Devdutt Yellurkar is a managing partner at CRV and has a wealth of experience as a sales VP, CEO, and venture capitalist. He has worked with several successful startups and has a deep understanding of the sales process and building successful companies. Devdutt is also a co-founder of the VC fund named Propeller, which focuses on investing in companies that address climate change.

In this conversation with John McMahon, Devdutt shares his insights on how his experience in sales has helped him as a CEO and venture capitalist. He discusses the importance of sales in building a company and the role of a CEO in selling the company's vision. He talks about making hiring mistakes and how sales has changed with the speed of new technologies and new sales models. Devdutt emphasizes the need for empathy and non-judgmental support when working with founders and the importance of persistence in achieving success. Finally, he discusses the impact of climate change and how venture capital can be a powerful tool in addressing this global issue.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT

[00:08:10] The importance of selling as a CEO
[00:11:11] Selling enterprise software and the importance of storytelling
[00:11:53] Jack Welch admitted to making hiring mistakes as a CEO.
[00:14:48] Forecasting in sales helped in forecasting as a CEO.
[00:16:49] Pipeline coverage is key to mitigating deal slippage.
[00:19:03] Tough experiences provide valuable lessons for growth.
[00:27:01] Implementation of sales methodology and importance of qualification.
[00:30:51] Importance of being a grandparent, not a parent, as a board member.
[00:44:04] The power of persistence in achieving success.
[01:04:48] Propeller VC fund was started to address climate change.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about Devdutt Yellurkar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devduttyellurkar/

Download our Sales Transformation Guide for Leaders: https://forc.mx/3sdtEZJ 

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:54:15]  "Because you want your resource, your best resources are actually focused on taking a pro license and moving it to a strategic relationship, because that's when emotional intelligence is needed."

[01:04:23] "You can't just be a sales guy because, you know, as we discussed earlier, a lot of this is around product market fit. And that is a lot through kind of understanding the market, understanding your customer. Understanding technology."

Selling the Vision with Devdutt Yellurkar

Welcome to  the Revenue Builders podcast,  a weekly show featuring B2B sales leaders and executives. Hosted by Five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management’s Co-Founder John Kaplan, the show goes in the barrel, behind the scenes with the people who have been there, done that and seen the results. Revenue Builders covers the best practices for scaling and growing your business, while sharing the pitfalls to avoid. Great conversation. Solid interviews. Tangible takeaways to help you succeed. If you enjoy our content, please subscribe, rate and review the show to help us reach more people.  
 
This show is brought to you by: Force Management where we help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale. Check out forcemanagement.com more information

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Guilherme Stetelle Martins is an engineer turned software sales professional. He’s been in Software Sales his entire career from BDR to Enterprise AE. He’s also had a lot of failures that have taught him a lot about life and business, including his company he founded and shut down in early 2024. He also writes frequently about business, life and his projects on LinkedIn.

Guilherme joins John McMahon and John Kaplan to discuss his experience as a startup founder and the lessons he learned from shutting down his company. Guilherme shares his journey from being an engineer to entering the world of software sales. He explains why he decided to start his own company and the challenges he faced along the way. The conversation dives into the importance of timing, the energy required to be an entrepreneur, and the distinction between being a patriot and a mercenary. Guilherme emphasizes the need for self-reflection and understanding one's own motivations and limitations.

Tune in and learn more about this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT


[00:12:50] Slow success builds character, while fast success builds ego.

[00:18:42] The importance of understanding the challenges and risks involved in starting a company.

[00:30:07] The distinction between being a patriot and a mercenary and the impact it has on commitment and success.

[00:32:45] The value of being transparent and honest with oneself and others throughout the entrepreneurial journey.

[00:37:27] The significance of timing in entrepreneurship and personal life decisions.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about aligning customer-facing teams to improve execution: https://forc.mx/48o1jyP 

Connect and learn more about Guilherme Stetelle Martins.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/guilhermestetelle/

Here's the link to the Shutdown Article:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/i-shut-down-my-startup-here-journey-guilherme-stetelle-martins-zpfpf/

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[01:00:10] "The credit belongs to the men and women who are actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who airs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who does actually strive to do the deeds, who knows? Great enthusiasm, great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause?"

