Cloud Radio | A SaaS Podcast

Our Guest: Elena Hutchison, formerly an Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Medallia, is now the Founder of Up/Right Analyst Relations. The firm offers coaching, consulting, and fractional analyst relations services, specifically designed to enhance companies' engagement with Gartner, Forrester, and other industry leaders.

Episode Topics:

• Understanding the analyst relations function beyond quadrants + how analyst firms serve their own customers
• Elena’s insights on the accuracy of Gartner’s Magic Quadrants and Forrester’s Wave
• Elena expands on her “Most Important Sales Cycle of the Year” post
• Should companies always participate in an analyst Request for Information (RFI)?
• How can early + mid-stage companies best work with analyst firms?
• How analysts evaluate emerging vendors within categories + significance of vendor financial stability
• The value of customer stories around ROI when collaborating with analysts
• How to gain buy-in for an analyst relations program?
• Understanding the timeline for tangible, positive results from an analyst relations program.
• Elena’s insights on the differences between the largest analyst firms and niche analyst firms.

Resources:

https://www.uprightar.com/blog/your-analyst-evaluation-is-the-most-important-sales-cycle-of-the-year

https://www.uprightar.com/blog/debunking-five-myths-of-analyst-relations-for-startup-ceos
https://www.saasboost.io/outsourced-sales-blog/top-saas-directory-and-review-sites-complete-guide-2023

About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings:

Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Lead Routing Software, Sales Training + Onboarding Software, Sales Conversation Intelligence Software, and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) Software

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Our Guest: Ryan Walsh is the Founder and CEO of RepVue. Sometimes called “a Glassdoor for sales,” RepVue is the largest platform for crowdsourced ratings (140,000 and growing) of sales organizations globally.

Episode Topics:

• The concept of RepVue and how it aims to solve the problem of information asymmetry in the sales rep hiring process.
• Ryan’s views on market conditions, including declining quota attainment and inbound lead flow.
• Why is quota attainment - currently in the 40% range across software - so low, and how does this situation happen?
• Asking the tough questions as an interviewee: understanding territories, quota attainment, a company's burn rate, and cash runway when considering new sales positions.
• How much product due diligence should sales reps conduct before joining a software company
• If Ryan were a growth equity or private equity investor, how would he assess the strength and health of a sales organization?
• Signs an SDR will become a successful Account Executive

Episode Resources:

https://www.repvue.com/

Quota Attainment Data Trend - https://twitter.com/ryan_c_walsh/status/1636704102980648961

About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings:

Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio covers all aspects of the business of software.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Our Guest: Cory Wheeler, Co-Founder + Chief Customer Officer of Zylo, a leading SaaS Management and Optimization platform with over $30 billion in SaaS spending under management. Zylo’s investor base includes Bessemer Venture Partners, GGV, and Menlo Ventures.

Episode Topics:

• Zylo’s “2023 SaaS Management Index” report
• Cory’s view on a more challenging SaaS market environment - the 1st year with a decline in their platform-wide SaaS spend
• The drivers of SaaS spending declines, like reductions in force and underutilized apps
• Stories of SaaS sprawl, including an organization with 49 different project management apps
• How vendor customer success teams need to prove value and ROI at every renewal
• The significant waste of unused licenses - 56% average monthly utilization in the 2023 Zylo SaaS Management Index
• Project Management Tools as a prime example of SaaS sprawl and underutilization
• Balancing SaaS tools for maximized ROI
• The emerging trend of SaaS negotiation services
• Importance of governance in managing SaaS applications within organizations - balancing prudence against undue bureaucracy.
• A smart insight into the role of Enterprise License Agreements in mitigating risks from “shadow IT”

Episode Resources:

https://zylo.com/reports/2023-saas-management-index/

https://www.saasletter.com/p/saasletter-cost-discipline-post-svb

SaaSMe Podcast on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMpzGma3CYOXHcibXCvz3?si=ad5a24f4e8f54234

SaaSMe Podcast on Other Platforms:

https://podcast.zylo.com/public/112/SaaSMe-Unfiltered%3A-The-SaaS-Management-Podcast-c316deea

About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings:

Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio covers all aspects of the business of software.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Our Guest: Scott Leese is a six-time Sales Leader and a two-time best-selling Amazon author in the category of sales. He maintains active communities like GTM United and is also focusing on helping companies build revenue-driving motions across the organization.

Episode Topics:

• Scott's view on shifting away from traditional VP career paths and expectations.
• What are the qualities to look for in someone who is a first-time VP of Sales?
• Scott’s advice for someone who is considering transitioning into an account executive (AE) role + Director/VP Sales level.
• The type of leaders or CEOs that Scott gets along with.
• Overall framework of the evolution of Sales from Go-To-Market to Go-To-Network.
• What type of seller performs best?
• Scott on the sales productivity of Go-To-Network approach versus cold outbound strategy.
• Scott's take on Sapphire Non-AE GTM Bloat - 90% of GTM spend is non-AE, down from 70% in 2018.
• Strategies or approaches that are currently successful in the broader environment.
• Scott elaborates his Linkedin post on self-inflicted errors: “Most deals die from predictable self-inflicted errors. Avoidable problems turn into cyclical failures caused by a lack of focus on reverse engineering root causes.”

Resources:

https://www.surfandsales.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter/status/1700517476017246334?s=20

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scottleese_you-dont-get-good-at-anything-by-giving-activity-6990657671431405568-lVpl?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings:

Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/

Our Guest: Scott Brinker, VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, shapes Hubspot's platform strategy and leads business programs for its global technology partner ecosystem. He is also an editor at chiefmartec.com, with over 50,000 readers, analyzing topics at the intersection of marketing, technology, and management.

Episode Topics:

• How much does Scott Brinker see AI impacting marketing headcount?
• Scott on the need to adapt and rethink categorizations in light of the evolving MarTech landscape.
• What are some concerns about the sustainability of the current level of saturation in the martech industry?
• How should companies in the torso (top 100 companies) and head (top 10 companies) navigate the presence of a large number of competitors in the long tail (12,000 companies)?
• What does composability truly mean for MarTech?
• The business and technical risk of composability.
• Scott's recommendations and principles to CMOs and marketing leaders for implementing composability.
• How does competition among major platforms provide opportunities and leverage for smaller, long-tail partners in ecosystems?

Sources:
https://chiefmartec.com/2023/12/major-trends-in-martech-for-2024-the-real-changes-underway-in-a-99-platitude-free-report/

https://chiefmartec.com/2023/10/products-in-the-long-tail-of-martech-have-a-wide-range-of-different-strategies-and-aspirations/

https://www.saasletter.com/p/mckinsey-cloud-roi-ai-roi

About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings:

Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software.

Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack.

https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/

https://twitter.com/SaaSletter

https://www.saasletter.com/

About Cloud Ratings:

Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions.

Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software.

Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value.

https://cloudratings.com/