The GTMshift

James Kaikis interviews Kyle Norton, CRO at Owner.com, about driving transformative SaaS growth. Kyle shares how Owner.com achieved 10x revenue growth in two years through strategies like centralized lead research and customer-focused comp plans. They discuss the evolving CRO role, the importance of enablement and rev ops, and actionable AI applications. Learn how to scale smartly, foster customer...

James Kaikis sits down with Josh Aranoff, VP of Sales and Solutions at Trimble, to explore the evolving role of solutions professionals in SaaS. Josh shares insights from his time at Salesforce and Procore, highlighting how solutions engineers are moving beyond demos to become strategic partners in revenue growth. He discusses deal scoring, hybrid roles, and the integration of presales and post-sa...

Diana Cappello, Director of Solutions Consulting, US & Demo Engineering at Eightfold, reveals how AI is revolutionizing hiring from entry-level to executive roles—and why every professional needs to prepare for bot interviews. She shares battle-tested strategies that cut onboarding from 12 months to 4 months, her "Demo Dojo" training methodology, and how managed sessions using real customer da...

Solutions engineering veteran Stephen Morse discusses how AI is transforming go-to-market strategies and reshaping the SE profession. From the convergence of pre- and post-sales to outcome-based pricing trends, this episode explores what the future holds for technical sales professionals. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Welcome to the Episode (03:15) Stephen’s 30-year journey through tech para...

Sharon Martin, SVP of Global Sales Engineering at Alteryx, breaks down how to position solutions teams as the strategic drivers of organizational AI adoption. She explains why solutions engineers are uniquely equipped to bridge technical capabilities with business outcomes during periods of massive change. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Welcome to the Episode (3:28) - Thriving in private equi...

Jeff Margolese, SVP of Global Solution Consulting at ServiceNow and 20+ year industry veteran, explores how AI is fundamentally transforming enterprise sales and the solutions engineering profession. Having guided ServiceNow's SE organization through explosive growth from $300M to over $10B in revenue, Jeff shares insights on navigating massive technological shifts while building trust with enterp...

James Kaikis sits down with Elaine Zelby, Co-Founder & CRO of Tofu, to explore how evolving buyer behaviors are reshaping SaaS go-to-market strategies. Elaine discusses the demand for self-education, validation, and hyper-personalized experiences, sharing Tofu’s approach to using AI for scalable buyer journeys. Together, they unpack aligning sales, marketing, and CS for seamless customer exper...

OpenAI’s Zach Lawryk reveals how AI is fundamentally transforming go-to-market strategies, from AI-native selling methodologies to the future of consumption pricing. Learn why intelligence has become a commodity and how agent-powered workflows will reshape sales teams. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Welcome to the episode (05:16) The AI “aha moment” at Rippling (12:19) OpenAI’s AI-native sell...

Aligned CEO Gal Aga reveals how buyer-centric sales and LinkedIn founder branding drove 4X growth. Learn why transactional sales is dead and how to build authentic content that generates real business results. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Welcome to the Episode (02:47) From sales rep to founder journey (06:12) The 440K deal that changed everything (14:09) Why transactional sales doesn’t wor...

James Kaikis speaks with Lexi Bohonnon, Chief Revenue Officer at Roam, about how a solutions mindset in leadership drives business impact. Lexi shares her journey from solutions engineering to senior leadership, emphasizing how solutions-oriented professionals are reshaping GTM strategies. She discusses the value of aligning teams, breaking silos, and focusing on consistent customer value. Lexi al...

Craig Rosenberg from Scale Venture Partners reveals why AI is forcing a complete reinvention of go-to-market strategies. Learn how founders are rebuilding sales processes from scratch and why traditional GTM playbooks are now obsolete. Discover the revolutionary changes happening in buyer behavior, sales roles, and revenue efficiency. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Welcome to the Episode (05:...

Bart Fanelli shares how operational discipline and Go-To-Market fundamentals drove hyperscale at Splunk and OutSystems. Learn why going back to basics beats chasing the latest trends in this engaging conversation about sustainable go-to-market strategies. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Welcome to the Episode (02:19) Hyperscale journey: Growth at Splunk and OutSystems (05:05) Why companies avo...

Jordan Crawford explains go-to-market engineering and why it’s different from RevOps. Learn how to build data moats, create permissionless value propositions, and prepare for the future of CRO roles in the AI era. Jump into the conversation: (00:00) Welcome to the Episode (06:16) What is go-to-market engineering? (10:29) GTM engineering vs. RevOps (20:39) Permissionless value propositions (26:12)...

Brett Queener, architect of the original Salesforce GTM playbook, explains why traditional go-to-market strategies are dead and how AI agents are creating the biggest opportunity for solutions professionals in decades. As Managing Director at Bonfire Ventures, Brett shares insights from both building the first SaaS playbook and now investing in the companies that will replace it. Jump into the con...