Guests: Sangram Vajre, Co-Founder & CEO of GTM Partners, and Amos Bar-Joseph, Co-Founder & CEO of Swan AI  

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AI is changing what’s possible with account-based marketing, but meaningful personalization still starts with strategy.

In this special episode of SaaS Backwards, we revisit our fireside chat with Sangram Vajre, co-founder and CEO of GTM Partners, and Amos Bar-Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Swan AI, to explore how ABM is evolving in the age of AI.

ABM has always been built around focusing deeply on the accounts that matter most. What’s changing now is the speed and scale at which SaaS companies can identify signals, personalize outreach, create relevant content, and test new approaches.

We discuss why AI should be used as an enhancement to human strategy rather than a replacement for it, how faster experimentation can improve go-to-market execution, and why the strongest ABM programs may look beyond net-new logos to expansion, retention, and pipeline velocity.

You’ll also hear how teams can use unique buying signals to engage prospects earlier, create more relevant account experiences, and combine high-tech execution with high-touch engagement.

Key takeaways:

• Why strong ABM execution still starts with strategy
• How AI can dramatically shorten campaign and experimentation cycles
• Why relevance matters more than surface-level personalization
• How unique signals can help SaaS teams reach buyers earlier
• Why expansion and existing customers deserve a bigger role in ABM
• How AI makes highly personalized, high-touch experiences easier to scale

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Guest: Ivan Lee, Founder & CEO of Datasaur

We’re looking at what happens when AI changes the market faster than the old SaaS playbook can keep up.

Ivan Lee, founder and CEO of Datasaur, joins SaaS Backwards to share how his company navigated one of the most dramatic shifts in enterprise AI. Datasaur started as a data annotation platform before ChatGPT changed customer priorities, paused AI roadmaps, and forced the company to rethink its product, GTM strategy, and business model.

Ivan explains why out-of-the-box tools like ChatGPT Enterprise and Microsoft Copilot can be useful starting points, but often hit a ceiling for regulated enterprises that need private AI trained on their own data, workflows, and processes.

He also shares how Datasaur moved from a traditional SaaS model toward end-to-end AI solutions, what founders can learn from disrupted marketing channels, and why the future of SaaS may depend less on selling software access and more on solving the customer’s actual job to be done.

Key Takeaways:

• Why enterprise AI often breaks down when it lacks access to private data and internal workflows
• How ChatGPT disrupted Datasaur’s original AI roadmap and customer base
• Why old SaaS GTM channels stopped working in a crowded AI market
• How Datasaur rebuilt around private, secure AI for regulated industries
• What SaaS founders should measure when marketing “best practices” stop producing results

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Guest: Anthony Nitsos, Founder of SaaS Gurus

A SaaS company doesn’t become fundable because it’s growing—it becomes fundable when the financial engine underneath that growth can withstand scrutiny.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Anthony Nitsos, founder of SaaS Gurus, joins us to discuss what actually makes a SaaS company fundable. Revenue, customer growth, and cash in the bank are all important signals, but they do not always reveal whether the business is healthy, scalable, or ready for diligence.

Anthony breaks down the difference between accounting and strategic finance, why ARR and NRR are often misunderstood, and how metrics like cash flow, CAC, and gross margin can give founders a clearer view of their company’s health.

Key takeaways:

• Why finance is forward-looking while accounting is backward-looking
• The five SaaS metrics every founder should understand
• How ARR can be overstated through discounts, services, or transaction revenue
• Why NRR is becoming more important to investors and acquirers
• How strong financial infrastructure can improve fundability and valuation

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Guest: Jason Roberts, Fractional Client Operations Executive at Scale CxO  

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In this episode, we explore why SaaS retention problems often begin long before renewal—inside the sales, onboarding, and customer handoff process.

Jason Roberts, Fractional Client Operations Executive at Scale CxO, joins us to discuss how growth-stage SaaS companies can unintentionally create retention risk while they’re focused on filling the top of the funnel and closing new deals.

We talk about why customer outcomes need to be carried from sales into onboarding, implementation, customer success, and ongoing account management. When that context gets lost, teams can create misaligned expectations, slow time to value, and revenue leakage that may not show up until a renewal cycle or two later.

Jason also shares why time to value, change management, and client operations should be treated as core parts of the go-to-market motion—not back-office issues to fix later.

Key takeaways:

• SaaS retention starts before the customer signs.
• Growth-stage companies often underinvest in client operations.
• The “why” behind a customer’s purchase must survive the handoff from sales to implementation.
• Time to value is a critical retention metric.
• Revenue leakage can appear long after the original operational mistake.

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Guest: Dillon Okner, Founding Partner of The Oak Group / SiteRise  

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In this episode, we look at how a services business can become the proving ground for a SaaS opportunity.

Dillon Okner, founding partner of The Oak Group and creator of SiteRise, joins us to talk about building software from the inside of a professional services business. SiteRise was born from repeated problems Dillon saw while helping retail brands manage construction, store openings, document control, reporting, and cross-functional planning.

We dig into why Dillon chose to bootstrap the SaaS product through services revenue instead of raising venture capital, how his team identified product-market fit, and why messy spreadsheets, inconsistent file naming, and disconnected reports are often signs that a market is ready for software.

Dillon also shares what is working in SiteRise’s go-to-market motion, including outbound, conferences, relationship-based selling, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and a creative “headshot-led growth” tactic that turned trade show engagement into product interaction.

Key takeaways:

• How services can reveal repeatable SaaS opportunities
• Why bootstrapping can protect product focus
• What breaks when teams scale with spreadsheets and disconnected reports
• How better construction and retail development data can support boardroom-level planning
• Why founder-led sales eventually needs operational support

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Guest: Tim Schumacher, Co-Founder of saas.group  

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In the AI era, code alone no longer drives SaaS value the way it once did.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, we sit down with Tim Schumacher, co-founder of saas.group, to explore how AI is changing what buyers value in SaaS businesses and why that shift is forcing founders to rethink exits. We get into why code has become easier to recreate, while customer loyalty, proprietary data, strong products, and defensible market positions are becoming even more important.

We also unpack the new urgency AI is creating for founders. For some, AI is opening up real operational upside and making growth more efficient. For others, it raises a harder question: will this business stay differentiated in a market where software is easier to rebuild and replicate?

Along the way, we cover what makes a SaaS company attractive to acquirers, the mistakes founders make when preparing for an exit, and why bootstrapped founders should start with personal goals instead of trying to time the market.

Key takeaways

• Why code is losing value as a standalone SaaS asset
• What buyers value more now: data, customers, moats, and strong products
• How AI is influencing founder exit decisions
• What acquirers look for in bootstrapped SaaS businesses
• How founders can better prepare for a sale

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Guest: KG Charles-Harris, Founder & CEO of Quarrio  

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The SaaS AI trap is believing fast answers are good enough when the real advantage comes from trustworthy, decision-grade intelligence.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit talks with KG Charles-Harris, founder and CEO of Quarrio, about why most AI tools fall short in enterprise environments where decisions need to be accurate, auditable, and actionable. KG explains the difference between probabilistic AI and deterministic AI, and why that distinction matters far more than most SaaS leaders realize.

They also explore why business users do not want more dashboards or more software to learn. They want answers to questions, delivered instantly, in a way they can trust. The conversation covers Quarrio’s long path to market, how enterprise trust is built through founder-led sales, and why compressing the cycle from data to decision to action may become one of the biggest competitive advantages in SaaS.

Key takeaways:

• Most enterprise AI tools are fast, but not reliable enough for decision-making
• Deterministic AI is better suited for auditable, enterprise-grade answers
• SaaS users want answers, not more dashboards or reporting delays
• Decision velocity may become a major competitive advantage
• Founder-led sales and trust are critical in early enterprise go-to-market

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Guest: Cliff Simon, CEO & Founder of Polaris Ops  

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AI may be everywhere in SaaS right now, but most go-to-market teams still are not ready to operationalize it.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit talks with Cliff Simon, CEO and founder of Polaris Ops, about what it really takes to make AI useful inside revenue operations. Cliff explains why pressure from boards, CEOs, and private equity firms is pushing companies to adopt AI faster than their systems can support it.

They dig into the real blockers to AI readiness, including poor CRM hygiene, undocumented business processes, disconnected data, and weak visibility into the customer lifecycle. Cliff also shares how leading teams are measuring AI impact through time saved, operational leverage, and even revenue contribution from RevOps.

The conversation also explores agentic AI in SaaS go-to-market, from lead routing and TAM analysis to signal detection and workflow automation. Along the way, Cliff highlights the security risks, vendor dependencies, and build-versus-buy decisions SaaS leaders need to think through before moving too fast.

Key takeaways:

• Most SaaS GTM teams are being told to use AI before they have the operational foundation to support it
• AI readiness starts with clean data, documented workflows, and clear success metrics
• RevOps teams can become revenue contributors when AI is applied strategically
• Agentic AI can improve routing, targeting, and automation, but only with human oversight
• SaaS leaders need to weigh speed, security, and long-term ownership before deploying AI tools

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Guest: You Mon Tsang, Co-Founder & CEO of ChurnZero  

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In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit talks with ChurnZero co-founder and CEO You Mon Tsang about why retention and expansion are becoming core drivers of SaaS growth, not just post-sale activities. As investors put more weight on metrics like NRR and GRR, founders need to rethink how they build and scale their companies. 

They discuss why customer success should be designed into the product and operating model from the beginning, and why too many companies still underinvest in their existing customer base. 

The conversation also explores how AI is reshaping customer teams—removing low-value work while making teams more strategic—and why trust, proof of ROI, and customer context are critical in a crowded SaaS market. 

Key takeaways

•  Retention is now a primary driver of SaaS growth. 
•  Customer success needs to be built in early, not added later. 
•  AI is most valuable when it enhances human decision-making. 
•  Strong customer context leads to better outcomes and expansion. 
•  Trust and proof matter more than ever in the AI era.

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Guest: Sai Dhanak, CEO & Co-Founder of Deduction  

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AI is changing SaaS, but this episode argues the bigger opportunity may be owning the service outcome, not just selling the software.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Sai Dhanak, CEO and co-founder of Deduction, explains why he chose not to build software for accountants and instead built an AI-powered tax firm. He shares why selling SaaS into a shrinking market can be the wrong bet, how Deduction combines AI with licensed CPAs, and why outcome-based models may be more durable in certain verticals. It’s a sharp conversation on AI, vertical SaaS, pricing, and where real defensibility may come from next.

Key takeaways:

• Selling SaaS into a shrinking market can be the wrong strategy
• AI creates new opportunities to own the service outcome directly
• Outcome-based pricing requires operational control, not just a pricing change

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How to turn founder instincts into a repeatable pipeline engine. 

Guest: Javier Lozano, Fractional CMO & GTM Leader  

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Founder-led sales is often the fastest way to get an early-stage SaaS company off the ground. But at some point, the very thing that helped you close your first customers becomes the bottleneck preventing your company from scaling.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit sits down with fractional CMO and GTM leader Javier Lozano of Bolder Media to break down why founder-led sales eventually stop working—and how SaaS leaders can turn founder instincts into a repeatable revenue engine.

They discuss how to extract the winning patterns inside a founder’s head, transform those insights into positioning and messaging, and build a predictable pipeline that sales teams can execute at scale.

You’ll also learn why hiring sales leaders too early often backfires, how to create a “blue ocean” positioning that separates your SaaS product from crowded markets, and what investors really look for when evaluating early-stage SaaS growth.

If you're a SaaS founder, CRO, or GTM leader trying to move beyond founder-led growth, this episode provides a practical framework for building a scalable go-to-market engine.

Key Topics Covered

• Why founder-led sales works early but breaks at scale
• Turning founder knowledge into a repeatable SaaS GTM playbook
• How positioning and messaging create predictable pipeline
• Why hiring a CRO too early can stall growth
• Building a scalable revenue engine before raising capital

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Guest: David Gabriel, VP of Marketing at Rhumbix 

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AI-Enabled Go-to-Market Strategy, Agentic Marketing, and SaaS Margin Expansion

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit sits down with David Gabriel, VP of Marketing at Rhumbix, to explore what go-to-market looks like in the AI agent era.

David rebuilt his SaaS marketing function around AI agents — creating a system where product marketing, outbound sales development, content creation, and revenue operations are increasingly agent-led. The result? A small team producing the output of a much larger organization — without inflating costs.

David breaks down how to build sub-agent architectures, how to connect AI to your CRM and Gong transcripts using MCP integrations, and why most SaaS companies fail at AI because they lack repeatable process discipline.

This episode is a must-listen for B2B SaaS CROs, CMOs, and founders looking to increase operating leverage, expand margins, and future-proof their go-to-market strategy.

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How SaaS CEOs Should Navigate AI-Native, AI-Augmented, and Bolt-On AI Strategies to Protect Revenue and Reduce Churn 

Guest: Ken Lempit, President & Chief Strategist at Austin Lawrence Group  

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AI is not just another feature cycle — it’s an inflection point for SaaS.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit steps into the guest seat to break down what AI really means for SaaS companies, especially mid-market and enterprise software vendors trying to protect revenue while planning their next product evolution.

Ken draws a powerful parallel between today’s AI shift and the early 2000s transition from client-server to cloud — arguing that this AI cycle is moving faster and carries even greater competitive risk.

