In this episode of Funky Flywheels, we dive deep into the critical topic of go-to-market efficiency in today's changing business landscape. Join host Björn W. Schäfer as he speaks with two seasoned experts from software giant SAP - Giuseppe Cristiano and Kilian von Dosky.

Why you should listen:

The era of "growth at all costs" is over. Today's SaaS businesses face a drastically different market environment where sustainable growth, profitability, and efficiency are paramount. Kilian and Giuseppe share their battle-tested frameworks for aligning your go-to-market organization to drive real results.

What you'll discover:

• The root causes of go-to-market inefficiencies that plague most organizations
• Why siloed execution creates pressure internally and negatively impacts customer experience
• The critical importance of a unified understanding of how SaaS businesses truly generate revenue
• Practical strategies for connecting the dots between marketing, sales, customer success, and product
• Why your renewal and expansion strategy might be fundamentally flawed
• The transformative power of "sense-making sessions" that align your entire organization

AI's role in go-to-market efficiency: As the conversation shifts to AI, our experts offer nuanced perspectives on when and how to leverage AI in your go-to-market motion. Their contrasting views provide valuable insights on whether AI should be applied to strengthen fundamentals or used as a forcing function for organizational change.

The bottom line: This episode provides a masterclass in how to build the foundational elements of an efficient go-to-market organization - from leadership alignment to data models, from process design to incentive structures - all focused on creating sustainable growth in today's challenging business environment.

For founders, go-to-market leaders, and anyone responsible for driving efficient growth in their organization.

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Björn's Linkedin Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernwschaefer
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In dieser Episode des Podcasts tauche ich, Björn W. Schäfer, mit Romea Müller, CMO und Co-Gründerin von bont.ai, in die Realität eines bootstrapped Early-Stage B2B Software Startups ein. Mit ihrer frischen Perspektive aus den ersten sechs Monaten teilt Romea authentische Einblicke in die Transformation von einer unklaren ersten Website hin zu einer fokussierten SalesTech-Plattform.

Die Diskussion beleuchtet zentrale Herausforderungen des B2B-Marketings: von der präzisen Definition der Zielgruppe bis zur effektiven Integration von Marketing und Sales. Besonders spannend ist der Einblick in die pragmatische Herangehensweise an KPI-Management und die Bedeutung von direktem Kundenfeedback für die Produktentwicklung in einem ressourcenbeschränkten Umfeld.

Hörer:innen erfahren aus erster Hand, wie bont.ai seine Marketing-Strategie durch kontinuierliches Testen und Anpassen optimiert. Romea teilt dabei offen ihre Learnings zum Thema Perfektionismus versus Geschwindigkeit und wie sie die Balance zwischen strategischer Planung und konkreter Ausführung findet.

Besonders wertvoll für Marketing-Executives und Startup-Gründer:innen: Die unterschiedlichen Rollen als CMO in einem Bootstrapping-Umfeld sowie praktische Einblicke in die Entwicklung effektiver Messaging-Strategien und Outbound-Marketing-Kampagnen.

Diese Episode ist ein Muss für alle, die sich mit B2B-Marketing, Produktpositionierung und der Skalierung von Startups beschäftigen. Sie bietet konkrete Takeaways zur Optimierung der Marketing-Sales-Integration und zeigt, wie man auch mit begrenzten Ressourcen effektive Go-to-Market-Strategien entwickeln kann.

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Björn's Linkedin Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernwschaefer
Order Now: My GTM Book Funky Flywheels 🕺💃

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My Homepage: www.rowing8.com

As we navigate today's capital-efficient growth environment, this conversation from August 2023 is more relevant than ever. Back then, I spoke with Benedikt Meuthen (former VP of Sales at deskbird), who scaled his sales team from 0 to 15 reps in just one year – and made the same mistake countless founders and sales leaders STILL make today.

What to expect:

• Why data collection is significantly more important than most sales leaders realize, and how to get your team to embrace it
• The critical mistake of scaling headcount before perfecting your sales process with a smaller team
• A counterintuitive approach to sales enablement that starts everyone at the same level regardless of prior experience
• How people management in a remote environment takes up to 30% of a sales leader's time—far more than most anticipate

My highlights:

• Ben's candid admission about how ego drove his desire to build a massive team before the processes were ready
• His practical approach to lost deal analysis using a combination of dropdown menus and free text fields in HubSpot
• The real-world example of how proper data collection directly influenced product roadmap decisions and increased win rates
• His refreshing honesty about falling into the same traps he once criticized his former leaders for creating

About the guest:

Benedikt Meuthen is a sales leader who faced the challenge of rapidly scaling a B2B sales team in a remote environment. With prior experience at companies like Showpad and Asana, he brought valuable lessons to his role, but still discovered new insights while building his team. His willingness to openly share successes and missteps provides a valuable learning opportunity for other sales leaders facing similar growth challenges.

Who should definitely listen to this episode:

• Sales leaders preparing to scale their teams beyond 5-10 people
• Founders who are transitioning from founder-led sales to building a sales organization
• RevOps professionals looking to implement effective data collection processes
• Anyone managing remote sales teams across different locations and time zones

The success formula? Build a solid data foundation from the start, perfect your sales process with a small team before scaling headcount, implement consistent enablement regardless of experience levels, and allocate significantly more time for people management than you think you'll need.

Editor's note: This episode was originally published on August 14, 2023. However, its lessons about scaling without proper processes are even more relevant today as companies face pressure to be more capital-efficient while maintaining growth.

