RevOps FM

This week we chat with Grant Grigorian, a long-time friend of mine and founder of Mogi.ai, to explore whether AI is actually a game-changer for data analytics.

We examine what’s broken in the current landscape of data analytics, the complex world of marketing attribution, and the “last mile of analytics” problem (that is., how do you get business users to actually read and use the analyses you produce).

Then we dive very deep into practical applications of AI for data analysis, looking at concrete examples to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of large language models (LLMs) and contrasting them with traditional machine learning approaches.

In closing, Grant reflects on the future of data careers in the age of AI.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

A startup guy who loves B2B marketing technology, analytics, and AI, Grant Grigorian is a serial entrepreneur. Coming from an operations background, Grant founded Path to Scale, a marketing analytics company, that sold to Engagio (later acquired by DemandBase). Today he's the CEO and co-founder of Mogi, an app that simplifies marketing data analysis by automatically delivering insights and recommendations to your team.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantgrigorian/

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [01:06] - What’s broken in data analytics
• [08:45] - Using data to justify marketing’s existence
• [18:15] - Analyzing marketing tactics
• [24:39] - The “last mile of analytics” problem
• [28:56] - Strengths and weaknesses of LLMs to extract insights from data
• [45:49] - Difference between LLMs and machine learning
• [50:37] - The importance of context for AI
• [54:39] - Impact of AI on data careers
• [1:00:07] - Motivations as a repeat founder

Marketers: it's planning season. Time to live in your office with the world's biggest spreadsheet and hope that finance doesn't slash your budget.

Planning is tough, but at least you can put your best foot forward with a structured framework that covers all the bases. Our friends at Uptempo have just launched the Blueprint for Marketing Planning.

It's a totally free and comprehensive guide for enterprise marketing teams. You'll get a seven-step planning process that integrates top-down strategy with bottom-up execution and gives you a crystal clear picture of how you'll hit your number.

Get your free copy now:

Uptempo Planning Guide

• Mogi.ai

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

Sales leadership is one of the hardest jobs in the company. Your success is black and white—you've either hit your number, or you haven't—and getting a group of sellers moving in the same direction isn’t easy, as anyone in RevOps knows.

Today we're joined by Kyle Asay to dig into what separates top-performing sales leaders from the rest. We talk about how to scale sales excellence, balance standardization with creativity, and build trust and rapport at every stage of the sales process.

Kyle also shares his insights on navigating the transition from individual contributor to sales leader, the real role of AI in outbound, and how to build a side hustle while leading a team.

Packed with practical frameworks and hard-won lessons, this conversation is a must-listen for sales leaders, individual sellers, and revenue operators supporting sales teams.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

Kyle Asay started his career in sales as an SDR at Qualtrics, where he qualified for five consecutive President’s Clubs as an AE, front-line leader, and second-line leader.

After an incredible 8.5 years at Qualtrics, he's gone on to serve as a sales leader for MongoDB and currently at LaunchDarkly.

You can also find him sharing his frameworks with over 10,000 sellers at SalesIntroverts.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyleasay/

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [01:52] - Current selling environment
• [04:46] - Scaling sales excellence
• [10:05] - Right-sizing discovery phase
• [12:39] - Building trust and rapport
• [17:53] - Transitioning from sales IC to sales leader
• [20:46] - The job of a sales leader
• [24:10] - Identifying the right people
• [27:47] - Standardized process vs. individual ingenuity
• [30:59] - Handling the pressure of sales leadership
• [34:55] - AEs and SDR alignment
• [42:47] - AI SDRs
• [44:59] - Sales and RevOps relationship
• [48:23] - Building a side hustle

This November, MOps-Apalooza is back in sunny, Anaheim, California, and it's going to be the marketing ops event of the year, packed with hands-on learning from real practitioners.

This is the only truly community-led tech-agnostic MOPS conference out there. It's got the best speakers, the best networking, the best social events, and maybe even a trip to Disneyland. This isn't your 50,000 person tech company conference. It's an intimate gathering of folks who are in the trenches every day.

Registration is capped at 700 attendees, and tickets are going fast.

MOps-Apalooza 2024

• Sales Introverts

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

In this episode, we unravel how advanced AI workflows can scale a truly effective outbound strategy (and not just create more spam).

Jordan Crawford shares his expertise on how to use AI to automate deep research, identify the most targeted accounts, and develop unique and relevant messaging—all without falling into the trap of reductive "AI SDR" approaches.