He explains the critical differences between:

• AI-native SaaS products
• AI-augmented platforms
• Bolt-on AI features

And why the wrong strategy could quietly increase churn, shrink pipeline, and erode relevance.

You’ll also hear:

• How to diagnose whether you have a GTM problem or a product relevance problem
• Why “vibe coding” poses real risk to mid-market SaaS vendors
• Short-term product and pricing moves to survive the next 12–18 months
• Lessons from BackEngine’s pivot from conversation mining to revenue enablement
• Why your AI narrative may matter more than your marketing spend

If you’re a SaaS CEO, founder, or go-to-market leader wondering how aggressive your AI roadmap needs to be, this episode is your strategic wake-up call.

Get a free SaaS GTM Checkup: https://info.austinlawrence.com/saas-gtm-checkup 

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Why SaaS companies stall at $10M, how execution breaks down, and what founders must change to scale  

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Guest: Mark Abbott, Founder & CEO at Ninety  

Most SaaS companies don’t hit a wall because demand dries up — they hit it because execution doesn’t keep pace with growth.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Mark Abbott, Founder and CEO of ninety.io, explains why SaaS companies predictably stall as they grow and how founders underestimate the leadership and operational shifts required at each stage. Drawing on decades as an operator, investor, and board member, Mark walks through the five unavoidable stages of company growth and why stage three is where most companies get stuck.

The conversation explores why speed becomes a liability, why leadership requirements change as teams scale, and how operating discipline and culture quietly determine whether a SaaS company breaks through its ceiling or plateaus indefinitely.

Mark also unpacks the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), the mindset shift from lifestyle entrepreneur to long-game founder, and why operational systems are not overhead — they’re a competitive advantage. This conversation is essential listening for SaaS founders navigating product-market fit, team scaling, and leadership complexity.

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Guest: Lara Shackelford, SVP of Growth Marketing at iCapital 

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Most SaaS companies are investing heavily in AI, yet many struggle to see meaningful ROI. In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Lara Shackelford—SVP of Growth Marketing, MarTech, and CRM at iCapital—breaks down why AI initiatives fail without the right systems, governance, and change management.

Lara explains how AI-powered revenue systems should be designed across the full customer lifecycle, from demand generation through customer success. She introduces the concept of “agent sprawl,” outlines why AI readiness assessments are critical before scaling automation, and shares practical examples of signal-based marketing and sales automation that actually work.

This conversation is essential listening for SaaS CROs, CMOs, and RevOps leaders looking to align AI strategy, revenue operations, and go-to-market execution.

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Guest: Kevin Jacobson, CEO at Foxen 

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Most SaaS companies try to scale by adding headcount and channels. Foxen scaled by tightening fundamentals.

In this episode, Kevin Jacobson, CEO of Foxen, joins host Ken Lempit to explain how an overlooked market — multifamily housing — became a durable SaaS growth opportunity through operational discipline and relationship-driven GTM.

Kevin breaks down why traditional industries lag in SaaS adoption, why consistency matters more than speed, and how Foxen scaled through direct sales, referrals, and systems built to support growth. He also shares lessons from raising growth equity and why systems, not people, ultimately unlock scale.

Key takeaways:

• Underserved markets reward execution over hype
• Consistency precedes scalable SaaS growth
• Direct sales still win in relationship-driven markets
• Systems, not headcount, enable scale

If you’re a SaaS leader selling into traditional industries or rethinking how growth really happens after PMF, this episode delivers a grounded, operator-first perspective.

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Guest: Dave Boyce, Executive Chairman & EVP of Product at Winning by Design 

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Most SaaS companies are still built to sell. Today’s buyers want to activate, experience value, and decide on their own.

In this episode, Dave Boyce, Executive Chairman and EVP of Product at Winning by Design, joins host Ken Lempit to explain why SaaS GTM is shifting from lead handoffs to self-service activation, AI-driven automation, and system-based growth.

Dave shares why PLG isn’t about removing humans, but focusing them on higher-value work — while usage-based pricing and automation blur the line between acquisition, onboarding, and expansion. He also challenges traditional planning models, arguing that people don’t scale, systems do.

Key takeaways:

• Activation is replacing lead handoffs in SaaS growth
• PLG and AI redefine when humans should engage
• Usage-based pricing lowers friction and builds habit
• Systems, not headcount, unlock scale

If you’re a SaaS leader rethinking GTM for an AI-driven, self-service world, this episode delivers a practical, no-hype perspective.

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Guest: David Karandish, Founder & CEO of Capacity  

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Most SaaS companies don’t fail because the technology is bad. They fail because they build point solutions, chase the wrong markets, and struggle to turn AI into real, scalable value.

In this episode, David Karandish, Founder & CEO of Capacity, joins host Ken Lempit to share how his team scaled past 20,000 customers and toward $100M+ in revenue by evolving from an AI point solution into a full SaaS platform for support and contact centers.

David breaks down the pivots behind that growth, why mid-market SaaS often stalls, and how the compound startup model is reshaping modern SaaS — not by doing more, but by integrating smarter.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Why many AI SaaS products fail before reaching enterprise scale
• The difference between “salad” vs. “brownie” AI projects
• How platform consolidation creates GTM and pricing leverage
• Why GTM motion must align with deal size
• How integration becomes the true SaaS moat

If you’re a B2B SaaS founder, CRO, or CMO navigating AI adoption, platform strategy, or the leap from mid-market to enterprise, this episode offers a grounded playbook for building durable SaaS growth—without the hype.

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Guest: Prasanth Chilukuri, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Soul Street Ventures 

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The biggest threat to early-stage SaaS growth isn’t competition. It’s founder distraction, unfocused GTM motions, and chasing quick wins instead of building a real business.

In this episode, Prasanth Chilukuri, co-founder and managing partner of Soul Street Ventures, joins host Ken Lempit to reveal why most early-stage SaaS companies struggle long before product issues surface — and how disciplined strategy, a tight ICP, and hands-on founder coaching unlock meaningful, scalable traction.

Drawing on his experience both as a SaaS founder (Tekmetric) and investor, Prasanth explains why “scale with soul” isn’t just a mantra, but a framework for building durable companies that don’t rely on hype, vanity channels, or coast-driven valuation games.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Why misaligned ICPs and GTM distractions quietly stall early-stage SaaS
• How to test, retest, and refine GTM motions using real customer behavior
• Why AI discoverability is reshaping marketing efficiency (and what to do about it)
• How venture style differs across regions — and why it matters for founders
• Why founder coachability, discipline, and mindset are the strongest predictors of growth
• How unique SaaS data assets create new value (and why most companies underuse them)

If you’re a B2B SaaS founder, CRO, or CMO navigating early-stage go-to-market, evaluating AI’s impact on your product, or preparing for institutional capital, this episode offers a practical, grounded playbook for building a company that truly lasts.

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Guest: Mark Walker, CEO at Nue.io 

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SaaS pricing isn’t breaking because of AI — it’s breaking because most revenue systems were never built for the speed and complexity of today’s models.

In this episode, Mark Walker, CEO of Nue.io, joins host Ken Lempit to unpack why modern SaaS and AI companies are abandoning legacy CPQ and billing stacks for a flexible, unified revenue infrastructure built for rapid change.

Key highlights:

• Why legacy CPQ + billing can’t support modern SaaS pricing
• How committed consumption + bank-billed models are reshaping monetization
• Why speed of configuration is now a GTM advantage
• What RevOps must rethink as pricing experiments explode
• How elite teams thrive on hard problems and high-velocity execution

If you’re a B2B SaaS founder, CRO, CMO, or RevOps leader navigating complex pricing models, upgrading your revenue stack, or preparing for next-gen AI monetization, this conversation will change how you think about scaling.

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Guest: Brent Adamson, Co-Author of The Framemaking Sale & Co-Founder of A to B Insight

SaaS sales teams obsess over beating competitors—but the real battle isn’t across the table. It’s in the buyer’s mind.

In this episode, Brent Adamson—co-author of The Challenger Sale and The Challenger Customer and Co-Founder of A to B Insight—joins host Ken Lempit to reveal why most SaaS deals are lost to no decision at all, and how his new book, The Framemaking Sale, helps buyers build the confidence to act. 

Brent explains how the sales playbook has evolved from “teach them what to think” to “help them trust themselves”—and why the future of B2B growth depends on changing how we sell, not what we sell.

Key insights from this episode:

• Why no decision—not competitors—is killing SaaS deals
• How to turn buyer anxiety into deal confidence
• Why “trusted advisor” means helping customers trust themselves
• How marketing and sales can guide smarter, faster SaaS buying
• The mindset shift every B2B sales leader needs now

If you’re a B2B SaaS CRO, CMO, or founder looking to increase close rates, reenergize your go-to-market, and win against the status quo, this conversation will change how you think about selling.

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Guest: Melanie Nabar, Vice President at Volition Capital 

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SaaS founders often see only two funding paths—venture or private equity—but there’s a smarter middle lane that keeps control where it belongs: with the founder.

In this episode, Melanie Nabar, Vice President on the Software Team at Volition Capital, joins host Ken Lempit to unpack how growth equity works, when it’s the right fit, and the scale-up mistakes that stall promising SaaS companies.

Key insights from this episode:

• Why growth equity can fuel SaaS scale without losing control
• The biggest post-funding hiring mistake founders make
• How AI is reshaping go-to-market efficiency in SaaS

If you’re a B2B SaaS CMO, CRO, or founder navigating scale-up challenges, funding strategy, or go-to-market transformation, this episode will help you see where real growth capital fits—and how to make it work for you.

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Guest: Rob Belcher, Managing Director at SaaS Capital

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SaaS founders often think equity is the only path to growth—but giving up ownership isn’t the only option.

In this episode, Rob Belcher, Managing Director at SaaS Capital, joins host Ken Lempit to break down how growth debt works, what investors really look for in valuations, and how B2B SaaS leaders can finance smart without losing control.

Key insights from this episode:

• Why growth debt can fund SaaS expansion without heavy dilution
• The financing ladder every founder should understand—from angels to private equity
• How valuation multiples are shifting and what drives them higher
• The role of clean contracts, retention, and growth rate in exit outcomes
• Why AI is creating a “priced for perfection” split in SaaS valuations

If you’re a B2B SaaS CMO or CRO navigating fundraising, growth efficiency, or exit strategy, this episode will help you sharpen your playbook.

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Guest: Braydan Young, Co-Founder and CEO at SlashExperts

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Buyers don’t want another “book a demo” button—they want proof from people like them.

In this episode, Braydan Young, Co-Founder and CEO of SlashExperts (and previously co-founder of Sendoso), joins host Ken Lempit to share how buyer-led growth is reshaping SaaS sales and why the old way of running references at the end of the deal cycle is broken.

Key insights from this episode:

• Why moving customer references earlier can shorten sales cycles by 4–6 weeks
• How authentic peer conversations double conversion rates compared to demos
• What CROs can learn from Sendoso’s hypergrowth—and its “we grew too fast” moment
• Why handwritten notes and simple gifts outperform flashy, expensive ones
• How to turn the “dark funnel” into a competitive advantage

If you’re a B2B SaaS CMO or CRO looking to accelerate pipeline, increase deal size, and close faster with fewer wasted demos, this episode is a must-listen.

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Guest: Courtney Hiller, Founder of All Points Agency -- 

You wouldn’t hire one person to build your product, sell it, and run support. So why are B2B SaaS companies still expecting one marketer to manage a million-dollar media budget?

In this episode, Courtney Hiller, founder of All Points Agency, joins host Ken Lempit to break down how to build a modern media engine that actually performs—and why yesterday’s paid strategy won’t cut it in 2025.

Key insights from this episode:

• Why splitting strategy, creative, and media buying unlocks performance
• What most in-house teams get wrong about channel mix and audience targeting
• How to fix attribution when your sales cycle is 6–12 months
• Why creative volume—not just creative quality—is the new growth lever
• How to use Reddit, Meta, and programmatic without wasting your budget

If you’re a B2B SaaS CMO or CRO managing six-or seven-figure ad spend, this episode will help you rethink your team structure, channel strategy, and ROI expectations.

Referenced in the episode:

How Brand Building and Performance Marketing Can Work Together - Harvard Business Review

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Guest: Hikari Senju, Founder & CEO at Omneky -- 

AI isn’t just generating ad copy—it’s reshaping the entire performance marketing playbook for B2B SaaS. 

In this episode, Hikari Senju, founder and CEO of Omneky, shares how the platform evolved from an enterprise solution to a self-serve powerhouse—and why smart creative strategy matters more than big budgets. 

Key insights from this episode: 

• Why brute-force creative testing consistently outperforms guesswork 
• How ad performance data can directly inform GTM messaging 
• Why brand inconsistency across platforms kills trust and conversion 
• How AI-powered ads are becoming core to revenue strategy 

If you’re a B2B SaaS CMO or CRO looking to improve ROAS, scale faster with fewer resources, or make AI actually work for your GTM team, this episode is a must-listen. 

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Guest: Adir Ben-Yehuda, CEO at Autonomy AI -- 

The go-to-market playbook for AI SaaS is being rewritten in real-time, and those who cling to old models risk being left behind. 

In this episode, Adir Ben-Yehuda, founder and CEO of Autonomy AI, joins host Ken Lempit to share how his team went from zero to 70 customers in months by ditching outdated frameworks and building a brand buyers can trust.

