Tim Busa

The best Linkedin post ever written about Enterprise Sales. 👇 It’s HARD to break into enterprise accounts. It takes longer than you want. But here’s the good news… Once you get them live — the resources dedicated to making your solution work, the complexity of measurement, and the rigor around process leads to impactful outcomes. We just did a 30-day post launch retro with a $20BN+ public company and the stats speak for themselves: - 28 meetings booked with target accounts while only rolled out to a small subset of their sales team - This should equate to north of $3.5-4m in pipeline in the next few weeks - $1m in influenced closed WON revenue (these were existing opps where new uncovered relationships influenced deals) Selling to true enterprise companies is not easy. But they are often EASIER to serve and highly invested in the success of your project. It’s worth the effort.

1,238

92 Comments

Value-based selling isn’t about lowering prices. It’s about raising the standard. Most reps struggle not because they’re bad sellers… but because they never learned how to run real discovery, uncover a value wedge, or tie outcomes to business impact. In this episode of GTM Unfiltered, I break down the art of selling value — not discounts.

28

10 Comments

Marketing leaders who only run campaigns are obsolete. Most CMOs are glorified brand managers... They can drive awareness, spin up a campaign, or polish a deck. But the future GTM leader? 👉 Part operator 👉 Part product strategist 👉 Part revenue architect If you don’t understand how the product P&L works, you won’t have a seat at the table in 3 years. Do you think marketing leaders should be trained more like general managers than campaign managers?

38

2 Comments

Buffer sends emails to let inactive customers know they will cancel their accounts before renewal. I love to see this. But besides being the right thing to do, let me give you some data around the zombie revenue situation. A decade ago, I was sitting in a board room and an executive comes in flustered. “We have $2.2 million in annual zombie revenue. Customers who haven’t logged in a single time in over 6 months” We all discussed what to do. Ultimately, we took a risk, and we sent an email, letting these folks know we were happy to cancel their accounts if they weren’t finding value or not able to use the platform any more. And you know what happened? ->$800k / $2.2M never responded to the email (36%). We cancelled those accounts and lost that revenue. The rest wanted to stick around. We got in touch via email or phone. Some had blockers for us to address, some were seasonal businesses, some just were underwater busy. But the amount of goodwill, expansion and accounts saved this led to over the next 12 months was remarkable. We easily replaced the revenue lost and built hundreds of champions in the process. I have no doubt Buffer likewise benefits from this act of goodwill, which is extension of a clear brand ethos they continually show (I covered Buffer’s radical transparency page that shares everything from revenue to salaries just a few weeks ago). Good on them, and hope to see more of this.

321

45 Comments

It's event season. And we as vendors want to get those prospects talking to us, but remember they have trauma from past events... So stop treating event attendees like Leads. Start treating them like people with trauma. Your prospects haven't forgotten being treated like walking badges to be scanned. They remember every empty promise, every salesperson who talked over them, and every "personalized" follow-up that proved you weren't listening. This isn't just annoying to them, it's a breach of professional trust that makes your brand instantly forgettable in a sea of competition. How I have borken the cycle: 𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: • Start by asking about THEIR specific challenge • Really listen to their problems vs jumping in with solutions • Ask what would the impact be to the business/them if the problem is solved • Share a takeaway resource they can use tomorrow, whether they buy from you or not    𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁: •  Follow with specific challenge & language they mentioned when they stopped by • Provide content that helps them see how their world would be if they solved their problem • Share assets that highlight how peers/influencers/thought leaders are thinking about the space • Focus on expanding and delivering value, not starting the sales process It's about consistently demonstrating value and respecting their experience. This takes you from "another vendor" into a trusted resource they WANT to engage with long after the conference ends.

