Christian Klepp  30:49 Sure. Gabe Lullo  30:49 I’m on a roll with that. Christian Klepp  30:50 Please. Gabe Lullo  30:50 It’s the low hanging fruit cliche, right? Christian Klepp  30:52 Yes. Gabe Lullo  30:52 Everyone focuses on the low hanging fruit. They’re not focusing on what else is part of that harvest. They’re not focusing on the nurturing. They’re not focused on watering. They’re not focusing on circling back, following up, checking in, providing value in those checks. Not just say, Hey, I’m following up, no, provide value in those seconds, right? And that’s again, that’s where you see excellence happen, you know? And there’s a lot of young, and I don’t mean to be age, but like tenure, people that are experienced, that are in these experience roles right now, and I feel that they’re just trying to get that quick answer and that quick response. And we’re in this like dopamine, like, you know, hit like social media environment right now. Not to go off topic, but I think people are not again, they’re in this microwave society, and they don’t understand the value of nurturing. And if you do and you treat that part seriously, wow, it usually is a windfall at that time. Christian Klepp  31:47 Absolutely, absolutely. It’s an art, a skill, a craft, isn’t it? Right? All of you love, okay, my friend, we come to the point in the conversation where we’re talking about actionable tips, and Gabe, you’ve given us plenty, all right, but just think of this kind of like a recap. If there was somebody listening to this conversation that you and I are having, and you want them to walk away with three to five things that they that they can take action on right now, when it comes to fixing a leaky marketing funnel, what would they be? Gabe Lullo  32:17 Well, I think the best thing is you have to really decide if you have the right people in place, right, and are they? And it doesn’t mean that they are the ones that are going to bring it home. It doesn’t mean that they’re they don’t need support and training and love, like, do they have the commitment? Do they have good experience? Are they willing to roll up their sleeves and get get a little dirty, and if you feel like you have a great team in place of people that are ready to get to work and solve some problems. I think that is literally step one. Step two is, do we have the messaging in the mark, in the ICP nailed down? We really need to know that, because, again, there’s no point of building a campaign if you don’t know who you’re sending it to. And then, thirdly, you really have to make sure that you’re willing to A/B test. It’s hard enough to build a campaign, but it’s much more difficult to build two or three campaigns. Run three campaigns, right as opposed to one, and score each of them to determine what’s working, what’s effective, and what’s not, and then you pivot based on those results. So I think finding a great team is basic and fundamental. Finding a great ice or determining a great ICP is before you build the messaging and then measure the message across multiple campaigns, and then you should be on your way Christian Klepp  33:29 And test, test, test, everything, right? Gabe Lullo  33:34 Yes, it’s great. It could be working. It’s exciting, but maybe there’s a significantly more effective way of doing it, even though it’s still working, and let the data make those decisions for you and drive everything based off data driven decisions, and that’s how you should be operating. Christian Klepp  33:51 Absolutely, absolutely. All right. Here comes the soapbox question, a status quo in your area of expertise that you passionately disagree with and why? Gabe Lullo  34:05 Yeah, I think the big thing right now, and I have to just kind of talk about my space, because you said in my industries, like, there’s a lot of, you know, people out there soapboxing, to be exact, on things that are dead or not. And I will tell you that, you know, cold calling is dead, emailing is dead. You know, LinkedIn is dead, or all of these things and and when you peel back the onion, you notice that those individuals who are saying that users are trying to sell a book or something, and nothing against selling books, but it sounds like there’s a personal agenda and not actual operational intelligence that is dictating what they’re saying. So to your point about testing everything, don’t assume something is not going to work just because someone said it on the internet. Test it and then decide if it’s going to work. And it may surprise you in a big, big way. Christian Klepp  34:56 I truly believe that, man, I truly believe that. I mean to your point. About, like, email being dead. I mean, I did close one client who was a guest on the show, and it took me a year to close, but I closed it through email. Gabe Lullo  35:09 Yeah. Christian Klepp  35:11 Right. And it’s to your point, it’s sending, sending that person articles that were relevant to that person’s industry and saying, like, Hey, I read this the other day, what are your thoughts on this? And here’s my take. What do you think? Gabe Lullo  35:24 That is the best way to do an email, right? You know, we do a lot of content and on social media, we do a lot of podcasting, posts on LinkedIn, but that’s all great, but where the rubber meets the road is you take that post and you send it in an email or a direct message and say, Hey, listen. This made me think of our last conversation, and I really liked the way that this person mentioned this. Do you think you know that there is, is the timing right here to reopen this conversation, and you feel like the problem is still existing in your world, and love to see if we can solve it for you, that type of content, that type of message, that type of verbiage at the right time in a nurture campaign like we discussed, close one business, right? That’s how it works. Christian Klepp  36:08 Absolutely, absolutely okay. Here comes the bonus question, and for those of you that are listening to the audio version, Gabe’s got two guitars right behind him, so I’m just gonna go on a hunch here that he likes playing guitar, right? So the question is, if you had the opportunity to, like, go on a tour with your favorite guitarist/musician, who would it be, and where would you go? Gabe Lullo  36:36 Wow, I love this question. I do play the guitar. I’m a bet big avid music player. Love Rock as well, but all genres, I will say, in real life, we just actually my family, my wife and daughter and I went to go see Oasis reunion tour, which was in Toronto, actually, out of all places. Christian Klepp  36:53 That’s right, you mentioned it. Gabe Lullo  36:54 Yeah, we went to see that. It was epic. Obviously, the brothers have been apart for many years. A lot of drama there. But yeah, you know, I’m old enough to remember their original songs, so it was cool to reminisce and introduce my daughter to that music, which was pretty cool. We’re gonna go see Paul McCartney in a few weeks. He’s on tour now and never seen him or I’m a big fan of The Beatles, and I think that would be really exciting to tour with him, obviously. And I think those are definitely both of those right there kind of sum up the type of music that I resonate with. Christian Klepp  37:26 Amazing, amazing. I just remember, like, this is, this is a couple of years ago. I think he’s already passed away, but Compay Segundo. Gabe Lullo  37:33 Oh yeah. Christian Klepp  37:34 Buena Vista Social Club. And the guy was in his 90s, and they were, they had a concert, and they they brought him up in stage in his wheelchair, helped him get up, get out of that wheelchair, and they gave him that guitar, and off he went, Man, like, Gabe Lullo  37:48 Yeah, yeah, that’s amazing, man, that’s amazing. Christian Klepp  37:53 Gabe, this has been such a great conversation. Thank you so much for coming on and for sharing your experience and expertise with the listeners. So please quick intro to yourself and how folks out there can get in touch with you. Gabe Lullo  38:03 Yeah, LinkedIn is the best way to connect with me directly. I post twice a day, every day. We’re very bullish with our content. There’s a lot of free material there. We have a newsletter, so please take a look at that, and if you like what you see, and he heard today, you know, reach out, and I’ll definitely be responsive. And you know, anyone who is looking or struggling with the after-sales motion, which are after marketing motion, that sales development function, that’s where we play, and we’d love to look at what you’re looking for and see how we can help. Christian Klepp  38:33 Sounds good. Gabe, once again, thank you so much for your time. Take care, stay safe and talk to you soon. Gabe Lullo  38:38 Thanks, Christian. Christian Klepp  38:39 All right. Bye for now.

Gabe Lullo is the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development agency working with industry giants such as ZoomInfo, Salesloft, and Adobe.   He has trained over 8,000 salespeople across diverse businesses and, during his tenure in Alleyoop, he has personally hired and managed more than 1,500 BDRs.   With over two decades of experience in sales, marketing, and executive recruitment, his strategies have significantly driven Alleyoop's growth and shaped its corporate culture.   Beyond his career accomplishments, Gabe graduated from the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford, and his leadership ethos is rooted in cultivating environments that prioritize both professional development and individual success.   Socials: linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lullo/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabelullo/ Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL61t3M6geW84XNxsfKI5iARqa6_M9MuSy   Episode Summary:   In this episode, host Lyndsay Dowd talks with Gabe Lullo, the CEO of AlleyOOP, a sales-as-a-service company that specializes in helping businesses scale through effective outreach. Gabe shares his unique journey from recruiting to running a company that makes over 11 million cold calls a year.   The conversation dives deep into the realities of building high-performing revenue teams that last. Gabe and Lindsay discuss the difficult but necessary decision to fire toxic top performers to protect company culture. They also explore how to keep Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) motivated in a grueling role, the critical importance of a "video-on" culture for remote teams, and why LinkedIn is no longer optional for modern executives.   Key Takeaways:   - Culture Over Revenue - Mindset is 50% of Success - Video is Essential for Remote Trust - LinkedIn is a Must-Have   Episode Chapters:   00:00:00 – Intro to Gabe Lullo and AlleyOOP 00:02:17 – Gabe's background: From fundraising at 11 years old to recruiting 00:06:00 – The three pillars of success: People, Process, and Technology 00:07:40 – Why you should fire your toxic top performer 00:10:14 – Culture as a KPI and the "shadowing" interview process 00:13:19 – What is AlleyOOP? (The "unsung hero" of sales) 00:18:18 – The SDR Mindset and daily "Power Up" videos 00:21:26 – Why a "camera on" culture matters in remote work 00:24:05 – What inspires Gabe and his legacy 00:26:43 – Why leaders and employees must be on LinkedIn 00:31:26 – Where to find Gabe and his podcast, Do Hard Things

