We all know Zoom. The company that helped society get through the global pandemic. But before they even had a dollar in revenue, Greg Holmes was the first sales hire and built the team.

When Greg left the company, Zoom was valued at $140 billion.

He credits his ability to build the foundational team in finding go-to-market fit as a key ingredient to that success. The team to accelerated finding how to build the methodology to support go-to-market fit.

Get our Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

Start the GTM section of your investor pitch deck with three words: Predictable, Scalable, Revenue. I don't know why it works so well. It seems so intuitive, but like every investor's like, "I love this guy! That's what I want."

Yeah, , we all want that, but the question is how do you get there?

So many startups get that wrong. They think it's a sales deck. They think it's a pitch deck. And in fact, that hurts the GTM system. So with the help of Ron Gabrisko (CRO, Databricks) we unpack how to build an effective sales playbook.

Links

• Get our Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

Index on impact, not work. Care about the impact people have, not the work they're doing. It's something too many sales leaders forget.

Loren Padelford, who transformed Shopify Plus from zero to $1 billion in revenue in just seven years, is proudly a non-traditional sales leader. He positioned Shopify Plus as "anti-enterprise," instead looking beyond the current Fortune 500; saying "we want to build the next one."

Loren also reflects on the personal toll that constant grind culture had on his personal life and relationships. Something I encourage every sales leader to hear and reflect on themselves.

Get our Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

You're a CRO at a $4B company with 2,000 sellers. You've made it. Then comes an unexpected call: Want to lead sales at a 40-person team doing $25M? Most would laugh.

Not Lauren Nemeth. As Twilio's sales leader, she saw something bigger in Pinecone - a chance to shape how AI transforms enterprise selling. From hiring algorithms to handling objections, she recognized that AI wouldn't just change tech sales - it would rewrite the entire playbook.

Get our Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

"I have an amazing idea for a startup." That goes through the mind of every entrepreneur. Step #1: Raise venture capital to fund it.

Wrong.

People are always shocked to hear that more wealth is created in non venture-backed startups than in venture-backed ones. But it's the VC backed ones that make the front page of TechCrunch.

Today we're unpacking the blueprint to bootstrap an amazing company with Henry Shuck of ZoomInfo. And since Henry knows arguably the most in the world in the field of prospecting, we get into how AI will reshape it. Will it all be done by agents? Will humans have any role?

Get our Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

There's a connection few founders make — customer interview best practices & deciding what product to build are almost exactly the same as building your sales playbook.

Those best practices should influence your zero to one minimal viable product design.

And during that stage, not only are you figuring out your MVP, you're actually building your sales process.

There are so many companies where you look back at the foundational times, and they followed this process. Today we will unpack one of 'em with Mike Gamson from a little company you've all heard of, called LinkedIn.

Get our Database! Real Playbooks from Billion-Dollar Companies: https://clickhubspot.com/scienceofscaling

The Science of Scaling is a HubSpot Original Podcast // Brought to you by The HubSpot Podcast Network in collaboration with HubSpot For Startups // Produced by Matthew Brown.

New season coming soon! Until then, enjoy this tactical conversation I had with Donald Kelly (Founder & Host, The Sales Evangelist).

We pack more knowledge inside 25 minutes than most sales leaders get in a month -- including performance diagnostics, addressing stakeholder interests, pricing models, and attuning sales rep mindsets.

We always love to hear from you so reach out to us at [email protected] or send me a note on LinkedIn.

Are marketers just doing a bunch of arts & crafts? Are salespeople spoiled brats? I don't want to offend anyone, but I think most folks would chuckle at this: Sales and marketing leaders don't naturally get along.

So what's the solve for a siloed marketing and sales?

Let's talk through some key steps towards holding everyone accountable to meeting our revenue goals:

Grab the 3 Steps to a Perfect Pitch guide here https://clickhubspot.com/pitch

You wanted to know about me?! I'm flattered, humbled, and happy to share what's been inspiring me lately.

Everything from my favorite comedians to my thoughts on the Innovator's Dilemma.

I want to know what you're wondering about! Submit your question at [email protected], dropping a note on LinkedIn, or leaving a comment on Spotify.

Grab the 3 Steps to a Perfect Pitch guide here https://clickhubspot.com/pitch

Today's listener Q&A is all about scaling your culture. We want to move GTM and sales away from an uncontrollable art form to a data-driven, predictable process. And that starts at the top.

Our questions is -- "How can sales culture be influenced from the top down?"

Here's what you can expect:

I want to know what you're wondering about! Submit your question at [email protected], dropping a note on LinkedIn, or leaving a comment on Spotify.

Grab the 3 Steps to a Perfect Pitch guide here https://clickhubspot.com/pitch