I was amazed to learn at all the tragic mistakes software founders make that can cost them their company. Assaf Ben-David is a world-renowned legal advisor to software startups and he's an expert at the DOs and DONTs of launching your business. The stories of founders who have lost everything or paid huge sums of money because of these errors that they didn't know about are crazy. Make sure you are protected by learning what to avoid and using an expert like Assaf. To learn more about Assaf, vis...
Aug 25, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 22
I received a crash course in SaaS marketing as I spoke with performance marketing expert and CEO of Directive, Garrett Mehrguth. In particular we talked about: How SaaS companies can leverage data to reach new heights Which strategies work best for going to market What to aim for when creating content I really enjoyed the depth at which Garrett went to explain a scenario - he truly knows his stuff. To learn more about Garrett and Directive, visit: https://directiveconsulting.com/ Find Garrett on...
Aug 18, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 21
When it comes to building brands and helping large companies improve, not many are better than Joe Escobedo. As an international branding consultant, he's worked with many Fortune 500 companies to help them improve their processes and achieve better results. In this insightful discussion, we discuss: Methods for getting your foot in the door of giant companies Differences in approaches for different sized organizations How to define where you want to focus your efforts Every time I talk to Joe I...
Aug 11, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Lately I've heard a lot of people wondering if founders should be the people selling their product initially. There's some concern, especially in the software world, that if a founder is a technical founder, they may not be "born to sell". Garbage. Selling is about formulas and frameworks. I know engineers are great at those. It's just about knowing what to do. In particular I talk about: The 3 key reasons why founders should sell when they launch Why you may get into trouble early if you don't ...
Aug 04, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 19
I learned a lot about early stage SaaS finance with investment and finance expert Katie Bronnenkant. Katie has had a very successful career helping startups raise money, to the tune of over $250 million, so she certainly knows her stuff! In this chat, we discuss: How to set your company up for investment success The mistakes early stage SaaS companies make when it comes to finance When the time is right to seek investment I really enjoyed hearing Katie's perspective, as she has so much knowledge...
Jul 28, 2020•19 min•Season 1Ep. 18
I had wonderful chat with Clari VP of Revenue Growth & Enablement, Kyle Coleman. Kyle is incredibly gifted as a leader and as someone who understands the finer points of the sales process. He astutely recognizes what's important for a buyer, and he knows how to train his team to reach prospects in order to drive revenue. In particular, we discussed: The common everyday words you should stop saying immediately What success metric you should have at the top of the funnel How the entire team ca...
Jul 21, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 17
I had the pleasure this week to be joined by master negotiator, Mark Raffan. Mark knows his stuff when it comes to negotiations as he advises some of the top companies in the world on how they can improve their negotiation skills, and he's the founder and host of the world's #1 negotiation podcast, Negotiations Ninja. In particular, we talked about: How people negotiate themselves out of great opportunities Why it's important to role play prior to a big negotiation How the military uses "Red Tea...
Jul 14, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 16
This week my guest is Vijith Kumar Nandanam, the super smart sales leader at Routematic. In this episode, we really focused on one important strategy decision that leaders need to make: should you 'Go for Broke' and sell as much as possible up front? Or 'Land and Expand' - just sign people up so that your foot is in the door, even at low levels, then you can upsell them later. I have found this topic fascinating for some time now, so I loved the opportunity to discuss it at length with a season ...
Jul 07, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Chris Walker, the CEO of Refine Labs and the expert marketing visionary, was my guest this week. I love that Chris comes at challenges from such a completely different angle than everyone else. His approach is so smart - yet so few do it. Among other things, we discuss: What marketers should really be focusing on Chris' 4-step process for generating a ton of leads Why companies are losing so many deals they should be winning I called this Marketing 534 because it's not Marketing 101 - these idea...
Jun 30, 2020•26 min•Season 1Ep. 14
I loved what George Brontén from Membrain CRM had to say in this week's episode. Sometimes my guests say things and I have to sit back and think over it to see if I agree or not with their viewpoint. This week, I loved everything George said. It was so on point, and so in line with my experiences and learnings over the years that I had to stop myself from shouting "YES!" at every turn. Among other things, we discuss: That people are not born salespeople The big skills gap that many companies hav...
Jun 23, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 13
I really enjoyed talking with and learning from Gainsight CEO, Nick Mehta. Nick is a very skilled leader, and what he's done at Gainsight- from creating the Customer Success category, to building an excellent team that is upwardly mobile, to getting an industry to re-think how we view customer service - is nothing short of incredible. In particular, Nick and I discuss: Why it's about the people, not the product 3 things that SaaS has changed in the software world Key advice for founders starting...
Jun 16, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 12
This week I spoke with Rajan Maruthavanan from Upekkha. Rajan is an expert at helping SaaS founders get off the ground successfully and do it with little to no cash investment. In fact, he has helped over 100 startups build and launch their product. In particular, we talk about: How SaaS has changed the sales paradigm Why product and sales have to work really closely The 4 milestones on the road to product/market fit Rajan is crazy smart about startups and achieving traction on the way to scale....
Jun 09, 2020•30 min•Season 1Ep. 11
I enjoyed taking another perspective this week, as I spoke with Customer Experience thought leader and influencer, Nick Hague of B2B International. Nick and his firm work with companies around the world to help them better understand their markets through data. In particular, he is an expert in how to deliver an excellent Customer Experience (CX). We discuss: The 4 key dichotomies in B2B markets What will happen if you de-prioritize CX How Nick was able to create a "bomb-proof" culture to grow w...
Jun 02, 2020•23 min•Season 1Ep. 10
This week we had a different perspective, the buyer's perspective, as I talked with Chad Stewart from SmartThoughts. Chad is a professional software buyer - organizations hire him to determine which software platform they should adopt. So he has seen every sales process imaginable and has a special insight we can learn from. In particular, Chad and I talk about: The biggest mistake software sales people make Why he is a fan of great salespeople What is most important to be sharing with your buye...
May 26, 2020•28 min•Season 1Ep. 9
I had a great chat with my guest, Braydan Young, Co-founder of Sendoso . As a fully integrated direct mail and gifting solution, Sendoso helps companies acquire new customers and retain existing customers. In particular, Braydan and I talk about: How to cut through the digital noise in today's world of low response rates Why you should learn and grow with your customers What to do to increase your ROI from a direct mail campaign The Sendoso story is a great one - they found a gap, and filled it ...
May 19, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 8
My guest this week is Jasper Deprez, the CEO of Tradler, an employee engagement solution. Tradler helps organizations reduce turnover and increase engagement by allowing employees to instantly get rewarded and recognized for the work they do. In particular, we talk about: What Tradler did with one client to reduce turnover by 39% How software founders can find people for their team to fill skill holes Ways to effectively appreciate people for the work they do Jasper is really smart at managing t...
May 12, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 7
I'm joined by Pedro Cortés from Cortés Design. Pedro helps B2B SaaS companies turn more landing page visitors into customers through better messaging and positioning. In particular, we talk about: The 3 questions you need to answer for your visitors to your landing page How to win by knowing your customers Why absolute clarity on your message is necessary Pedro is famous for his landing page breakdowns on LinkedIn, and here he gives us a peek behind the curtain into why messaging is so important...
May 05, 2020•21 min•Season 1Ep. 6
My guest is Gloria Chou, PR mentor and pitch guru. She helps B2B SaaS companies understand how to leverage PR and get maximum ROI for their business. She is also the creator of the first "PR in a Box" tool for solo entrepreneurs. In particular, we talk about: Why investors care about reputation more than functionality That you shouldn't be afraid to pitch your product, even in the early stages Why Gloria transitioned from a career as a US diplomat to helping tech founders show up in a bigger way...
Apr 28, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 5
Ved Rasic, the COO of Autoklose knows how important process is to growing a successful software company. In particular, we talk about: How to put "People Before the Tools" That you need a process if you want to build and scale a business Why you need to know when to spend money, and when to spend time Ved is really sharp about how to implement systems and process and it has led to Autokose being a leader in the industry. Follow Ved on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vedranrasic/ Learn m...
Apr 21, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Piyush Parikh, the Co-founder of Equinox Agents is my guest and he has a lot of smart thoughts on how software sales and support can be improved. Specifically, we discuss: How to make your support team help your sales How being proactive will take you further Why setting up automation will help you win While heavily involved in the SaaS world for a while now, Piyush came from an engineering background which has aided his efforts in the software game. His knowledge of data and process allows him ...
Apr 14, 2020•25 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Greg Head and Matt Wolach discuss how sales and marketing need to work together and be in sync in order for a software system to thrive. We discuss: Greg's "The Myth of More" How marketing and selling software has changed over time What you need to do now in order to win Greg is world famous for his marketing talent, and he has the resume to prove it. Not only has he created, built, and scaled globally, he has several exits to his credit including going public. His extremely popular and growing ...
Apr 13, 2020•24 min•Season 1Ep. 2
With guest Stewart Marshall, who is the Co-founder of SaaSAccelerator in Australia and author of Doing IT for Money . We discuss: How to use partners to accelerate Separating software sales fantasy from reality Where to focus if you want to scale Stewart is a sharp guy who has been helping some of the best software companies scale for a long time. You can learn more at https://saasaccelerator.com.au/ or he can be found on LinkedIn here . ------ For more about how host Matt Wolach helps software ...
Apr 13, 2020•22 min•Season 1Ep. 1