Jason Lemkin is the founder of SaaStr, the world's largest community for software founders, and a veteran SaaS investor who has deployed over $200 million into B2B startups. After his last salesperson quit, Jason made a radical decision: replace his entire go-to-market team with AI agents. What started as an experiment has transformed into a new operating model, where 20 AI agents managed by just 1.2 humans now do the work previously handled by a team of 10 SDRs and AEs. In this conversation, Jason shares his hands-on experience implementing AI to run his sales org, including what works, what doesn't, and how the GTM landscape is quickly being transformed.We discuss:1. How AI is fundamentally changing the sales function2. Why most SDRs and BDRs will be “extinct” within a year3. What Jason is observing across his portfolio about AI adoption in GTM4. How to become “hyper-employable” in the age of AI5. The specific AI tools and tactics he's using that have been working best6. Practical frameworks for integrating AI into your sales motion without losing what works7. Jason's 2026 predictions on where SaaS and GTM are heading next—Brought to you by:DX—The developer intelligence platform designed by leading researchersVercel—Your collaborative AI assistant to design, iterate, and scale full-stack applications for the webDatadog—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform—Transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/we-replaced-our-sales-team-with-20-ai-agents—My biggest takeaways (for paid newsletter subscribers): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/i/182902716/my-biggest-takeaways-from-this-conversation—Where to find Jason Lemkin:• X: https://x.com/jasonlk• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin• Website: https://www.saastr.com• Substack: https://substack.com/@cloud—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Jason Lemkin(04:36) What SaaStr does(07:13) AI's impact on sales teams(10:11) How SaaStr's AI agents work and their performance(14:18) How go-to-market is changing in the AI era(19:19) The future of SDRs, BDRs, and AEs in sales(22:03) Why leadership roles are safe(23:43) How to be in the 20% who thrive in the AI sales future(28:40) Why you shouldn't build your own AI tools(30:10) Specific AI agents and their applications(36:40) Challenges and learnings in AI deployment(42:11) Making AI-generated emails good (not just acceptable)(47:31) When humans still beat AI in sales(52:39) An overview of SaaStr's org(53:50) The role of human oversight in AI operations(58:37) Advice for salespeople and founders in the AI era(01:05:40) Forward-deployed engineers(01:08:08) What's changing and what's staying the same in sales(01:16:21) Why AI is creating more work, not less(01:19:32) Why Jason says these are magical times(01:25:25) The "incognito mode test" for finding AI opportunities(01:27:19) The impact of AI on jobs(01:30:18) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-world-class-sales-org• SaaStr Annual: https://www.saastrannual.com• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai/saastr/talk• Amelia Lerutte on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amelialerutte/• Vercel: https://vercel.com• What world-class GTM looks like in 2026 | Jeanne DeWitt Grosser (Vercel, Stripe, Google): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/what-the-best-gtm-teams-do-differently• Everyone's an engineer now: Inside v0's mission to create a hundred million builders | Guillermo Rauch (founder and CEO of Vercel, creators of v0 and Next.js): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/everyones-an-engineer-now-guillermo-rauch• Replit: https://replit.com• Behind the product: Replit | Amjad Masad (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-product-replit-amjad-masad• ElevenLabs: https://elevenlabs.io• The exact AI playbook (using MCPs, custom GPTs, Granola) that saved ElevenLabs $100k+ and helps them ship daily | Luke Harries (Head of Growth): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-ai-marketing-stack• Bolt: https://bolt.new• Lovable: https://lovable.dev• Harvey: https://www.harvey.ai• Samsara: https://www.samsara.com/products/platform/ai-samsara-intelligence• UiPath: https://www.uipath.com• Denise Dresser on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisedresser• Agentforce: https://www.salesforce.com/form/agentforce• SaaStr's AI Agent Playbook: https://saastr.ai/agents• Brian Halligan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan• Brian Halligan's AI: https://www.delphi.ai/minds/bhalligan• Sierra: https://sierra.ai• Fin: https://fin.ai• Deccan: https://www.deccan.ai• Artisan: https://www.artisan.co• Qualified: https://www.qualified.com• Claude: https://claude.ai• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com• Gamma: https://gamma.app• Sam Blond on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-blond-791026b• Brex: https://www.brex.com• Outreach: https://www.outreach.io• Gong: https://www.gong.io• Salesloft: https://www.salesloft.com• Mixmax: https://www.mixmax.com• “Sell the alpha, not the feature”: The enterprise sales playbook for $1M to $10M ARR | Jen Abel: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-enterprise-sales-playbook-1m-to-10m-arr• Clay: https://www.clay.com• Owner: https://www.owner.com• Momentum: https://www.momentum.io• Attention: https://www.attention.com• Granola: https://www.granola.ai• Behind the founder: Marc Benioff: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff• Palantir: https://www.palantir.com• Databricks: https://www.databricks.com• Garry Tan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrytan• Rippling: https://www.rippling.com• Cursor: https://cursor.com• The rise of Cursor: The $300M ARR AI tool that engineers can't stop using | Michael Truell (co-founder and CEO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rise-of-cursor-michael-truell• The new AI growth playbook for 2026: How Lovable hit $200M ARR in one year | Elena Verna (Head of Growth): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-new-ai-growth-playbook-for-2026-elena-verna• Pluribus on AppleTV+: https://tv.apple.com/us/show/pluribus/umc.cmc.37axgovs2yozlyh3c2cmwzlza• Sora: https://openai.com/sora• Reve: https://app.reve.com• Everything That Breaks on the Way to $1B ARR, with Mailchimp Co-Founder Ben Chestnut: https://www.saastr.com/everything-that-breaks-on-the-way-to-1b-arr-with-mailchimp-co-founder-ben-chestnut/• The Revenue Playbook: Rippling's Top 3 Growth Tactics at Scale, with Rippling CRO Matt Plank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3eYtzBpjRw• 10 contrarian leadership truths every leader needs to hear | Matt MacInnis (Rippling): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/10-contrarian-leadership-truths—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com

Sellers often rely on scheduling links without realizing how much friction they introduce. In this episode, Brandon breaks down why links often stall momentum, how visual availability lowers decision effort, and why one-click scheduling outperforms multi-step flows.You'll learn the psychology behind initiation versus selection, how to implement inline availability using tools like Calendly, Outreach, or SalesLoft, and why respectful, low-effort asks consistently convert at higher rates. This episode is a practical example of how small friction reductions create outsized gains.If you want more meetings without more follow-up, this simple shift can change everything.

You were promised safe SaaS - but got silent data loss.In Inside the Salesloft Breach, Rob Maas and Luca Cipriano expose how trusted integrations became the attack vector.They trace how vishing calls, trojanized Salesforce tools, and GitHub-to-AWS pivots gave attackers OAuth access and drained CRMs without a single alert. You'll hear how Drift integrations and bulk SOQL queries quietly moved data out of sight, while audit trails and API metadata disappeared.If you need provable control over data exfiltration and a narrative your board will understand, this is your playbook.Turn Zero Trust from slogan to stop - with IP allowlists, app inventories, token telemetry, and shared responsibility that actually blocks abuse at the source.(00:00) - Cloud first did not mean data safe. (00:45) - What Salesforce is and why attackers target it. (02:00) - Campaign one. Vishing and a trojanized data loader to OAuth access. (04:15) - Campaign two. Salesloft and Drift path from GitHub to AWS to Salesforce tokens. (07:00) - Impact and cover up. 700 plus orgs hit and API job metadata removed. (09:10) - Who was involved. ShinyHunters, Scattered Spider, Lapsus, and legal fallout. (11:00) - Zero Trust actions. IP allowlisting, app inventory, token monitoring, staff education, shared responsibility. Key Topics Covered:•  How one sign-in token became a master key for your CRM.•  The attacker's route: from code repo → cloud → Salesforce → data exfiltration.•  What shared responsibility means in SaaS — and what's actually on you.•  What truly stops it: trusted apps only, IP allowlists, short-lived tokens, and continuous monitoring.Found value and want outcome focused guidance every week? Subscribe to Threat Talks, turn on notifications and add your questions for the next deep diveGuest and Host Links: Rob Maas (Field CTO, ON2IT): https://www.linkedin.com/in/robmaas83/ Luca Cipriano (Cyber Threat Intelligence Program Lead, ON2IT): https://www.linkedin.com/in/luca-c-914973124/Click here to view the episode transcript. Additional resources:Threat Talks https://threat-talks.com/ON2IT https://on2it.net/?AMS IX https://www.ams-ix.net/amsSalesforce https://www.salesforce.com/Salesloft https://www.salesloft.com/Drift https://www.drift.com/Okta https://www.okta.com/Have I Been Pwned https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Transformations are everywhere—from VC-backed scale-ups to Big Tech—and sales teams are feeling it. In this Sales Performance Podcast episode, Ariane Riddell, Chief Sales Officer at Personal Group (ex-LinkedIn, BBC, Feefo), shares a people-first playbook for leading through change: embedding values that stick, resetting the first 90 days, and rebuilding commercial muscle across sales and post-sales.We dig into: redefining proposition and narrative (benefits > product), putting real foundations in (process, people, product, leadership), using enablement tools (Salesloft, Walnut, Salesforce), and moving teams from inbound-reliant to outbound-confident. Ariane's “top-down & bottom-up” framework for expansion, plus the candid reality of “love them in or love them out,” make this a must-listen for CROs and CSOs in transition.You'll learnHow to set credible 30/60/90 priorities in a messy realityWhat values do for pace, passion & professionalismBuilding outbound habits that actually stick (and why phone still matters)Coaching CS to drive land–expand with data-led plays

