Justin McAleenan

According to Lightspeed, 41% of new logo deals slip and 38% fall through. For a pipeline of $10 million, that's $4.1M slipped and $3.8M in lost revenue 🤯. But, that's not all: Generating $10 million in pipeline is costly. Here is an example calculation: Assumptions: - Average Deal Size: $50,000 - SQO to Closed-Won Conversion: 25% - Marketing Cost Per MQL: $800 - MQL to SQO Conversion: 20% - Overhead for sales and enablement: 20% of revenue target Calculation: 1. Opportunities Required $10M in pipeline at a $50K deal size = 200 Opportunities 3. MQLs Needed - MQL-to-SQO conversion: 20% - MQLs needed: 1,000 (200/0,2) - Cost per MQL: $800 Costs: 1,000 MQLs x $800 = $800,000 4. Sales Team Costs - Win rate: 25% win rate - Closed-won: 50 deals (200 x 25%) - Sales rep (base + commission): $120K annually - Number of Opps/ reps: 100 Total cost: (200/100) x $120,000 = $240,000 5. Overhead and Tools: - Assume 2% of pipeline target: $200,000 Results: + Marketing: $800,000 + Sales Reps: $240,000 + Overhead/Tools: $200,000 -- Total Cost: $1,240,000 Top 3 reasons for deal slippage (according to Lightspeed report): 1. Delays in decision making 2. Exec sponsor left 3. Lost budget Those reasons showcase a weak sales process: 1. Systemic pain and negative economic impact unclear = no urgency 2. Multi-thread to reduce dependency on one sponsor/ champion 3. Lost budget means you're not solving a costly/revenue reducing pain How do you mitigate deal slippage?

90

15 Comments

Tell me you're a PMM Without telling me.. Those tabs include: - 23 product docs  - 12 draft GTM plans - 47 competitor websites - The launch deck (version 18) - That research your CEO needs "ASAP" And probably... Whatever else is getting thrown your way this week. 📌 Friendly reminder leaders: ✅ PMMs can do anything ❌ But not everything Your PMMs need three things from you as a leader: 1. Ruthless prioritization (not everything can be #1) 2. Resources to match your expectations 3. Air cover to push back when needed Too many companies make PMMs the "catch all" for everything product, sales, and marketing related. Don't do it. Give them selective focus. Give them room to say no. And most importantly: Let them be strategic partners. Not the "make the deck pretty" department. h/t HubSpot for the 😂 meme -- P.S. True or False? How many tabs do you have open right now PMMs

323

68 Comments

The highest performers at Front, Miro, and Deel all break the "𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴" of outbound. Here's why that matters. The old playbook (massive lists, high-volume sequences, proven templates) is dead. Response rates are at an all-time low, and something needs to change. In this week's Enabled, I break down: • Why "𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘴" doesn't work anymore • What top SDRs actually do with unlimited time • The new signal-based framework that's replacing "𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴" • How "𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴-𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥" is changing the game Plus: Real examples of what's working right now. Read the issue here: https://lnkd.in/gU2fmv6Y

191

9 Comments

Churn isn’t a Customer Success problem. It’s a Sales problem. 70%+ of churn happens because the wrong people were sold the product in the first place. Sales gets the commission. CS gets the blame. Let’s be honest—bad-fit buyers cost more than they bring: - They drain your support team - They rarely adopt - They leave quickly And worst of all? They damage your brand Sales teams are trained to be persuasive. But buyers often don’t have the tools or insight to verify if a product is actually right for them. Until it’s too late. So what can sales do to prevent churn before it starts? Here are 5 red flags you can catch during the sales process: 1. Misaligned Pain Points vs Product Strengths → If the buyer’s pain isn’t something your product is great at solving, it’s already a misfit. → Compare discovery notes to churn data. You’ll find patterns fast. 2. Overemphasis on Price over Value → If their main concern is discounts, not ROI, you’re likely not solving a real business pain. → These buyers churn when “cheaper” shows up. 3. Chaos During the Sales Process → Last-minute changes. Unclear requirements. Conflicting stakeholders. → Don’t expect post-sale clarity if pre-sale is a mess. 4. No Champion, No Executive Buy-In → If no one inside the company is excited to implement, usage will be low. → Low usage = fast churn. 5. No Success Metrics, Just FOMO → If they’re buying because “others are,” not because of a defined outcome… it’s a ticking time bomb. → Trend chasers don’t stick around. Final thought: 🚫 Not all revenue is good revenue. ✅ The best salespeople don’t close the most deals. They close the right ones. If you're saying yes to every buyer... You're not building a company—you're building a churn machine. Curious—what's your red flag during the sales process? Drop it in the comments 👇 #SalesLeadership #CustomerSuccess #Churn #SaaS #SalesStrategy #B2Bsales #OutboundSales #RevenueGrowth

