Salah Ben Mahrez

Your customer just got their auto-renewal notice. They haven't heard from you in 4 months. Congrats - you just lost a deal before the negotiation even started! 🕺 The thing that a lot of CSMs miss is that they focus on the renewal date instead of the auto-renewal date. By the time that contract hits procurement's desk, the decision is already made. The customer basically has 90 days to decide if they dislike the cut of your jib enough to cancel. Best thing to do is work backward from the auto-renewal trigger: - 6 months before: Usage audit and health check. - 4 months before: Executive business review. - 2 months before: Roadmap alignment session. - Auto-renewal hits: Customer is already planning expansion. We work with an org here at Sales Assembly that tracked this religiously: - CSMs who engaged 60+ days before auto-renewal: 89% retention. - CSMs who engaged after auto-renewal notice: 23% retention. Holy moly, right? But also, kinda predictable when you think about it. Your renewal isn't won in the final quarter. It's won in the months when nobody's thinking about contracts. By the time that fun auto-renewal email lands in their inbox, they've already gone beyond evaluating your product, and instead they're evaluating their relationship with you. And 4 months of radio silence isn’t a great foundation for negotiation.

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95% 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐈. But most sales teams are still stuck in manual mode. BetterCloud's 2025 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐞-𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥: 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐥 → But automation isn’t.  → Most GTM teams are still buried in repetitive tasks like prospecting, enrichment, follow-ups. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐦 → 60% of IT teams say manual ops limit their strategic focus.  → Sales teams feel it too: context-switching, data clean-up, scattered systems. 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 → 70% prefer unified SaaS platforms over cobbled-together point tools.  → Seamless AI workflows are the future. 𝐀𝐩𝐩 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 → Teams use ~106 SaaS apps on average.  → That’s fewer than last year, but still messy for GTM workflows. 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐚 “𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐞-𝐭𝐨-𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞” → It’s table stakes.  → Sales teams who automate early get compounding returns in pipeline, precision, and productivity. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

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When quotas are hit, most leadership teams take that as proof their system works. But what if hitting quota is actually a red flag? In Varicent's 2025 SPM Market Spotlight, we surveyed over 1,400 revenue and operations leaders and uncovered a surprising contradiction: 90% of sellers say they expect to hit their quotas.  But only 31% of sellers believe those quotas are realistic. Why does this gap matter? When teams consistently hit unrealistic quotas, it doesn’t mean the plan is working. It means something else is compensating.  Often, that looks like a few top reps pulling most of the weight, rushed deals at quarter-end, or margin-eroding discounts.  It’s not a sign of sustainable growth. It's a sign of friction. High-performing organizations approach quotas differently: ● They align targets with actual market opportunity, using territory data, account potential, and realistic benchmarks.  ● They measure median attainment, not just the average, to see whether success is spread across the team or carried by a few.  ● They monitor the ratio of activity to outcomes to make sure seller effort translates into sustainable pipeline and revenue. Real growth is not about whether the number is hit. It’s about how it’s hit. If you're using quota attainment as proof of strategic alignment, it might be time to take a closer look. Access the research here: https://hubs.ly/Q03sG4kD0 The 2025 SPM Market Spotlight unpacks how top-performing companies are redesigning quota models to drive scalable, equitable growth. 

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VP Sales is THE MOST brutal job in tech. You own the number, but not all the problems behind it. You’re told: “We need to 8x like these AI-native startups,” but your category isn’t hot. Then one miss - and no one asks what’s broken. Just: "Do we need a new VP?" If you’re hiring (or firing) a VP Sales - read this 👇Twice. 1. You’re hired into a mess - then blamed for not fixing it fast enough. You didn’t hire the team. You didn’t choose the GTM. You didn’t greenlight PMF. But you’re expected to fix it all with sales fairy dust by the next board. VPs aren’t magicians. If the foundations are shaky, own that before expecting miracles. 2. You own the number - but not leads, pricing, or product. You’re responsible for everything. But in control of… almost nothing. And no one acknowledges that gap. Sales does NOT happen in a vacuum. Outbound takes 6mo+ to work. Competitive gaps take more time to fix. Give your VP Sales the ingredients to drive sales - or grace until they can. 3. You don’t get a quota. You get a spreadsheet that 2x’s every quarter. Reps hit 100%, and their number rolls. But your number? Doubles. All the time. Forget ramp time or lack of enablement, just "scale this now.” But real life isn’t a GSheet. Your VP’s planning assumptions aren’t excuses. Push less, listen more. Or risk breaking them. 4. You’re compared to companies with 10x resources. Your team is grinding without brand, a lead engine, or a viral product - and you’re compared to AI-native startups who make the triple-triple-double rule look easy. Let’s be clear: Sales DOES NOT create 8x YoY growth. Hot categories (Vibe Coding level WOM) and viral products (Midjourney) do. Sales just accelerate it. 5. You start solving less - and defending more. Every meeting becomes a trial. “Why are we behind?” “Is your playbook working?” “Why doesn’t this scale?” Instead of fixing issues, you’re just trying to survive the board. I get it, when a critical engine is behind, I also want answers. But what your VP needs now? To hear you believe in them. To hear ideas. To hear, “How can I help?” 6. The pressure is brutal. But the hardest part? Losing belief. You walk in confident. But by month 3, you realize it’s 10x harder than you imagined. The pipeline’s weak. The team’s junior. The motion’s broken. And slowly, you stop believing. Yes, VPs should be tough, but they're not robots. Be their mental support. Get them to see what you see - in the company and IN THEM. 7. The moment your confidence breaks - it’s game over. You can be tough. Resilient. Strategic. But once you stop believing you can fix it? It’s over. Everyone now thinks “They were good for $1M-10M, we now need a $10M-40M VP.” But the truth? People can level up. If they fit the culture, know the business, and the team runs into battle for them - back them. Help them upskill. Bring an advisor. Believe in them until they believe again. —— Don’t blame the person holding the number. Fix the system. Back them. Don’t break them.