In this Leader Generation episode, CEO Gabe Lullo shares the playbook Alleyoop uses to turn “more pipeline” into real revenue.  You'll hear how to fix unqualified pipeline syndrome by aligning on a clear ICP, catching buyers at the right time and using the BDR function as the bridge between marketing and sales. Gabe breaks down simple rules of engagement for MQL-SQL handoffs and the feedback loops that keep everyone moving in the same direction. We also dig into what actually works right now: human-first outreach, SDRs who think like marketers and LinkedIn content that warms leads before a sales call ever happens. Gabe shows how empowering employee voices on social can fuel 40% of new business, while cutting recruiting spend and improving pipeline quality.  If you want practical ideas to get better leads, better teamwork, and better outcomes, this one's for you. Leader Generation is hosted by Tessa Burg and brought to you by Mod Op.  About Gabe Lullo: Gabe Lullo is the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development agency working with industry giants such as ZoomInfo, Salesloft, and Adobe. He has trained over 8,000 salespeople across diverse businesses and, during his tenure in Alleyoop, he has personally hired and managed more than 1,500 SDRs. With over two decades of experience in sales, marketing, and executive recruitment, his strategies have significantly driven Alleyoop's growth and shaped its corporate culture. Beyond his career accomplishments, Gabe graduated from the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford and his leadership ethos is rooted in cultivating environments that prioritize both professional development and individual success. About Tessa Burg: Tessa is the Chief Technology Officer at Mod Op and Host of the Leader Generation podcast. She has led both technology and marketing teams for 15+ years. Tessa initiated and now leads Mod Op's AI/ML Pilot Team, AI Council and Innovation Pipeline. She started her career in IT and development before following her love for data and strategy into digital marketing. Tessa has held roles on both the consulting and client sides of the business for domestic and international brands, including American Greetings, Amazon, Nestlé, Anlene, Moen and many more. Tessa can be reached on LinkedIn or at Tessa.Burg@ModOp.com.

In this episode of Between Product and Partnerships, Cristina Flaschen, CEO of Pandium, speaks with Nate Lee, Founder of Cloudsec.ai, about the evolving challenges of security in SaaS ecosystems, AI, and integrations. Their conversation explores lessons from real-world incidents, risk management in fast-moving environments, and the emerging landscape of AI agents.Nate's Background and Security PerspectiveWith over a decade of experience as a Chief Information Security Officer, Nate has helped scale-ups build security programs focused on AI-native startups and cloud environments. His approach is grounded in pragmatism, meaning prevention is important, but effective detection, response, and transparency are what define resilience when incidents occur.Lessons from Real-World IncidentsReflecting on recent industry breaches such as the SalesLoft incident, Nate illustrates how small misconfigurations across systems like GitHub or AWS can trigger cascading risks. Even organizations with robust security teams remain vulnerable. He emphasizes the importance of continuous monitoring, anomaly detection, and disciplined response planning as part of a company's operating DNA.Mitigation, Communication, and RunbooksFor smaller teams, Nate and Cristina highlight the value of preparation and clarity when managing incidents. Segregating responsibilities allows engineers to focus on resolving issues while communications are handled transparently and calmly by others. Tabletop exercises (simulations of potential breaches) help teams respond confidently when real situations arise. Above all, Nate underscores the need for transparent communication with customers and stakeholders. Clear, factual updates that explain what happened, its impact, and next steps build far more trust than spin or silence. Having ready-made messaging frameworks also helps reduce the stress of decision-making during high-pressure moments.AI Agents and Emerging RisksThe conversation then turns to the rapidly expanding role of AI agents in modern workflows. Nate explains that while these systems deliver tremendous efficiency gains, they also introduce new and unpredictable risks. Unlike traditional deterministic workflows, AI agents can act in unexpected ways, sometimes interpreting instructions beyond what developers intend. Threats such as prompt injection and the rise of unmonitored AI tools (or “shadow IT”) add layers of complexity. As adoption accelerates, maintaining visibility and control becomes critical.Despite these challenges, Nate remains optimistic about AI's potential. He advocates for mindful adoption (understanding the risks, their likelihood, and the potential business impact) while ensuring that innovation and productivity continue to advance responsibly.Building Trust and Future-Proofing SecurityFor Nate, trust is the foundation of security. Whether developing integrations, deploying AI tools, or managing internal systems, organizations must design processes that foster transparency, encourage safe experimentation, and promote continuous learning. Building a culture of accountability and openness not only reduces risk but also strengthens long-term relationships with customers and partners.Looking AheadNate is currently launching Trustmind, a platform that automates security due diligence and streamlines third-party risk management for organizations working with multiple vendors and integrations.For more insights on partnerships, ecosystems and integrations, visit www.pandium.comTo learn more about Cloudsec., go to https://cloudsec.ai/

Es gibt wieder einige Neuigkeiten in der Welt der IT-Sicherheit und alte Bekannte rühren erneut ihr hässliches Haupt. Allen voran die als "Chatkontrolle" bezeichnete Iniative zum "Client-Side Scanning" von Nachrichten, die der EU-Rat unter dänischer Präsidentschaft kürzlich erneut aus der Versenkung hervorholte. Fast genau ein Jahr nach dem letzten Scheitern dieser Initiative zur Aufweichung von Verschlüsselung sprechen Sylvester und Christopher erneut darüber. Auch Oracle ist bereits altbekannter "Gast" im Podcast - dieses Mal mit einer kritischen Lücke in ihrer e-Business Suite und einer äußerst unbefriedigenden Kommunikationsstrategie. Sylvester erklärt seinem Co-Host und den Hörern, was es mit Signals neuen "Post Quantum Ratchets" auf sich hat und warum diese kryptografischen Ratschen den Messenger im Quantenzeitalter sicherer machen sollen. Und dann geht es gleich quantensicher weiter, nämlich mit einer Diskussion über die Vorteile hybrider Quantenverschlüsselungssysteme zu rein quantensicheren. - Einsteiger-Themenabend zu IT-Sicherheit in Hannover: https://aktionen.heise.de/heise-themenabend - Oracles gelöschter Blogeintrag: https://nitter.net/pic/orig/media%2FG2T6vnYWEAAHcB6.jpg - Watchtowr Labs zu CVE-2025-61882: https://labs.watchtowr.com/well-well-well-its-another-day-oracle-e-business-suite-pre-auth-rce-chain-cve-2025-61882well-well-well-its-another-day-oracle-e-business-suite-pre-auth-rce-chain-cve-2025-61882/ - "Passwort", Folge 16: Die Technik hinter der Chatkontrolle - https://passwort.podigee.io/16-die-technik-hinter-der-chatkontrolle - Cloudflare-Blog zum Zertifikats-Lapsus: https://blog.cloudflare.com/unauthorized-issuance-of-certificates-for-1-1-1-1/ - SPQR: https://signal.org/blog/spqr/ - "Passwort", Folge 32: Quantencomputer und wie man sich vor ihnen schützt - https://passwort.podigee.io/32-quantencomputer-und-wie-man-sich-vor-ihnen-schutzt - DJB über Hybrid oder nicht: https://blog.cr.yp.to/20240102-hybrid.html - Folgt uns im Fediverse: * @christopherkunz@chaos.social * @syt@social.heise.de Mitglieder unserer Security Community auf heise security PRO hören alle Folgen bereits zwei Tage früher. Mehr Infos: https://pro.heise.de/passwort

