Inside the minds of leading GTM experts

The Parts of a GTM Playbook

March 7, 2024
Victor Sun

A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is a crucial component for any business looking to successfully launch a new product or service. This is especially true in the rapidly evolving world of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), where the product-led growth (PLG) model has gained significant traction in recent years.

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The Case for Building a Fractional B2B Sales Team

March 4, 2024
Matt Lopez

For B2B companies, having a high-performing sales team is essential to drive revenue growth. However, building an effective in-house team can be challenging and risky. The traditional approach of hiring full-time sales reps requires significant investments in recruitment, training, compensation, and management oversight. It can take nearly a year for new reps to become fully productive.

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How to Annouce an Interim or Fractional Leader

March 1, 2024
Matt Lopez

When an organization needs to appoint an interim or fractional leader to temporarily fill an executive role, the announcement can set the tone for how well the transition will go. Communicating the change effectively ensures employees understand the situation and are prepared to support the incoming leader. Follow these best practices when announcing the new interim or fractional appointment to smoothly facilitate the leadership shift:

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The Founders Guide to Startup Sales

February 29, 2024
Matt Lopez

As a startup founder, one of the most critical things you'll need to get right is sales. Building an effective sales process and team to acquire customers can make or break your startup.This comprehensive guide outlines key strategies and best practices founders should follow when building out startup sales from the ground up.

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4 Tips Fundraising in 2024

February 28, 2024
Matt Lopez

The venture capital landscape is constantly evolving. As we embark on 2024, it's important for startup founders to understand the current fundraising environment and how to position their companies for success. Here are 4 tips to help you navigate fundraising in the year ahead:

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How to Manage a Remote Sales Team

February 27, 2024
Matt Lopez

he COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to quickly shift to remote work out of necessity. While some sales teams have transitioned back to the office, remote and hybrid work is likely here to stay.Managing a sales team remotely comes with unique challenges but can also provide advantages if done right. This guide covers strategies and best practices for leading a productive and successful remote sales team.

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5 Tips to Run the Perfect Discovery Meeting

February 19, 2024
Matt Lopez

You’ve landed a sales meeting with a promising new lead. This discovery meeting is your chance to wow them with your product or service’s value proposition and kickstart a mutually beneficial relationship.However, with so much on the line, the pressure is intense. How do you ensure the meeting goes smoothly and sets the stage for long-term success?As sales veterans with over a decade of experience closing complex B2B deals, we have refined an approach to discovery meetings that consistently delights prospects and converts them to happy customers.In this article, I’ll share the five keys I've found critical for running the perfect discovery meeting:

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Sales Team Lead vs Manager: Key Differences and Responsibilities

February 16, 2024
Matt Lopez

A sales team lead is responsible for providing day-to-day guidance and direction to a small group of sales representatives. They are hands-on with their team, coaching them on sales processes, motivating them to achieve quota, and helping them develop skills. A sales team lead is focused on the performance and development of the individuals on their team.

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The Crucial Role of Data for a Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)

February 15, 2024
Matt Lopez

In today's dynamic business environment, Chief Revenue Officers (CROs) play a critical role in driving sustainable growth and profitability for their organizations. At the heart of this challenge lies the critical utilization of data.

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How to Select a Fractional VP of Sales

February 12, 2024
Matt Lopez

Finding the right sales leader for your growing company can be a challenge. Often, you need high-level expertise to drive growth, but aren't ready for a full-time VP of sales. That's where a fractional VP of sales comes in. These seasoned sales executives work on a part-time basis across multiple companies. Hiring a fractional VP provides targeted leadership for key sales initiatives when you need it.

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CMO as a Service

February 8, 2024
Matt Lopez

The role of the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) has never been more complex or critical, isn't it? As the stewards of their company's brand, CMOs must devise strategies that break through the noise and connect authentically with target audiences across an ever-expanding array of channels. Yet many marketing leaders find themselves overwhelmed by the scope of responsibilities on their plate.

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Fractional VP of Sales Hourly Rate

February 6, 2024
Matt Lopez

For most companies, bringing on a VP of Sales is a major investment. Between base salary, benefits, equity, and hiring costs, that executive hire can easily cost $250k or more per year. And that's for someone who may take months to properly onboard and integrate into your company.Enter the fractional executive, providing senior-level expertise and leadership on a part-time basis. With hourly rates typically ranging from $150 to $500, fractional sales executives offer the C-suite guidance at a fraction of the cost.

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Interview Questions to Ask a Sales Leader

January 31, 2024
Matt Lopez

Landing an exceptional sales leader can take a business to new heights. But finding that ideal candidate starts with asking the right questions during the interview process. Sales leaders shoulder immense responsibility - building high-performing teams, executing growth strategies, and driving critical business metrics. The interview serves as a vital window into identifying leaders up for the challenge.

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How to Fix the Top 3 Revenue Leaks in B2B SaaS

January 30, 2024
Matt Lopez

The ROI of RevOps hinges on one critical thing:Visibility into where you’re leaking revenue.Every single organization will inevitably deal with revenue leakage. Any time there’s an optimal solution and you’re not achieving an optimal outcome, the difference between the solution and the outcome is lost revenue.And if you don’t have someone strategically tending to every moving part of your revenue process, you’ll likely never know where you’re losing money from – or by how much.

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The DNA of Successful Sales People

January 25, 2024
Matt Lopez

Selling is part art, part science. While some sales skills can be taught, the most successful salespeople seem to possess an innate talent. They have the right personality, attitude, and work ethic to thrive in a competitive sales environment. Sales leaders and experts have studied the habits and traits of top performers to understand what separates them from the rest. Though no two sales superstars are exactly alike, certain patterns emerge that reveal the shared "DNA" of those at the peak of the profession.

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Effective Sales Coaching Questions (GROW Model)

January 22, 2024
Matt Lopez

ales coaching is a crucial activity for sales managers to improve their team's performance. However, asking the right questions is key to driving a productive coaching conversation.The GROW model provides a simple yet powerful framework for sales coaching. GROW stands for Goal, Reality, Options and Will. By using the GROW model, sales managers can have structured coaching sessions to unlock their team's potential.In this article, we will explore effective sales coaching questions aligned to the four stages of the GROW model.

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The Difference Between a Manager and a Leader

January 19, 2024
Matt Lopez

Managers and leaders play very different but equally important roles in an organization. While managers oversee operations and make sure day-to-day tasks are completed efficiently, leaders provide vision, motivate teams, and drive innovation.Understanding the characteristics of a manager and leader is crucial for organizations that want to thrive in today's complex business landscape.

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Interim Sales Leadership vs. Fractional Sales Leadership

January 19, 2024
Matt Lopez

Are you reconsidering traditional leadership structures in favor of more flexible executive models? Nowhere is this more apparent than in sales leadership, where interim and fractional executives are transforming the role.Interim sales leaders parachute into an organization to steer the ship during a transition. They provide experienced leadership to bridge gaps left by departures or vacancies. Fractional sales executives split their time across multiple companies simultaneously, bringing niche expertise and outside perspective.Both arrangements offer advantages, but the right choice depends on a company's specific needs and situation.Here's an in-depth look at how interim and fractional sales leadership can optimize an organization's sales strategy:

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Five Characteristics of a Successful Team

January 17, 2024
Matt Lopez

Building a standout sales team takes more than just hiring top talent. While individual salespeople obviously play a huge role, you need to focus on the team as a whole and foster an environment that brings out the best in your staff. The most successful sales teams share these five characteristics that enable them to consistently meet and exceed targets.

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Managing a High Performance Sales Team

January 11, 2024
Matt Lopez

As a sales leader, your team mirrors your behaviors and attitudes. Adopt a learning mindset yourself, not just for them.Fractional sales leaders demonstrate key qualities like emotional intelligence, transparency, accountability, and a partnership mentality.They stay on top of sales techniques, tools and strategies. Participate in training alongside your team. Shadow reps in the field to better understand their reality. Solicit and act upon feedback from your team through surveys and discussions.In this article, we'll explore practical tips and proven best practices to help you build a high-performing sales team that exceeds expectations.

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GTM Payback Optimization for RevOps Teams

January 10, 2024
Matt Lopez

Over the past decade, Revenue Operations (RevOps) has emerged as a pivotal function that harmonizes sales, marketing, and customer success teams to drive sustainable growth. At the core of RevOps lies the crucial metric of Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) payback, which gauges the time it takes for a company to recoup its investment in acquiring a new customer. This metric has implications for profitability and free cash flow, which have become increasingly important in the current cash constrained macro-environment.

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The Crucial Qualities of Today’s Effective Leader

January 10, 2024
Matt Lopez

Strong leadership is more vital than ever before. But what exactly makes an effective leader? While technical skills, expertise and intelligence are important, research shows that the most impactful leaders consistently exhibit certain fundamental qualities and mindsets that set them apart.By developing and exemplifying these crucial traits, leaders can guide their teams and organizations to extraordinary success.

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Launching Your Fractional VP business

January 10, 2024
Matt Lopez

As a business leader, you know that driving sales growth is essential for achieving your company's revenue goals. But finding and hiring an effective VP of sales can be time-consuming and costly. That's where the concept of hiring "fractional" executives comes in. A fractional VP of sales provides sales leadership and expertise on a part-time or project basis. This flexible model allows you to tap into high-caliber talent without the overhead of a full-time employee.If you have strong sales experience and are looking for a new career opportunity, starting a fractional VP of sales practice can be rewarding both financially and professionally. Here are some tips for launching and growing a successful fractional VP of sales business:

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How large companies are embracing fractional management

January 9, 2024
Matt Lopez

Large companies are turning to an innovative staffing strategy to remain nimble and cost-effective: fractional management. Fractional management refers to hiring experienced managers and executives on a part-time, project, or contract basis rather than bringing them on as full-time employees. These fractional managers provide strategic guidance and leadership without requiring a long-term commitment from the company.For example, Microsoft brought on a former Apple executive as a fractional Chief Design Officer to lead its hardware redesign efforts. And Unilever utilizes fractional finance executives to support specific brands and projects.

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Key Qualities of Top Fractional Sales Leaders

January 6, 2024
Matt Lopez

Sales organizations require dynamic and adaptable sales leadership to drive growth and revenue.Fractional sales leadership has emerged as an effective solution, providing seasoned expertise and skills on a flexible, part-time basis.So what are the key qualities that set apart exceptional fractional sales leaders in today's environment? Based on insights from sales experts and leaders, these are the top traits and abilities that matter most:

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How to Evolve & Model Sales Team Compensation as your Company Scales

January 2, 2024
Matt Lopez

As an organization matures from startup to established enterprise, strategic priorities evolve. Organization’s must tailor their deployment model to meet shifting growth requirements through these phases. Failure to do so places an organization at risk: growth rates will falter, and contraction is more likely to occur. Organizations that evolve at the right pace, or an accelerated one, maximize growth rate potential and reduce risk. Role deployment & sales compensation are critical areas that must be adapted to facilitate & maximize growth.

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How to Empower your Revenue Teams to Achieve their Full Potential

December 18, 2023
Matt Lopez

One of my favorite sayings is “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” by Jimmy Johnson, former NFL coach. A simple statement, yet the illusive ‘little extra’ becomes a focal point of teams around the world, both in the sports and business world.What could that little extra be in the context of revenue teams? Here are a couple of my observations built on experience in organizations such as Oracle or LinkedIn and enriched by partnerships with clients across other sectors beyond Tech.The full potential, albeit aspirational and somewhat elusive, is an achievable goal with a timeline. It needs to evolve to reflect the demands of external and internal forces and yet, it can be captured in a few simple principles.

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Unveiling the Power of Metrics: A RevOps Perspective

December 9, 2023
Matt Lopez

Welcome to the dynamic world of Revenue Operations (RevOps), where the synergy of sales, marketing, and customer success teams is the key to unlocking unprecedented revenue growth. Consider RevOps as the conductor orchestrating the harmonious alignment of business functions and metrics as the musical notes composing a triumphant symphony.RevOps was first coined by Gartner and gained significance in the B2B sector during the early 2010s. Fast forward to today, RevOps has evolved into a strategic powerhouse, addressing challenges, and driving growth in an era marked by complex sales processes, data abundance, and transformative technologies.

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Mastering the first 90 days as CRO

December 4, 2023
Matt Lopez

I have known Mark for over 7 years now and his track record speaks for itself. We interviewed Mark not only because of his expertise and track record but because his approach is perfectly aligned with our mission at Revenue Nomad: to help b2b companies and their people grow

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What is a Fractional Revenue Leader?

September 24, 2023
Matt Lopez

In today's fast-paced business landscape, not every company requires or can afford a full-time Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Enter the Fractional Revenue Leader—a modern solution for companies seeking expert revenue guidance without the full-time commitment. This guide will delve into the essence of this role and its burgeoning significance.

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The Trial-By-Fire CEO's Guide to Revenue Growth in B2B SaaS 🚀

September 18, 2023
Matt Lopez

This one is for the Startup CEOs, Founders, and early-stage Operations gurus! Are you burning the midnight oil, juggling sales, strategy, and a dozen other hats? Maybe you feel disorganized, or everything feels like priority #1. Operating like this is not sustainable and eventually the outcomes of your efforts begin to plateau. This article is about adding structure to the "trial by fire" nature of startup with an ultimate objective of working yourself out of these roles and into new ones.

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