Sarah N.

Dear Sales + Enablement leaders, You know the drill... You're prepping for QBRs, trying to answer: - What’s driving our top deals? - Where are we bleeding pipeline? - How’s CS trending on renewals? - Did marketing actually move the needle last quarter? So you fire off 10 Slacks, pull 6 reports, and wait for the data team to get back to you... next week. 😩 I’ve lived this. Slide decks don’t build themselves. Insights don’t just appear. And data? Well, it’s usually hiding in 7 different tools. Over the last few years, I’ve had the huge privilege of working with and watching some incredible folks at Hasura bring a product to life that solves this exact problem. PromptQL. It’s like ChatGPT, but for your GTM data. CRM, call recordings, product usage, support tickets, marketing engagement and more all stitched together so you can just ask a question... and get the answer. 🚀 Imagine this instead: - “Show me deals stuck in stage 3 with low email engagement and no follow up in the past week” → You get it plus visualizations. Instantly. - “Which accounts have dropped product usage in the last 60 days and logged a support ticket?” → Right there. No hunting. - “What’s the average ramp time by AE cohort over the past year?” → Boom. In English. Not SQL. Here's what PromptQL unlocks for teams like ours: ✅ Real-time GTM visibility – across Sales, CS, and Marketing ✅ Better forecasts – no analyst bottlenecks ✅ Faster onboarding + enablement – powered by live insights ✅ Less churn – spot risk signals early ✅ More strategic RevOps – not buried in last-minute dashboard requests ✨ No more death-by-dashboard. No more “Can you pull this report for me?” Slacks. I've been using PromptQL daily and as someone juggling a ton solo, I can honestly say it’s saved me hours, headaches, and at least 3 existential crises. I dropped a 3-min demo + an interactive playground in the comments 👇 Or message me if you want the behind-the-scenes on how I use it. #SalesEnablement #PromptQL #RevenueLeadership #GTM #SalesOps #Hasura #WorkSmarter

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🛑 Stop calling your CS team “strategic” if their calendar is screaming “support.” If you aren't managing a portfolio like a revenue engine, you’re still a cost center. In 2025, the best Customer Success orgs have moved past "saving accounts." They act like portfolio managers, not firefighters. Roughly 40% of all SaaS revenue now flows through renewals and expansion. This makes CS the primary growth engine of a modern company. When you shift from preventing churn to driving outcomes that matter in a board deck, the conversation changes: From: "How do I fix this bug?" ➡️ To: "How do we hit the NRR target?" From: "Reactive tickets" ➡️ To: "Strategic Health Reviews." From: "Cost Center" ➡️ To: "The Revenue Growth Engine." Nearly half of all CS teams now own expansion and renewals directly. The signal is clear: CS is getting its seat at the revenue planning table, but only if the calendar reflects the strategy. Does your CS team own a revenue number (NRR/GRR) today? If so, what was the biggest change you had to make in your daily routine to stay out of the "support trap"? Let’s discuss in the comments. 👇 #CustomerSuccess #SaaS #GrowthStrategy #NRR #CustomerExperience #Edtech

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Dear SDR Managers, If you're not weighting lead quality in your comp plan, your leaving money on the table. Not all “qualified” leads are created equal. And people, no matter how driven they are, naturally take the path of least resistance. (sometimes subconsciously) So if the payout is the same for the high-quality, high-effort lead vs. the low-quality, low-effort lead, Your SDRs will lean toward volume, not quality. Then we blame the rep when really the incentives are misaligned. Weight high quality leads heavier. Make it CLEAR what “high quality” means. 80% of an SDR’s time should be spent on the leads most likely to convert. 20% on the rest, with automation handling the bottom layer. Your comp plan should reflect that.

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How do you get two post-M&A sales teams to speak the same language?  (Hint: it takes more than a kickoff meeting and a shared CRM.) When sales teams merge, you're not just aligning tools.  You’re blending mindsets, vocabularies, and ways of working.  Even small differences in process or terminology can turn into major blockers. Deals stall. Clients get mixed messages. Forecasts go off the rails. That’s where L&D can step in and fix what alignment decks can’t. Now, JCDecaux wasn’t navigating a post-M&A scenario, but their challenge was strikingly similar: they needed to unify sales teams across 50+ markets while keeping local strengths intact. Together, we built the Sales Intelligence Hub: A platform for sharing best practices A space to develop a common sales culture A way to stay relevant and practical from Paris to Tokyo The goal was to equip every sales professional to perform at their best, no matter the geography or context. It worked. Not only did the program earn sky-high usefulness scores, it also won a Brandon Hall award for supporting change transformation and business strategy. And more importantly, it turned a global salesforce into a connected, collaborative, culturally-aware team. So if your business is going through a merger or acquisition, take a page from JCDecaux’s playbook: You don’t have to sacrifice local strengths to build a shared way of selling. That’s what strategic L&D makes possible. ------------------------------------------------- If building unified, adaptive teams through change is a priority for you, I want to invite you to something special. On July 2nd, Andre Scholtz and CrossKnowledge colleagues are hosting a hackathon in London exclusively for senior L&D leaders in enterprise organisations. We’ll explore The Future-Proof Workforce — focusing on building the capabilities and connections that help organisations succeed through transformation. From aligning mindsets to driving real business impact, we’ll dive into the levers that turn complexity into opportunity. Interested? Drop me a message — I’d love to tell you more.