[01:01:03] "It's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the men and women who are actually in the arena."

Why I Shutdown My Startup

In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan engage in a dynamic conversation with Leslie Venetz, an expert in outbound sales strategies. Leslie delves into the art of cold calling and objection handling, drawing from her extensive experience. She shares invaluable insights into common objections, the psychology behind them, and practical strategies for navigating them effectively. Discover how curiosity, conversation, and conclusion form the pillars of successful cold calls, and learn actionable techniques to empower your sales team.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[00:00:30]Common Objections: Leslie identifies 13 common objections encountered in sales cycles, emphasizing that objections are inevitable and must be anticipated. 

[00:03:09] Rooted in Fear: Many objections stem from a lack of trust and fear of making the wrong decision, especially in uncertain economic climates.

[00:04:48] The 3 C's Framework: Leslie introduces the 3 C's approach—Curiosity, Conversation, and Conclusion—as a paradigm shift from simply overcoming objections to fostering genuine dialogue and understanding with prospects.

[00:06:38] Curiosity is Key: Rather than immediately trying to counter objections, sales professionals should prioritize curiosity and seek to understand the underlying reasons behind objections.

[00:07:54] Personal Detachment: Separating oneself from the product or solution helps salespeople handle objections objectively and maintain genuine curiosity about the prospect's perspective.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:02:23] "If you're getting on a cold call with somebody, you're going to hear at least one objection. Full stop."

[00:06:15] "The number one most important thing that you can do when you hear an objection is just try to keep the conversation going."

[00:07:07] "Some of the best salespeople...are so curious as to why the customer has that opinion...they start to ask why and they don't understand, and it's very genuine because they really don't understand and they really are curious."

Listen to the full episode with Leslie Venetz through this link: 
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/the-art-of-cold-calling-with-leslie-venetz/

Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4

Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: 
https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/

Cold Calling and Objections with Leslie Venetz

Today we bring you three segments that cover sales leadership transitions. We discuss making the jump from rep to first line manager with Tammy Sexton the Chief Revenue Officer at Skyflow, the jump to second line manager with Carl Cross - CRO at Alkami and then walking in as a new CRO with Terry Trip CRO at Tines.

Tune in and learn more about this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT


[00:00:46] Segment 1: Transitioning from Rep to First Line Manager
[00:06:19] Segment 2: The Leap to Second Line Leadership
[00:15:16] Segment 3: Stepping into the CRO Role at a Startup
[00:21:55] Conclusion and Final Thoughts

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about aligning customer-facing teams to improve execution: https://forc.mx/48o1jyP 

Connect and learn more about our guests.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/crosscarl/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammy-sexton/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrytripp/


HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:02:13 - 00:04:51] Tammy Sexton: "I think the biggest thing with that role is... And it's something that I tell my managers as I promote them. This is probably a mistake that you're going to make. So I need to print, I need to plant it in your brain right now. And then when I see that happening, I'm going to ask you to think about like how not to make that happen."

[00:07:02 - 00:08:29] Carl Cross: "What makes a great first line leader?... They represent the values of the company, better than anybody, they understand, the leading indicators of the business... And then they're great storytellers, right?"

[00:19:45 - 00:21:55] Terry Tripp: "Fundamental is you got to get everybody that's speaking the same language... I think as you get in the mode of trying to grow and scale, it becomes more important even because you've got to have that framework."

Moving Into Sales Leadership Roles

In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan dive into when to focus on product-led growth. John McMahon and John Kaplan discuss product-led growth (PLG) with Alex Bilmes, the founder and CEO of Endgame. They explore the types of products that are well-suited for PLG and those that may not be a good fit. Alex explains that products that are easy to use, provide immediate value to the user, have a short time to value, and have a low price are ideal for PLG. However, more transformative products that require organizational change and have larger deal sizes may require a sales process to facilitate adoption. Alex also shares insights on how to determine if PLG is a good fit for a product and the questions to ask before implementing a PLG strategy.