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Your C-Suite / Exec demo needs to be different. Here’s the framework to kick them off: • Agenda • What We’ve Learned Recap • Tee up your champion • Exec-level discovery Execs appreciate preparedness and brevity. They have had the same horrible experience with sales people. Your goal is to earn credibility, trust, and respect as quickly as possible. Ensure your agenda is very concise. The best way to lose an exec is by rambling through a long agenda or a long-winded audio recap of everything to date. I recommend 2 slides: 1. Agenda 2. What We’ve Learned Step #1 - show agenda slide and give a 5 second pause. “This is what we had planned for today. What’s the #1 thing you want to get out of today’s call?” Step #2 - Flip to the What We Learned Slide and recap in 30-45 seconds. Include in direct quotes from your POCs on challenges they’ve faced or how your solution can help. Confidently lean into the cost of inaction and the risk of failure of key initiatives. Eliminate any fluff and make it metric / business oriented. P.S. Full discovery system here: https://lnkd.in/gJT3aCmf

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If AI isn’t in your GTM strategy, you don’t have a GTM strategy. The GTM leaders winning today aren’t just executing playbooks. They’re shaping how AI transforms customer acquisition, sales, and revenue operations. Most GTM leaders treat AI as a side project. But in today’s fast-evolving landscape, your grasp of AI isn’t just a personal advantage, it’s a competitive moat. The power of AI-driven GTM leadership: 1. Credibility and market authority     Customers and peers trust leaders who understand the next wave of change. Sharing AI insights positions you as a forward thinker shaping the future of revenue growth. 2. Talent magnetism and team evolution     The best talent wants to work with leaders who stay ahead of the curve. Showing your AI expertise signals to top performers that you’re building for the future, not clinging to the past. 3. Pipeline acceleration and operational leverage     AI isn’t just tech, it’s leverage. Smart use of AI tools and strategy can shorten sales cycles, personalize engagement at scale, and open new market opportunities. How to get started: • Go from “reading about AI” to “testing AI”: share what you learn along the way. • Engage with other AI-in-GTM voices: collaboration accelerates your learning curve. • Tie AI insights back to GTM outcomes: revenue, efficiency, and market positioning. A GTM leader’s AI fluency isn’t optional. It’s a strategic advantage. The best GTM leaders don’t just run teams, they shape conversations, influence industries, and unlock new growth levers. If you want to learn fast, learn from the top voices already leading the AI-in-GTM conversation 👇  1. Dharmesh Shah  2. Yamini Rangan  3. Jacco van der Kooij  4. Saanya Ojha  5. Jason M. Lemkin       6. Liza Adams  7. Aaron Levie  8. Nicole Leffer  9. Kieran Flanagan 10. Maja Voje      11. Kevin "KD" Dorsey 12. Kyle Norton 13. Santosh Sharan 14. Jordan Crawford 15. Alex Lindahl      16. Jonathan M K. 17. Greg Isenberg 18. Allie K. Miller 19. Sam Jacobs 20. Jake Dunlap Who would you add?

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Unorthodox call review tip (not AI pure psychology): When listening to a sales call, look away from the screen. Focus only on the words and communication style. It’s like hearing jazz without watching the musicians, you notice details you’d otherwise miss. Do this, and your feedback radar sharpens instantly

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