We unpack:
✅ Why “Crossing the Chasm” no longer applies in the age of ChatGPT
✅ How brand marketing now beats lead gen in AI go-to-market
✅ What it really takes to convert skeptical enterprise buyers
✅ The shift from SEO to “share of response” in AI search platforms
✅ Why every SaaS GTM leader must become an orchestrator—not just a doer

Adir also breaks down the sales motion that helped Autonomy scale so quickly—and shares how his team leverages live demos and social proof to close deals in a single call.

If you’re a B2B SaaS CMO or CRO navigating AI adoption, rethinking pipeline strategy, or looking for a more effective way to win technical buyers, this episode is your cheat code.

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Guest: Ray Meiring, Co-Founder & CEO at QorusDocs -- 

Scaling a SaaS business from consultancy roots to enterprise success requires more than just great tech—it takes ruthless focus, smart go-to-market choices, and a deep understanding of your buyer. 

In this episode, Ray Meiring, co-founder and CEO of QorusDocs, joins host Ken Lempit to share the lessons learned on his journey from South Africa to the U.S. market and how QorusDocs carved out a winning niche in AI-powered proposal automation.

We unpack:
 ✅ Why founder-led sales can’t scale—and how to move beyond it
 ✅ The trap of chasing SMBs after funding (and what to do instead)
 ✅ How QorusDocs found product-market fit through one anchor customer
 ✅ What every SaaS CRO and CMO should know about RFP response teams
 ✅ The critical role of marketing in driving pipeline (not just sales)

Ray also shares the moment venture funding pushed them off course—and how doubling down on their ideal customer profile helped them reset, rebuild, and grow more efficiently.

If you're a SaaS CMO or CRO scaling into enterprise, navigating founder-to-function transitions, or wondering where AI really moves the needle, this episode is packed with firsthand insight.

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Guest: Sammy Greenwall, Founder of Henry.ai -- 

What if your go-to-market motion could skip past theory and build from real-world pain? 

That’s exactly how Sammy Greenwall, founder of Henry.ai, approaches commercial real estate—and why his vertical AI startup is scaling without traditional sales or marketing. 

Sammy’s background as a CRE professional-turned-founder gave him not only insight, but language, trust, and distribution advantages. In this episode, he shares how founder-market fit drives everything from product strategy to GTM efficiency—and how it’s paying off in a space historically allergic to software.

Sammy also pulls back the curtain on:

• How PLG became a byproduct of customer obsession—not the plan
• Building a waitlist-worthy brand (with no ad budget)
• Creating real enterprise value in a low-trust, high-volume industry

Three Key Takeaways for B2B GTM Leaders:

1. Founder-Market Fit > Generic Product-Market Fit
Sammy’s deep domain experience gave him a faster path to traction: he didn’t just “identify” pain—he lived it. That meant smarter onboarding flows, tighter feature prioritization, and messaging that clicked with buyers the first time. CEOs and founders with industry-specific experience should lean hard into that unfair advantage.

2. PLG Isn’t a Tactic—It’s the Outcome of Product Obsession
Henry.ai didn’t set out to be a PLG company. Instead, they tracked usage down to individual clicks, met with every early user, and iterated daily. That intensity created a product people wanted to talk about, which fueled organic adoption, referrals, and even early enterprise wins.

3. AI Doesn’t Just Accelerate Work—It Replaces It
In CRE, Sammy’s platform cut multi-week deal deck creation down to hours. That kind of workflow disruption isn’t about “boosting productivity”—it’s about letting revenue-generating staff focus on high-value activities like deals and relationships. This shift reframes AI adoption for skeptical buyers and opens the door to premium pricing.

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Guests: Ken Rapp (Co-Founder & CEO) and Emily Lagasse (VP of Marketing) of Bluestream -- 

What if the key to SaaS growth isn’t more leads, but fewer customer drop-offs post-purchase? 

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, we sit down with Ken Rapp (Co-founder & CEO) and Emily Lagasse (VP of Marketing) of Blustream, the platform pioneering post-sale engagement, to explore how product ownership experiences are unlocking revenue, retention, and lifetime value.

According to Rapp and Lagasse, most brands obsess over acquisition, but lose up to 70% of customers before the second purchase. Blustream flips that script by transforming post-purchase silence into an intelligent, AI-powered dialogue that guides customers through onboarding, usage, care, and reordering.

Key takeaways include:

📦 Unboxing is a retention opportunity
🤖 AI predicts drop-off and upsell moments
🛠️ Don’t launch on platforms too early
🎯 Vertical focus beats “sell to everyone”

If you’re a SaaS CRO or CMO looking to drive net revenue retention, boost repeat purchases, or reimagine how post-sale moments can be monetized, this episode is for you.

🔗 Blustream Journey Builder

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Guest: Casey Woo, CEO & Founder of Operators Guild & FOG Ventures -- 

What happens when startups are built not by armies of specialists, but by lean teams of senior generalists paired with AI agents? 

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, we sit down with Casey Woo—CEO and Founder of FOG Ventures and the Operators Guild—to explore how AI is transforming the fundamental structure of companies. 

According to Woo, the org chart of the future isn’t just flatter and faster—it’s hybrid, where strategic, multi-discipline humans lead and AI agents handle executional work once done by junior staff.

From finance and support to engineering and ops, AI is hollowing out the middle, forcing leaders to become broader, sharper, and more cross-functional. 

Think “Special Forces” over traditional departments. The operators who thrive will be the ones who can think horizontally, move fast, and execute across domains.

Other key insights from the episode include:

• 🪖 Why early-stage startups need “scalers”—T-shaped operators who do a little of everything—to survive guerrilla warfare, not corporate specialists trained for big wars.
• 💥 The rise of roles like COFO (Chief Operating + Financial Officer) as titles and functions blend in response to new business demands.
• 🚀 A framework for understanding when to bootstrap vs. raise VC—and why many founders get it wrong by ignoring ROI and lifestyle trade-offs.
• 🌍 How Casey accidentally grew the Operators Guild into a 1,200+ member global force, and why its culture of “give more than you get” is key to its explosive success.

If you want to understand what the next wave of high-performance SaaS companies will look like—and who will build them—this conversation is essential.

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Guest: Google’s NotebookLM -- 

In this special episode of SaaS Backwards, we handed the mic to AI. 

We took our newest ebook on reviving inbound marketing—coming soon for download—and ran it through Google’s NotebookLM to see what kind of podcast it could generate. 

The result? A surprisingly sharp—if occasionally cheesy—take on how B2B SaaS companies can reimagine their go-to-market strategies for today’s buyer. You be the judge.

The episode explores why the traditional inbound playbook is falling short and what CROs and CMOs must do to adapt. From the collapse of predictable revenue models to the rise of buyer-centric marketing, we break down how to align sales and marketing, test messaging organically, and coordinate campaigns across email, ads, and outreach.

Key Takeaways:

• The old predictable revenue model no longer works in today’s B2B SaaS landscape
• Buyers now do deep independent research before ever talking to sales
• Marketing and sales alignment must happen before the formal buying process begins
• Jobs to Be Done and qualitative ICPs help create relevance and resonance
• Organic testing (especially on LinkedIn) is essential before scaling paid campaigns
• Email, ads, and SDR outreach must be tightly coordinated around buyer triggers

If you’re a SaaS leader looking to modernize your inbound strategy and connect with today’s buyer, this episode offers a bold, practical roadmap—created by AI, guided by strategy.

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Guest: Eli Portnoy, Founder & CEO at BackEngine -- 

As B2B SaaS companies scale, they often lose touch with the customers who got them there. 

In this episode, Eli Portnoy, founder and CEO of BackEngine, sits down with Ken Lempit to talk about the critical breakdown in customer feedback systems—and how generative AI can help leaders hear what really matters.

We unpack:
✅ Why customer feedback loops break as SaaS companies grow
✅ The hidden costs of misaligned feedback channels and weak ownership
✅ How AI can synthesize 100% of customer interactions—without surveys
✅ What separates elite SaaS companies from the rest when it comes to NRR and churn
✅ Why CS leaders are uniquely positioned to become strategic feedback owners

Eli also shares the story of losing his biggest customer before a major fundraise—and the moment he realized feedback was everyone’s problem, but no one’s job.

If you're a CMO, CRO, or CS leader building a feedback-driven growth engine, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.

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Guest: Ayse Guvencer, Fractional SaaS CMO & GTM Executive -- 

As AI changes how B2B buyers evaluate software, many marketers are missing the forest for the trees. 

In this episode, Ayse Guvencer, fractional CMO and GTM advisor to SaaS and MarTech startups, joins Ken Lempit to deliver a blunt reality check: AI is disrupting the search journey, pricing models, and even how buyers interact with your brand—before your SDRs even know they exist.

We unpack:

 ✅ Why Google is now a navigational tool, not a discovery engine
✅ How AI-driven tools like ChatGPT are shaping shortlists and decision frameworks
✅ The rise of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and what it means for visibility
✅ Why “Service as a Software” is redefining outcome-based pricing
✅ What AI browsers and agentic advertising could mean for reaching the “hidden figures” on buying committees

Ayse also shares practical guidance on how marketers can stay ahead of AI-native competitors, avoid falling for adtech black boxes, and reframe their role in this fast-changing ecosystem.

If you’re a B2B SaaS CMO or CRO trying to stay ahead of the curve, this is one of those episodes you’ll want to listen to twice.

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Guest: Jim Curry, CoFounder at BuildGroup -- 

Is AI really transforming your SaaS business—or just adding noise? 

In this week’s episode, Jim Curry, co-founder of BuildGroup and former Rackspace exec, discusses how AI is transforming both the products and operations of SaaS businesses—and why most companies are missing the opportunity.

Jim shares how BuildGroup's operator-first, long-term approach to investing gives them an edge when helping SaaS companies scale, especially in today’s AI-first environment. He explains why AI should be seen as an infrastructure wave (not just a flashy product feature), and how CROs and CMOs can practically apply it to go-to-market execution.

We cover:

• Why AI gives incumbents an advantage (if they act fast)
• How to use AI to reduce CAC and improve GTM speed
• Where traditional SaaS GTM playbooks break down in an AI-native world
• Why demos and SDR workflows are ripe for automation
• How BuildGroup partners deeply with founders post-investment

If you're a SaaS executive thinking about where to apply AI for real impact—without waiting for a full replatform—this conversation is packed with insight.

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Guest: Ken Lempit, President & Chief Business Builder at Austin Lawrence Group 

Are your SaaS ads actually doing their job, or just burning budget? 

In this week’s episode of SaaS Backwards, Ken Lempit and Jason Myers of Austin Lawrence Group go deep on what GTM leaders get wrong about advertising in 2025:

• Why most SaaS ads look and sound the same (and fall flat)
• Where messaging fails long before the click
• How to align sales and marketing in a high-consideration buying cycle
• The overlooked power of direct mail and live events
• When to pull back on spend—and how to know it’s time

If you’re spending more but converting less—or just tired of “safe” campaigns with no spark—this conversation will challenge your assumptions and give you a new playbook.

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Guests: Ken Lempit, James Ollerenshaw, and Rob Curtis -- 

Voice is the new frontier in SaaS — but are we ready for the implications? 

In the third episode of our AI Series, Ken Lempit is joined again by James Ollerenshaw and Rob Curtis to explore how voice and AI are colliding to transform the way B2B SaaS companies operate — from the way products are built and sold to how customers are supported.

We dive into:

• The shift to voice-first interfaces and its implications for product design
• Real-world use cases in sales, customer service, compliance, and manufacturing
• Why voice as a data source may be more valuable than voice as an interface
• How voice AI can unlock productivity gains — and which roles are at risk
• The compliance, privacy, and cultural risks of voice-powered surveillance
• Predictions on headless SaaS, ambient computing, and the next big AI disruption

This conversation goes longer than our typical episodes, but trust us — it’s worth every minute. Stick around for smart insights, practical frameworks, and some provocative predictions that CROs, CMOs, and SaaS builders shouldn’t miss.

📢 Learn more about Rob’s venture at standuphiro.com
🧠 Connect with Ken at austinlawrence.com

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Guests: Ken Lempit, James Ollerenshaw, and Rob Curtis -- 

AI isn’t just a bolt-on anymore—it’s rewriting the rules of SaaS from the ground up. 

In this episode, Standup Hiro co-founder Rob Curtis and tech strategist James Ollerenshaw join host and GTM expert Ken Lempit to unpack how Agentic AI is forcing SaaS leaders to rethink everything: product design, go-to-market, customer trust, and even internal culture.

From natural language interfaces to the rise of AI “co-workers,” they break down why SaaS companies that adapt will dominate—and why bolt-on AI features won't be enough to survive.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• The Age of AI Co-Workers
  Forget copilots. The next SaaS revolution will be about true AI teammates—systems that work with you, not just for you.
• Natural Language is the New UI
  SaaS buyers are expecting to talk, not click. Voice-first experiences and conversational commands will soon be table stakes.
• Trust Is the New Battlefield
  Enterprises are more forgiving of human errors than machine mistakes. To win with AI, SaaS leaders must prove not just capability, but reliability.
• Bolt-Ons vs. Reinvention
  Tacking AI onto legacy products won’t cut it. Companies willing to re-architect around AI-native principles will seize the biggest opportunities.
• Invisible Software is Coming
  Many SaaS tools will fade into the background, powering workflows behind the scenes. The battle for customer love (and margin) starts now.