We also explore how to leverage AI as a thought partner, the future structure of BizDev teams, and why Clay is all the rage right now.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

Jordan Crawford has been in growth for over 10 years, and for the past three and a half has been the founder of Blueprint, an agency that specializes in structuring any data from the public web about your ideal prospects. He's also been an advisor to Clay since 2021.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordancrawford/

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [01:59] - Changes in the outbound landscape
• [06:41] - How to use AI as a thought-partner
• [11:28] - Why AI SDRs are not the future
• [14:28] - AI in the writing process
• [20:42] - What WILL replace the SDR function
• [28:59] - The difference with enterprise buyers
• [30:34] - Signals
• [38:48] - Making AI plays resilient
• [43:04] - Clay

This November, MOps-Apalooza is back in sunny, Anaheim, California, and it's going to be the marketing ops event of the year, packed with hands-on learning from real practitioners.

This is the only truly community-led tech-agnostic MOPS conference out there. It's got the best speakers, the best networking, the best social events, and maybe even a trip to Disneyland. This isn't your 50,000 person tech company conference. It's an intimate gathering of folks who are in the trenches every day.

Registration is capped at 700 attendees, and tickets are going fast.

MOps-Apalooza 2024

• Blueprint

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

You may have heard the phrase, "every company is a media company"—but what does this actually mean for B2B?

How do you go about building an audience, what content should you use, and how should you measure it?

Here to answer these questions is category-creating CMO and founder, Anthony Kennada. He helped pioneer the category of customer success as founding CMO at Gainsight, and today is helping B2B companies develop owned audiences as CEO of AudiencePlus.

Anthony is a great marketer who has thought deeply about how brands should develop relationships with audiences for the long term. This wide-ranging conversation explores many facets of how to put this into practice.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

Anthony Kennada is the co-founder and CEO of AudiencePlus—building software, content, and community to help every company become a media company.

Prior to founding AudiencePlus, he served as the CMO of companies like Hopin, Front, and Gainsight. At this last company, he and his team are credited with creating the Customer Success category.

Anthony is also the author of Category Creation: How to Build a Brand that Customers, Employees, and Investors Will Love, which debuted as a number one new release on Amazon.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/akennada/

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [01:43] - Evolving through growth stages at Gainsight
• [06:40] - Category creation
• [14:09] - Why should every company be a media company?
• [24:31] - Metrics for audience marketing
• [34:47] - Partnering with content creators
• [40:25] - Edutainment
• [44:29] - Golden Hour

Big thanks goes out UserGems for sponsoring today’s episode. 

We all know running outbound is a huge pain—you need to manage a dozen different tools and data sources and it takes ton of manual work to keep it all going.

UserGems solves that with one platform to capture signals and automate next steps with workflows and AI.

You get a library of the most impactful signals in one place, automated playbooks to make sure your team executes consistently, and Gem AI to create personalized messaging for each prospect. 

So stop wasting time and start targeting your most promising buyers with less headcount. Click the link below for a special offer just for my listeners.

Try UserGems

• Why Every Company is Becoming a Media Company | AudiencePlus

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

Quote-to-cash: it's messy, it's technical, and every project takes WAY longer than planned.

It's also absolutely vital. If you can't get quotes out the door, or if you can't collect money from your customers, you don't have a business.

Because of their complexity, these systems tend to change infrequently, and in-house operators may not get the repetitive exposure necessary to master the intricacies of CPQ or billing system projects.

So when I wanted a crash course on quote-to-cash, I turned to Nick and Tony at Hyperscayle—former operators who've built a RevOps agency with a focus on lead-to-cash operations.

We go deep into the process and systems, discuss technical gotchas, and explore the change management issues that must be addressed to make quote-to-cash work smoothly.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

Nicholas Rose is Co-Founder of Hyperscayle, a RevOps consulting firm covering lead-to-cash operations. He's previously held senior operations roles at Dell and Mendix (acquired by Siemens AG).

Tony Tarantino is Chief Architect at Hyperscayle. Previously, he was a technology consultant at Accenture and application architect at Mendix.

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [00:56] - Making the jump from in-house to agency
• [05:17] - Quote to cash definitions
• [10:25] - Design phase and cross-functional alignment
• [14:06] - When does a company need CPQ
• [16:41] - Why are CPQ projects so messy
• [22:34] - Product configuration
• [28:01] - Ideal tech stack
• [32:26] - Data quality and deal desk
• [36:20] - Role of RevOps

Marketers: it's planning season. Time to live in your office with the world's biggest spreadsheet and hope that finance doesn't slash your budget.

