Revenue Builders

Strategic accounts expose where most sales approaches break down, especially when technical capability fails to connect to enterprise-wide value. In this replay segment, Jane Thompson unpacks what it actually takes to navigate complex, multi-division organizations, from building aligned champions to translating solutions into outcomes that matter at the board level. The conversation highlights why...

AI is shifting from model development to real-world usage, exposing a new bottleneck that most sales teams are not prepared to understand or sell against. As inference speed, memory bandwidth, and infrastructure become the true differentiators, traditional software playbooks begin to break down. Alex Varel joins John Kaplan and John McMahon to unpack what it takes to sell in this new environment,...

Today, a segment from our episode on pipeline generation and building a repeatable revenue system with Christopher Vik, VP EMEA at Samsara and former CRO at Leapwork. In this clip, Chris breaks down why most pipeline generation efforts fail before they even start. He explains how preparation drives conviction, why reps avoid pipeline when they lack insight, and what leaders must do to build a cult...

PLG can create explosive growth, but it can also mask fundamental gaps in execution, capacity, and long-term durability. As AI-native companies scale at unprecedented speed, revenue leaders face a new tension: how to convert bottom-up adoption into enterprise value without breaking the system that fueled growth. Brian McCarthy joins to unpack how Cursor is navigating this shift, why sales executio...

Preparation does not become less important as sellers gain experience. It becomes more visible as a differentiator. In this replay segment with John Rowell, he breaks down of how disciplined pre-call preparation sharpens positioning, turns cold outreach into meaningful engagement, and allows reps to stay fully present in the moment. The conversation highlights why preparation is not just about inf...

Most companies don’t fail because of product, they fail because they never build a clear, repeatable sales system around a problem that actually matters. That shows up early when founders delegate sales too soon, chase broad markets without focus, and struggle to translate technical insight into customer urgency. In this conversation, Lou Shipley brings a career spanning door-to-door selling to le...

Today, we’re revisiting a segment from our episode on selling enterprise software and connecting technical capabilities to business outcomes with John Donnelly. John is a seasoned enterprise sales leader with deep experience scaling complex sales motions across organizations like MobileIron and Kana. In this clip, he breaks down why so many sellers default to features, where discovery goes wrong,...

Most revenue teams believe they have a definedIdeal Customer profile (ICP), but the reality is far less precise, with the majority of pipeline often sitting outside the segments that actually drive retention and expansion. This disconnect creates inefficiency across marketing, sales, and customer success, and is only amplified by AI-driven outreach that scales poor targeting. Dan Sperring, founder...

Today, we’re revisiting a segment from our episode on Product-Led Growth and modern sales playbooks with Dan Fougere. Dan is the former Chief Revenue Officer at Datadog and former Head of Global Sales at Medallia, now advising high-growth startups. In this clip, Dan breaks down why traditional sales playbooks fail in PLG environments, and how leaders need to shift toward usage-based signals and fi...

High-growth companies demand constant reinvention, yet most leaders underestimate how deeply roles, go-to-market models, and buyer behavior evolve over time. This episode explores what it actually takes to adapt at that level, from navigating internal resistance to aligning product and sales with how customers truly buy. Sahir Azam brings a rare operator-to-investor perspective, unpacking the real...

In today’s conversation, former Chief Revenue Officer and private equity operating partner Bob Ranaldi shares why great revenue leaders focus less on static metrics and more on the trends behind them. In this segment, Bob explains why looking at a single month of pipeline or bookings can be misleading, and why CROs and CEOs need to study the progression of key metrics over time. He also breaks dow...

If you treat AI as just tech or a tool, you’re likely missing out on the true strategic benefit to your organization. Many leaders are waiting on IT, governance, or the “right stack” while competitors are already compounding gains through faster execution, better preparation, and tighter alignment. Marcy Stoudt returns to unpack why AI adoption starts with mindset, how productivity gains break wit...

