SaaStr 753: Unveiling the 2024 CRO Playbook, How to Navigate A Shifting Sales Environment with Salesloft's CRO Mark Niemiec

In this insightful podcast, Mark Niemiec, the CRO of SalesLoft, shares his strategic approach and key lessons learned since joining the company in February.

Drawing from his extensive experience at Salesforce and Cisco, Mark discusses the challenges and opportunities that come with onboarding as a new CRO, especially in dynamic market conditions. He emphasizes the importance of vision setting, strategic planning, and effective communication. Mark also provides practical tips on customer engagement, team dynamics, and the significance of maintaining a balanced work-life routine. Whether you're a founder, sales leader, or aspiring CRO, this episode offers valuable actionable insights for driving successful change in your organization.

SaaStr 752: 9 Signs a Startup Isn’t Going to Make It with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin

SaaStr Founder and CEO, Jason Lemkin sat down to discuss 9 signs a startup isn’t going to make it. We all know, we’re living in strange times.

• A lot of AI companies are growing 500% a year and exploding
• A lot of public leaders are struggling
• Some unicorns are doing incredibly well, while others have stalled and are growing at zero

Founders are struggling with how to deal with these changes, and VCs and executives are trying to decide if companies are worth joining, investing in, or sticking it out with. It’s nuanced.

So, let’s look at the nine signs a startup will fail. As leaders, if you see yourself doing some of these things, maybe it’s time to stop it.

SaaStr 751: How to Use AI-Powered Marketing to Get More Leads and Customers with Guillaume Cabane of HyperGrowth Partners

As a marketing leader, how do you use today’s AI platforms and tools to become more efficient?

 Guillaume Cabane, Co-Founder and General Partner at HyperGrowth Partners and ex-head of marketing at Drift, Gorgias and Segment, shares how you can win with AI in outbound, SEO, and paid. 

AI was good a year or two ago, but its quality was less than that of a human. There was less cost and less quality. Nowadays, we have more quality and speed, yet still at a lower cost.

What does that mean for marketing?

Each motion has different CACs. The sales-led approach we’re used to, which is pretty efficient but relatively expensive. On the other side, you have PLG, which is fairly cheap but generally drives lower CAC and smaller customers. You have this spectrum from low contract value to high ACV, which is correlated with low CAC to high CAC.

With those CACs and ACVs, you have typical segmentation of micro to Enterprise, and within that segmentation, you have the channels. On the cheap, low-CAC side, you’ll have SEO and virality: the PLG playbooks.

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

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SaaStr 750: What it Takes to Get Funded in 2024 with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin

What it really takes to raise venture capital today, in 2024

• Stress in System
• Why Everyone Seems to be Chasing AI
• Where the Decacorns Are
• Databricks and Canva
• What a "Fund Returner" is in Venture Capital
• How a $2B and a $100m VC Fund Make Money
• What a Top Decile Startup Looks Like
• and Much More!!

SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

SaaStr 749: The Lost Podcast Aaron Levie, CEO of Box, and Jason Lemkin, CEO of SaaStr, in 2013:  "Thinking About $1 Billion in ARR"

Hey, everybody at SaaStr, we didn't realize until a Twitter exchange the other day that we have a lost SaaStr podcast for real. Just when SaaStr was getting going in January 2013, SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin went out and went to Box's offices and interviewed Aaron Levie CEO and Co-founder of Box.

This was over a decade ago now and it was lost. 

We recorded it but didn't know what to do with it. And the audio quality was pretty bad, but we used AI to clean it up and we thought this would be really fun to listen to at a formative time. Back then, Box had just crossed 400 employees. It was no longer a startup. And we talked about going enterprise. We talked about squinting on the horizon and seeing the $1B ARR which box has since passed, and what it might be like to go bigger. 

It's a moment in time but you can listen to a different side, maybe even a more lighthearted side before things get really hard after the IPO. 

It is harder after you go public. But this was just before that. It's the lost SaaStr podcast. The earliest days of Box with Aaron Levie and Jason Lemkin together. 

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

SaaStr 748: Fundraising During A Downturn, Advice for Hiring in 2024 and Much More with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin 

To close out SaaStr Europa 2024, Jason Lemkin, SaaStr CEO and Founder took the stage to answer the audience's most burning questions. AMA’s with Jason are wildly popular for his expertise and no-holds-barred delivery.

Jason give his advice on the following topics:

• Hiring in 2024
• Running PLG and Enterprise GTM at the same time
• How to Categorize Revenue for VCs
• Are Marketing Agencies Worth Investing In?
• Do VCs Ignore Founder Logos
• The ideal post-sales process
• Advice For Companies Looking To Raise During A Downturn

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

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This episode is sponsored by Pendo, the all-in-one product experience platform.

Pendo helps your users do the things you really want them to do. You can try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr and check out Mind The Product, the community for product people like… us.

SaaStr 747: Top 10 GTM Mistakes Founders Make Again … and Again with SaaStr’s CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin

What are the biggest GTM mistakes founders make? SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin shares The Top 10 Mistakes Founders Make Again and Again. Some are decades-old problems, while others have emerged from this new world we’re in. Let’s jump right in.

1. Hire a VP of Sales that can sell or demo the product
2. Hire a VP of Marketing who can do demand generation
3. As a Founder or CEO, stay in sales
4. Don't cut your marketing budgets to almost nothing
5. Jump on the AI bandwagon in a meaningful way
6. Prioritize growth
7. Be cautious when hiring the broken, the bitter, and the fractional
8. Don't hire for the logo
9. ROI isn't always instant, build pipeline
10. Don't eliminate true customer success

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

This episode is sponsored by: Remote.com

Are international payroll regulations giving you a headache? Remote.com is your solution. With our best-in-class interface and expertise, we consolidate payroll for your employees, whether in one country or a hundred. Trust us with swift, secure payments for your team while you focus on scaling markets and driving business growth.