#289 Strategy | Dave is joined by Sydney Sloan, Chief Marketing Officer at G2, where she's leading the charge on integrating AI into marketing, rethinking team structures, and modernizing how B2B brands build trust. Sydney brings decades of experience from companies like Adobe, Alfresco, and Salesloft, and now oversees one of the largest software marketplaces in the world.Dave and Sydney cover:How to design events that truly drive pipeline, using frameworks like “Think, Feel, Do” to plan with purposeA smarter way to measure event ROI with Sydney's “Revenue in the Room” approachHow AI is transforming the buyer journey and reshaping what modern marketing teams look likeAn episode that will leave you rethinking your marketing strategy, from the events you run to the org you build.Timestamps(00:00) - – Intro (03:08) - – The return of in-person events (06:08) - – Building community through smarter event design (08:08) - – Inside G2's “AI in Action” roadshow (11:08) - – The “Think, Feel, Do” event framework (14:08) - – Why details make or break events (17:08) - – Measuring success with “Revenue in the Room” (20:08) - – Post-event follow-up that drives results (27:43) - – How AI is reshaping the buyer journey (43:43) - – Rethinking marketing orgs for the AI era Send guest pitches and ideas to hi@exitfive.comJoin the Exit Five Newsletter here: https://www.exitfive.com/newsletterCheck out the Exit Five job board: https://jobs.exitfive.com/Become an Exit Five member: https://community.exitfive.com/checkout/exit-five-membership***Today's episode is brought to you by Knak.Email (in my humble opinion) is the still the greatest marketing channel of all-time.It's the only way you can truly “own” your audience.But when it comes to building the emails - if you've ever tried building an email in an enterprise marketing automation platform, you know how painful it can be. Templates are too rigid, editing code can break things and the whole process just takes forever. That's why we love Knak here at Exit Five. Knak a no-code email platform that makes it easy to create on-brand, high-performing emails - without the bottlenecks.Frustrated by clunky email builders? You need Knak.Tired of ‘hoping' the email you sent looks good across all devices? Just test in Knak first.Big team making it hard to collaborate and get approvals? Definitely Knak.And the best part? Everything takes a fraction of the time.See Knak in action at knak.com/exit-five. Or just let them know you heard about Knak on Exit Five.***Thanks to my friends at hatch.fm for producing this episode and handling all of the Exit Five podcast production.They give you unlimited podcast editing and strategy for your B2B podcast.Get unlimited podcast editing and on-demand strategy for one low monthly cost. Just upload your episode, and they take care of the rest.Visit hatch.fm to learn more

Here is an undeniable truth: The No. 1 reason for failure in sales is an empty pipeline, and the No. 1 reason you have an empty pipeline is that you are not doing enough prospecting. In sales, everything rests on putting qualified opportunities in your pipeline. Prospecting is the beginning and the end, alpha and omega. If you don't prospect, you will fail. That is a guaranteed truth. Each and every sales day, you must connect with prospects, engage them in meaningful conversations, and convert them into pipeline opportunities.  It's a Noisy World The problem is that we live in a noisy world in which those same prospects are being inundated with prospecting messages from dozens of other salespeople who are also attempting to get their attention.  So, if you don't stand out, you lose.  But I doubt I'm telling you anything that you don't already know. It's freaking hard to get attention when prospecting, and it's not getting easier. There are days when it feels like you could be jumping up and down in front of your prospect in a pink bunny suit while throwing hundred-dollar bills in the air, and they'd still ignore you.  The Sledgehammer Approach Is Dead One of the key reasons so many salespeople fail to break through is that their entire prospecting strategy is pounding away at prospects through a single communication channel—typically a series of automated emails sent through a sales engagement platform like Outreach or SalesLoft.  Sadly, this sledgehammer approach just doesn't work anymore. Recent data reveals that salespeople are sending as many as eight times more emails today than they did five years ago and getting just a tenth of the results.  A big reason prospects are tuning out is that AI-powered sales automation tools have scaled email prospecting activity to an extraordinary level.  In the past, writing a prospecting email involved strategic thought and taking time to craft a message that was unique to each prospect. It was a slow process, which meant salespeople sent fewer but better prospecting emails. Today, AI engines can pump out hundreds of cold email variations in seconds with shallow, and often cringeworthy, personalization that, more often than not, turns prospects off. And as AI-generated prospecting emails flood inboxes, the sheer volume of this outreach has eroded any impact from the improved efficiency.  Constant exposure to this irrelevant, repetitive AI-generated crap has left business executives exasperated. They are overwhelmed and have tuned out, turned off, and are ignoring all prospecting messages—good or bad, human or AI-generated. Break Through the Noise Most sales professionals today are desperate to find new techniques to help them break through the noise and get attention when prospecting so that they can engage in more meaningful conversations.  Most salespeople want a bigger, stronger pipeline filled with qualified opportunities. Yet many overlook one of the most powerful prospecting tools right at their fingertips: LinkedIn. Why LinkedIn, Why Now It can be argued that the moment the sales profession changed forever and the door opened to modern selling as we know it was when Alexander Graham Bell said on the very first telephone call, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” The telephone's impact on the sales profession was profound and lasting. Then, as now, the phone remains the most efficient and effective means for conducting real-time, synchronous human-to-human conversations with prospects. Bell made his call to Mr. Watson 150 years ago. Since then, only a handful of pivotal technologies have advanced the sales profession with such impact: The automobile gave sellers the freedom to cover wider regional territories more efficiently. Air travel literally gave sales professionals wings, expanding their reach nationally and globally. The internet put unimaginable data at the fingertips of both sales professionals and buyers.

The IPO market may be slowing down, but the discipline of operating like a public company has never been more important. In this episode, CJ is joined by Chad Gold, CFO of FullStory and veteran operator with previous stints at G2, SalesLoft, and Rubicon, to discuss how capital markets and financing strategies are shifting in real time. Chad explains why more companies are staying private longer, how the rise of private credit is changing the CFO toolkit, and why building IPO-ready discipline matters even if you never go public. The conversation also dives into one of his specialties—pricing models and sales incentives—covering how seat-based, usage, and blended structures influence rep behavior, comp plans, and long-term revenue quality, as well as how the wrong incentives can quietly derail a business. Finally, Chad reflects on lessons from his early career at Home Depot and how fundamentals from retail operations still inform his instincts in SaaS today.—LINKS: Chad Gold on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chadgold/Fullstory: https://www.fullstory.com/CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222 Mostly metrics: https://www.mostlymetrics.comRELATED EPISODES:G2 CFO Chad Gold on Building A Durable Career as a Venture Backed Exec:Big Systems Thinking for Building a Finance Org: Advice From a Zoom Hypergrowth Survivor:—TIMESTAMPS:(02:14) Sponsors – Mercury | RightRev | Tipalti(06:10) What's New at FullStory(09:22) Hypotheses, Data, and Unlocking Use Cases(10:13) Early CFO Career and the Evolution of Data(11:09) From Deterministic Models to Analytics-Driven Forecasting(12:17) Cohorts, Segmentation, and Revenue Quality(13:17) Why Companies Stay Private Longer(15:28) Sponsors – Aleph | Rillet | Fidelity P.S.(19:01) Capital Flows Into Hot Sectors Like AI and Cybersecurity(20:20) More Companies Going Private Than Public(21:41) Costs and Tradeoffs of Being Public(22:46) Secondary Markets and Access to Top Companies(24:14) Staying Private Longer and CFO Planning(25:29) Keeping the Org Exit-Ready(26:10) The Rise of Private Credit(27:37) Banks vs. Venture Debt After SVB(30:47) Pricing Models Across Chad's CFO Roles(35:47) How to Incentivize Sales Reps Across Pricing Models(43:26) Lessons From Home Depot + Lightning Round—SPONSORS:Mercury is business banking built for builders, giving founders and finance pros a financial stack that actually works together. From sending wires to tracking balances and approving payments, Mercury makes it simple to scale without friction. Join the 200,000+ entrepreneurs who trust Mercury and apply online in minutes at https://www.mercury.comRightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo.Tipalti automates the entire payables process—from onboarding suppliers to executing global payouts—helping finance teams save time, eliminate costly errors, and scale confidently across 200+ countries and 120 currencies. More than 5,000 businesses already trust Tipalti to manage payments with built-in security and tax compliance. Visit https://www.tipalti.com/runthenumbers to learn more.Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/runRillet is the AI-native ERP modern finance teams are switching to because it's faster, simpler, and 100% built for how teams operate today. See how fast your team can move. Book a demo at https://www.rillet.com/metricsFidelity Private Shares is the all-in-one equity management platform that keeps your cap table clean, your data room organized, and your equity story clear—so you never risk losing a fundraising round over messy records. Schedule a demo at https://www.fidelityprivateshares.com and mention Mostly Metrics to get 20% off.#CFOInsights #SaaSFinance #CapitalMarkets #IPOReady #RevenueStrategy #GrowthStageCFO This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cjgustafson.substack.com