Today, we're sharing a segment from our episode on leadership, discipline, and relationship-building with Coach John Mosley Jr. Coach Mosley is best known for leading East Los Angeles College and for his role on Netflix’s Last Chance U, where his leadership philosophy is on full display. In this particular conversation, Coach Mosley breaks down a simple but often overlooked principle: rules withou...

Many teams are finding it harder to generate pipeline these days. Is this new pipeline reality here to stay? Generating strong pipeline is still attainable — but the winning approach has changed. Most sales teams are running highly individualized pipeline gen tactics, without the structure, preparation, or leadership discipline required to sustain it. In this replay episode, Chris Vik breaks down...

In today’s segment with Eric Erston, longtime sales leader and CRO of RegScale, Eric shares what separates top-performing sales teams from the rest – from maintaining laser focus on metrics and success definitions, to rigorously qualifying leads based on budget, timeframe, and pain points. Eric emphasizes the critical importance of deeply understanding both the ideal customer profile and the indiv...

When the relationship between a CRO and CEO breaks down, the symptoms show up quickly in the forecast, the sales plan, and ultimately the boardroom. Strong revenue organizations avoid that trap by anchoring leadership decisions in shared data, realistic planning, and constant communication. In this replay episode, John Kaplan and John McMahon sit down with former CRO and private equity operating p...

In today's minisode, AI pioneer and enterprise sales leader Amanda Kahlow shares why intent data as we know it is dying – and what replaces it. Amanda is the founder and CEO of 1mind. In this segment, she discusses how SI  “superhumans” can operate inside live deals with access to every document and data point, and why the future of go-to-market may move toward agent-to-agent negotiation… with hum...

Amanda Kahlow joins Revenue Builders to unpack what happens when AI stops assisting go-to-market teams and starts replacing entire functions. Drawing on her experience founding SixthSense and now leading 1mind, she explains how technology originally built for Alzheimer’s caregivers evolved into AI “superhumans” capable of running demos, qualifying buyers, building business cases, and onboarding cu...

In this minisode, Cedric Pech, President of Field Operations at MongoDB and former CRO, shares a formative leadership moment from early in his career at PTC that shaped how he thinks about building revenue organizations. He tells the story of a manager who invested in him personally before he had proven himself professionally. It is a lesson in what real leadership looks like under pressure. For C...

Scaling from regional VP to global CRO is not a promotion. It is a shift from managing execution to defining meaning at scale. In this replay conversation, Cedric Pech reflects on leading a 2,000-person global sales organization at MongoDB, integrating complex routes to market, and building culture that withstands market volatility. He breaks down the difference between compensation-driven leaders...

In today’s minisode, Football coach and author Brian White shares essential leadership lessons on building winning cultures that apply far beyond the field. Brian breaks down why trust must flow both ways, from the individual entering a new organization and from the team itself, and reveals why assimilating into an existing culture before trying to change it is the key to lasting impact. Whether y...

There’s no shortcuts to a winning sales culture. When leaders compromise standards for convenience, talent, or short-term wins, they erode the very foundation that sustains performance over time. Brian White joins John Kaplan and John McMahon to unpack why elite teams are built on respect first, why trust is collective (not individual), and why commitment without conditions is the only kind that l...

Today’s minisode features Carlos Delatorre as he shares two hard-earned leadership lessons that every sales leader scaling an organization needs to hear. He reflects on an early moment in his career when he learned the difference between being a top-performing rep and becoming a true manager, and why doing the work for your team might feel helpful in the moment but ultimately breaks scale.  If you...

Climbing from individual contributor to CRO requires far more than strong execution. It demands disciplined leadership, intentional systems, and the ability to scale through complexity. In this replay episode, Carlos de la Torre joins John McMahon to unpack lessons from decades of enterprise sales leadership, including how he evaluates CRO opportunities, why complex selling environments demand sop...

Today’s minisode features Chris Degnan, former CRO of Snowflake. In this clip, Chris explains what it really takes to grow with a company as it scales, and why earning your role does not stop once the title changes. He shares how treating every quarter like a 90-day contract, staying open to feedback, and knowing when to shift from grinding in the business to building leaders helped him navigate b...