69

3 Comments

If your CSMs think like Account Managers, you’ll retain revenue. If they think like CEOs, you’ll multiply it. Let me explain Most CSMs are trained to serve customers. Few are empowered to lead outcomes. Account Managers ask, “How can I help?” CEO minded CSMs ask, “What is blocking your growth this quarter?” The difference? One reacts to problems. The other shapes strategy. When your team starts thinking like CEOs  • They stop chasing renewals and start owning business impact.  • They connect customer goals to product investments.  • They turn every QBR into a boardroom conversation. That’s when Customer Success shifts from being a cost center to a growth multiplier. I once worked with a CSM who turned a renewal conversation into a co-innovation deal not by upselling but by reframing the value her customer was missing. That single move added $1.2M in expansion ARR. That’s what happens when your CSMs stop managing accounts and start running portfolios. The future belongs to commercially confident, product fluent, growth focused CSMs; the ones who lead with business acumen, not activity reports. If you are building your next gen CS org Are your CSMs being trained to think like operators or like CEOs?

179

55 Comments

Stop wondering if your reps are "busy enough." Start measuring their AOO Capacity. 📊 Active Open Opportunities (AOO) = the real workload of a sales rep. Instead of focusing only on pipeline coverage, great revenue teams look at how many open, actively worked opportunities a rep can effectively manage at any given time. Here's how you calculate AOO Capacity per Rep: 1️⃣ Define “active” — Opportunities where the rep is actively engaging (meetings booked, emails sent, calls made) within a set window (e.g., past 30 days). 2️⃣ Measure total active opps per rep — Not total opps, not all pipeline — only those truly being worked. 3️⃣ Benchmark performance — ✅ At what AOO count does rep conversion start to drop? ✅ Where’s the sweet spot where reps are stretched but not overloaded? 4️⃣ Use it to guide planning — 📈 How many reps do you really need to hit next quarter’s pipeline goals? 🚥 When should marketing throttle up/down inbound demand? 🛑 When should managers redistribute accounts? Example: Top reps might efficiently handle 15–20 AOOs at once Mid-level reps might cap out at 10–12 New reps might only manage 5–7 before quality slips If your reps are stuck at 5 open active opps... 👀 You don't have a performance problem. You have a pipeline problem. If your reps are managing 25+ active opps but nothing is closing... 👀 You don't have a pipeline problem. You have a focus problem.  ________________ ♻️ Share this with your network ➕ Follow Benoîte Yver for more. #Revops #Sales #B2BMarketing #CEO #COO #GrowthMarketing #MarketingLeadership #DemandGen #Sales #SaaS

11

Hot take: We’re over investing in sales and undervaluing marketing. The reality is 👇 → Cold outreach interrupts. Great marketing gets invited in. → Buyers don’t want to be guided, they want to explore on their terms. → Your sales team will perform 100x better with a foundation built by marketing. → Sales scripts feel forced. Storytelling feels human. (hello content) → One impactful marketing moment > 100 cold calls. → Most deals are closed before sales even gets involved.. thanks to marketing. (I said what I said) Sales is essential, but too often, marketing gets treated like the warm up act. And that’s a mistake. Today’s buyers self educate, self qualify, and self serve. And the engine behind that shift? Marketing. 👋 Before you drop another $30K on AI dialers.. make sure your marketing is up to par.

289

40 Comments

Companies say they want CSMs to "drive value, not just revenue." Then they turn around and pay them like glorified support reps. Here’s where the math ain’t mathing: You expect CSMs to own renewals, drive expansion, and increase product adoption… ...but you comp them like customer service agents with a small retention bonus. 🤷🏻‍♂️ That’s a fundamental misalignment. The best revenue leaders don’t just pay CSMs more. They pay them differently: - Base salaries at AE-level (or close). Treat them as revenue drivers, not cost centers. - Variable comp split: 50% retention, 50% expansion. Lagging (GRR/NRR) and leading (upsells, adoption). - Clear line between CSM & AM. CSM = Expansion & retention. AM = Negotiation & new product cross-sell. Too many companies lowball their CSMs, then wonder why: - Retention tanks. - Growth stalls. - Top CSMs quit to become AEs. If you want CSMs to act like revenue drivers, pay them like revenue drivers. It’s not a cost. It’s a growth strategy.

60

37 Comments

I’ve reviewed 100s of discovery calls. The #1 difference between AEs converting 40% and AEs converting 70%+ of first calls is the number of problems discussed. And the top reps discuss fewer. Average reps cover a lot of ground in their discovery calls. They go wide, trying to find anything and everything to tie their product to. The logic makes sense: “The more problems I find, the better chance I have of solving some of them.” The best reps aren’t trying to uncover a lot of problems. They understand that: - No company has the capacity to take on a bunch of priorities at once - Discussing a bunch of problems leaves your prospect overwhelmed and not wanting to book more time - Deals are won by solving the biggest priority, not by solving a bunch of annoyances So they focus on finding and attaching to a problem worth solving. Monday morning, I’m sharing the exact question you need to ask in all of your discovery calls to validate you’ve found the right problem. I’m also sharing my “Discovery Capture Sheet” - a resource you can use to: - Know exactly what you need to uncover on a discovery call - Example questions to ask to uncover valuable insight If improving discovery is on your personal development plan for this quarter, you won’t want to miss my next newsletter. Join (no cost) at salesintroverts.com!

160

48 Comments

I've been thinking about ABM a lot lately. Actually, I've been thinking about it all year + what I need to improve about ours. One variable I've isolated as having a high upside, but hard to execute at a truly helpful level are the "intent signals" that marketing, BDRs, and AEs should be acting on And the issue usually comes down to one thing: the "signal" is too vague to act on "Someone at Microsoft is researching recruitment software" That's like walking into an industry conference + being told "someone at this event is interested in what you sell, now find them" Not helpful But something like "Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft, is researching recruitment software" - now we're talking This is the gap between account-level targeting + contact-level targeting Most ABM tools are optimized for creating dashboards + running campaigns, not for giving GTM team members the specific, actionable intel they need to do their job So when marketing says "we have intent signals for our target accounts," AEs + BDRs translate that as "here's a vague direction for you to dig into, but you have to research who at that account you should try to get in touch with" And that's why most teams end up ignoring it. Not because they don't trust ABM or that the info isn't directionally helpful, it's just hard to act on. But going from account-level intent to contact-level intent changes the equation Instead of targeting accounts + hoping the right person sees it, you target the exact person showing intent You know their role You know what they're researching You know what's happening at their company That's intelligence the GTM team can actually use. That's the difference between a vague signal + a starting point for a real conversation And that's what UserGems 💎 is helping GTM teams solve for with their new Gem-E by UserGems 💎 If launching or improving ABM is on your 2026 roadmap, join their insider event on Dec 4 to see how they're helping level this up for marketers here: https://lnkd.in/erihWmXf #usergemspartner

66

23 Comments

If you're an early stage Head of Sales, you need to be thinking in terms of repeatability. build out and document: ICP definition Buyer personas Competitive landscape Territories for SOM Pricing strategy Contract terms GTM motion top to bottom Pipeline management Recruiting process Revenue forecast Headcount forecast Sequence creation Cold call script Demo script Inbound script Objection handling CS handoff Sales operations Tech stack setup (lean as possible) Product training Industry training Sales onboarding Compile all this into a sales playbook your goal as a sales leader is to take that GTM motion that's often locked in the founders head and pull it out onto paper. It's the only path to getting clarity around what to be doing next and how to find repeatable results.

35

8 Comments

Just a couple of weeks ago I posted my thoughts on the ABM motion and how it’s sometimes not fully understood by other execs. The fundamental is pretty clear: marketing must align and partner with sales, understand and support its objectives (revenue growth anyone?), and be pragmatic and methodical in its ABM approach. So, it got me thinking more about enterprise. After scaling enterprise segments at multiple B2B tech companies, I've learned that building enterprise motion isn't just about bigger deals—it's about fundamental transformation across your entire GTM approach. At my previous company, we needed to shift from SMB and mid-market success to enterprise credibility. The key wasn't just hiring enterprise reps, but reimagining our entire customer journey. Here's what actually worked: 🚀 Start with messaging that resonated with enterprise decision-makers. Stop focusing on features and start delivering the message on quantifiable outcomes - this will completely change your enterprise conversations. 💥 Build true executive engagement programs. Utilize your proprietary events (or build a parallel live track) to connect your executive leadership with Fortune 500 decision-makers, creating relationships that can shorten sales cycles by 15% (actual results!) 💰 Create ABM campaigns (here I go again!) that actually deliver pipeline. When I targeted our top 200 accounts with personalized, multi-channel campaigns, we saw 30% higher conversion rates than our traditional demand gen - try it and see the difference! 🤝 Every B2B company I was a part of had partners that helped us reach our customers and grow our deals. Invest in strategic partnerships. These become your enterprise multipliers. Our certification program for partners drove 25% of our enterprise pipeline within 12 months. ☄️ Enable your team differently. Enterprise selling requires deeper business acumen. Our bi-weekly industry deep-dives transformed how our teams engaged with enterprise prospects. Oh, I can talk about verticalization all-day long! 🙂 ⌛ The hardest lesson for me? Patience. It's not one of my top virtues but I am always trying. Enterprise motion takes 2-3 quarters to show meaningful results. Focus on leading indicators (executive meetings, cross-functional stakeholder engagements) before pipeline metrics catch up. What's been your experience building enterprise motion? Would love to hear what's working for your organization. #B2BTech #EnterpriseMarketing #GTMStrategy #SalesAndMarketing  P.S. Since my LI posts are often about self-reflection, here is my reflection in a mirror at Sheesh Mahal in Jaipur last month 😄

92

5 Comments

I talked to a CMO at a data security company yesterday. He asked a question I’ve been asking for YEARS: Why aren’t more B2B companies doing buyer research? Not just slapping together a customer survey once a year. Not just relying on "our sales team knows the buyer." Not just guessing based on firmographics and intent data. Actual, deep buyer research. Because when you look at the biggest B2C companies? They have entire divisions dedicated to this. Amazon spends billions to figure out why customers behave the way they do. They don’t assume. They don’t rely on vibes. They study the hell out of their buyers. And yet, in B2B? We treat buyer research like a nice-to-have. We expect marketing to pull insights out of thin air. We rely on secondary data - inconclusive sales anecdotes instead of talking to buyers directly. This is why messaging flops. This is why deals stall. This is why “brand” becomes a bandaid for bad strategy. The best organizations in the world don’t just solve business problems. They research them to death: Why are deals getting stuck at the same stage? Why do some buyers fall in love with our product while others ghost? Why does our biggest competitor win—even when we’re the better solution? The biggest companies invest in solving these mysteries. The rest? They just assume. So the real question isn’t why B2B companies don’t do more buyer research. It’s when will they start? Thoughts? Drop them in the comments below and listen to my latest session with Ben 👇 #marketing #sales #product #gtm #cybersecurity #customerresearch #cybersynapse

23

3 Comments

Introducing the new Demandbase playbooks! 🎉 These playbooks are your step-by-step guides to maximizing the power of Demandbase across marketing, RevOps, and sales teams. Inside, you’ll discover how to track intent, prioritize accounts, and automate actions to drive real results. Watch as Jay Tuel, Chief Evangelist of Sales Personas, explains why these playbooks are such a valuable resource for your team. Ready to get started? Dive in now and explore all our playbooks: https://bit.ly/4c48rnF #B2B #B2BMarketing #B2BSales #GTM #ABM #RevOps

14

New: View connected calendars You can now see which team members have connected their calendar. Say you're viewing the "Last Meeting Date' field in your account views to track customer touchpoints, but some accounts aren't showing meeting data. You can quickly check which CSMs haven't connected their calendars yet instead of manually checking with your team. This will save valuable time when you're trying to get complete meeting data across all accounts. Enjoy!

25

2 Comments

How do you use the terms SDR and BDR? Are they interchangeable? Technically, SDRs cover inbound, and BDRs cover outbound? But some teams do both inbound and outbound... Then what do you call them? If SDRs and BDRs report to one sales manager, what's that sales manager's title? I keep using the two terms interchangeably, or wanting to land on one primary, but I end up using SDR/BDR when talking about technologies that apply to both (chatbots etc.?) Help!

32

44 Comments