Heads up: This episode runs longer than usual—but for good reason.
We go deep into the real-world implications of Agentic AI, from product strategy to pricing models, trust, and the future of SaaS UX. If you're a SaaS leader trying to stay ahead of the AI curve, every minute is packed with actionable insights that could reshape how you build, sell, and scale.

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Guest: Sjoerd Handgraaf, Chief Marketing Officer at Sharetribe -- 

The most overlooked growth lever in SaaS? Positioning. 

In this episode, Sharetribe CMO Sjoerd Handgraaf reveals how redefining product positioning transformed their trajectory—and why many SaaS companies are still getting it wrong.

Handgraaf takes us inside Sharetribe’s journey from chasing big logos to doubling down on their true customer: non-technical marketplace founders. Along the way, he shares hard-won insights about product-market fit, AI disruption, and why going “back to basics” in marketing may be more transformational than the next tech trend.

📌 Key Takeaways:

• The Power of Saying No
  Why Sharetribe walks away from enterprise deals—and how that clarity unlocked faster product development, happier customers, and less internal chaos.
• Product-Market Fit is a Moving Target
  What feels like “fit” today can vanish tomorrow. Sjoerd explains why it's not a one-time milestone, but a constant process of adaptation.
• The AI Threat is Real—but Misunderstood
  Low-code and AI-assisted development may lower technical barriers, but they don’t replace the need for reliability, support, and fit-for-purpose tools.
• Content Marketing That Converts
  Sharetribe’s global growth is powered by giving first—through books, podcasts, and resources that attract high-intent buyers before they’re even in-market.
• Global from Day One
  How to build a self-serve SaaS product that scales globally—even from a startup hub like Finland.

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Guest: James D. Wilton, Founder & Managing Partner of Monevate -- 

The advent of AI is forcing a complete rethink of traditional SaaS pricing—particularly the long-standing dominance of user-based pricing. 

In this episode, pricing strategist James Wilton explains why AI-native products are undermining the foundations of per-seat pricing models. 

Unlike traditional SaaS, where users are the proxy for value, AI tools often perform tasks autonomously, disconnecting cost from usage in unpredictable ways. 

As a result, the most value-aligned and sustainable pricing approach for AI-powered platforms is shifting toward usage-based models. 

Wilton argues: "If you’re still defaulting to user-based pricing, you’d better be ready to defend it."

📌 Other Takeaways:

• Misaligned Incentives in AI Pricing
  With AI, the metric that drives cost (compute) is often not the same as the metric that reflects customer value—creating tension between profitability and value-based pricing.
• The Rise of Usage-Based Pricing
  As automation and AI reduce the need for additional users, user-based pricing loses its relevance. Usage-based models offer better alignment with customer value and revenue scalability.
• Customer Expectations Are Changing
  Enterprises prioritize cost predictability. Even in AI-native environments, buyers want fixed pricing or capped usage tiers to maintain budget certainty.
• Real-World Example: Help Scout’s Pivot
  Wilton shares a case study on Help Scout’s move from per-user to “contacts helped” pricing. The shift improved customer satisfaction, better aligned with value delivered, and even offered greater revenue predictability.

📚 James Wilton’s Book:
 Capturing Value: The Definitive Guide to Transforming SaaS Pricing
Get the blueprint for designing pricing that drives both growth and profitability without shortchanging strategy.

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Guests: Ken Lempit, James Ollerenshaw, & Rob Curtis -- 

AI is transforming SaaS—but not in the way most leaders think. 

Forget the headlines claiming "SaaS is dead." The real shift isn't just in tools—it's in how fast software is built, marketed, and bought. 

In this episode, Rob Curtis (VC-backed founder), Ken Lempit (SaaS GTM strategist), and James Ollerenshaw (AI advisor) break down what AI means for the future of SaaS—and why B2B CROs and CMOs need to rethink their strategy now or risk falling behind.

From the death of mid-market software to the rise of agentic AI, they map out how SaaS leaders can adapt, differentiate, and thrive in this new reality.

Key Takeaways:

• Agentic AI is here: Build for agents, not just users.
• The middle is collapsing: Niche depth and data win.
• Ideas now beat execution: Speed favors bold builders.
• Risk fuels innovation: GTM teams lead AI adoption.
• Data is your moat: Structured models drive defensibility.

Ken, Rob, and James offer B2B SaaS leaders a high-level yet practical view of what’s next—and what it’ll take to win in an AI-native world. If you’re a CRO or CMO thinking about survival and scale in 2025, this episode is your blueprint.

Plus, don’t miss:

👉 Rob Curtis’s AI Venture Studio – StandUp Hiro, where he’s building AI-native tools at lightning speed

👉 Rob’s Substack – Future Work, where he shares front-line insights on building in the agentic age

👉 This Crunchbase article on why VCs are betting on Human x AI teams over foundational models

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Guest: Guy Rubin, Founder & CEO at Ebsta -- 

Most B2B SaaS leaders know their top performers carry the team, but few understand why the performance gap keeps widening. 

The reality is that just 14% of reps are now responsible for 80% of revenue, and the gap between A-players and everyone else has grown to 11x. Fixing this isn’t about more training or new tools—it’s about creating consistent, data-driven sales execution across the entire go-to-market team.

In this episode, Guy Rubin, Founder & CEO of Ebsta, shares insights from the 2025 B2B GTM Benchmark Report (in partnership with Pavilion) and explains how SaaS companies can close the performance gap, improve forecast accuracy, and drive revenue by making data and behavior work together.

Key Takeaways:

• Top Performers Win with Consistency: The biggest gap isn’t talent—it’s execution at every stage of the funnel.
• AI Enables Better Selling, Not More Noise: When AI is used to extract insights, not automate spam, it becomes a game-changer.
• Full-Cycle Reps Are Back: 45% of companies are ditching the SDR model in favor of holistic sales ownership.
• Engagement Drives Forecast Accuracy: Momentum scoring predicts risk before it’s too late to course-correct.
• Success = Process + Behavior + Data: Sales isn’t just about gut feel anymore—it’s finally becoming data-driven.

Guy offers CROs and CMOs a blueprint to scale what works, eliminate what doesn’t, and win more consistently—making this episode a must-listen.

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Guest: Srikrishnan Ganesan, Co-Founder & CEO of Rocketlane -- 

Most B2B SaaS leaders know that onboarding is important but underestimate its impact. 

The reality is that 97% of churn at first opportunity is decided in the first 90 days, making onboarding the most critical stage in the customer journey and the defining factor in revenue growth and long-term customer success.

In this episode, Sri Ganesan, Co-Founder and CEO of Rocketlane, shares how SaaS companies can transform onboarding from a fragmented process into a strategic advantage. From community-led growth to automation-driven efficiency, he reveals what top SaaS companies do differently to drive retention, expansion, and revenue acceleration.

Key Takeaways:

• Onboarding Determines Retention & Growth: The first 90 days define whether customers will churn or expand.
• Community-Led Growth Builds Credibility: Building an engaged audience before launch fosters trust and momentum.
• Automation Eliminates Inefficiency: Siloed tools slow teams down; all-in-one platforms drive success.
• Market Validation is Critical: The biggest factor in startup success isn’t the product—it’s picking the right market. 

Sri shares actionable strategies for SaaS CMOs and CROs to create onboarding experiences that drive retention, expansion, and revenue acceleration—making this episode a must-listen.

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Guest: Christina Richards, Fractional CMO & Author of Rise of the AI-Powered CMO -- 

Most B2B marketers think they’re using AI effectively. The reality? Many are barely scratching the surface—and failing to leverage AI as a true revenue driver. 

Christina Richards, fractional CMO and author of Rise of the AI-Powered CMO, breaks down how AI is transforming go-to-market strategies, reshaping demand generation, and redefining the role of marketing leaders in B2B SaaS.

The biggest shift? AI is moving from a tool for efficiency to an autonomous operator, changing how marketers engage customers, optimize campaigns, and drive pipeline growth. Those who fail to adapt will fall behind competitors who are already leveraging AI-driven personalization, predictive lead scoring, and hyper-targeted ad strategies.

Christina shares actionable insights on how B2B CMOs and CROs can embrace AI—not just for automation, but as a strategic advantage to accelerate growth and revenue.

Key Takeaways:

• AI is Now Critical Infrastructure: It’s no longer just a tool for automation—it’s transforming how companies generate revenue.
• CMOs Must Become Revenue Architects: The role of marketing leaders is shifting from brand builders to full-funnel revenue drivers.
• AI-Driven Search is Changing SEO: If your content isn’t optimized for AI-generated search, your audience may never find you.
• Agentic AI is Here: Autonomous AI agents are moving from experiment to execution—marketers must prepare now.
• First-Party Data is a Competitive Advantage: With hyper-personalization on the rise, companies that don’t own their audience data will struggle to compete.

Get ready to rethink your marketing strategy in the age of AI—or risk being left behind.

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Guest: Zach Wright, Co-Founder & CRO of Syft AI -- 

Most sales teams are still stuck in outdated prospecting tactics—mass email sequencing, generic outreach, and hoping something sticks. The reality? These methods are failing fast, and sellers who rely on them are drowning in low response rates and missed pipeline goals.

Zach Wright, co-founder and CRO of Syft AI, breaks down why traditional sales prospecting is broken and what today’s B2B SaaS sellers must do differently to cut through the noise, engage decision-makers, and win more deals.

The biggest mistake? Relying on volume instead of relevance. Buyers are overwhelmed with hundreds of templated emails daily, and most outreach feels impersonal, irrelevant, and easy to ignore. Instead of spamming prospects, Zach shares how AI-driven prospecting helps sales teams pinpoint the right accounts, at the right time, with the right message.

He explains how top sales teams are:

✅ Ditching “spray and pray” prospecting in favor of targeted, intent-driven outreach.
✅ Using AI to surface active buying signals—so reps only reach out when there’s a real need.
✅ Personalizing at scale without relying on ineffective AI-generated fluff.
✅ Bringing cold calling back—and why it’s working better than ever.

If your outbound efforts aren’t converting like they used to, this episode will change the way you think about prospecting—and show you how to start winning more meetings with high-value prospects.

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Guest: Peter Cohan, Author of Doing Discovery -- 

Most sales teams think they’re great at discovery. The reality? About 80% are getting it wrong—and it’s the single biggest reason why deals stall, go to a competitor, or die with “no decision.” 

Peter Cohan, author of Doing Discovery, breaks down why traditional discovery methods are failing and what SaaS sales teams must do differently to uncover real customer value, build compelling business cases, and stop losing winnable deals.

The biggest mistake sellers make? Rushing to the demo before fully quantifying business pain. If you can’t pin down the numbers behind a buyer’s problem and desired outcome, you’re making it nearly impossible for them to justify the purchase—let alone get buy-in from their team.

Peter shares practical strategies to flip the script on outdated discovery calls, avoid the “interrogation” trap, and use discovery to drive urgency, not just collect pain points.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Uncover the Value Gap: The secret to avoiding “no decision” isn’t just probing for pain—it’s quantifying the gap between today’s reality and the desired future state.

✅ Vision Reengineering: Most buyers don’t know what they don’t know. Learn how to introduce new ideas without losing control of the deal or giving away discounts.

✅ Turn Discovery Into a Two-Way Conversation: Stop making prospects feel like they’re on trial—use quid pro quo techniques to make discovery a collaborative process.

Get ready to rethink how you approach discovery—or risk losing more deals than you should.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Ty Tinker, Head of Analytics at AdQuick -- 

What if everything you thought about billboard advertising was wrong? 

Ty Tinker, Head of Analytics at AdQuick, breaks down the myth that out-of-home (OOH) advertising is unmeasurable and outdated. In reality, leading SaaS companies—including Dropbox, Salesforce, and Shopify—are embracing billboards, transit ads, and airport placements to drive brand awareness, accelerate sales cycles, and even generate measurable leads.

Ty reveals how brands are leveraging data science, AI, and sophisticated measurement techniques (beyond old-school QR codes) to track campaign performance. He also shares why smart SaaS marketers are treating OOH as a long-term investment, not just a one-off trade show play.

Key Takeaways:

📊 Out-of-Home Can Be Measured: Advances in mobile device tracking, mixed media modeling (MMM), and causal inference are proving OOH’s impact on website traffic, MQLs, and pipeline growth.

🚀 Credibility Wins Deals: Buyers shortlist SaaS vendors before ever visiting a website. Strategic OOH placements—especially at airports and conferences—ensure your brand is top of mind when it matters most.

🎯 The Right Placement Changes Everything: SaaS brands like Shopify and Shield AI are hyper-targeting decision-makers using billboards in high-traffic business areas, conference zones, and even airport walkways.

Want to see if out-of-home advertising fits your go-to-market strategy? Tune in now!

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Jon Miller, Co-Founder & CEO of a Stealth AI Startup -- 

Jon Miller, co-founder of Marketo and former CMO of Demandbase, argues that B2B marketing’s traditional playbook—built on predictable demand generation, MQL scoring, and SDR-driven outbound—is broken. 

The “gumball machine” approach, where marketers expect predictable revenue by simply feeding in budget and campaigns, no longer works. Buyers have evolved, becoming more resistant to outbound tactics and opting for anonymous research. 

To succeed, revenue leaders must shift from short-term lead generation to long-term brand building, customer experience, and relationships.