Eine Bonusfolge, weil die Themen stärker sprudeln als der Zwei-Wochen- Rhythmus vorsieht. Christopher und Sylvester sehen sich eine fortschrittliche Speicherschutztechnik in Apples neuen iPhones an und erklären, wie es um derartiges im Android-Universum bestellt ist. Außerdem reden die Hosts über einen SalesLoft-Chatbot, der Angreifern Zugriff auf diverse Salesforce-Konten verschafft hat. Und da sage noch einer, diese Bots seien zu nichts nütze. Betroffen waren ausgerechnet Infrastruktur- und Security-Unternehmen – aber die Hosts bezweifeln, dass die nun vom umfassenden Chatbot-Einsatz abrücken. - Apple MIE: https://security.apple.com/blog/memory-integrity-enforcement/ - Salesloft Opferliste: https://www.driftbreach.com/ - Chatbot fail: https://chatbot.fail/ - c't uplink zu MCP: https://heise.de/-10530901 - Folgt uns im Fediverse: - @christopherkunz@chaos.social - @syt@social.heise.de Mitglieder unserer Security Community auf heise security PRO hören alle Folgen bereits zwei Tage früher. Mehr Infos: https://pro.heise.de/passwort

Parce que… c'est l'épisode 0x635! Shameless plug 12 au 17 octobre 2025 - Objective by the sea v8 14 et 15 octobre 2025 - ATT&CKcon 6.0 14 et 15 octobre 2025 - Forum inCyber Canada Code rabais de 30% - CA25KDUX92 4 et 5 novembre 2025 - FAIRCON 2025 8 et 9 novembre 2025 - DEATHcon 17 au 20 novembre 2025 - European Cyber Week 25 et 26 février 2026 - SéQCure 2026 Notes Jaguar UK government will underwrite £1.5bn loan guarantee to Jaguar Land Rover after cyber-attack Politicos: ‘There is a good strong case for government intervention' on JLR cyberattack Jaguar Lan Rover failed to secure cyber insurance deal ahead of incidents, sources say Tata-Owned Jaguar Land Rover Delays Factory Reopening Following Major Cyber Attack Supply chain Volvo North America disclosed a data breach following a ransomware attack on it provider Miljödata Tech troubles create aviation chaos on both sides of the Atlantic European Airport Disruptions Caused by Sophisticated Ransomware Attack UK agency makes arrest in airport cyberattack investigation SIM ou trop vite sur la nouvelle The SIM Farm Hardware Seized by the Secret Service Is Also Popular With Ticket Scalpers That Secret Service SIM farm story is bogus U.S. Secret Service Dismantles 300 SIM Servers and 100,000 SIM Cards Disabling Cell Phone Towers Trump signs executive order supporting proposed deal to put TikTok under US ownership Privacy Europe's cookie law messed up the internet. Brussels wants to fix it. Bientôt la fin des bandeaux RGPD ? Comment les scammeurs exploitent vos données… via une simple recherche ChatGPT Microsoft hides key data flow information in plain sight Salesforce facing multiple lawsuits after Salesloft breach Numerous Applications Using Google's Firebase Platform Leaking Highly Sensitive Data Bouygues Telecom Edge Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software SNMP Denial of Service and Remote Code Execution Vulnerability CISA says it observed nearly year-old activity tied to Cisco zero-day attacks SonicWall releases rootkit-busting firmware update following wave of attacks Offensif New Inboxfuscation Tool That Bypasses Microsoft Exchange Inbox Rules and Evade Detection LastPass: Fake password managers infect Mac users with malware Why attackers are moving beyond email-based phishing attacks Hackers Can Bypass EDR by Downloading a Malicious File as an In-Memory PE Loader Hackers Exploit WerFaultSecure.exe Tool to Steal Cached Passwords From LSASS on Windows 11 24H2 Kali Linux 2025.3 Released With New Features and 10 New Hacking Tools New LNK Malware Uses Windows Binaries to Bypass Security Tools and Execute Malware Russia steps up disinformation efforts to sway Moldova's parliamentary vote Malicious SVGs in Phishing Campaigns: How to Detect Hidden Redirects and Payloads First-Ever Malicious MCP Server Found in the Wild Steals Emails via AI Agents Hackers Leverage AI-Generated Code to Obfuscate Its Payload and Evade Traditional Defenses Défensif Zero Trust: Strengths and Limitations in the AI Attack Era Microsoft, SentinelOne, and Palo Alto Networks Withdraw from 2026 MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations GitHub moves to tighten npm security amid phishing, malware plague Canada dismantles TradeOgre exchange, seizes $40 million in crypto Microsoft Edge to block malicious sideloaded extensions Microsoft offers no-cost Windows 10 lifeline How secure are passkeys, really? Here's what you need to know Divers et inclassable Cyber threat-sharing law set to shut down, along with US government Firewall upgrade linked to three deaths after Australian telco cut off emergency calls Collaborateurs Nicolas-Loïc Fortin Crédits Montage par Intrasecure inc Locaux réels par Intrasecure inc

Elias Torres has been building AI systems since 1999, from chatbots at IBM to co-founding Drift and now Agency. He believes businesses are caught in an expectation mismatch—demanding AI while rejecting it due to imperfection anxiety. Drawing from his experience scaling HubSpot, Elias explains why human-led customer experience doesn't scale and how Agency is building AI-first solutions that work autonomously. His contrarian approach focuses on the back-end customer experience rather than front-end AI SDRs, aiming to “deprogram the entire business world” from inefficient human-dependent processes. Hosted by: Sonya Huang and Pat Grady, Sequoia Capital Mentioned in the episode: Lookery: David Cancel's first startup that Elias joined after IBM; shut down in 2009 Performable: Elias and David's second startup, acquired by HubSpot in 2011 Drift: Elias and David Cancel's third startup, merged with Salesloft in 2024 Klaviyo: B2C CRM company started by Andrew Bialecki after working with Elias at HubSpot Secret: Short-lived anonymous messaging app that inspired one of Drift's early iterations Tatajuba: Kitesurfing destination in Jericoacoara, Brazil where Elias (briefly) considered retirement 00:00 Introduction 01:50 AI and Customer Expectations 03:36 Managing Emails with AI 07:21 Elias' Personal Journey 11:27 Early Career 14:28 Joining HubSpot and Scaling Challenges 16:31 Hiring Exceptional Talent 18:53 Founding Drift 20:27 Pivoting to Success with Drift 21:41 Drift's Chatbot Innovation 22:09 Challenges and Limitations of Drift 22:37 The Struggle with Customer Knowledge 23:09 Scaling Challenges and Lessons Learned 25:58 Rediscovering Purpose Post-Drift 28:55 The Birth of Agency 29:42 AI's Role in Customer Experience 35:13 Building a Sustainable Business Model 37:06 The Vision for Agency 38:22 Challenges and Opportunities with AI 41:22 Deprogramming and Embracing Change 43:23 Optimism for the AI Future 44:15 Closing Thoughts

Should you hire BDRs or full cycle sales reps? Mark Niemiec, CRO of Salesloft thinks companies are shifting budgets away from BDR teams. At Salesloft, they already made the switch from sales engagement platform to what they call revenue orchestration.Mark's perspective: AE-generated pipeline converts 3-4x better than BDR pipeline. He predicts the BDR role that became popular around 2012 may not exist by 2026. The economics that created the BDR boom - cheap money and abundant VC funding - are gone.Mark runs revenue for a company that serves 5,000+ customers. Salesloft has captured 5-6 billion sales data points over time. When he talks about fundamental changes in B2B sales process, you listen.Mark answers the questions sales leaders are asking: Should you cut your BDR team? How does AI account planning actually work? What's the difference between sales engagement platforms and revenue orchestration? And why do most cold pitches to CROs fail?What Mark covers:

If you like what you hear, please subscribe, leave us a review and tell a friend!Multiple high-profile cyber incidents are impacting organizations worldwide, including ransomware attacks, data breaches, malware campaigns, and sophisticated DDoS operations. Notable events involve compromises of GitHub accounts affecting Salesloft and Drift, ransomware groups like LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim, a massive DDoS hitting a defender platform, and breaches exposing sensitive financial and personal data in Vienna, VA, while Ukraine faces evolving Russian hacker tactics.

