The Path to Sales Leadership: Lessons Learned at Each Management Level with Carl Cross
01/18/24 • 60 min
Carl Cross has an established career transforming and leading superior teams resulting in high performance and vibrant revenue growth. Carl has advanced through multiple leadership roles and has consistently been asked to lead key projects that drive corporate strategy. Currently, Carl is the Chief Revenue Officer of Alkami, a SaaS based digital banking platform. He started his career at Peoplesoft where he climbed into the sales leadership ranks before moving to SAP. After SAP he moved to BMC where he was responsible for the company's global outsourcing business and after a two year stint with HP, Carl headed up worldwide sales at AppSense and helped lead the company through its acquisition by ThomaBravo. He then held the position of Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Workfront and remained in that role leading the go to market integration after the acquisition by Adobe.
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, Carl Cross, the Chief Revenue Officer at Alkami, shares his insights on sales leadership and scaling a sales organization. He emphasizes the importance of effective leadership, creating a strong sales culture, and aligning sales and marketing efforts. Carl also highlights the significance of understanding the buyer's journey and conducting thorough discovery in the sales process. When it comes to scaling a sales force, Carl discusses the need for a sales capacity plan and the importance of staying ahead in recruiting to avoid falling behind in sales goals.
Tune in to this conversation with John McMahon and John Kaplan on the Revenue Builders podcast.
HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT
[00:05:20] Lesson learned as a first line manager: it's not about you
[00:09:59] Challenges of transitioning to a second line manager
[00:12:24] Transition from tactical to strategic thinking
[00:17:16] Importance of skills and pipeline in sales
[00:19:27] Accountability for recruitment and development of reps
[00:23:11] Importance of understanding and motivating individual team members
[00:27:08] Living by the culture and taking responsibility for it as a leader
[00:32:08] Challenges of being a CRO and the need for alignment
[00:41:27] Motivation and individual differences in sales
[00:51:14] Lessons on scaling a sales force
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Learn more about Carl Cross and about their company:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crosscarl/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/alkamitech/
Download our Sales Transformation Guide for Leaders:
HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
[00:52:48] "But for me, scaling is really it's, you know, do you have a sales capacity plan? Right? And I'm not talking about like we're getting ready to come into a new year. We already know the sales capacity plan. We know what we're hiring to, but the most effective CROs, most every SAS company is going to have a 3, 4, 5 year plan, right?"
[00:53:28] "But have the plan higher to it, hold the leadership accountable to it and that's how I think about scaling it. There's a lot of things in it, but your sales capacity plan and your average productivity per head is probably the biggest driver in that well."
Carl Cross has an established career transforming and leading superior teams resulting in high performance and vibrant revenue growth. Carl has advanced through multiple leadership roles and has consistently been asked to lead key projects that drive corporate strategy. Currently, Carl is the Chief Revenue Officer of Alkami, a SaaS based digital banking platform. He started his career at Peoplesoft where he climbed into the sales leadership ranks before moving to SAP. After SAP he moved to BMC where he was responsible for the company's global outsourcing business and after a two year stint with HP, Carl headed up worldwide sales at AppSense and helped lead the company through its acquisition by ThomaBravo. He then held the position of Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Workfront and remained in that role leading the go to market integration after the acquisition by Adobe.
In this episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, Carl Cross, the Chief Revenue Officer at Alkami, shares his insights on sales leadership and scaling a sales organization. He emphasizes the importance of effective leadership, creating a strong sales culture, and aligning sales and marketing efforts. Carl also highlights the significance of understanding the buyer's journey and conducting thorough discovery in the sales process. When it comes to scaling a sales force, Carl discusses the need for a sales capacity plan and the importance of staying ahead in recruiting to avoid falling behind in sales goals.
Tune in to this conversation with John McMahon and John Kaplan on the Revenue Builders podcast.
HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT
[00:05:20] Lesson learned as a first line manager: it's not about you
[00:09:59] Challenges of transitioning to a second line manager
[00:12:24] Transition from tactical to strategic thinking
[00:17:16] Importance of skills and pipeline in sales
[00:19:27] Accountability for recruitment and development of reps
[00:23:11] Importance of understanding and motivating individual team members
[00:27:08] Living by the culture and taking responsibility for it as a leader
[00:32:08] Challenges of being a CRO and the need for alignment
[00:41:27] Motivation and individual differences in sales
[00:51:14] Lessons on scaling a sales force
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Learn more about Carl Cross and about their company:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crosscarl/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/alkamitech/
Download our Sales Transformation Guide for Leaders:
HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
[00:52:48] "But for me, scaling is really it's, you know, do you have a sales capacity plan? Right? And I'm not talking about like we're getting ready to come into a new year. We already know the sales capacity plan. We know what we're hiring to, but the most effective CROs, most every SAS company is going to have a 3, 4, 5 year plan, right?"
[00:53:28] "But have the plan higher to it, hold the leadership accountable to it and that's how I think about scaling it. There's a lot of things in it, but your sales capacity plan and your average productivity per head is probably the biggest driver in that well."
Previous Episode
John Kaplan Webinar This Friday
If you’re a leader and you want your revenue teams to really own their number, treat their territory or accounts as their own franchise, have them join Force Management's webinar THIS FRIDAY with John Kaplan.
In the "Plan to Make the Plan", John Kaplan will cover:
- Having the right mindset to attack your territory or set of accounts
- Ways to more effectively enter into Account Planning
- Best practices on building an Operating Rhythm that works for you
As you know, John is a master at providing salespeople with actionable tips they can use to execute. We’d love to have some Revenue Builders listeners there. Sign up here: https://forc.mx/4aR4OQS
Next Episode
Shifting Left in Sales Negotiations with Tim Caito
In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we delve into the intricate world of sales negotiation with expert Tim Caito from Force Management. We explore the crucial aspects of negotiation, from preparing champions to dealing with procurement and the power of starting early in the sales process. Tim shares valuable insights and strategies to help organizations preserve value in the final deal and achieve successful negotiations.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
[00:01:07] Starting early in the sales process is crucial for successful negotiation.
[00:02:09] Begin the negotiation process before the other side believes you're negotiating.
[00:02:58] Having a better alternative gives leverage in negotiations.
[00:04:00] Making negotiations about the client's alternative rather than yours is a powerful tactic.
[00:05:51] Procurement's role and the importance of preparing champions for the negotiation process.
[00:08:23] The significance of creating a powerful cost justification to resist procurement pressure.
[00:10:46] The role of champions as the great equalizer in the negotiation process.
[00:12:17] Anticipating competitive tactics and preparing champions to handle external pressure.
HIGHLIGHT QUOTES
[00:01:26] "Start the negotiation process before the other side believes we're negotiating."
[00:03:18] "If the rep doesn't have a solid alternative, it gives the power back to procurement."
[00:08:48] "You have to have done such a good cost justification that they feel like they're losing every day that goes by."
[00:10:27] "Champions are the great equalizer in a negotiation process."
[00:13:52] "We have to prep them because it is going to happen, and we have to role play and ask specifically, what are you going to say when they ask this question."
Listen to the full episode with Tim Caito through this link:
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/the-secrets-of-sales-negotiation-with-tim-caito
Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4
Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here:
https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/
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