Key Takeaways:

🔹 The Death of the MQL Machine: Buyers have learned to avoid traditional lead capture tactics, making it essential to rethink how marketing contributes to revenue​.

🔹 Brand Awareness > Lead Generation: The most successful companies focus on being top-of-mind when buyers do enter a purchasing cycle, rather than scrambling to capture leads in the moment​.

🔹 AI Will Kill the Old Content Playbook: The rise of AI-driven search and inbox filters means generic, mass-produced content won’t cut it. Instead, companies need to invest in original research, experiences, and trusted relationships​.

🔹 New Metrics for Marketing Success: Instead of obsessing over short-term pipeline metrics, CMOs should measure brand perception within key accounts, engagement quality, and community strength​.

This episode is a must-listen for SaaS revenue leaders struggling to adapt their go-to-market strategy in a world where buyers don’t want to be sold to.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Kerry Cunningham, Research & Thought Leadership at 6sense -- 

85% of buyers initiate the first conversation with vendors—on their terms. If your marketing still revolves around capturing leads and pushing outbound sales, you're already behind. 

Kerry Cunningham, Head of Research at 6Sense, shares insights from their Buyer Experience Report 2024, revealing how today’s B2B buyers operate—and why most SaaS companies are out of sync. 

Buyers come into the process knowing who they’ll evaluate, and 90% of the time, they buy from their initial shortlist. If you’re not on it, no amount of sales effort will save you.

🔍 So, what’s the playbook for modern marketing? Kerry explains why demand creation—not just demand capture—is the key to winning future deals. Marketers must move beyond gated content, outbound cadences, and “hunting” leads. Instead, they need to build brand presence early, engage in buyer communities, and ensure their company is top-of-mind long before a purchase is in motion.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Only 1-3% of your ICP is in-market at any given time. Most SaaS companies waste time on buyers who simply aren’t ready.
✅ Buyers ignore cold outreach until they decide to engage. 50% receive calls and emails for weeks (even months) before responding.
✅ Analysts and consultants influence over 80% of SaaS deals. If analyst relations aren’t part of your strategy, you’re missing a major growth lever.

💡 The companies winning today aren’t chasing buyers—they’re positioning themselves as the obvious choice before a buying cycle even starts. Kerry shares how 6Sense does this and how your team can apply these insights to future-proof your marketing.

🎧 Listen now to learn how to shift your strategy for today’s B2B buyer.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Maxwell Nee, CRO at ScoreApp -- 

Maxwell Nee, Chief Revenue Officer of ScoreApp, shares the strategies behind scaling a low ARR SaaS product to 9,000 paying customers worldwide. By leveraging the principles of quiz marketing, ScoreApp turns engagement into actionable insights, driving top-of-funnel lead generation, accelerating sales cycles, and refining customer experiences. 

The platform’s success stems from a relentless focus on understanding user needs before development, validating concepts with 3,000 prospects prior to launch, and building personalized, gamified experiences that deliver measurable value.

Maxwell’s perspective on SaaS growth is rooted in actionable principles: prioritize customer input, focus on enterprise value over personal branding, and invest in scalable systems. 

His advice for marketing leaders emphasizes clarity in messaging, the importance of simple, compelling copy, and always aligning content with the needs and emotions of the target audience.

Key Takeaways:

• Focus on Validation: ScoreApp validated its concept with 3,000 prospective users before launch, ensuring a strong product-market fit from the start.
• Personalization and Gamification Drive Results: Interactive quizzes generate higher engagement and conversion rates by combining self-discovery with actionable insights.
• Clarity Over Complexity: Simplifying messaging and focusing on the audience’s pain points can significantly boost engagement and lead generation.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Ken Lempit, President & Chief Business Builder at Austin Lawrence Group -- 

In this episode, Austin Lawrence Group’s Ken Lempit shares a bold approach to overcoming the inefficiency of traditional advertising campaigns. 

He emphasizes a new strategy: combining foundational customer interviews with rapid, real-time testing via high-frequency organic social media posts. 

This iterative approach helps identify messaging that resonates most with target audiences before significant ad spend, enabling SaaS companies to avoid costly missteps. 

Lempit calls out outdated "ivory tower" methods, where messaging was developed in isolation and assumed durable for years. 

Today, he argues, messaging must evolve constantly based on audience engagement.

Key Takeaways:

1. Real-Time Validation Beats Guesswork: Test messaging in organic social media environments before committing ad budgets. Insights from live engagement can refine campaigns and improve ROI.
2. Messaging Is No Longer Durable: Static messaging fails in today’s dynamic market. Iterative testing ensures campaigns stay relevant and effective.
3. Drive Action with the Cost of Inaction: Instead of focusing on ROI, highlight the risks of staying in the status quo to compel prospects to act.

This practical framework bridges the gap between creative intuition and data-driven decisions, setting a new standard for SaaS advertising.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Steve Brothers, CEO of Splashmetrics -- 

With 77% of millennial buyers avoiding sales interactions until they’ve already made a purchase decision, buyers are consistently clear about what they need: fast, personalized, and self-directed answers. 

Yet vendors stubbornly stick to outdated practices, forcing buyers into their processes rather than meeting them where they are.

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, Steve Brothers, CEO of Splashmetrics, explores how modern B2B buyers are reshaping the sales process—and how many vendors are failing to adapt. 

He discusses how Splashmetrics bridges this gap by enabling companies to deliver tailored, interactive content journeys that put buyers in control while providing sales with critical insights to close deals more effectively.

Key Takeaways:

1. The buyer is in control: Buyers prefer to self-educate, completing 80% of their research before engaging with sales. Vendors must adapt or risk irrelevance.
2. Outdated models kill opportunities: Relying on traditional MQL-driven processes results in 95% of SDR outreach being ignored.
3. TheSplashmetrics solution: The platform allows buyers to “choose their own adventure,” and bridges the sales-marketing divide to create a truly buyer-centric experience.

This episode is a wake-up call for companies still stuck in yesterday’s playbook.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Beth McHugh, Fractional Product Leader -- 

When deals stall, buying committees often default to doing nothing. Why? Because they didn’t all agree that the problem was worth solving. 

In this episode, Beth McHugh explains why pain points alone rarely drive action and how the Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) methodology identifies the “struggling moments” that compel prospects to move forward. These critical moments are when a prospect or team collectively decides that a problem can no longer be ignored.

Beth shares why JTBD is, in her view, the most effective way to uncover the true motivations behind customer decisions. Beyond improving product-market fit, she highlights how JTBD creates alignment across sales, marketing, and product teams, ensuring everyone is focused on what truly matters to customers.

Key Takeaways:

1. Struggling Moments vs. Pain Points: Not all pain points are actionable. JTBD uncovers the struggles customers are motivated to resolve.
2. Driving Differentiation: JTBD helps identify where your product stands out by focusing on the jobs customers are trying to accomplish.
3. Faster Product-Market Validation: With JTBD, you can prioritize development efforts that directly address critical customer needs, reducing wasted resources.

Tune in to learn how to move beyond surface-level insights and position your SaaS offering as the solution customers can’t ignore.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Bob Moesta, Author of “Demand-Side Sales 101”

In this episode, Bob Moesta, author of Demand-Side Sales 101, reveals why uncovering your customers’ “struggling moments” is the single most efficient step for any business. Whether it’s product development, marketing, or sales, understanding the root causes behind why customers make a change transforms every decision you make.

As Bob explains, customers don’t buy products—they hire solutions to make progress. Without a clear struggling moment, there’s no motivation to change, and no sale. By focusing on these moments, you’ll align your entire go-to-market strategy, saving time, money, and effort across teams.

Key Takeaways:

• The Struggling Moment as a Catalyst: Every purchase starts with a struggle. Most companies fail to uncover this because they focus on features or pain points instead of the deeper context driving change.
• Align Teams Around Progress: When marketing, sales, and product understand the customer’s struggle, handoffs disappear, and everyone works toward the same goal—helping the customer progress.
• Most Companies Miss the Mark: 60% of B2B proposals fail due to “no decision.” This happens because companies don’t clearly define or quantify a problem worth solving.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Peter Cohan, Author of “Great Demo!”

Have you ever walked into a software demo, hoping to learn something new, only to sit through a “Harbor Tour” of irrelevant features? 

You’re not alone – and neither are your prospects.

Peter Cohan, author of Great Demo!, joined us on the SaaS Backwards Podcast to unpack the biggest demo mistakes SaaS teams make:

❌ Starting with the how instead of the why
❌ Overloading prospects with unnecessary features
❌ Failing to tailor demos to decision-makers

His solution? Flip your demos upside down. Start with the results your prospects crave, not the laundry list of features.

Peter also shared:
✅ How to identify wasted demos (hint: 30% of them are)
✅ Why "vision generation demos" are the key to nurturing leads
✅ The metrics that show if your demos are working

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Randy Likas, Head of North America Go-to-Market at Nektar

Traditional marketing tactics are losing their edge, with MQLs falling short as costly, outdated signals of real buyer intent.

In this week’s episode, we explore tactics for CROs to tackle the “great ignore” with guest Randy Likas, Head of North America Go-to-Market at Nektar, a revenue efficiency platform that unifies customer interaction data and helps you discover new revenue opportunities.

Randy discusses how CROs must reevaluate their playbooks and processes, focusing on how to re-engineer strategies and redeploy technology to align with emerging trends in buyer behavior–positioning the CRO role as not just operational but transformational.

Key insights you'll gain:

• How changing buyer behaviors, like the "great ignore," are reshaping outreach strategies
• Why MQLs are losing relevance and how to focus on buying groups instead
• How breaking down silos between sales, marketing, and success boosts revenue efficiency

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Isabelle Papoulias, Fractional GTM & Business Operations Executive

Pipeline isn't just a metric—it's a team sport.

But when marketing, sales and customer success work in silos, it creates a fractured buyer journey and practically guarantees you’ll miss opportunities.

So, who should be responsible for driving this cross-functional alignment?

In this episode, fractional GTM leader and business operations executive Isabelle Papoulias  breaks down how SaaS companies can realign their go-to-market teams under unified leadership for faster growth and smarter execution.

Key insights you'll gain:

• How common goals and shared metrics across teams drive alignment
• The benefits of a CCO or CRO with a broad understanding of GTM strategies
• Advice for ditching “lead generation” as a success metric in the enterprise sale

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Guest: Warren Zenna, Founder of The CRO Collective 

Scaling a SaaS company is no walk in the park. 

At a certain point, operational complexity demands more than just growth—it demands cross-functional alignment. Enter the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

In this episode, we dive into the evolving role of the CRO with expert Warren Zenna, founder of The CRO Collective and Zenna Consulting Group, and host of the CRO Spotlight podcast.

Warren unpacks why misalignment between Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success persists—and how the CRO may be uniquely positioned to fix it.

Key insights you'll gain:

• What it means for a SaaS company to be “CRO-ready”
• Why scaling companies make the same costly mistakes—and how to avoid them
• Practical tips for CROs, CMOs, and CEOs to align teams and drive revenue growth

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Pricing and packaging can either bog down your go-to-market engine or fuel it to peak performance.

This week’s SaaS Backwards podcast features Dan Balcauski, Founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, a consultancy that helps high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs define pricing and packaging for new products. 

In this episode, Dan discusses the critical role pricing plays in a SaaS business model and why leadership teams must view it as a dynamic lever, not a "set-it-and-forget-it" element. He dispels the common myth that success hinges solely on what you charge, emphasizing instead that who and how you charge are the real determinants of success.

Breaking this down, Dan walks through the four key elements of SaaS packaging: price metric, price model, offer configurations, and price fences.

Our conversation also explores how to conduct a pricing study, realigning pricing strategies, AI's role in pricing decisions, and the ever-debated topic: should pricing be displayed on the website?

This episode offers actionable insights for SaaS leaders looking to harness pricing as a powerful tool for growth and market alignment.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The impact of pricing and packaging on revenue, profitability, and valuation
• Why pricing is a critical lever for growth in SaaS businesses that shouldn’t be overlooked
• Signs a new CMO or CRO should look for to determine if pricing needs attention at a prospective employer

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Gifting can be a powerful outbound strategy that captures attention far more effectively than an email. 

In this week’s SaaS Backwards podcast episode, we spoke with Kris Rudeegraap, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Sendoso, a gifting and direct mail platform that helps revenue teams 6x second call rates, double win rates, and close deals 29% faster.

Kris shared how his background in software sales and experience with gifting inspired him to create Sendoso. He provided insights into the company’s initial go-to-market strategy, its evolution from a "growth at all costs" mindset to a more efficient, profit-driven approach, and how this shift has shaped its success.

We also discussed common objections and misconceptions about gifting, such as it being “too expensive” or impractical without someone’s address—and how Sendoso addresses these challenges.

Kris backed up Sendoso’s impressive results with client success stories: Gong influenced over $30 million in pipeline by mailing pinatas, Guru improved meeting conversion rates by sending cupcakes, and Verkada saw a remarkable increase in ad conversion rates by offering a Yeti mug as a meeting incentive across social media and LinkedIn campaigns.

Read more Sendoso success stories here and view customer examples here. 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The power of gifting as an outbound strategy
• How Sendoso helps clients select the right gifts for the right people at the right time
• Insights into the fundraising process and the current environment for startups

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Building meaningful connections with individuals using different channels can be more effective than running an ABM program that only provides a shallow understanding of what’s happening within an account. 