On this week's show Patrick Gray and Adam Boileau discuss the week's cybersecurity news, including: Apple ruins exploit developers' week with fresh memory corruption mitigations Feross Aboukhadijeh drops by to talk about the big, dumb npm supply chain attack Salesloft says its GitHub was the initial entry point for its compromise Sitecore says people should “patch” its using-the-keymat-from-the-documentation “zero day” Rogue certs for 1.1.1.1 appear to be just (stupid) testing Jaguar Land Rover ransomware attackers are courting trouble This week's episode is sponsored by open source cloud security tool, Prowler. Founder Toni de la Fuente joins to discuss their new support for Microsoft 365. Time to point Prowler at your OneDrive and Sharepoint! This episode is also available on Youtube. Show notes Blog - Memory Integrity Enforcement: A complete vision for memory safety in Apple devices - Apple Security Research Venezuela's president thinks American spies can't hack Huawei phones | TechCrunch 18 Popular Code Packages Hacked, Rigged to Steal Crypto – Krebs on Security Software packages with more than 2 billion weekly downloads hit in supply-chain attack - Ars Technica Salesloft platform integration restored after probe reveals monthslong GitHub account compromise | Cybersecurity Dive CISA orders federal agencies to patch Sitecore zero-day following hacking reports | The Record from Recorded Future News SAP warns of high-severity vulnerabilities in multiple products - Ars Technica The number of mis-issued 1.1.1.1 certificates grows. Here's the latest. - Ars Technica Cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover threatens to hit British economic growth | The Record from Recorded Future News Cyberattack forces Jaguar Land Rover to tell staff to stay at home | The Record from Recorded Future News Bridgestone Americas continues probe as it looks to restore operations | Cybersecurity Dive Qantas penalizes executives for July cyberattack | The Record from Recorded Future News Cyber Command, NSA to remain under single leader as officials shelve plan to end 'dual hat' | The Record from Recorded Future News GOP Cries Censorship Over Spam Filters That Work – Krebs on Security Risky Bulletin: APT report? No, just a phishing test! - Risky Business Media Post by @patrick.risky.biz — Bluesky

Should your executives really be posting on LinkedIn? The short answer: yes, and in this episode, you'll find out why.In this episode of The Employee Advocacy & Influence Podcast, Lewis Gray dives into the often-overlooked role of executives on LinkedIn and how their visibility directly shapes trust, culture, and growth.Executives who are active online don't just amplify company messages; they build trust with clients, candidates, and employees. Yet many leadership teams hesitate, citing a lack of time, uncertainty about what to post, or not seeing the value. Lewis unpacks each of these blockers and reframes the conversation in terms executives actually care about: business growth, talent attraction, shareholder confidence, and authentic culture. Drawing on real-world examples from Adobe and Salesloft, he explains the “ripple effect” of executive activity on employee advocacy and brand credibility.If you've struggled to get leadership engaged in advocacy, this episode provides a clear roadmap: frameworks to make posting easier, collaborative approaches to lighten the load, and secure delegation methods that keep InfoSec teams happy. By the end, you'll know exactly how to inspire your leaders to show up online,  and why it matters more than ever.Resources:Explore DSMN8's Executive Influencer tool.Get your free CEO Content Framework here.Download The World's Biggest Employee Advocacy Study.Subscribe to The Employee Advocacy & Influence Podcast to stay ahead on employee advocacy, executive influence, and modern social strategy.

Is any publicity good publicity? On today’s News Roundup we talk about how Salesloft, which makes the Drift chat agent that’s been used as a jumping-off point for credential harvesting and data breach attacks against a bunch of big-name companies, is testing that proposition. We also discuss bugs affecting industrial refrigeration controllers, and Microsoft making... Read more »

Is any publicity good publicity? On today’s News Roundup we talk about how Salesloft, which makes the Drift chat agent that’s been used as a jumping-off point for credential harvesting and data breach attacks against a bunch of big-name companies, is testing that proposition. We also discuss bugs affecting industrial refrigeration controllers, and Microsoft making... Read more »

Hear from host Paul Spain and Julian Wendt (nWebbed) as they unpack the latest NZ Tech report, revealing the impressive growth of the tech export sector, the launch of Pātea, a new app to address gambling harm, and skepticism over massive tech investment figures from global tech giants. Other news included Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite internet progress, Philips Hue expanding into motion detection and doorbells, Google's softer-than-expected antitrust ruling, Turmp's ‘Tech dinner” and a widespread breach impacting major SaaS tools like Salesloft and Drift. Julian delves into nWebbed's darknet monitoring platform, discussing the challenges and ethics of gathering intelligence from the darkest corners of the internet. The episode wraps up with insights on best practices for digital security and a call for all New Zealanders to stay vigilant.Special thanks to our show partners 2degrees, One New Zealand, Spark New Zealand, HP, Workday and Gorilla Technology.

Meta changed its policies around researching sensitive topics — like politics, children, gender, race, and harassment — six weeks after whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents that showed how Meta's own research found that Instagram can damage teen girls' mental health. Also, Salesloft said a breach of its GitHub account in March allowed hackers to steal authentication tokens that were later used in a mass-hack targeting several of its big tech customers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cybersecurity Today: Ghost Action Campaign, SalesLoft Breach, AI Vulnerabilities, and Restaurant Security Flaws Host David Shipley discusses the latest in cybersecurity, including the Ghost Action Campaign which compromised over 3000 secrets from GitHub repositories, the SalesLoft breach affecting major cybersecurity and SaaS firms, and new research showing how large language model chatbots like GPT-4 can be manipulated easily. Additionally, ethical hackers uncover significant vulnerabilities in the digital platforms of Restaurant Brands International. The episode emphasizes the importance of securing the software development ecosystem and maintaining robust social engineering defenses. 00:00 Introduction and Headlines 00:32 GitHub Supply Chain Attack: Ghost Action Campaign 02:51 SalesLoft Breach: A Deep Dive 05:01 The Summer of Salesforce Attacks 07:19 Manipulating AI: New Research Insights 09:14 Restaurant Brands International: Security Flaws Exposed 11:21 Conclusion and Sign-Off

In this episode, we discuss a recent significant cyber attack where Palo Alto Networks experienced a data breach through their Salesforce environment due to a compromised SalesLoft drift integration. Throughout the discussion, we highlight why Salesforce, a crucial CRM platform for many businesses, is becoming a prime target for supply chain attackers. The hosts discuss […] The post Salesforce Under Fire: The Salesloft Drift Supply-Chain Breach appeared first on Shared Security Podcast.

Register for FREE Infosec Webcasts, Anti-casts & Summits – https://poweredbybhis.com00:00 - PreShow Banter™ — It's 8ft skeleton season.02:18 - BHIS - Talkin' Bout [infosec] News 2025-09-0203:07 - Story # 1: Salesloft breached to steal OAuth tokens for Salesforce data-theft attacks07:35 - Story # 2: DSLRoot, Proxies, and the Threat of ‘Legal Botnets'13:46 - Story # 3: Attackers Abuse Velociraptor Forensic Tool to Deploy Visual Studio Code for C2 Tunneling17:44 - Story # 4: Ransomware crooks knock Swedish municipalities offline for measly sum of $168K19:39 - Story # 5: As crippling cyberattack against Nevada continues, Lombardo says ‘we're working through it.'20:56 - Story # 6: Citrix forgot to tell you CVE-2025–6543 has been used as a zero day since May 202522:43 - Story # 7: NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway Security Bulletin for CVE-2025-7775, CVE-2025-7776 and CVE-2025-842425:20 - Story # 8: First known AI-powered ransomware uncovered by ESET Research30:00 - Story # 9: In the rush to adopt hot new tech, security is often forgotten. AI is no exception32:06 - Story # 10: TransUnion suffers data breach impacting over 4.4 million people34:17 - Story # 11: ChickenSec FollowUp: Artificial Intelligence: The other AI35:20 - Story # 12: They weren't lovin' it - hacker cracks McDonald's security in quest for free nuggets, and it was apparently not too tricky39:29 - Identify the birds you see or hear with Merlin Bird ID40:04 - Story # 13: Detecting and countering misuse of AI: August 202551:31 - Story # 14: I'm a Stanford student. A Chinese agent tried to recruit me as a spy

Dennis and Lindsey talk through the continuing fallout of the Salesloft Drift incident (2:05) in light of the disclosure of several new companies that are involved, including Cloudflare, which published an excellent post-mortem on the intrusion. Then they discuss the new Shared Vision of SBOM for Cybersecurity published by CISA, NSA, and many foreign government cybersecurity agencies, and talk about why  this is coming out now (17:54).

In the secure news: Automakers respond to Flipper Zero attacks More on the unconfirmed Elastic EDR 0-Day When Secure Boot does its job too well Crazy authenitcation bypass Hacker ultimatums AI Slop Impatient hackers Linux ISOs are malware Attackers love drivers Hacking Amazon's Eero, the hard way Exploits will continue until security improves The Salesloft breach TP-Link Zero Days US DoD using Russian software? The Lasagna DoS attack Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/psw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-890