440

42 Comments

You don’t know how to automate your business. Let's reframe your automation journey as a game? You’ll become hooked on progressing through each level. Here’s my 9-level Automation Game: Level 1: Automate Scheduling Implement a scheduling tool like Calendly or ServiceTitan Set up automated booking confirmations and reminders Sync the tool with your calendar to eliminate double bookings Let customers pick times that work for them—no more back-and-forth Level 2: Automate Customer Communication Set up email automation for common responses Implement a chatbot for 24/7 customer support Automate appointment reminders and follow-ups Use tools like Intercom or Drift to manage live chat Level 3: Automate Sales Processes Use CRM tools like Salesforce to automate lead tracking Set up automated email sequences for lead nurturing Integrate your CRM with your calendar for seamless follow-ups Implement automated follow-ups for unresponsive leads Level 4: Automate Marketing Campaigns Use HubSpot or Mailchimp to automate email campaigns Set up social media post scheduling with tools like Buffer or Hootsuite Automate ads through Google or Facebook with pre-set targeting Use segmentation to personalize campaigns based on user behavior. Level 5: Automate Data Collection & Reporting Use Google Analytics and automate report generation Set up custom dashboards with tools like Looker or Tableau Automate key performance indicators (KPIs) tracking and alerts Generate automated reports to monitor your business progress Level 6: Automate Finance & Accounting Set up automated invoicing and payment reminders with QuickBooks Automate expense tracking and financial reporting Integrate your accounting system with your bank for seamless transfers Set up automatic tax calculations and submission reminders Level 7: Automate Team Workflow Management Use tools like Asana or Trello to automate task assignments Set up reminders and deadlines for your team Automate project tracking and progress updates Implement tools that track employee productivity without manual input Level 8: Automate Customer Feedback & Retention Set up automated email sequences for review requests Use platforms like Trustpilot or GBP to collect reviews automatically Implement loyalty programs with automated reward systems Automate follow-up emails to ensure high customer satisfaction Level 9: Continuous Improvement & Tuning Regularly audit your automated processes for efficiency gaps Test new automation tools and integrations to improve performance Use A/B testing to fine-tune automated communications and workflows Update and optimize your automation systems as your business scales PS. Need help levelling up? We’ll help you streamline your operations, reclaim your time, and scale your business with automation. Connect with me here: https://lnkd.in/eCSZYmQd

30

32 Comments

Ummm can we pleaseeeee stop calling transactional $$s ARR?! 😑 As someone who has operated in both worlds, they require completely different approaches to GTM 🔑 But it starts with being honest about what type of revenue it is 🤷🏽‍♀️ 1️⃣ Recurring rev is much harder to land but typically easier to expand. On the flip side, transactional revenue is easier to land (experimental budgets, multiple vendors winning $$s) but much harder to retain and showcase long term value ✔️ 2️⃣ Recurring revenue is much easier from a planning perspective. Setting quotas / quarterly planning with transactional revenue is a different type of hell 😅 3️⃣ A generalist GTM persona (full stack AEs that prospect, close, expand and renew) may work better in the transactional rev world given the risks of retention. Vs a specialized set up may be better in the annual recurring revenue model for efficiency 🙌 Ofcourse buyer persona, implementation ease and product complexity also play a role in each company’s unique set up. But let’s start with NOT calling GMV / transactional $$s as ARR 🙄 🎤 Thanks for coming to my TED talk #revenuerecognition #cro #revenue #startups #sales

31

10 Comments

PMM managers hit a point where they feel disconnected from the work. You’re suddenly... - Reviewing GTM strategy docs/decks you have (more) limited context on - Coaching teams on how to position against competitors you haven’t heard customers talk about directly - Helping with messaging for products you have limited hands on exp with This drift is natural, but risky. The further you get from the craft, the harder it is to make the right calls on strategy, resourcing, or hiring. The fix isn’t to jump back in everywhere. It’s to choose the right leverage points: 👉 Lead one messaging workshop yourself. 👉 Run a win/loss deep dive with a direct report and actually sit and participate on the calls 👉 Own a competitive research project end-to-end These are a few high-value touchpoints where you sharpen your own intuition and elevate your team. PMM leaders who never touch the work risk managing in abstraction. PMM leaders who dive in with intent build sharper instincts - and stronger teams. In my experience...almost every manager begins to feel the balance shifting. Don't be ashamed or feel awkward about it. But DO try and address it - this is where we're all headed.

40

1 Comment