In this week’s SaaS Backwards podcast episode, we spoke with Dmitri Lisitski, Co-Founder and CEO at Influ2, a person-based advertising platform that allows you to reach specific people within target accounts and see who interacts with your ads.

Dmitri takes us behind the scenes and discusses how his frustration with imprecise ABM platforms led to the creation of Influ2, which aims to solve this problem by targeting individual decision-makers within an account rather than only providing this broad view.

We discuss the orchestration between sales and marketing and the significance of nurturing relationships over time in enterprise sales. Dmitri explains how the best thing marketing can do for salespeople is target the same account they’re trying to chase and influence their decision, build awareness, and track intent. 

Our conversation also covers the role of thought leadership in generating conversations and supporting the sales process, the impact of AI on content creation, and attribution challenges in B2B marketing.

This episode provides valuable insights for SaaS CEOs, CMOs, and B2B marketing and sales professionals.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The humanization of sales and marketing in the enterprise motion
• Why the use of AI in content development falls flat and what to do instead
• Measuring the impact of advertising on revenue

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

We often emphasize the importance of understanding what’s being talked about in sales conversations to shape content strategy and tell unique, compelling stories.

In this week's SaaS Backwards podcast episode, we talk with Parthi Loganathan, Founder and CEO of Letterdrop, a platform designed to help companies do just that.

Parthi explains how Letterdrop’s AI assists companies in creating content that resonates with more buyers by leveraging the language their customers actually use, cutting down the time and improving the quality of their thought leadership content. 

He also shares how Letterdrop supports SDRs in delivering value and helps companies uncover and understand their customers' unmet needs.

We also discuss the ongoing shift in SEO, the growing focus on LinkedIn, and the decline of traditional outbound sales tactics such as cold calling and cold emailing.

Our conversation with Parthi offers valuable insights for SaaS CEOs, CMOs, and marketing and sales professionals in the B2B space.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The importance of getting context and relevance right before scaling it
• Why cold calling and cold emailing no longer works
• Insights on future opportunities for content on LinkedIn

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

The ability to leverage data and prioritize sales and marketing efforts is essential to the success of enterprises with broad addressable markets.

Recognizing the struggles enterprises face in managing vast amounts of data, this week’s SaaS Backwards podcast guest Elio Narciso, saw an opportunity to improve how sales reps identify targets and prioritize their efforts.

Elio is the Co-founder and CEO of Scalestack, an all-in-one data enrichment, prioritization, and activation platform that allows go-to-market teams to easily map GTM data from many different sources to their ideal customer profile and their sales engine. 

In this episode, Elio gives us a look into Scalestack’s origins. He recounts his background in advising startups at AWS and how it led him to uncover pockets of inefficiency in their go-to-market motions, such as a productivity gap for sales reps and a general dissatisfaction that companies have with their data.

Throughout this episode, Elio reflects on lessons from his past ventures, addresses common sales and marketing challenges, and highlights Scalestack’s mission and capabilities.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How hiring well is essential for scaling startups and managing that scale
• Why focusing on enterprise clients can be advantageous for a startup
• Strategy for building partnerships to reach more potential customers

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Consolidating sales and marketing into the office of the CRO might be a controversial topic, but it can be healthy for demand and sales functions to become enmeshed.

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards podcast, our guest Cliff Simon, CRO of Carabiner Group, explains how aligning demand and sales functions can create a more cohesive and effective go-to-market strategy.

Cliff shares his belief that companies need to have a unified leader at the very top of everything go-to-market. He breaks down how sales and marketing are two sides of the same coin, and why looking at everything through a revenue lens is critical for success.

We also discuss Cliff’s collaboration with Nick Toman, author of The Challenger Customer and Carabiner Group’s Chief Product and Strategy Officer. Cliff highlights Nick’s expertise in market research, referencing his latest report, "Commercial Success in 2025 Hinges on GTM Strategy."

Topics covered in this episode include the evolution of enterprise sales as SaaS companies scale, achieving capital efficiency in go-to-market strategies, and measuring progress in enterprise sales.

Looking for ways Carabiner Group can boost your Revenue Operations? Check out the GTM Tech Stack Audit and Analysis Workbook—a valuable resource for mapping the relationship between your GTM strategies and technology stack.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Advantages of combining sales and marketing under the office of the CRO
• The state of go-to-market and insights on how to achieve capital efficiency
• How to measure progress in the enterprise sale

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

With all the current tools and technology available to salespeople, many have naturally slipped into a less personal approach than what used to be the norm. As a result, their calls and emails are ignored, and they struggle to get quality leads.

This highlights the need to go “back to the future,” or back to the basics, and adopt a personality-driven, people-forward sales approach to cut through the noise.

In this episode, we spoke with Alex Grace, the founder and CEO of Velocity Sales Consulting, about his process when coming into a company as a new sales leader or CRO and how he uncovers why things aren’t going as planned.

Alex calls this a welcome change in sales, stating, “You'll hang up on an SDR that's using a line, but you're not going to hang up on a person that sounds like a person.”

Alex also discusses a common alignment issue between sales and marketing, noting that one can’t exist without the other and how they should be like an old wrestling tag team, working together to reach a common goal.

Overall, Alex shared valuable insights into stepping into a sales leadership role, people’s innate ability to sell, the power of saying no, going back to the basics, and alignment between sales and marketing.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How to take advantage of top salespeople’s skills to help other salespeople on the team to improve
• What KPIs matter and tracking what makes a meaningful conversation
• The consolidation of sales and marketing leadership into the office of the CRO

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

According to this year’s B2B TrustRadius Buying Disconnect Report, where they surveyed 200 B2B brands and over 2000 tech buyers, 2024 is the “year of the brand crisis.”

Across the board, brands are spending 38% on brand marketing and 53% on demand, which is understandable given the shorter time frame to justify ROI. 

The problem is that buyers make decisions based largely on who they’re familiar with, so those who have established recognition and trust over time will be the winners. 

In this episode, we brought back TrustRadius CEO Vinay Bhagat, who discusses how to better integrate brand marketing with demand generation to develop that trust. 

Vinay also stressed the significance of the voice of the customer and the need to activate it across digital channels.

Overall, Vinay shared valuable insights into B2B marketing, the critical role of brand and demand generation, and the strategic use of customer voice and intent data.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The significance of brand recognition in making the shortlist for buyers
• Insights on generating organic traffic by leveraging high-quality user-generated content
• The varying importance of product demos in the sales process

Other resources to check out:

Our Previous Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards Podcast, we spoke with Steve Oriola, CEO of Unbounce, a landing page platform empowering marketers by combining their expertise with AI insights to create and optimize high-converting marketing campaigns. 

Steve discussed Unbounce’s recent acquisition of Insightly, a robust CRM with advanced AI and machine learning capabilities that addresses the needs of mid-sized organizations. He explained how this merger aims to break down silos between marketing and sales, focusing on the entire customer journey rather than departmental divisions.

In this episode, Steve shared his extensive experience in the SaaS industry, particularly in marketing and sales applications, and discussed his role in partnering with founders to help them realize their visions. 

Steve provided insights into potential partnerships with investors as a CEO candidate. He explained that the right investor should have at least one of three things: operating experience, strong pattern recognition, or deference to the operator.

The conversation also touched on capital efficiency in go-to-market strategies. Steve emphasized the need for early investments in marketing and sales to get the flywheel effect, leading to long-term efficiency and growth. 

CEOs and CMOs of SaaS companies and founders considering partnering with investors or bringing in a CEO to help scale their business will find this episode relevant and insightful.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The significance of brand equity in driving business success, especially in competitive markets
• The role of AI in marketing and sales software and the value of machine learning applications in optimizing tasks and decision-making
• The importance of founders partnering with experienced CEOs to scale their businesses effectively

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Paid advertising is often one of the largest budget items for SaaS companies, making it a critical channel for facilitating sales and driving growth.

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards Podcast, we flipped the script and had our very own Ken Lempit, President and Chief Business Builder at Austin Lawrence Group, as the guest. Ken shared his insights on the challenges SaaS companies face in achieving capital efficiency in their go-to-market strategies, particularly focusing on advertising.

Our conversation explores the prospect experience as a foundational element of successful advertising campaigns. Ken discusses key areas where companies have the most control and can significantly impact the prospect experience, including optimizing landing pages and providing sales reps with proper training and resources.

This episode highlights the significance of taking a holistic approach to advertising strategy, continuous optimization, and being hands-on with internal teams and external agencies to ensure advertising budgets are spent effectively.

Ken's insights into diagnosing issues within existing campaigns and media spend and his actionable tips for optimizing advertising performance make this episode an invaluable resource for SaaS marketing leaders and CEOs.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• A holistic model for understanding where advertising touches across the business and how to view all elements that contribute to successful advertising
• Insights into how to diagnose problems in current campaigns
• The importance of looking at the entire prospect experience and optimizing landing pages and follow-up processes

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

To drive sales and growth, SaaS companies need to have clear messaging, target the right prospects, and leverage industry expertise.

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards Podcast, we spoke with Will Robinson, CEO of Encapture, a platform specializing in intelligent document processing for industries like banking, lending, and insurance. 

Will discussed the challenges associated with selling to highly regulated banking institutions and his strategies for overcoming them, emphasizing the importance of building a strong business case and navigating complex decision-making processes.

Our conversation also touched on Encapture’s journey of shifting from a professional services model to a SaaS model, including the changes in culture, sales strategies, marketing approaches, and the integration of AI technology into their product. 

In this episode, Will provides valuable insights for SaaS CEOs on marketing tactics, targeting prospects, and the value of clear and simple messaging.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Strategies for navigating the complex sales cycle in financial institutions
• Effective marketing strategies for generating leads and building credibility
• How SaaS leaders can build trust with potential buyers through simple and relatable messaging

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Listen, assess, plan, execute, iterate. This week’s podcast guest Janet Jaiswal outlines these as the essential steps in developing and implementing successful marketing strategies in the SaaS industry.

Janet Jaiswal is Blueshift's Global VP of Marketing and has 20 years of experience in B2B SaaS marketing, working with companies like IBM, eBay, and PayPal. 

In this episode of SaaS Backwards, she discusses her expertise in scaling companies through effective go-to-market strategies and the importance of process, technology, and skill sets at different stages of a company's growth. 

In our conversation, Janet provides insights into the relationship between SEO and content marketing, the importance of identifying and refining the Ideal Customer Profile, and the critical role of product marketing in driving alignment between marketing and product management. 

Overall, this episode provides a comprehensive look at the strategies and tactics that SaaS marketing leaders can use to drive growth and enhance profitability for their organizations.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The changing landscape of search engine algorithms and the importance of prioritizing content that conveys value quickly
• The challenges and opportunities of ICP expansion and insights into the process
• Why product marketing is crucial when scaling a SaaS company

More Resources from Janet Jaiswal:

• Masterclass on Product Marketing: A deep-dive into Product Marketing for B2B SaaS scale-ups
• Defining your ICP: Discover the optimal approach to identifying your true target market

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

A community can be a "cheat code" for rapid learning and career advancement, and this week’s guest knows that better than most.

In this episode, we had the pleasure of speaking with Kathleen Booth, SVP of Marketing and Growth at Pavilion, the world's largest private community for go-to-market leaders. 

Our conversation explores the concept of community-led growth and how Pavilion encourages this by providing a platform for members to grow their network, sharpen their skills, and develop lifelong connections. 

Overall, Kathleen provides valuable insights into the intersection of community, social media, and growth strategies for SaaS companies. 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The importance of community-led growth for SaaS companies and strategies for leveraging communities to drive growth and engagement
• How CEOs and marketing leaders can use social media to build relationships, drive pipeline, and engage with prospects
• The challenges executives face in prioritizing social media efforts and the need to shift from viewing social media as a "nice to have" to a "must have" for business growth

This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs, CMOs, and marketing professionals looking to leverage community-led growth strategies, enhance their LinkedIn presence, and drive pipeline through organic and personalized outreach.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

The transition from product-led growth (PLG) to an enterprise sales motion is a strategic shift that many SaaS companies are making in order to accelerate growth and enhance profitability. 

This transition is driven by a variety of factors, including the need to scale, reach new markets, and meet the evolving needs of customers. 

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards Podcast, we had the pleasure of hosting Juan Jaysingh, founder and CEO of Zingtree, an AI-enabled customer experience automation platform.

Juan provided insights into why and how his company made the shift from a PLG model to an enterprise sales motion, emphasizing the need to focus on large enterprise customers who benefit the most from Zingtree's complex, no-code workflow solutions. 

In our conversation, Juan detailed the challenges and organizational changes required to make this transition, including adjustments in personnel, product development, and customer service.

Juan's experience and insights provide valuable lessons for CEOs, CMOs, and other professionals in the SaaS industry looking to understand the challenges and strategies involved in transitioning from a product-led growth model to an enterprise sales motion.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Challenges and considerations for SaaS companies transitioning from PLG to enterprise sales
• How to improve customer experience by providing SaaS solutions that can be implemented quickly and show immediate impact
• How Zingtree incorporates AI into its platform to enhance customer support workflows and provide relevant information to agents

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Transitioning from a Product-Led Growth (PLG) motion to an enterprise sales motion requires strategic alignment and effective change management within a SaaS Marketing team.

In this week’s episode, we discussed the challenges and considerations in this transition with Karen Budell, the CMO of Totango + Catalyst, two SaaS software companies collaborating to drive sustainable revenue through customer relationships. 