Most brands talk about standing out. Very few actually do it. The ones that win are the ones willing to take a swing, sometimes even a wild one.That's exactly what GoDaddy did with the “Act Like You Know” campaign, a Super Bowl ad that became a cultural moment because of its boldness. In this episode, we explore the marketing lessons behind it with special guest Sydney Sloan, Chief Marketing Officer at G2.Together, we explore what B2B marketers can learn from emotional storytelling, influencer culture, and why building brand in the age of AI requires creativity, boldness, and a willingness to have a little fun.About our guest, Sydney SloanSydney Sloan is a visionary marketing leader with a track record of driving growth and innovation in the tech industry. As CMO of G2, the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace, Sydney is at the forefront of shaping the company's strategic direction. Sydney previously held CMO roles at compliance automation software company Drata, sales tech leader Salesloft, and cloud content management visionary Alfresco.What B2B Companies Can Learn From GoDaddy's “Act Like You Know” Campaign:Take bold swings. Safe marketing doesn't get noticed. To capture attention, B2B brands have to be willing to step outside the comfort zone and take real creative risks. As Sydney shared, “Take a big swing. Go do something outside of your comfort zone.” Boldness is the difference between blending in and breaking through.Your brand is the moat. With paid tactics getting harder, brand is the lasting advantage. It's not about clicks or keywords anymore. It's about the emotional connection people feel. As Sydney says, “Brand is right. It's the emotional connection that you actually build between a brand, which is not a person… and the audience.” In the age of AI, trust and resonance are the true differentiators.Influencers aren't just for B2C. Big-budget companies might hire celebrities, but every B2B brand can find ways to put people at the center of their story. It's about connection, not just reach. Sydney explained, “You can still use influencers, you can still have people connecting to people and doing it in creative ways.” In B2B, credibility often comes best through people, not platforms.Quote“We gotta go back and invest in brand. And what does that mean, and how do I do it? It's not the old playbook. That thing is gone. Display, out the windows. Google search, out the window. We are all at the starting line together. And whoever's the most creative and figures out this new era we're in has an unfair advantage.”Time Stamps[00:55] Meet Sydney Sloan, CMO at G2[01:17] Why GoDaddy's “Act Like You Know” Campaign[03:55] The Role of Influencers in B2B Marketing[11:39] The Role of CMO at G2[13:19] Understanding GoDaddy's “Act Like You Know” Campaign[19:32] B2B Marketing Lessons from GoDaddy's “Act Like You Know” Campaign[33:29] The Power of Creative Marketing[37:50] Final Thoughts and TakeawaysLinksConnect with Sydney on LinkedInLearn more about G2About Remarkable!Remarkable! is created by the team at Caspian Studios, the premier B2B Podcast-as-a-Service company. Caspian creates both nonfiction and fiction series for B2B companies. If you want a fiction series check out our new offering - The Business Thriller - Hollywood style storytelling for B2B. Learn more at CaspianStudios.com. In today's episode, you heard from Ian Faison (CEO of Caspian Studios) and Meredith Gooderham (Head of Production). Remarkable was produced this week by Jess Avellino, mixed by Scott Goodrich, and our theme song is “Solomon” by FALAK. Create something remarkable. Rise above the noise.

The Cybercrime Wire, hosted by Scott Schober, provides boardroom and C-suite executives, CIOs, CSOs, CISOs, IT executives and cybersecurity professionals with a breaking news story we're following. If there's a cyberattack, hack, or data breach you should know about, then we're on it. Listen to the podcast daily and hear it every hour on WCYB. The Cybercrime Wire is brought to you Cybercrime Magazine, Page ONE for Cybersecurity at https://cybercrimemagazine.com. • For more breaking news, visit https://cybercrimewire.com

Fintech foils bank heist NotDoor backdoor Salesloft-Drift impact continues drifting Huge thanks to our sponsor, ThreatLocker ThreatLocker® is a global leader in Zero Trust endpoint security, offering cybersecurity controls to protect businesses from zero-day attacks and ransomware. ThreatLocker operates with a default deny approach to reduce the attack surface and mitigate potential cyber vulnerabilities. To learn more and start your free trial, visit ThreatLocker.com/CISO. Find the stories behind the headlines at CISOseries.com.

In the secure news: Automakers respond to Flipper Zero attacks More on the unconfirmed Elastic EDR 0-Day When Secure Boot does its job too well Crazy authenitcation bypass Hacker ultimatums AI Slop Impatient hackers Linux ISOs are malware Attackers love drivers Hacking Amazon's Eero, the hard way Exploits will continue until security improves The Salesloft breach TP-Link Zero Days US DoD using Russian software? The Lasagna DoS attack Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-890

In the secure news: Automakers respond to Flipper Zero attacks More on the unconfirmed Elastic EDR 0-Day When Secure Boot does its job too well Crazy authenitcation bypass Hacker ultimatums AI Slop Impatient hackers Linux ISOs are malware Attackers love drivers Hacking Amazon's Eero, the hard way Exploits will continue until security improves The Salesloft breach TP-Link Zero Days US DoD using Russian software? The Lasagna DoS attack Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/psw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-890

In the secure news: Automakers respond to Flipper Zero attacks More on the unconfirmed Elastic EDR 0-Day When Secure Boot does its job too well Crazy authenitcation bypass Hacker ultimatums AI Slop Impatient hackers Linux ISOs are malware Attackers love drivers Hacking Amazon's Eero, the hard way Exploits will continue until security improves The Salesloft breach TP-Link Zero Days US DoD using Russian software? The Lasagna DoS attack Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/psw-890

On this week's show Patrick Gray and Adam Boileau discuss the week's cybersecurity news, including: The Salesloft breach and why OAuth soup is a problem The Salt Typhoon telco hackers turn out to be Chinese private sector, but state-directed Google says it will stand up a “disruption unit” Microsoft writes up a ransomware gang that's all-in on the cloud future Aussie firm hot-mics its work-from-home employees' laptops Youtube scam baiters help the feds take down a fraud ring This episode is sponsored by Dropzone.AI. Founder and CEO Edward Wu joins the show to talk about how AI driven SOC tools can help smaller organisations claw their way above the “security poverty line”. A dedicated monitoring team, threat hunting and alert triage, in a company that only has a couple of part time infosec people? Yes please! This episode is also available on Youtube. Show notes The Ongoing Fallout from a Breach at AI Chatbot Maker Salesloft – Krebs on Security Salesloft: The Leading AI Revenue Orchestration Platform Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler customers impacted by supply chain attacks | Cybersecurity Dive The impact of the Salesloft Drift breach on Cloudflare and our customers China used three private companies to hack global telecoms, U.S. says CSA_COUNTERING_CHINA_STATE_ACTORS_COMPROMISE_OF_NETWORKS.PDF Google previews cyber ‘disruption unit' as U.S. government, industry weigh going heavier on offense | CyberScoop Ransomware gang takedowns causing explosion of new, smaller groups | The Record from Recorded Future News Hundreds of Swedish municipalities impacted by suspected ransomware attack on IT supplier | The Record from Recorded Future News Storm-0501's evolving techniques lead to cloud-based ransomware | Microsoft Security Blog The Era of AI-Generated Ransomware Has Arrived | WIRED Between Two Nerds: How threat actors are using AI to run wild - YouTube Affiliates Flock to ‘Soulless' Scam Gambling Machine – Krebs on Security UK sought broad access to Apple customers' data, court filing suggests ICE reactivates contract with spyware maker Paragon | TechCrunch WhatsApp fixes 'zero-click' bug used to hack Apple users with spyware | TechCrunch Safetrac turned staff laptops into covert recording devices to monitor WFH Risky Bulletin: YouTubers unmask and help dismantle giant Chinese scam ring - Risky Business Media

Two YouTube channels help dismantle a Chinese scam operation, Cloudflare, Zscaler, and Palo Alto disclose Salesloft-related breaches, a ransomware attack disrupts vehicle production at Jaguar Land Rover, and we have a new record DDoS attack. Show notes Risky Bulletin: YouTubers unmask and help dismantle giant Chinese scam ring

pdf-parser: All Streams Didier released a new version of pdf-parser.py. This version fixes a problem with dumping all filtered streams. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/pdf-parser%3A%20All%20Streams/32248 Salesloft Drift Putting OAuth Tokens at Risk OAuth tokens used by Salesloft Drift users to provide access to integrations with Salesforce, Google Workspace, and others have been compromised and heavily abused for additional compromise and large-scale data exfiltration from exposed services. https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/data-theft-salesforce-instances-via-salesloft-drift Velociraptor incident response tool abused for remote access Attackers are using the open source incident response tool Velociraptor to access remote systems in breached networks. Tools like Velocitraptor are ideal for attackers to perform lateral movement. https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2025/08/26/velociraptor-incident-response-tool-abused-for-remote-access/ Default Password in NeuVector (Rancher Desktop) SuSE fixed a default password vulnerability in NeuVector, a security tool included in Rancher Desktop. https://github.com/neuvector/neuvector/security/advisories/GHSA-8pxw-9c75-6w56

If you like what you hear, please subscribe, leave us a review and tell a friend!North Korea's APT37 is deploying RokRAT in phishing campaigns against academics. Android devices are being targeted by Brokewell malware spread via fake TradingView ads. A new zero-click exploit is reportedly being used to hack WhatsApp users. MathWorks confirmed a cyberattack that exposed user data. A fraudster stole over $1.5 million from Baltimore. Google warned that a Salesloft breach impacted some Workspace accounts. Amazon dismantled Russian APT29 infrastructure used for attacks. Microsoft will enforce MFA for Azure resource management in October. Apple hinted that the iPhone 17 may eliminate the physical SIM card.

FEMA's IT staff fired over an alleged breach, WhatsApp patches a zero-day, the Salesloft breach impacted more than just Salesforce, and a scammer steals $1.5 million dollars from the city of Baltimore. Show notes Risky Bulletin: Noem fires FEMA IT team over alleged cybersecurity failures

If you like what you hear, please subscribe, leave us a review and tell a friend!