Planning is tough, but at least you can put your best foot forward with a structured framework that covers all the bases. Our friends at Uptempo have just launched the Blueprint for Marketing Planning.

It's a totally free and comprehensive guide for enterprise marketing teams. You'll get a seven-step planning process that integrates top-down strategy with bottom-up execution and gives you a crystal clear picture of how you'll hit your number.

Get your free copy now:

Uptempo Planning Guide

• Hyperscayle RevOps Advisory & Implementation Services

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

This week I sit down with seasoned RevOps executive Danielle Marquis to explore the evolving landscape of the discipline and how professionals can find balance and fulfillment in their careers.

Danielle shares insights from her 15 years of experience in the field, discussing how RevOps has changed over time and how the role is increasingly being positioned as a critical function within organizations. We dive into the best practices for structuring RevOps teams, prioritizing work, and aligning internal strategies for maximum impact.

As the conversation unfolds, we also explore some personal aspects of career growth, with Danielle offering candid advice on how to carve out a fulfilling path in RevOps and find your happy place at work.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

With 15 years of experience in revenue operations, Danielle Marquis has lead global teams supporting sales, marketing, and customer success functions in achieving their goals and growing the business. Her super power is connecting the dots across various business decisions and technologies to drive and design a more operationalized path to GTM.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemarquis/

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [01:06] - Evolution of RevOps in the past 15 years
• [11:08] - Positioning RevOps internally
• [16:46] - Team structure
• [26:16] - Planning and prioritization
• [30:40] - Finding your happy place at work
• [39:40] - What’s next in RevOps
• [43:46] - RevOps vs. GTM Ops

This November, MOps-Apalooza is back in sunny, Anaheim, California, and it's going to be the marketing ops event of the year, packed with hands-on learning from real practitioners.

This is the only truly community-led tech-agnostic MOPS conference out there. It's got the best speakers, the best networking, the best social events, and maybe even a trip to Disneyland. This isn't your 50,000 person tech company conference. It's an intimate gathering of folks who are in the trenches every day.

Registration is capped at 700 attendees, and tickets are going fast.

MOps-Apalooza 2024

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

This week I'm sharing another podcast I've guested on recently: The Revenue Marketing Report, hosted by Camela Thompson of Caliber Mind.

Camela is a veteran marketing and analytics leader, and we have an in-depth conversation about the business and cultural dimensions of reporting: what KPIs are you reporting to different audiences, data rituals, analytics storytelling, and more.

This is a super important topic for me, because how you create and share data stories in your organization can be the difference between building an executive-level presence for yourself or getting pigeon-holed as a service provider.

We'll be back to regularly scheduled programming next week, until then, enjoy the rest of your August.

------

Justin Norris, host of the RevOps FM Podcast and Sr. Director of BDR and Marketing Operations at 360Learning, joins our host, Camela Thompson, Go-To-Market Thought Leader and B2B Insights Expert, in this episode of the Revenue Marketing Report.

Justin shares his insights and how years of experience sitting at the executive table representing marketing changed his views about which numbers matter most and why. They also geeked out over why MQLs are evil, how to build a ritual around data, and why B2B ops and marketing should focus more on learning from one another.

For more great content like this, check out https://calibermind.com/

It’s August and I’m taking some time off this month to travel and recharge a bit. 

But I didn’t want to leave you hanging for a whole month, so I thought it would a great time to share some recent podcasts where I’ve been featured as a guest. 

First up, we have an episode on Beyond the Pipeline with Vivin Vergis, where we do a deep dive into reporting for B2B SaaS orgs. 

This is a tough, thorny, sometimes painful topic, but Vivin asked some really great questions and we explore how to tell better stories with data, create a culture of objectivity, prioritize ad-hoc requests, and a whole bunch more. 

Let’s dive in to the episode.

--------

In this episode of Beyond the Pipeline, host Vivin welcomes Justin Norris, Director of Marketing and BDR Operations at 360 Learning and host of the RevOpps FM podcast. Justin shares his journey into operations, transitioning from an English major to a pivotal figure in marketing operations. They dive deep into the challenges of reporting in B2B SaaS, discussing concepts like reporting fatigue, the importance of storytelling in data presentation, and handling impulsive reporting requests.

Justin emphasizes the need for a cultural shift towards objective data analysis and the role of ops in being accountable for business performance. Tune in to gain valuable insights on managing reporting requests, addressing cognitive biases, achieving a single source of truth, and avoiding reporting fatigue in B2B SaaS.

