In this episode, Ken Babcock welcomes Ben Gardner, VP of Customer Experience and AI Strategy at Salesloft onto the podcast. Ben brings extensive experience in SaaS and leadership, with a unique background transitioning from a high school math teacher to the software industry. 

With 8 years of experience in SaaS, 10+ years in leadership and 3 years in education, Ben has his fair share of leadership and team building experiences under his belt.

This episode centers around an ongoing Salesforce migration Ben led at Salesloft, which aims to consolidate and unify data across platforms from recently acquired companies. This migration is handled meticulously, with an eight-month lead time and a sandbox environment for user acceptance testing. 

Listen for insights on: 

• ways to get a deep understanding for your end users day-to-day processes through ride alongs, involving employees in decision-making, and clearly communicating the reasons behind changes to gain buy-in 
• the importance of ensuring a smooth transition by enlisting a diverse team and maintaining legacy systems as a fallback option
• Lessons on what not to do from personal software rollout experience at past companies
• the role of ongoing monitoring, feedback mechanisms, and open communication to address issues promptly.
• the challenges in adopting new software, the necessity for thorough testing, and the common pitfalls of underestimating change management.

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Where to find your host, Ken: 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kenbabcock/
• Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/bigredbabz
• Tango: https://www.tango.us/

Where to find special guest, Ben Gardner:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/driftwithben/
• Salesloft: https://salesloft.com/

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