The game has changed. And good.
Marketing and sales teams can exist separately at the same time, but they don’t. Alignment is critical for many revenue leaders, and expectations are constantly changing as emerging solutions work to bring these groups together.
The B2B software landscape continues to evolve rapidly. Innovation is empowering organizations to make better, faster decisions. And if you are not careful, it will be impossible to continue.
Kurt Leafstrand is the SVP of Products at Clari and has over 20 years of technology and development experience. Previously, Kurt was a product manager at former companies that were acquired by Symantec and IBM. An MIT graduate and former consultant at McKinsey, he has been passionate about creating great things since he was a teenager.
Kurt joined the G2 Chief Revenue Officer team Mike Weir about the latest news on the GTM Innovators podcast. In this episode review, you’ll learn about Kurt’s thoughts on revenue loss and what GTM teams can do to improve sales and marketing collaboration.
Promotion of Chief Revenue Officer
When Kurt first came To be clear, the company had a very different vision from what it is today. He shares how over time, a big opportunity presented itself when his team decided to create something that would empower sales teams.
Clari continued to mature and iterate, and conducting extensive customer interviews helped create the revenue streams she is known for. At one point, Kurt noticed that more than just sales professionals went out to meet with customers.
Kurt saw how marketers became more users after adding revenue forecasting capabilities to their platform. After hearing some of these ideas from these vendors, it made perfect sense.
Kurt Leafstrand
SVP of Products, Clari
Expectations are changing, and retailers are now responding to understand their financial impact. As we’ve discussed in previous GTM Innovators episodes, Kurt’s observations are indicative of a shift in how sales and marketing teams are moving towards larger trends.
A few years ago, marketing, sales, and customer success teams worked independently of each other. These groups often come together under the umbrella of a financial institution. And as a result, we are now seeing the rise of the Chief Revenue Officer at companies where this leader is well integrated.
Understanding the flow of money and why is important
One topic that Kurt and Mike discuss on the podcast is that organizations often fail to grow their business because of failure. Any time an organization misses money due to change and random fluctuations it contributes to what managers and salespeople call cash outflows.
According to Kurt, money laundering is one of the biggest problems hiding in plain sight. “It’s the amount of money your company should be getting because of the value and demand for your service or product,” says Kurt. “But for whatever reason, you don’t get it because it falls by the wayside.”
Three steps organizations can take to prevent financial loss
In Kurt’s eyes, to prevent currency depreciation It’s an important concept to keep in mind at the corporate level because so much is in the hands of the organization.
Preventing cash flow is important because it helps companies maximize their potential, optimize their operations, and maintain their health. Addressing leakage is important, and Kurt shares three best practices revenue organizations can take to minimize it and ensure sustainable growth.
1. Be intentional about downsizing
Kurt shares his thoughts on cadences and how they affect liquidity. The truth about cash flow is that every business has it, whether they are managing it or not.
Some examples of these cadences are:
- How often does a rep and manager happen?
- How do you approach and think about future mobile phones?
- What are the contents of these future recordings?
- How often do you evaluate the health of customers?
The key to managing cadences means being very intentional about them. Having the right cadence to match the tone of your business ensures you’re focusing on everything you need to focus on and driving feedback around it.
Kurt Leafstrand
SVP of Products, Clari
2. Give the appearance of having more responsibility
Kurt explains how visibility enables greater accountability in the revenue stream. Visibility is another common concept that we hear about GTM professionals, but it may be necessary to cook organizations that are missing in order to avoid losing money.
Kurt points out that once capital is in place, finance leaders need to ensure that they provide each member of the relevant GTM team with the visibility and information they need. This visibility is very important to help make decisions, drive business forward, and create accountability. By providing information to the right people, they have more power to investigate and identify the sources of money laundering.
In addition, transparency is also meaningful in helping GTM members see each other. Greater accountability and transparency means that everyone, from employers to service providers, is on the same page. Most importantly, they have what it takes to do what they find.
3. Find connections in your technology stack
In his closing remarks to help reduce financial loss, Kurt talks about how the amount of data in technology can disrupt financial goals.
The amount of technology from one fundraising organization to another can look very different. From popular software to systems built on the fly, there’s always an opportunity to see how these different solutions fit together.
Let’s say you have a customer who talks about a problem they have. The call was recorded, but the Account Manager made a small mistake and forgot to follow up with the customer to resolve it. Then turn around three months later and find that the customer is not renewing. It’s simple, but this can be an opportunity to use a tool that uses a wide variety of languages to capture these factors and present them in your healthcare client.
In short, look for combinations that can drive the cost the most and create the most value for money.
Reducing the risk of financial loss is up to you
The fact is that companies cannot stop the leakage of money. But it’s happening, and funding agencies of all kinds need to do something to slow it down.
As accountability increases in sales and marketing teams, the future looks bright as companies move forward to achieve greater communication. There is a lot of work to be done, but the rise of high-income organizations and CRO activity are positive signs.
Some points from Kurt in this episode
In episode 7 of GTM Innovators, the full interview with Kurt Leafstrand includes things like:
- Kurt’s ideas on AI quickly win businesses.
- The importance of resilience and how action defines companies in difficult times.
Watch the full episode YouTube and learn more about Kurt and other GTM experts by subscribing to Images of GTM Innovators podcast today – available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, and more.