6 Insights for SaaS Sales in 2022:
#1. The classic high volume cadence-based outbound playbook is declining in effectiveness — but you still need to run it.
It still works. Just not nearly as well as a few years back.
#2. Your VP of Sales needs to own outbound themselves.
The toughest hire is a “Director of Outbound” today. You can’t outsource great outbound, & a VP of Sales that’s not good at it or has never done it can’t just go find a unicorn Director of Outbound.
#3. Top CROs and late-stage SVPs of Sales are getting better and better at retaining that first VP of Sales that got the company to scale.
The best CROs and such don’t replace a winning leader when they join — they augment them and help them scale further.
#4. ABM isn’t a failure — it’s just you can’t turn it all into software.
It’s not ABM that’s failed, rather it’s not doing the work. Hyper personalized, custom outreach that deeply understands the specific needs of a prospect still works well in most cases.
#5. Everyone needs an outbound team now.
Sales is being pushed more and more not just to close leads from marketing, but source more and more of its own customers. Even in SMB and mid-market.
#6. An interim VP of Sales can work — if it’s done right.
The key is often narrowing their spec — i.e., just do inbound. And getting a time-based commitment, e.g. a year. 4 days a week from a top candidate with a narrow spec can be a lot better than no VP of Sales at all.
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