Budell highlights the significance of grasping the nuances of the buyer's journey and understanding the shift in market dynamics when transitioning from a PLG approach to targeting enterprise customers.

She also focuses on the importance of change management during this transition and tackling challenges head-on to ensure a successful integration and go-to-market strategy. She likened it to moving in with a partner and combining belongings, emphasizing the necessity of open and honest conversations within the team.

This episode also touches on the importance of thought leadership and the role of written content, industry events, and proprietary events in marketing. Executives involved in mergers and acquisitions within the SaaS industry and marketing professionals interested in transitioning marketing strategies from PLG to enterprise sales will find value in Karen’s insights.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Why early learnings, customer feedback, and market insights are essential for crafting a successful merger strategy
• The crucial role thought leadership plays in influencing the buying committee
• The need for alignment, transparency, and clear communication in agency relationships

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

SaaS entrepreneurs must be adaptable and willing to pivot based on feedback and market needs.

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards Podcast, we spoke with Mo Hallaba, the CEO of Datawisp, a company that simplifies data analysis for business users. Mo discusses the challenges he faced in user acquisition for his gaming platform and how a networking group he started for the gaming industry led him to meet his current co-founders.

Mo shares his unconventional journey from finance to entrepreneurship and discusses the unique challenges and rewards of starting a SaaS business.

Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into the entrepreneurial journey, the importance of adaptability, and the strategies for building and growing a successful SaaS company.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Why starting a networking group can be a valuable strategy for driving opportunities and connections in the SaaS industry
• How being open to pivoting and making adjustments based on market feedback can lead to finding product-market fit
• How conducting demos as data consultations can lead to more targeted and efficient sales processes

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

With the growing frustration among marketers with traditional pay-per-click and social media advertising, what can a SaaS CMO do to get their message in front of the right people at the right time?

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards Podcast, Co-Founder and CEO of SparkToro Rand Fishkin joins us to discuss how they’re solving this problem by providing valuable data on where to reach target audiences outside major platforms like Google and Facebook. 

SparkToro is a market research and audience intelligence tool designed to help small and medium businesses, independent entrepreneurs, and challenger brands uncover the publications and people influencing their target audiences.

Rand discusses the challenges and opportunities in the current marketing landscape, emphasizing the need to return to traditional media planning and the importance of investing in sources of influence beyond the big platforms. 

He also touches on the recent leak of Google's Content Warehouse API and its implications for SEO, stressing the importance of earning media and retaining valuable content creators.

Our conversation with Rand covers audience research, marketing strategies, team building, content marketing, AI impact, SEO, and predictions for the future of marketing. This episode provides a wealth of insights for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to navigate the evolving marketing landscape and leverage audience research to drive growth. 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How having known and trusted team members, like co-founders, can reduce risk and improve the success of a startup
• The importance of thought leadership in content marketing and the need to create content that resonates with amplifiers, not just customers
• SEO and link-building strategies and the importance of focusing on quality links from pages that receive traffic rather than just acquiring links from various domains

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Utilizing the network effect by onboarding partners of customers simultaneously can lead to organic growth and increased platform adoption in SaaS companies. 

In this episode, Doug Heckman, Chief Solutions Officer at Surefront, discusses how they leveraged the network effect to drive and accelerate the adoption of their collaborative platform. By providing a no-cost license to every partner of their customers and handling the onboarding and training process at their own expense, Surefront facilitated a seamless transition for all parties involved. 

Doug also highlights his passion for solving "unsexy" but critical problems in the industry. The conversation provides deep insights into Surefront's journey, challenges, and innovative strategies to achieve success.

This episode is ideal for individuals involved in enterprise software solutions and CEOs and CMOs of B2B SaaS firms looking for strategies to drive their businesses forward and accelerate growth.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How a deep commitment to customer success, especially at the enterprise level, can drive outsized growth and reputational benefits
• Strategies to push customers off the status quo, including demonstrating the ROI of adopting a solution and highlighting the costs of doing nothing
• How focusing on decision support content and targeting customers further down the buying cycle can lead to more impactful SaaS marketing efforts

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

The role of thought leadership is changing in content marketing, especially for SaaS companies. 

In this special episode hosted by Jason Myers, our usual host Ken Lempit, President and Chief Strategist of Austin Lawrence, takes the guest seat to dive deep into the evolving landscape of content marketing and thought leadership for SaaS companies. 

Ken and Jason discuss the shift towards creating high-quality, credible content that can truly engage and move prospects off their status quo, driven by an increasing demand for authenticity and value from consumers.

The duo also delves into the importance of meaningful conversations and the need for sales and marketing teams to work closely together. They emphasize the value of understanding buyer motivations to refine messaging and go-to-market strategies and create content that addresses their specific problems and needs.

Ken and Jason’s insightful discussion covers thought leadership, content marketing, outbound sales motions, integrated marketing and sales approaches, and the changing landscape of B2B advertising. 

This episode is ideal for CMOs, CEOs, and SaaS industry sales professionals looking to accelerate growth, enhance profitability, and drive meaningful conversations with their target audience. 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How to effectively attract and engage prospects with thought leadership content
• Why SaaS companies should reassess their content strategies in favor of how-to guides, infographics, and in-person experiences
• How to adapt to the increased necessity of paid promotion and advertising

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

In SaaS companies, there’s a need for sales and marketing teams to work together closely toward common goals and understand each other’s perspectives.

Amy Osmond Cook, co-founder and CMO at Fullcast recognizes this need. Fullcast’s platform ensures all teams can access the same data to establish seamless communication and strategic alignment, eliminating revenue pain points and improving overall business efficiency.

In this episode, Amy shares her journey from running a marketing agency to co-founding Fullcast and her experience as a woman in the C-Suite, offering advice to her younger self and women executives.

Amy also dives into her extensive experiences as a fractional CMO and the advantages it offers SaaS startups, such as cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and the ability to scale operations up or down as needed.

This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs, CMOs, and startup founders looking to optimize their revenue operations, align sales and marketing efforts, and gain insights into the benefits of fractional CMO leadership.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The positive impact of effective revenue operations on SaaS companies
• How effective marketing in early stages can accelerate growth and ensure long-term success for SaaS startups
• The importance of perseverance and adaptability for women in leadership positions

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Building a strong foundation is essential for long-term business success, especially when faced with unexpected challenges. 

We spoke with Dave Dittenber, Co-Founder and CEO of BYOD, who faced the ultimate challenge with the unexpected passing of his Co-Founder, Frank Luijckx. He recounts the loss and emphasizes how Frank’s forward-thinking and meticulous planning had a lasting positive impact on the business’s trajectory and contributed to its continued success.

In this episode, Dave shares his remarkable journey from starting as a dishwasher at age 12 to becoming the CEO of a cutting-edge AI SaaS company that powers Mabel, the first virtual restaurant assistant. 

He also provides personal insights into the challenges and strategies of funding a tech startup, stressing the importance of prudent financial planning and maintaining investor confidence through transparency and strategic growth.

This episode provides CEOs and CMOs in the SaaS industry insights into the challenges faced by restaurant operators, the importance of leveraging technology to improve operations, strategies for accelerating growth and enhancing profitability, and valuable lessons on funding, sales, and navigating through tough times in business. 

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How active participation in industry associations offers key insights, connections, and mentorship for software entrepreneurs
• How transparency with investors helps build trust and drive business growth
• The importance of thorough documentation, recovery plans, and strategic playbooks

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Building a business with the intention of a future sale requires meticulous planning and organization from the outset. 

In this episode, Payment Brokers Founder and CEO Jeremy Lessaris, a serial founder with multiple successful exits, emphasizes the importance of the early organization of books, records, contracts, and agreements as a critical factor in boosting valuation and streamlining the exit process.

Jeremy also stresses the significance of maintaining a well-organized data room for due diligence during a business sale. He recommends creating a dashboard with KPIs and metrics to provide a clear overview of the company's performance and demonstrate the business's progress to potential buyers.

Throughout this episode, Jeremy explains how SaaS entrepreneurs can position their companies for a seamless exit process and maximize their valuation when it comes time to sell.

This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs seeking strategies for accelerating growth, enhancing profitability, and understanding the importance of building a business with a focus on revenue and profitability from the start.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Focusing on revenue generation early 
• Keeping costs low while striving to reach revenue milestones
• The value of mentorship in helping entrepreneurs navigate business challenges

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Enterprise search has been around for quite some time, and it often conjures images of outdated intranet searches within the confines of an organization's internal networks.

So how do you shift the focus from “old school” methods to a more dynamic, AI-powered approach that connects various applications, enabling intelligent query responses and contextually relevant summaries?

That’s the gist of the conversation with Brandon Most, Head of Marketing at GoLinks. In this episode, he also delves into the unique challenges of marketing multiple products with distinct brand identities and how to manage this strategically within the market's shifting dynamics.

Overall, this episode covers product-led growth, enterprise search solutions, marketing strategies, analyst relations, and the importance of professional networking. CEOs, CMOs, and professionals in the SaaS industry, especially those interested in innovative marketing approaches, product differentiation, and building strong industry connections, can benefit from Brandon's practical advice and experiences.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• The transition from a product-led growth model to an enterprise motion, adapting to market changes and budget shifts.
• The nuances of executing a multi-product marketing strategy and the importance of qualified pipeline metrics over mere volume.
• The role of peer review sites in generating demand and supporting SEO efforts.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

With a startling low average tenure of 18 months, today’s Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is struggling. 

The pressure primarily stems from the need to drive growth in a capital-efficient manner. This includes rapidly accelerating revenue growth while managing and optimizing the cost of sales and marketing operations, often within a constrained budget or shifting economic conditions. 

It's this intense focus on both top-line growth and cost efficiency that’s contributing to the high turnover and short average tenure of CROs, as they must quickly demonstrate success in these areas.

So, what can they do about it?

In this episode, Guy Mounier, Co-founder and CEO of Aptivio returns to the podcast to talk about:

• How CROs can gain the visibility they need into their go-to-market motion so they can pull the right levers
• Why working with recruiters may help to ensure a company is ready for a CRO before hiring
• What the future sales tech stack and use of AI may look like

Sales leaders, especially CROs, looking to improve their organization's revenue growth and profitability can benefit greatly from this episode. The insights shared provide valuable information on how CROs can optimize their go-to-market strategies and leverage technology to drive success in their organizations.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

We all know video is important to grow exposure, but creating enough is still challenging. The tools are complex, production is expensive, and it can be overwhelming just to come up with ideas.

In this episode, Aug X Labs founder Jeremy Toeman talks about his personal frustration with the complex tools just to make basic videos that can be used on websites and in social media posts that led to the creation of the company.

And their goal is to make video creation as simple as writing an email. Try it out at meetaugie.com

The platform allows users to generate videos using AI, without facing a blank canvas.

But as with most startups, the road has not been a straightforward one, and we discussed the challenges of founding and growing a startup, particularly in the tough fundraising climate of 2023, the launch of ChatGPT, and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. 

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• How to be prepared for challenges and setbacks in the startup journey and having the stamina to persevere
• How Toeman created playbooks to deal with unexpected challenges
• Staying focused on the core mission of the company despite setbacks

The episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to accelerate growth and enhance profitability in their companies. It provides insights into the challenges faced by startups, fundraising strategies, and the use of AI technology in video creation.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

---

Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

If you went to the doctor for a sore throat and she said, “Last time I had one, this is what helped me get better” versus “I looked at the clinical trial evidence for 5000 people with your symptoms in your age range, geographics, and background,” which of those solutions is more viable?

That’s how Sahil Patel, CEO of Spiralyze views the world of A/B testing. 

Spiralyze crawls and scrapes 34,000 websites that A/B test to find the repeat winners, analyze why they won, and run those same tests for its clients.

And the results are impressive–they often demonstrate a 20 to 30 percent lift in conversions from the traffic they’re already getting. 

Even their homepage message guarantees a 30% conversion lift in 90 days.

Having been a client of Spiralyze at his previous company, Patel’s journey as their CEO harkens back to Victor Kiam’s famous 1979 ad boasting that he liked Remington razors so much that he “bought the company.”

This episode is ideal for CEOs and CMOs of B2B SaaS companies looking to gain insights on conversion rate optimization, A/B testing, and making specific quantitative claims to attract and convert leads effectively.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• Is that video on your homepage hero helping you or hurting you?
• Why an email box next to your demo CTA will convert higher than sending to a landing page
• Why making bold, quantitative, and specific claims on your website will boost your credibility

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Feedback is not just a tool for improving products, but a strategic asset that can drive growth, innovation, and competitive advantage.

In this episode, Satya Ganni, CEO of Beamer and Userflow, explains the importance of feedback in reducing churn in product-led SaaS companies. 

Feedback provides valuable insights into customer needs, preferences, and pain points, which makes it a critical component of product management success. 

By listening to customer feedback, Beamer is able to identify areas for improvement, prioritize feature development, make informed decisions about product strategy, reduce churn, and drive success.

Actively soliciting and incorporating customer feedback can also help companies ensure that their products meet their target audience's needs and continuously improve to stay ahead of the competition.

Additionally, Satya discusses the recent merger of Beamer and Userflow, two product adoption and engagement platforms for product-led SaaS companies, to create a leading platform in their industry.