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I saw a post yesterday on LinkedIn calling out people who publicly embarrass SDRs for ‘bad’ emails or DM outreaches.  It’s as if some people delight in getting these cold emails because they get to use them for content.   I don’t know anyone who was great at something right from the start. When I think back to the first time I tried to set up a meeting, run a demo, or close a deal, my face automatically cringes. I understand, no one wants to be spammed. But these are professional people trying to do their jobs. I learn best by doing.  If I were to start at a new company as a salesperson, I would do everything I could to start demoing and interacting with prospects as quickly as I could.  That’s when I’ll really learn the motion, understand the pain that the product solves and connect with the objections that come up.  I’ll always prefer action over hesitation. So, while LinkedIn experts argue about why starting your email with ‘I hope you’re doing well’ is such a bad opening line, go ahead and make your calls, write your emails, and make things happen. I'll guarantee that you'll learn much faster by learning from your mistakes and honing your skills as a salesperson.

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There’s one big thing mindset shift as a new AE I’ve been using set me up for success that a lot of reps neglect. So far I’m in week 3 of being an AE and I’m neck deep in call recordings. Wading through what makes a good discovery call, demo call, follow-up emails, multi-threading, all the things. But I’ve got a different mindset about this onboarding: I’m choosing to be an active participant in my onboarding. You’ve all been through this at least once. You sign your offer letter, you get your laptop and login info, boot up the computer aaaaannddd…..sit through pre-recorded welcome calls and onboarding videos. Maybe you do one or two video calls with your manager but mostly? You can skate by without having to actually pay attention to what’s happening and then you just ask your team for help once you’re in seat. Sound familiar? But there’s a better way. And I guarantee it’ll drive better and faster results. First, I’m treating call recordings like they were my own calls. Before I listen, I pull together a quick POV on the account and I pause the call to think of what questions I’d ask each time the speaker changes. This helps me be prepared and get as close to on the fly practice without role plays. Second, I’m taking part in peer practice sessions. We’re all onboarding at the same time, why not take advantage of the green-ness of everyone and get the awkward reps out in a safe place? Third, I’m recording myself demo-ing parts of the platform with Loom and rewatching them back to get a feel for where I look unsure or lack confidence. That way I know what to watch for when I’m live and can get in extra practice or ask questions to shore up my knowledge ahead of time. What did I miss? How else can you actively participate in your onboarding?

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Most CSMs want the comp package of their Sales colleagues. Without any of the risks of being in Sales. And I get why this conversation keeps coming up. When I speak to CS leaders whose teams have no variable comp, or to CSMs with no variable component in their salary, the comparison to Sales always shows up. Sales on a 50:50 split. Half base. Half variable. A lot more skin in the game. But here’s the part that often gets glossed over. When Sales misses quota for a quarter or two, their take-home pay takes a real hit. Not theoretical. Very real. I know this because 10 years ago, I lived it. I was in an enterprise sales role. On paper, the comp was incredible. Especially the variable. In reality, it took us 18 months to close the deal I was working on. For 18 months, there was no variable. Just a very uncomfortable base. When I moved into CS at the same company, the comp structure changed. Yes, there was still risk. The risk of losing a customer. But after a year of low, unpredictable income, I was honestly relieved. Higher base. Smaller upside. Much more predictable. And that’s the uncomfortable truth. You’ve seen this pattern before → → CSMs compare themselves to Sales comp → They want more upside and revenue exposure → But when volatility enters the picture, comfort wins → Most fall right in the middle of the bell curve → Happy to trade big upside for stability and safety This is not a character flaw. It’s a design reality. We keep asking CS to “be more commercial.” While ignoring that most CS roles are built for long-term value, not short-term swings. And the fix? Stop copying Sales comp models. Start designing CS-native ones. So I’m genuinely curious 👇 What are the smartest CS comp structures you’ve seen? How have you created upside without turning CS into a high-volatility role? What actually works in the real world? Sales logic or CS reality. What’s your take? #customersuccess #revenue

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