Tech Sales Resources

I am passionate about sales and enterprise software. I decided to reach out to my network at Y Combinator and Harvard Business School to get a better sense of the resources (books, articles, blogs, podcasts, newsletters) that folks relied on to get smart on B2B sales. I'd like to think that these resources are applicable to a wide audience, from startups selling to large enterprises to global companies selling to other large enterprises.

After taking a look at the submitted resources and adding them to my initial list, here is the combined list of resources. I'll be updating this list periodically as I continue to learn and absorb new content.

If you'd like to suggest more content to be added to the list, feel free to message me via twitter.

Overview

Sales Strategy
Go-to-market, customer segmentation, selling approach, pricing, product

Sales Operations
Revenue operations, enablement, productivity, coverage model Customer Success
Customer retention, account management Growth
Product marketing, B2B strategic partnerships, business development Leadership
Sales leadership and management, coaching Career
Types of jobs in tech sales, how to break into tech sales


I'll be writing up takeaways and key insights for the resources above. If you'd like to receive my notes, feel free to subscribe by email below.


Last updated: June 13, 2020

Field Notes: Drift’s HYPERGROWTH 2019

I had a phenomenal time attending the first half of Drift’s HYPERGROWTH conference in Boston on Tues, 9/03. Drift is a chat software & conversational marketing platform that raised a $60M Series C from Sequoia, General Catalyst, and CRV in 2018. This is Drift’s third year putting on this event and the event was incredibly eye-opening. Below are some of the key takeaways and lessons learned from the speakers.

David Cancel (CEO, Drift)

  • There are over 7K SaaS solutions for sales and marketing on the market today. This means that customers have more choice than ever before.
  • In order to differentiate from the competition, companies need to create a compelling end-to-end customer experience.

Alex Honnold (Professional Rock Climber + Free Solo)

  • Before tackling an incredibly difficult task, remove all distractions so that you can create a space to think deeply. For example, Alex would go two months without responding to emails.
  • At the end of the day, there is no shortcut to accomplishing a difficult task. Put in the work and grind it out.

Danny Meyer (Founder, Shake Shack)

  • Customers don't pay for food, they pay for how you make them feel.
  • Surround yourself with people who have strengths that compliment you instead of hiring people who just make you feel good about yourself.
  • Culture is not supposed to be “maintained”. Culture needs to advance as the company grows.

Leela Srinivasan (CMO, SurveyMonkey)

  • The CMO’s job has a median length of 31 months, which is materially shorter than other C-suite positions. Part of the reason is that most CMOs struggle to work closely with the sales function.
  • One way to increase collaboration between marketing and sales is to review the respective metrics together at the same time. After reviewing the metrics and setting new targets, be incredibly honest with each other and hold the other function accountable for their metrics.

Anita Elberse (HBS Professor: Businesses of Entertainment, Media, and Sports)

  • Dare to make big, blockbuster bets. The notion of smaller bets being “safer” is a myth. Anita challenges the audience to pursue something they’re so passionate about that failure is worth it.
  • Bet on your own star power and use it to lift others. Along the way, surround yourself with the right people.
  • Find your inner multi-hyphenate. Build a career that lets you combine multiple roles so that you can learn new skills. The highest achievers keep breaking out of their comfort zone along the way.
  • Do as The Rock does. Specifically, we never just play the game, we want to change the way the game is played. Challenge the norm in a constructive and positive way.

NELSON + Edusight

Edusight's technology assets just got acquired by NELSON, Canada's largest educational publisher [1]. This acquisition strategically combines NELSON's best-in-class educational content with Edusight’s insightful and personalized visualizations of student learning. I'm happy we found a home for Edusight's analytics and digital portfolio product so that we can reach millions of students.

Over the course of four years, Edusight has impacted over 300,000 K-12 students across 40 countries. I'm grateful to my Edusight team, family, friends, K-12 Edusight teachers, mentors, and investors for making this journey the most rewarding experience of my life.

This acquisition marks the end of Edusight, but it's only the beginning of my path in data and tech.

[1] Press Release: NELSON Acquires Technology Assets of Edusight, Continuing to Transform Education in Canada