This episode includes insights on customer feedback, reducing churn, and the key pillars of PLG, making it valuable for entrepreneurs and executives looking to enhance their product adoption and engagement strategies in the SaaS industry.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The challenges and opportunities of merging Beamer and Userflow
• The foundational pillars that product-led SaaS companies should prioritize to achieve success
• How addressing churn factors helps retain customers and build long-term relationships

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

In this episode, we delved into the transformative power of algorithms in business with Jason Radisson, CEO & founder of Movo, a platform that provides real-time scheduling flexibility and improved workforce management for large companies with frontline workers.

Jason recounted his time at Harrah's Entertainment, where they used data to optimize customer interactions and significantly increase profitability over others on the strip. He explains how his background in algorithmic management has influenced his approach to business models.

Jason also shares his thoughts on combatting SaaS churn by identifying the root causes and understanding customer behavior to accurately predict and deal with it proactively.

This episode covers algorithmic management, churn reduction strategies, the gig economy, and innovative solutions for optimizing workforce management. SaaS CEOs and CMOs interested in understanding the intersection of technology, workforce management, and operational efficiency would find valuable insights in this episode.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• The importance of modeling and forecasting to drive profitability, especially in the context of reducing churn
• Building models to predict customer behavior to leverage marketing spend
• The challenges and opportunities of the gig economy

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

As a startup with shaky product market fit, prospective customers often want to associate you with a mature category so they can determine where it might fit in their tech stack—or not.

But for Warmly, the existing categories represented only a small subset of their capabilities—albeit cheaper than the mature tools.

And they couldn’t just settle for being known as "Drift but cheaper.”

In this episode, Alan Zhao details his transition from CTO to marketing chief, a move that was pivotal in steering Warmly’s narrative away from established market constructs and taking control over the narrative that would differentiate itself from the myriad of sales tools on the market.

This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to accelerate growth and enhance profitability through autonomous revenue orchestration and AI chat solutions.

Other key takeaways from this episode:

• The pros and cons of “category creation” to set yourself apart from competitors
• The importance of tailoring your message to address specific pain points for each segment
• How to better understand the buyer journey of the 95% of those who visit your website but don’t fill out a form

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

As a seasoned sales expert and popular sales podcaster, Brian Burns has more than a few opinions about how companies are selling to the enterprise today.

Most notably, because reps haven’t been taught the difference, they try to make up for the lack of pipeline by increasing outreach activity.

That may have worked in 2011 when the Predictable Revenue Model gained prominence (and our inboxes weren’t flooded with sales pitches).

But today, the compartmentalization of prospecting and closing won’t result in more complex deals, where decisions are ruled by committees and often end in “no decision.”

In this episode, Burns talks about how today’s reps should be learning about selling in the enterprise, such as working with champions and how to continuously move the deal forward.

This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to enhance growth and profitability in enterprise SaaS sales.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Why much of the complex deal is counterintuitive and relies on guiding the sale instead of reacting.
• Why measuring outcomes that lead to revenue generation is more important than tracking activities that may not directly contribute to sales.
• Why you shouldn’t hire salespeople based on their Rolodex (or industry connections for the youngsters).

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Originally, the founders of Plytix set out to create an analytics platform for e-commerce that measured the performance of a product (instead of a website) so brands could see how end users interact with them, even when sold on a third-party website. 

But even after positive early traction and investment, they were stalled—many of the brands didn’t have their product information at the ready.

So, they built a simple source of truth—a Product Information Management (PIM) so they could get access to the product information that they needed. 

As it turns out, that was the larger need from SMBs—a PIM they could afford. 

After realizing the broader market opportunity, Plytix leaders made some hard choices and pivoted. 

This episode of SaaS Backwards is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to accelerate growth and enhance profitability, especially those interested in PIM systems for small and medium-sized businesses.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• The nuances of being a European-based SaaS targeting the US market
• The importance of understanding the customer creation engine before implementing an attribution model
• The challenges of scaling beyond the ceiling of just in-market leads

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Having moved from a miserable culture in investment banking to an incredibly positive one at tech startup ZipRecruiter, Jonathan Fields learned early in his career the profound impact culture has on an organization.

So inspired, in fact, that he and his co-founders worked nights and weekends to create a platform that could make those elements scalable and easy for companies to adopt.

The result is Assembly, a platform that focuses on creating opportunities for coworkers to connect beyond work-related tasks has enhanced the overall employee experience and fostered a sense of community within organizations.

Initially, when they surveyed people about what they want from work culture, there weren’t a lot of surprises: they want to feel recognized, appreciated, and acknowledged for their hard work. They also want mentorship and career development opportunities.

But as companies moved to more hybrid work during the pandemic (and remain so today), one new concept dwarfed the others in comparison: the “work best friend.”

So, to emulate those types of interactions in their platform (beyond Zoom happy hours), they created channels for culture ideas, such as pets, volunteering, and favorite company moments channels, to facilitate interactions between coworkers beyond work-related tasks.

Profitable since day one, Assembly has successfully positioned itself as a thought leader by focusing on content development early and today has attracted $14.5M in funding.

This episode is ideal for SaaS CEOs and CMOs looking to accelerate growth and enhance profitability through employee recognition, engagement, and rewards platforms.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• How investing in thought leadership and content creation early helped establish credibility and drove sales inbound.
• How to position your SaaS as a “must have” versus a “nice-to-have”
• The importance of researching the landscape, competitors, and buyers before diving into a venture.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Are you making one or more of these mistakes in your messaging?

Given the number of websites that we review regularly, chances are that you are—and that means leaving revenue on the table.

In this episode, Ken and Jason from Austin Lawrence Group discuss the eight common mistakes that SaaS companies make with real-life examples.

So if you’re a SaaS CEO or CMO revisiting messaging and content strategy this year, or you’re frustrated with the quality of leads coming through your website, this episode is for you.

A few key takeaways:

• How to avoid making vague statements that cause cognitive dissonance with some prospective buyers.
• Why you shouldn’t lead with AI 
• Why it’s crucial to gain problem agreement by clearly identifying and addressing the problem they’re trying to solve.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Business development poses big challenges for today’s SaaS.

It becomes twice as ineffective every year as people learn how to ignore you.

And it’s such a grind that it’s hard to find good people who want to stick with the sales development rep (SDR) position over the long term.

To get engagement on the phone today takes the right experience, technology, and triggers.

That’s why we sat down with Gabriel Lullo, CEO of Alleyoop, an outsourced SDR service that specializes in lead generation and relationship management to talk about the future of outbound prospecting and whether or not it’s a good idea to outsource this function.

They realize that clients may want to move this function in-house, and so they train their SDRs to eventually take a full-time position in that role.

This episode is ideal for entrepreneurs, CEOs, and sales professionals looking to enhance their outbound calling strategies and understand the importance of outsourcing SDR functions.

Key takeaways from this episode: 

• While cold calling is not dead, the skill sets required to make it work are paramount—they must be prepared, sound human, and sell the appointment rather than the product.
• Whether through marketing or an SDR function, nurturing leads is critical to long-term success and will probably not be done adequately by an account executive on quota.
• Gabe also shares his vision for the future of SDR, where nurturing and following up with leads will continue to be crucial, and where AI will serve as an enhancement rather than a replacement for human interaction.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

We’ve all been frustrated by those pesky ads that pop up when trying to read an article.

We understand that publishers are trying to capture more of that lost ad revenue, but the solution is not to create such a poor experience that it drives consumers away.

And the rise of ad blockers is not the only problem for publishers.

The decline of traditional tracking methods due to privacy regulations and browser changes, such as the death of the cookie, threatens the business model even more.

Dan Rua, CEO of Admiral, believes that both publishers and visitors need to care more about each other. 

Through their Visitor Relationship Management platform (VRM), publishers can offer visitors different value exchanges based on their preferences, such as ad-free experiences, email relationships, or subscriptions. 

The results for publishers are a no-brainer, receiving an almost immediate return on investment for many. 

Other key takeaways from this episode:

• Focus on solving specific problems first – Admiral started with ad block recovery as their beachhead and became the best in the world.
• How they went from founder-led sales to a scalable machine once they’d achieved product-market fit.
• The benefits of having a strong product team as founders and how they understood everything that’s needed to contribute to revenue early on. 

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

In this episode, SaaS Backwards host Ken Lempit switches places to the guest seat to discuss upcoming trends in SaaS marketing for the new year and what companies will have to do to be successful.

Ken is the Chief Strategist of the Austin Lawrence Group, a growth marketing agency specializing in B2B SaaS, and has a 30-year track record in software marketing.

The key areas discussed include:

1. As outbound prospecting gets harder, how will companies be successful?
2. How will sales and marketing KPIs shift toward more meaningful measurements?
3. Will traditional techniques like postal mail and custom publishing make a comeback?
4. And will generative AI take its place as a tool instead of a replacement for people?

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Pricing is often the most overlooked “P” in the SaaS marketing mix. We see it in our marketing practice often.

Companies may be averse to raising prices for fear of losing customers, focusing on other priorities like product development, or simply don’t understand the impact on the business.

In this episode, we caught up with Pat Meegan, Senior Partner at Maple Street Advisors, who talks about assessing the opportunity for pricing growth regularly by looking at four key indicators: 

1. Leadership doesn't have a clear pricing strategy that everyone can point to and have confidence in.
2. Inactivity in pricing for a significant period (six months to a year).
3. Market data that indicates the potential for better pricing or an optimized pricing structure.
4. Value-added to the product without corresponding pricing adjustments

And given the risks such as customer churn or dissatisfaction, Meegan provides insights into how companies can approach pricing to drive growth and satisfy both their customers and investors.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• How to evaluate a DIY approach to pricing or bringing in an external advisor
• How to determine if pricing is a lever you can pull for growth and profitability
• How to pressure test new pricing strategies to mitigate churn risk

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

When going through a repetitive and time-consuming mortgage application process in 2017, Mang-Git Ng was surprised that the process wasn’t automated.

He realized that there were many industries that still operated in the internet dark ages and that moving all these PDFs and paper documents to online forms could solve a major problem.

But after he and his co-founder had built their initial product, they struggled to gain traction, especially with limited sales and marketing experience. 

Through much experimentation, they started identifying patterns in their customer base and certain industries (like human resources workforce management and insurance) that had a need for generating, processing, and signing documents, and their product was a great solution. 

By focusing on these verticals, Anvil was able to deeply understand the challenges and language used in these industries, allowing them to speak to their target customers more effectively. 

Six years later, Anvil is a seven-figure ARR SaaS company that has raised $10M in funding.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Finding patterns in your customer base that can be exploited for niche-based selling
• How to sell to companies that are resistant to change
• Why you should focus on sales and marketing early in the process

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

Because of the challenges in the current financing environment and the cautious approach of strategic buyers and private equity firms for SaaS companies, we invited Marty Magida on to discuss practical strategies to enhance company value and navigate the complexities of the M&A market.

Magida is the managing director of Berkery, Noyes & Co an independent investment bank providing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory to middle-market leaders in the global information, software, services, and technology industries.

Marty advises listeners to stay informed about industry trends, cultivate relationships with potential buyers, and pay attention to the metrics that drive acquisitions.

It’s a must listen for all SaaS leaders that plan to raise funding, exit the business or participate in a merger or acquisition.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• Manage risk profile by reducing concentration and striving to be asset light.
• Improve consistency of results by focusing on recurring revenue and making it costly for customers to switch.
• Maximize value by building a strong management team, ensuring reliable financial reporting, and cultivating relationships with potential buyers.

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

You’ve probably never thought about what goes on behind the scenes when you return a product, but there’s a lot to it.

In this episode of the SaaS Backwards podcast, Chuck Fuerst, CMO at ReverseLogix, gives a look behind the scenes at some of the challenges and opportunities in the returns management system category.

And because it’s so complicated, their go-to-market strategy requires problem agreement to be considered. And because companies enter different stages of problem awareness, the company has adopted a modular approach to pricing and packaging that allows them to take advantage of a land-and-expand strategy. 

Overall, the Fuerst emphasizes their need to stay close to customers, understand their pain points, and deliver value through a comprehensive solution that addresses their needs one step at a time.

Key Takeaways from this episode:

• How active listening shapes their messaging and positioning 
• Building credibility and validation through analyst relations
• How ReverseLogix takes a modular approach to pricing to fit their land and expand strategy

Other resources to check out:

Interview with Vinay Bhagat, Founder and CEO of TrustRadius who publishes a yearly report about how B2B buyer behavior is changing.

The Lead Gen Mistake I Guarantee You’re Making – how to create content that better identifies intent from today’s b2b buyer.

And, if you want an outside look at your content with actionable advice, take advantage of our Content Audit. Valued at $20K in free consulting.

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Stalled pipeline? Lost deals? Diagnose your GTM gaps with a free, actionable checkup. 

🔗 Get your free SaaS GTM Checkup 

You may have noticed that deals today take longer to close and scrutinized heavily.

So, what do SaaS companies need to do?

Spencer Dent, Founder of Clozd says to make sure you understand the how the decision-making process, people involved, and priorities have changed. 

And since the CFO plays a bigger role, it’s less about ease of integration and more about the bottom line—and you’d better be ready to prove it.

Key takeaways:

• Are ROI calculators worth it anymore? With people caring more about potential loss versus gain.
• Determining the narrative customers must believe for your solution to be a good decision.
• How should win/loss analysis impact your positioning and messaging. 

Other resources to check out: