How To Sell $1M Enterprise Software Contracts The Right Way with Crayon Data CEO Suresh Shankar

Today we sit with Suresh Shankar, Founder and CEO of Crayon Data. We ask Suresh about Crayon, hear his journey, and find out how to build unshakable enterprises. The show kicks off with Suresh telling us more details about Crayon, and the services they provide. Suresh explains that data is everywhere in our lives, and many big businesses have access to it, but they have trouble understanding how to best serve their customers and target more of them. That’s where Crayon Data comes in. Digging deeper, we ask Suresh to tell us about how his company charges, with the enterprise mogul sharing the three important ways it achieves revenue. On the topic of Crayon, Suresh fills us in on his company’s growth and tells us why their client’s customer number is the best metric for his Crayon’s size. In the latter half of the show, Suresh walks us through his career in sales and explains why he refers to it as “backward progression.” As we near the end of the episode, Suresh speaks in detail about how to sell $1 million enterprise software contracts the right way. He touches on timelines and some key ingredients like value creation, vision and mission, and finding your north star. To find out how you can level up, be sure to join us today!

TIME-STAMPED SHOW NOTES:

• [00:41] Introducing today’s guest, Suresh Shankar.
• [01:01] Suresh tells us more about himself and how his company works.
• [01:16] Hear about Crayon Data’s mission for the data world.
• [02:12] Practical examples of a Crayon Data customer and their experience.
• [03:39] How Crayon Data makes money.
• [05:00] Find out about Crayon Data’s success and growth. 
• [07:14] What Crayon is doing on the digital side of acquisition. 
• [10:49] Suresh’s thoughts on content.
• [11:11] Hear about Suresh’s career in sales. 
• [13:36] Suresh tells us about the analytics company, Red Pill.
• [15:47] The key to locking in a $1 million enterprise. 
• [20:08] A timeline of events when locking in an enterprise.
• [21:04] Hear about the long term effort it takes to create an enterprise. 
• [22:00] What a significant business looks like to Suresh.
• [24:55] One business tool that Suresh has added in the last year that he loves.
• [25:59] Suresh’s favorite business books. 
• [27:24] The best way for you to get in touch with Suresh.

 

Resources From The Interview:

 

• Suresh Shankar on LinkedIn
• Slaves to the Algo
• Crayon Data
• Red Pill Analytics

 

• Saas

• Netflix

• Spotify

• Freshworks

Zoho 

• IBM

• Microsoft Teams

• Hard Thing About Hard Things on Amazon

• Shackleton’s Journey on Amazon

• The Curse of Bigness on Amazon

 

 

Leave Some Feedback:

 

 

• What should I talk about next? Who should I interview? Please let me know on Twitter or in the comments below.

• Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please leave a short review here

• Subscribe to Leveling Up on iTunes

• Get the non-iTunes RSS Feed

 

 

Connect with Eric Siu: 

 

 

• Growth Everywhere

• Single Grain

• Eric Siu on Twitter