Editor's call to action: Who should I invite to my podcast show next? 🤔

Song by StockTune

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Björn's Linkedin Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernwschaefer
Order Now: My GTM Book Funky Flywheels 🕺💃

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My Homepage: www.rowing8.com

In dieser Folge tauche ich mit Dominic Blank – Mitgründer von Hyrise - in die Kunst des strategischen Vertriebsaufbaus ein. Als mehrfacher Gründer teilt Dominic wertvolle Erkenntnisse zum entscheidenden Übergang vom Founder Sales zur strukturierten Vertriebsorganisation.

Was dich erwartet:

• Die Gründer-Typologie: Wie tech-orientierte und vertriebsaffine Gründer völlig unterschiedliche Vertriebsstrategien benötigen
• Der kritische Wendepunkt: Wann genau der richtige Moment für den Aufbau deiner Vertriebsorganisation gekommen ist
• Die 5 essentiellen Grundlagen vor jeder Vertriebseinstellung: Problem, Lösung, Zielgruppe, Messaging und Verkaufsprozess
• Insider-Einblicke: Welche Vertriebsprofile in welcher Unternehmensphase den größten Impact haben
• Dominics persönliche Learnings aus dem Aufbau von Hyrise und der Begleitung zahlreicher B2B-Tech-Unternehmen

Meine Highlights:

• Warum das erste Vertriebsprofil je nach Gründertyp völlig unterschiedlich aussehen sollte
• Die brillante "Penicillin vs. Aspirin"-Methode zur Identifikation echter Kundenschmerzen
• Die Founder-Falle: Warum du mental niemals komplett aus dem Vertrieb aussteigen kannst (und solltest!)

Über den Gast:

Dominic Blank treibt als Mitgründer von Hyrise die Vertriebsexzellenz in der Tech-Branche voran. Mit seinen zwei Kernservices – dem strategischen Recruiting von Vertriebstalenten und dem zielgerichteten Training bestehender Teams – hat er den kompletten Überblick über erfolgreiche Sales-Strukturen. Seine Expertise aus mehrfachen eigenen Gründungen macht ihn zum idealen Sparringspartner für Unternehmen in der kritischen Wachstumsphase vom Founder-Led-Sales zum skalierbaren Vertriebsteam.

Wer diese Folge unbedingt hören sollte:

• Gründer an der Schwelle vom persönlichen Verkauf zum ersten Vertriebsteam
• Tech-Visionäre, die endlich einen strukturierten Vertriebsprozess aufbauen wollen
• Sales-Verantwortliche, die ihre Teams nach bewährten Prinzipien skalieren möchten
• Alle, die mehr Systematik und weniger Bauchgefühl in ihren Vertriebsprozess bringen wollen

Das Erfolgsrezept? Eine messerscharfe Zielgruppendefinition, tiefes Problemverständnis und ein systematischer Ansatz zur Vertriebsskalierung – gepaart mit kontinuierlichem Enablement für nachhaltige Performance.

Song by StockTune

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Björn's Linkedin Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernwschaefer
Order Now: My GTM Book Funky Flywheels 🕺💃

1. GER: https://amzn.to/3Sgi8qk
2. ENG: https://amzn.to/4g2Ly49

My Homepage: www.rowing8.com

In this episode, I talk with Stefan Zanetti, a serial entrepreneur and pivot expert, about detecting and managing fundamental change in companies that have reached a growth plateau.

What to expect:

• Stefan's 25-year journey as an entrepreneur, including how he navigated companies through pivots after they'd already achieved product-market fit
• A practical framework for assessing when your business needs minor adjustments versus a fundamental change in business model
• Why the AI revolution is forcing many B2B SaaS companies to consider pivoting to managed service providers
• The importance of systematically exploring alternative paths, even when your business is growing
• How to avoid founder blind spots when your current business model starts showing warning signs

My highlights:

• Stefan's "wake up in the middle of the night" test: If you can't see how your business survives the next 12 months, it's time to pivot
• His E3 model for balancing resources: Exploit what works, Experiment with promising ideas, and Explore future possibilities
• The revelation that 90% of VC-backed startups don't meet their initial plans, and why the best time to discuss pivoting is right after funding
• How his Pivot Framework, based on Osterwalder's Business Model Canvas, maps 49 different pivot patterns from studying 300+ companies

About my guest:

Stefan Zanetti is a veteran entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in founding and scaling multiple companies. After stepping back from his operational roles 18 months ago (though he remains board president of his last venture), he focuses on helping founders systematically approach pivots. Drawing from his own hard-earned lessons, including one company that lost 75% of its revenue, Stefan has developed a comprehensive framework for detecting when a fundamental business model change is needed and executing it successfully.

Who should listen to this episode:

• Founders of SaaS companies experiencing slowing growth or market saturation
• CEOs assessing whether their current challenges demand tactical fixes or fundamental pivots
• Leadership teams evaluating the impact of AI on their business model viability
• Investors seeking frameworks to help portfolio companies navigate existential challenges

The success formula?

Don't wait until you hit the wall – create systems to evaluate the fundamentals of your business model regularly, involve outside perspectives to overcome blind spots, and be willing to make tough choices when adjusting sales and marketing strategies isn't enough to resolve your growth challenges.

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Björn's Linkedin Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/bjoernwschaefer
Order Now: My GTM Book Funky Flywheels 🕺💃

1. GER: https://amzn.to/3Sgi8qk
2. ENG: https://amzn.to/4g2Ly49

My Homepage: www.rowing8.com