The FCC removes 1,200 voice providers from the US phone network, a cyberattack shuts down Nevada's state government services; hackers breach Salesloft and pivot into Salesforce accounts, and Citrix patches yet another zero-day. Show notes Risky Bulletin: FCC removes 1,200 voice providers from US phone network

Sydney Sloan – CMO of G2, a leading software marketplace for businesses to discover, review, and manage technology solutions. She has extensive experience in customer marketing, community building, and scaling B2B SaaS companies. Formerly at Adobe, SalesLoft, and other high-growth companies, she's recognized as a champion of customer advocacy.

What happens when your advocacy program secures C-suite buy-in, launches team by team, and leads with value? You 10X your brand reach in a year.In this episode, Lewis Gray and Elliot Elsley speak with Heather Wiita, Senior Brand and Social Media Manager at Salesloft, about how their employee advocacy program evolved from a pilot to a powerhouse.Heather shares how they strategically launched their program with DSMN8, starting small and rolling out by department to cater to varying levels of social media comfort. She explains the critical role of executive sponsorship and how leaders actively promote advocacy by showing, not just telling, their teams why it matters.You'll hear how Heather and her team crafted content that empowered employees to share their perspectives, maintained high engagement with Slack integration, and fostered a culture of authentic brand representation. Additionally, the episode explores what truly motivates employees to stay: personal value, recognition, and achieving meaningful outcomes.Whether you're starting from scratch or trying to scale your program, this conversation is packed with lessons on making advocacy stick.Be sure to subscribe to stay informed about more insights from marketing leaders shaping the influence of advocacy. 

In episode 5 of Platform Builders, Christine Spang and Isaac Nassimi chat with Scott Mitchell, former CTO of Salesloft, about the challenges and triumphs of scaling a high-growth B2B SaaS company. Scott shares his experiences navigating hyper-growth, from tackling critical infrastructure bottlenecks to fostering a culture of adaptability. They also explore the evolution of sales technology and the impact of AI on the future of sales engagement.

Gabe Lullo is the CEO of Alleyoop, a sales development agency working with industry giants such as ZoomInfo, Salesloft, and Adobe. He has trained over 8,000 salespeople across diverse businesses and, during his tenure at Alleyoop, he has personally hired and managed more than 1,500 SDRs. With over two decades of experience in sales, marketing, and executive recruitment, his strategies have significantly driven Alleyoop's growth and shaped its corporate culture. Beyond his career accomplishments, Gabe graduated from the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford and his leadership ethos is rooted in cultivating environments that prioritize both professional development and individual success. What you will learn Why great salespeople don't always sound like salespeople—and how authenticity wins. How AI tools are being used in sales for real-time call scoring, objection handling, and personalized prospect research. Why content + cold calls is the winning combo in modern sales (and why email is losing power). How LinkedIn content builds social proof—and what not to do when connecting with potential clients. How Gabe built a successful sales agency by spotting a gap in lead generation and training SDRs with AI-powered support.

In this episode of Sales Tech Deep Dive, we sit down with Abhijit Mitra, CEO of Outreach, to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of sales technology. Mitra shares his journey from leading enterprise software initiatives at Oracle, SAP, and ServiceNow to joining Outreach in 2023. He discusses how Outreach has expanded beyond sales engagement into conversation intelligence, deal management, and AI-driven forecasting, unifying once-disparate categories like sales engagement, Salesforce automation, and revenue intelligence into a $25 billion and growing market. Mitra highlights Outreach's differentiation as a "system of action", leveraging AI to streamline sales workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and provide real-time insights to sales teams. He also introduces AI-powered sales agents that proactively assist reps with prospecting and account research, reducing manual effort and improving efficiency. Additionally, he shares Outreach's broader industry focus, expanding from high-tech to telecommunications, financial services, and global enterprise customers like Siemens. The conversation also touches on the future of AI in sales, debunking misconceptions about Outreach as merely a prospecting tool, and how AI-driven workflows will reshape sales execution. Mitra envisions a world where AI partners with sales professionals, enabling them to focus on strategic conversations and relationship-building rather than administrative tasks. For those interested in learning more about Outreach, Mitra invites listeners to visit the company's newly revamped website and engage with their AI-powered SDR team. outreach.io Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-sales-technology-podcast--1947957/support.

If you've hung around me for longer than five minutes, you've heard me say that sales is about talking with people. The fact is, the more people you talk with, the more you'll sell. The good news is that there are lots of people to talk with to make a sale. The problem is, far too many salespeople have quit talking with people. Email Prospecting Has Suddenly Stop Working Instead they keep prospects and customers at arms length through asynchronous communication channels like email - especially when prospecting.  They lean on email because it's easier to hide behind a keyboard than pick up the phone and face rejection. But here's the cold, hard truth: Email as a prospecting channel has suddenly stopped working.  Recent data indicates that salespeople today are sending three to eight times more emails than they were just a couple of years ago … yet they're getting only a tenth of the response.  Let that sink in for a moment. Three times more email and a tenth of the response. These days you can send your prospecting emails dressed up in a pink bunny suit, riding a unicorn, tossing hundred dollar bills in the air and prospects are still going to ignore you.  Essentially salespeople and their AI minions are banging out more and more email to make up for the lower response rates leading to a vicious cycle of diminishing returns. At this point, for all intents and purposes, email prospecting is dead.  The Decline of Email Prospecting  What happened?  In the past, crafting cold email involved strategic thought and personalized messages unique to each prospect. It was a slow process which meant salespeople sent fewer but more effective prospecting emails that were at least tolerable for prospects.  If your email didn't connect, your prospect would just delete it and, sometimes, at least respond that they were not interested.  The slow decline of email as a prospecting channel began 10 years ago with the advent sales engagement platforms like OutReach and SalesLoft. These platforms opened the door to reps to send streams of automated emails in multi-step cadences at the push of a button. Then two years ago, AI burst onto the scene and suddenly everything changed. A legion of enterprising tech entrepreneurs promised magical prospecting engines that would “replace” salespeople altogether. Just push a button and AI does the hard work to fill the pipeline. All Prospecting Email is Suspicious  These AI apps churn out prospecting emails using “hyper-personalization,” scraping tokens off your LinkedIn profile, grabbing a crumb of information from your Facebook feed, and slapping that into an email to make it look human.  But here's the problem: buyers aren't stupid. The second they sniff out that a robot is behind the curtain, it completely turns them off. People don't like to be manipulated — especially by AI. Once they realize they've been duped by AI, they trust nothing else in their inbox.  And because AI can send emails 24/7 — relentlessly — without taking a coffee break or a vacation, inboxes have been flooded with this shallow AI-generated drivel.  The reality is that these platforms are basically spam machines that turned the slow decline of email prospecting into a fast moving avalanche of pain. These AI powered sales automation tools have scaled email volume to an extraordinary and unsustainable level. The deluge of AI generated email has led to a phenomenon called the Great Ignore in which all prospecting messages — good or bad, human or AI generated — are cast into the same bucket and ignored by the prospects. Sales Prospecting Cynicism Buyers are drained, exasperated, and exhausted with this crap. I talk to decision-makers every day who say, “I don't open any email from someone I don't already know anymore. I just delete it. I don't have time for that.” And if they do open your email and see it's obviously AI text, rather than just deleting your email,

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Chris Nagy's finance career began with a foundation in problem-solving, influenced by his early passion for math and logic. He started in commercial finance, focusing on pricing and market dynamics, which shaped his understanding of value differentiation and operational efficiency. His experience included IPO readiness, strategic planning, and time at BlackRock, where he gained insights into large-scale finance operations. Relationships played a key role in his ascent, with his first CFO role stemming from a decade-old professional connection. Over his career, he has navigated diverse roles, blending strategic planning and finance to drive business success.Episode Highlights:Balancing Growth and Profitability: Focuses on aligning growth with sustainable profitability to ensure long-term success.Data-Driven Decision-Making: Builds from reliable data to generate insights and drive performance.Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partners with key teams to align efforts and enhance efficiency.Agility in Dynamic Markets: Adapts quickly to market changes using driver-based models and actionable insights.Learn more about Chris Nagy's Career Journey: Visit Us

In Episode 82 of Topline, hosts Sam Jacobs, AJ Bruno, and Asad Zaman welcome back David Obrand, CEO of SalesLoft, for a lively discussion on navigating the shifting world of enterprise sales. David dives into SalesLoft's strategic move toward enterprise growth, highlighting why focusing on profitability and staying adaptable is crucial in today's unpredictable economy. They also explore how AI is shaping sales, the hurdles of staying competitive, and how go-to-market strategies are evolving to meet the moment. Topline by Pavilion is also proud to debut The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton. Listen now. If you haven't already, make sure to check out David's first Topline appearance where he discusses the three pillars of navigating the enterprise market. Want more? Join the Topline Slack channel to engage with hosts, guests, and other listeners and subscribe to Topline Newsletter.