SaaStr 746: What’s Really Happening in Venture Capital Today with Redpoint Ventures Managing Director Logan Bartlett

There are a lot of haves and have-nots in the software industry today. Some companies have more people throwing money at them than they know what to do with, and others are struggling to raise any money at all.

Logan Bartlett, Managing Director at Redpoint Ventures, shares their yearly “State of the Market” report to understand what is and isn’t happening in venture capital today. 2024 is the tale of two markets, so let’s get into some of the data on today's episode.

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

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This episode is sponsored by Pendo, the all-in-one product experience platform.

Pendo helps your users do the things you really want them to do. You can try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr and check out Mind The Product, the community for product people like… us.

SaaStr 745: Mastering SaaS Sales Hiring, Customer Retention, and Growth with OpenAI, Retool, and 20VC

Dominic Grill, Head of Technical Success at OpenAI, and Eleanor Dorfman, Head of Sales at Retool, answer some of the most pressing questions from Harry Stebbings, Founder at 20VC, about mastering the customer lifecycle, how roles and motions in sales and post-sales have changed, the role of AI in sales, and some of the biggest lessons learned at these hyper-growth companies.

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

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This episode is sponsored by Pendo, the all-in-one product experience platform.

Pendo helps your users do the things you really want them to do. You can try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr and check out Mind The Product, the community for product people like… us.

This episode is sponsored by: Remote.com

Are international payroll regulations giving you a headache? Remote.com is your solution. With our best-in-class interface and expertise, we consolidate payroll for your employees, whether in one country or a hundred. Trust us with swift, secure payments for your team while you focus on scaling markets and driving business growth.

This episode is sponsored by: Northwest Registered Agent

Get more when Northwest Registered Agent starts your business. They'll form your company fast and stand up your entire business identity in minutes. That means business free domain, business email, website, hosting, address, mail scanning, business phone app, all within minutes. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/saastr to get a 60 percent discount on your next LLC.

SaaStr 744: A Tale of 3 Worlds: Where SaaS, Cloud, and AI are in 2024 with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin

What's the theme and current trends in SaaS, Cloud and AI now that we're midway through 2024?

SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin reflects on the SaaS industry's journey over the past several years, particularly focusing on the challenges and growth seen in 2022 and 2023. Despite economic ups and downs and the gloom and doom on social media, companies like Canva and Netskope are thriving today.

Jason's best advice?

"Just build."

In this episode, he emphasizes the importance of SaaS startups and companies continuing to build amidst macroeconomic fluctuations and the inevitable rise and fall of markets. Additionally, he addresses head-on how AI is reshaping the landscape and driving venture capital investments. For aspiring and current SaaS founders, this episode offers practical advice on staying competitive and resilient in an unpredictable market.

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

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This episode is sponsored by Pendo, the all-in-one product experience platform.

Pendo helps your users do the things you really want them to do. You can try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr and check out Mind The Product, the community for product people like… us.

This episode is sponsored by: Remote.com

Are international payroll regulations giving you a headache? Remote.com is your solution. With our best-in-class interface and expertise, we consolidate payroll for your employees, whether in one country or a hundred. Trust us with swift, secure payments for your team while you focus on scaling markets and driving business growth.

This episode is sponsored by: Northwest Registered Agent

Get more when Northwest Registered Agent starts your business. They'll form your company fast and stand up your entire business identity in minutes. That means business free domain, business email, website, hosting, address, mail scanning, business phone app, all within minutes. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/saastr to get a 60 percent discount on your next LLC.

SaaStr 743: 9 Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond, Former CRO Brex

Sam Blond, the former CRO at Brex with 15 years in tech sales, took the stage at SaaStr Europa 2024 to share nine easy sales concepts that so many get wrong. Sam got his first job in tech sales as an SDR for Jason Lemkin’s company, EchoSign, which later sold to Adobe and launched his career.

These nine sales concepts, when done correctly, will greatly improve your sales and sales teams:

1. Don’t Outsource Recruiting
2. Focus on Demand Until You Have Too Much
3. Do Things That Stand Out
4. Leverage Happy Customers to Generate New Ones
5. Distribution Is As Important As The Announcement
6. Be Prescriptive On How To Buy Your Product
7. The Presumptive Close
8. Meet Prospective Customers In Person
9. Obsess Over Implementation

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SaaStr hosts the largest SaaS community events on the planet.

Join us in 2024 at:

• SaaStr Annual: Sept. 10-12 in the SF Bay Area. Join 12,500 SaaS professionals, CEOs, revenue leaders and investors for the world's LARGEST SaaS community event of the year. Podcast listeners can grab a discount on tickets here: https://www.saastrannual2024.com/buy-tickets?promo=fave20

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This episode is sponsored by: Northwest Registered Agent

Get more when Northwest Registered Agent starts your business. They'll form your company fast and stand up your entire business identity in minutes. That means business free domain, business email, website, hosting, address, mail scanning, business phone app, all within minutes. Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/saastr to get a 60 percent discount on your next LLC.

This episode is sponsored by: Remote.com

Are you overwhelmed with paperwork managing overseas contractors? Say hello to efficiency with Remote’s Contractor Management solution! Seamlessly handle invoicing, fixed payments, and compliant, localized contracts. Kickstart your free trial today at Remote.com.

This episode is sponsored by Pendo, the all-in-one product experience platform.

Pendo helps your users do the things you really want them to do. You can try Pendo for free at Pendo.io/saastr and check out Mind The Product, the community for product people like… us.