KEY TAKEAWAYS
Transformative products that require organizational change and have larger deal sizes may not be a good fit for PLG.
When considering PLG, it is important to assess the product's interface with different disciplines and other products, as well as its impact on user behavior.
Endgame focuses on the sales side of PLG and helps companies integrate sales efforts with product data to accelerate revenue growth.
Understanding the ideal customer profile (ICP) from a product-led perspective and using data to create behavioral-based ICPs are crucial for successful PLG implementation.


HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

"Humans are tricky. Anything that requires interfacing with humans or interacting with people always adds a layer of complexity." - Alex Bilmes
"If you don't know what harbor you're sailing for, no winds will get you there." - Alex Bilmes
"A product-led sales orientation lets you validate what the company is doing using empirical data, meaning you can tell how people are already using your product." - Alex Bilmes


Listen to the full episode with Alex Bilmes through these links: 


Leveraging Product-Led Sales for Growth with Alex Bilmes:  https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/leveraging-product-led-sales-for-growth-with-alex-bilmes/id1610203369?i=1000635042791

Check out John McMahon’s book here:
Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4

Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: 
https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/

When You Should Focus on PLG with Alex Bilmes

In this episode, John McMahon and John Kaplan feature guest Sean Burke, a seven-time CXO.

From 1990 to 1994, Sean was a salesperson and loved every minute of it (he broke records, built amazing client relationships, and put hundreds of thousands of miles on his Honda Accord).

From 1994 to 2018, Sean co-founded and helped grow nine early-stage companies. Seven of these nine companies successfully exited for over $600M.

During these years, Sean learned about mergers & acquisitions, product-market fit, managing cash flow, evangelical sales, raising funds, making & losing millions, how to creatively accomplish much with very little $, and much more.

The discussion includes key sales lessons from Mark Cuban, emphasizing the importance of trust and helping in sales, and strategies for creating trust with clients. The hosts also delve into the intricacies of forecasting, deal qualification, and managing sales cycles, with a focus on understanding customer needs and aligning sales strategies accordingly. The conversation provides actionable advice for sales leaders on improving sales performance, structuring deals, and leveraging data for better forecasting and pipeline management.

Tune in and learn more about this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT


[00:01:51] Sales Insights from Mark Cuban's Masterclass
[00:03:32] Building Trust and Understanding in Sales
[00:08:18] The Art of Preparation and Asking the Right Questions
[00:11:55] Navigating the Procurement Process: Insights and Strategies
[00:15:44] Simplifying Business Success: Lessons from Purdue University
[00:20:36] Identifying and Targeting the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
[00:24:17] Strategic Sales Expansion and Resource Allocation
[00:31:56] Navigating the Challenges of Meeting Sales Targets
[00:32:42] Strategies for Setting Realistic Sales Goals
[00:34:52] Building a Culture of Accountability and Trust in Sales
[00:35:41] The Importance of Ownership and Data in Revenue Operations
[00:42:39] Forecasting and the Art of Accurate Sales Predictions
[00:42:44] Understanding and Managing Deal Pushes in Sales
[00:50:33] Optimizing Sales Operations and Pipeline Management
[01:02:43] Concluding Thoughts on Sales Success and Leadership

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Learn more about aligning customer-facing teams to improve execution: https://forc.mx/48o1jyP 

Connect and learn more about Sean Burke.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanhburke/

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:02:36] “They have to trust the seller first, the company second, and then the product solution, et cetera, after that.”

[00:10:28] “We would put together a team and we would have the personas that we're selling to be represented by the same personas within our team and role play those out.”

[00:59:23] “So it's all this rhythm of the business that you got to be really aware of as a CRO because you can start a year and end a year dead Or you could start a year and end of the year on the path to success”

Selling the Vision with Devdutt Yellurkar

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