Forma.ai

I recently joined Nabeil Alazzam, CEO of Forma.ai, on The Sales Compensation Show to talk about some of the lessons I’ve picked up across finance, restructuring, and now RevOps at Sage. We covered quite a bit, including: ➝ What separates a credible stretch target from one that causes the field to disengage ➝ Why a forecast has to be able to carry bad news (without being mistaken as a lack of ambition) ➝ What we’re learning from applying AI inside RevOps and the GTM at Sage ➝ How AI may eventually reshape everything from SaaS pricing to the boundaries between Sales, Marketing, and RevOps As my team knows, I'm a huge proponent of the role RevOps can play in the future of GTM as a whole. We already sit across data, process, systems, and execution. And as AI makes it possible to redesign more of the work itself, I think there’s a huge opportunity for RevOps to become much more of a true #revenuearchitect - understanding how all the pieces fit together and helping the business turn strategy into execution. Really enjoyed discussing the practical realities in this one! You can listen to the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gne5VwXs

What does RevOps look like when you’re steering a global GTM organization — all while AI is rewriting how the work gets done? This is the territory Dominic Ballinger, VP of Revenue Operations at Sage, operates in every day. And we’re very excited to welcome him as the latest guest on The Sales Compensation Show. Not only does he take us behind the scenes of how Sage is already putting AI to work inside RevOps today, but he and Forma CEO Nabeil Alazzam get into the parts of GTM planning that rarely have clean answers, like: ➡️ How ambitious can a growth target get before it loses credibility with the field? ➡️ What happens when the forecast is telling leadership something it doesn’t want to hear? ➡️ How do VPs translate company-level goals into quotas and incentives sellers can actually execute against? ➡️ And what can we expect when AI starts “unbundling” the work Sales, Marketing, and RevOps were initially built around? With a perspective shaped by his background in finance and restructuring, Dom brings plenty of takeaways you can carry straight into planning. 🎧 Watch or listen to the full episode: https://frma.ai/4rfaVaa

Less than a week until our San Francisco event for GTM leaders. 🔥 And there's still time to claim a spot in this room. If your sales plan has to keep moving as headcount, coverage, pipeline, or targets change, you won't want to miss this one. Next Thursday, a terrific group is assembling at Autodesk's office for a half day focused on continuous sales planning. It's a great time to get answers from your peers about: → When and how to revisit planning assumptions → Where territories, quotas, and incentives need to flex → How to adapt without creating unnecessary disruption for the field Dr. Robert Bieshaar, Sr. Director of Go-to-Market Performance Management at Autodesk, will lead the conversation, facilitated by Forma’s Shawn Rossi. There are still a few days to request an invite if you’ll be in San Francisco next week. Request your spot: https://frma.ai/4gWt7SJ

🏃💨💨💨

If a seller needs more than 10 minutes to understand how they’ll get paid, your comp plan may already be too complicated. Mollie Bodensteiner, VP of Revenue Operations at ZoomInfo, shared her simple test for determining this. Can reps quickly answer: → What am I being paid on? → What am I likely to earn? → What can I do to change the outcome? When compensation becomes too complex, sellers lose the connection between their actions and pay (which makes the plan much less effective at shaping behavior). Mollie B.’s rule of thumb? If the payout calculator needs more than 3–5 inputs, complexity may have gone too far. 🎙️ Hear more of Mollie’s perspective on designing comp plans sellers can understand and act on in the full episode here: https://frma.ai/4xZgxIu

“Can we incentivize that?” Sales comp leaders hear some version of this constantly. But the better question might be: does this reasonably belong in the comp plan at all? In an upcoming Think Tank session, Ryan Farber, Commercial Operations Advisor at SnapLogic, and Leo Rocha, Sr. Director, Compensation at CHG Healthcare, are taking on exactly this. They’ll challenge the idea that comp should be the default lever—and dig into where incentives can meaningfully influence performance versus where the real issue may be management, enablement, process, or strategy. Using real-world scenarios, they'll get into the grey areas: → When should you redesign the incentive? → When should management step in? → When might both be part of the answer? Come ready for a terrific discussion! This peer-led session is exclusive to Think Tank members. Apply to join the Think Tank to take part: https://frma.ai/4AePiuR

Just 10 days to go until our San Francisco GTM Ops Briefing. If your team needs to revise territories, quotas, or incentive plans throughout the year—responding to changes in headcount, account coverage, pipeline, or revenue targets—this is the conversation you'll want to be part of. On September 24, Sales Compensation, RevOps, Sales Ops, and #GTM leaders will join us at the Autodesk office for a half day focused on continuous sales planning. We'll be exploring: → How to revisit assumptions without constant disruptions → Where territories, quotas, and incentives need to flex → How leading teams are building a more responsive operating model Dr. Robert Bieshaar, Sr. Director of Go-to-Market Performance Management at Autodesk, will join the discussion, facilitated by Forma’s Shawn Rossi. There’s still time to request an invite if you'll be in town! We'd love to see you there. Request your spot today: https://frma.ai/4xo0K4y

Forget the strategy deck. If you want to know what a company actually prioritizes, look at the sales compensation plan. That's the test Shefali Raghavan, Senior VP, GTM Strategy & Operations at G2), uses. Take retention, for example. Most GTM leaders will tell you it’s a top priority right now. But if that’s true, does the comp plan reinforce it? Or are reps still being rewarded for behavior that points somewhere else? This gap between what leadership says matters and what the field is paid to do is what's critical. Shefali gets into how you should think about this alignment in the full episode — don't miss it! 🎙️ https://frma.ai/4xjDzIH