[00:02] Introduction and Justin’s Journey into Operations

• Justin shares his unique path from being an English major to becoming a pivotal figure in marketing operations.

[03:32] Reporting Fatigue in B2B SaaS

• Discussion on the challenges of data overload and how reporting fatigue sets in within organizations.

[07:22] Storytelling with Data

• The importance of creating a narrative around data and how effective communication can alleviate reporting fatigue.

[08:23] Handling Impulsive Reporting Requests

• Strategies for filtering and prioritizing reporting requests from different teams to avoid unnecessary work.

[14:38] Enabling Self-Serve Reporting

• Tips on empowering teams to generate their own reports and the role of ops in making tools accessible.

[19:35] Common Reporting Tools and Their Limitations

• Comparing the effectiveness of tools like Salesforce, Looker, and Tableau for self-serve and advanced reporting needs.

[27:58] Cognitive Bias in Reporting

• Addressing the impact of biases like confirmation bias in reporting and the importance of maintaining objectivity.

[35:45] Taking Action on Data Insights

• The critical role of follow-through on data insights and establishing a feedback loop for continuous improvement.

[39:49] Achieving a Single Source of Truth

• Challenges and strategies for creating a single source of truth in organizations and the trade-offs involved.

Enabling revenue teams to use the systems we build and maintain is a huge part of our job as revenue operators. Unfortunately for us, it often doesn’t work very well.

We create documents that no one reads.

They sit in knowledge bases that no one visits.

We're repeatedly interrupted by Slack messages from confused users.

We're forced to send Chatter reminders asking people to PLEASE follow the process for the 500th time. 

Today’s guest thinks that there’s a better way to do software enablement, and he founded a company called Tango to deliver on that promise.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

Daniel Giovacchini is COO and Co-Founder at Tango, a tool for creating how-to documentation and software walkthroughs that drive digital process adoption.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-giovacchini/

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [01:52] - AI and changes in the tech market
• [06:33] - Two approaches to enablement
• [10:43] - Building a minimum-lovable product
• [20:44] - Bottom-up monetization
• [29:38] - Learning in the flow of work
• [36:37] - The knowledge management stack
• [40:09] - Role as COO

This November, MOps-Apalooza is back in sunny, Anaheim, California, and it's going to be the marketing ops event of the year, packed with hands-on learning from real practitioners.

This is the only truly community-led tech-agnostic MOPS conference out there. It's got the best speakers, the best networking, the best social events, and maybe even a trip to Disneyland. This isn't your 50,000 person tech company conference. It's an intimate gathering of folks who are in the trenches every day.

Registration is capped at 700 attendees, and tickets are going fast.

MOps-Apalooza 2024

• Create software training guides, in minutes | Tango

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

Matt Volm is the founder of RevOps Co-op, a vibrant community for RevOps pros.

He shares his journey as a repeat founder, who has taken the roller-coaster of building multiple startups, and reflects on the tenacity and toughness it requires.

RevOps Co-op actually started as a community in support of a software company, but when Matt saw the need for more education and resources for the RevOps field, he pivoted and hasn't looked back.

Matt and I discuss the crucial interplay between finance and RevOps, how RevOps pros can build their finance acumen, the hot debate on unified vs. split RevOps functions, and much more.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

Matt Volm is a repeat founder and CEO of RevOps Co-op, a community for folks who love revenue operations. He's also a scout at Mucker Capital, focused on early stage B2B software. Matt has an MBA from Berkeley Haas and a background in strategic finance, operations and business development.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewvolm/

• [00:00] - Introduction
• [01:01] - Finance and RevOps
• [07:01] - Developing finance literacy
• [10:15] - Operating during the tech bubble
• [12:35] - Unified vs. split RevOps
• [21:13] - RevOps Co-op
• [27:53] - Lessons learned as a repeat founder
• [32:00] - The community-led business model
• [39:05] - What’s next for RevOps?

This November, MOps-Apalooza is back in sunny, Anaheim, California, and it's going to be the marketing ops event of the year, packed with hands-on learning from real practitioners.

This is the only truly community-led tech-agnostic MOPS conference out there. It's got the best speakers, the best networking, the best social events, and maybe even a trip to Disneyland. This isn't your 50,000 person tech company conference. It's an intimate gathering of folks who are in the trenches every day.

Registration is capped at 700 attendees, and tickets are going fast.

MOps-Apalooza 2024

• RevOps Co-op
• I just shut down my startup. Here’s what I learned.

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter