As we near the end of Q3, we thought it would be a great time to re-listen to "Transforming an Enterprise Sales Organization - with Cathy Minter, CRO at R3"

Cathy shares her experiences in taking over the role of the CRO in an early stage pioneer in applying Block Chain to enterprise level application development.

The need for transformation was initially based upon the original formation of R3, which was founded as a consortium of large financial service companies exploring how Block Chain could impact and be leveraged in the banking industry. Initially, R3 was more a consulting company and think tank comprised of investment banking professionals and not an enterprise software platform, with an enterprise sales organization.

Cathy's initial challenge was to build the processes, infrastructure and organization required to evangelize the opportunity that Block Chain provides to application development of the future.

Becoming a "Customer First" company started by getting the executive team aligned on building a customer centric culture that would serve them well over the long haul. It was then translated into the sales process that transitioned from product/feature/function to a solution, business value centric methodology. The use of "Proof of Technology" phase "0" programs to ensure both the business benefit and technical fit was used while embracing a "land and expand" customer acquisition and expansion strategy.

Marketing and Sales alignment was discussed as a key responsibility of a CRO. When marketing and sales became part of the same reporting structure to Cathy at R3, that was when alignment became integration. A critical inflection point happened when marketing made all of their "goals" yet sales and the company missed their revenue goals...it was time to align marketing and sales to the same outcome based goals and integrate the processes, platforms and organizations to the end to end customer buying journey.

Lastly, Cathy shared how to identify enterprise sales candidates for the traits of resilience. In fact, she linked the candidate question "tell me about the last five deals you lost and what did you learn from those" as a way to understand both resilience and a candidates ability to accept responsibility and learn from those experiences.

If you want to become a Chief Revenue officer in an enterprise sales environment, and especially one where the need is to transform the company to a customer first, solution sales methodology, this is a great listen.

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In this timeless episode of the Selling the Cloud podcast, we revisit a conversation with Greg Holmes, the former Chief Revenue Officer at Zoom Video Communications from 2013 to 2020. This inaugural episode remains as relevant today as it was when first recorded, offering deep insights into the factors that fueled Zoom's meteoric rise.

Join our co-hosts, Mark Petruzzi, and Ray Rike as they delve into the unique "happiness culture" that Zoom cultivated from its early days. Greg shares how Zoom's commitment to customer and employee happiness became a cornerstone of its success, from establishing "happiness crews" in every global office to having a Chief Happiness Officer.

Zoom's innovative approach to video communications was purpose-built for the collaborative, mobile age, setting it apart from traditional solutions. Greg also discusses how Zoom's sales team acted as the "voice of the customer," constantly feeding insights back to product development to ensure the platform met user needs.

Authenticity and resilience were key traits Zoom looked for in its sales hires. Greg shares how these qualities were assessed during interviews, including unique methods like hiring someone who had previously delivered happiness to Zoom employees as a server at a local restaurant. He also explores the importance of resilience in sales, built through life experiences and the ability to overcome challenges.

Finally, Greg talks about the power of humility and mastering the art of praise—both giving and receiving it—as essential elements of Zoom's company culture.

Co- Hosts: Mark Petruzzi and Ray Rike

Guest: Greg Holmes

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In this episode of the “Selling the Cloud” Podcast, we are excited to welcome Neetha Ratakonda, CEO of BigLittle.ai. Neetha discusses her journey from engineering to entrepreneurship and explores how to bridge the marketing-to-sales disconnect. She delves into revenue leaks, process inefficiencies, and how RevOps acts as the connective tissue that empowers an effective go-to-market process. Tune in to learn about emerging technologies and how they are transforming RevOps to optimize revenue and drive business success.

Co-hosts: Mark Petruzzi and Katerina Ostrovsky

Guest: Nivedita (Neetha) Ratakonda, CEO of BigLittle

Show mentions:

Books Neetha recommends:

Sales Acceleration Formula, by Mark Roberge

The Hard Thing about Hard Things, by Ben Horowitz

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and the Untethered Soul by Michael Singer

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