Champify

In the last 12 months, I published 149 posts earning 46,533 engagements on Linkedin. Looking back at my top 5 best posts, some things surprised me… This week, Peter Conforti from Good Content sent me a “2024 Wrapped” of my LinkedIn content. In the last 12 months:  – 149 total posts  – 46,533 total engagements  – 2.9 posts per week on avg  – 312 engagements per post on avg Here are the TOP 5 POSTS and my theories on why the topics resonated… 5 - The $3M enterprise sales secret (1,879 likes) A top enterprise seller shared his two-part formula: know your accounts better than their own employees, and quarterback deals like a pro. The secret isn't more activity - it's deeper account intelligence and internal selling. 4 - My big boardroom mistake (2,452 likes) As a rookie VP of Sales, I thought a perfect deck analyzing past performance would impress the board - until a VC tore me apart for missing the real point. What matters is predicting how your decisions will impact the next 6-12 months. That brutal lesson taught me how to lead today. 3 - Parental leave at a startup (2,459 likes) When our best performer announced his second child, we had a choice: optimize for short-term revenue or long-term loyalty. Our solution: Full OTE during leave, clear communication that family comes first, and thoughtful coverage planning. Turns out doing right by your people is good business. 2 - From AE to VP of Sales at a $960M startup (2,613 likes) Going from AE to VP Sales in 4 years required an unlearning of most conventional startup sales wisdom. Diverse hiring beats network hiring, deep product knowledge is overrated, and you're probably not as enterprise-ready as you think. Success isn't about avoiding mistakes - it's about not making the same one twice. 1 - Why I'm proud our top SDR changes diapers during work hours (4,261 likes) When a sales leader criticized our SDR for balancing parenting with work, I had to respond: Will hits 130%+ quota while being an incredible dad - and that's exactly what a top 1% rep looks like in 2024. Modern sales isn't about desk time; it's about results, and the best leaders adapt to how their top performers deliver those results. Peter has a full breakdown if you are interested or investing heavier into Linkedin next year -- DM him.

I just spent 23 hrs analyzing 1,949 Linkedin posts (everything my guests published in 2024). It’s fascinating. Here are the 9 data-backed lessons I found that will help you break through the noise in 2025… I did a 2024 ‘wrapped’ analysis on this year’s Good Content Series guests: Adam Robinson Sam Jacobs Chris Walker 🏄♂️ Scott Leese Todd Busler Peter Walker Jason Saltzman Ashley Faus Emily Kramer (1st guest of ‘25) I pulled every single post from the last 12 mo and mined for insights. (Comment “deck” and I’ll share the full 100+ pg report) Here are 9 lessons for anyone looking to replicate their success next year: 1. You don’t have to post every day. Most of this group only publishes 2-3x per week. BUT: a) their cadence is consistent, and b) each post is filled with rich, meaningful insight. They may miss days, but never weeks or months. When they show up it's in-depth and high-quality. 2) DO NOT expect smooth growth. Expect a hurricane. NONE of these creators are seeing up-and-to-the-right growth on the avg engagements of their posts. It’s chaotic. It’s spiky. It’s highs. It’s lows. This is why it’s important to take a long view on this motion. Impact is measured over quarters and years, not days and weeks. 3) You NEED a strong (contrarian) POV on the market Every single person on this list had a STRONG POV on where their market has been and where it is headed. If you want to stand out, this is critical. Ideally your POV runs counter to the status quo. What's in? What's out? What's next? You need an answer. 4) Understand your ICP deeply Sounds basic, but most people f*ck this up. Todd Busler told me he has a ton of GREAT content ideas about his founder journey, but he never uses them. Why? Because he wants to reach salespeople, and salespeople won’t care. He’s disciplined. 5) Make them say “Finally! SOMEONE is saying it…” Preach. Speak the unspoken. Say what everyone else is scared to say. If you put time and effort into figuring out 3+4 then this will come easy. 6) Share access to “insider” information All of the top posts from these creators feel like an insider tip at an exclusive dinner. You need to understand your own access points. Have data that no one else has? Share the insights. Talking with senior leaders every week? Share the takeaways. 7) Lean on expanded listicles Like this post! Bulleted list that is easy to skim, but with expanded context for depth. They do well. 4 of Adam Robinson’s top 5 posts were listicle format. 8) Get the fundamentals down ALL of these top posts mastered the basics. Hooks are critical. Numbers are your friend. Be deliberate with your formatting and use plenty of whitespace. 9) Don’t stop posting :) 2024 was the year all the execs started posting on Linkedin. Now use these learnings to break through the noise in 2025. Comment “deck” and I’ll share the full 100-pg report including dataset. 👋 I publish my content strategy findings weekly. Follow + learn with me in public.

David Vertin dropping knowledge. POV is KEY.

The next 21 (or 51) days will dictate how many of you hit your annual number. Here is a simple (not easy) 3 step framework to help drive EOY urgency AND know if you should forecast an opportunity or not: First, a few interesting stats to understand the playing field (according to Lightspeed's recent Sales Benchmark Report): ***55% of quota carrying reps are on pace to hit their target, meaning 45% of reps will miss (this is improving from recent years) ***41% of new logo deals experience slippage (not closing on time) HERE IS A 3 STEP FRAMEWORK TO HELP TIP THE ODDS IN YOUR FAVOR: (1) Ensure you have a mutually agreed upon “go live / kick off” date This is not something a rep can force on a prospect. The key component here is that it is a MUTUAL AGREEMENT. Ensure that the prospect knows exactly what is coming post signature. The more articulately you can explain what happens post docusign to demonstrate confidence in getting them set up on-time and on schedule, the better. (2) Focus your business case on the cost of INACTION instead of ROI Most buyers don't put any weight into your ROI case. For the small minority of prospects that do trust your ROI, it is helpful to get budget allocated to your project vs others. When believable, it can be powerful to help a budget owner make TRADE OFF decisions between multiple potential investments. However, ROI does NOT drive urgency. The reverse of ROI – aka the cost of inaction – helps show the true cost (or missed opportunity) of waiting. Work with your Champion to build out this model as detailed as possible while using their internal language. What is the cost (or missed opportunity) of waiting another N weeks? (3) A compelling event ALWAYS exists, it’s your job to uncover it Average reps use pricing as their only lever to drive urgency. The best reps know there are multiple compelling events (or even, micro compelling events) that you can tie to in order to increase urgency. If you sell to GTM teams – a planned SKO, a new territory model, new senior leadership starting, exec off-site, or new comp plan are all potential examples. If you sell to Eng/IT – code freezes, contract end dates, new product launches, or compliance dates are all potential examples. Your job is to FIND and TIE YOUR SOLUTION to these dates. TAKEAWAY With only 55% of reps on pace to hit quota and more than 4/10 deals slipping, you need to do everything in your power to avoid being a statistic. Run your deals through this 3 step guide to intelligently invest your time on the right deals, avoid surprises, and accurately make the number you called.

On the Hyperengage podcast, we sat down with Todd Busler, CEO of Champify, to talk about effective customer engagement strategies for startups. So as startups scale, how can they maintain a real-time pulse on customer success? This isn't just about collecting data. It's about actionable insights that drive growth: -Daily product analytics reveal user behavior patterns -Real-time monitoring of adoption rates and pipeline generation informs strategy -Integrated Slack alerts celebrate customer wins, boosting team morale -Immediate feedback loops provide clarity on product impact These approaches aren't just theoretical. They're being implemented by forward-thinking startups to great effect. The question is: How connected is your startup to its customers' success? In today's fast-paced market, it might be time to reassess your engagement strategy. #StartupGrowth #CustomerSuccess #ProductAnalytics #DataDrivenDecisions #HyperengagePodcast

We're back with 5 more technologies you probably want to know about. Maybe one of these will solve the biggest challenge you have today ↓ Dripify What they do: Automate lead generation on LinkedIn Watch their demo: https://lnkd.in/dRCX45jP GodmodeHQ What they do: They're similar to Clay without a learning curve. Watch their demo: https://lnkd.in/dWdeF8R4 Champify What they do: track & engage with customers as they change jobs Watch their demo: https://lnkd.in/dAjpBKQZ WINN AI What they do: Helps sellers in real time during their calls to ensure they're asking the right questions and following your sales process. Watch their demo: https://lnkd.in/daERwVY4 Common Room What they do: Shows your sales team signals from prospects and customers so you know who to reach out to, when, and why. Watch their demo: https://lnkd.in/dgXbBniV That's all I got for you today! Toodles

I just read Lightspeed’s “2024 Sales Benchmark Report.” The section on Win/Loss reasons was EYE OPENING. Here are my top 4 takeaways & how to take action based on what is happening within GTM teams in our industry: CONTEXT Lightspeed interviewed 154 companies in Q3/24 between Seed-Series E.  82% of the respondents have a direct sales motion. 67% have an average sales price of $0-100k. LOSS DATA INSIGHTS (responders could select multiple reasons) (1) 53% of the reasons for lost deals were due to the prospect deciding to take NO ACTION (2) 27% of the time they were due to the prospect choosing a competitor Most companies I speak with spend significantly more time on competitive positioning than they do combatting “do nothing” Based on these inputs, should you spend 2x the time improving your win rate vs status quo than on all the competitors combined? I am. WIN DATA INSIGHTS (responders could select multiple reasons) (1) 39% of the time, a closed/won deal was attributed to a decision maker’s prior experience with the product It is no doubt that previous experience influences future purchasing decisions yet most companies do not have a system in place to increase the chance of this happening consistently and repeatably. This is a massive (and relatively easy) lever to pull. (2) 38% were due to pricing flexibility and 28% were to contractual flexibility In a world where you will lose deals to “do nothing” 2x more than you win deals, commercial terms are as critical as ever. We are not in the hey day of 2021 where your sellers can be in a “take it or leave it” mindset. It is YOUR JOB as a leader to enable reps the flexibility to get the customer in the door. You don’t need to be the cheapest, but in today’s climate, giving your sales team the ability and permission to be creative with terms to win deals is a differentiator. 

Spoke to a director of sales dev who led 61 SDRs and promoted 48 of them One thing those 48 reps did really well? Proper account plans and a great relationship between SDRs and their AEs Neil Flanagan and I will be diving into what makes that relationship hum + how to craft a stellar account plan this Wednesday (free) If you sign up you will receive a recording, come hang out: https://lnkd.in/gV__XiTc

I led sales at Heap from $400K to $10M ARR in ~3 years. 9 out of 10 startups that hit $1M never make it to $10M. Here are my 5 biggest mistakes and how I’m increasing the odds of doing it again at Champify—faster: 1. I was always focused on the next chunky deal Instead, focus on building a pipeline MACHINE. Sam Blond phrases it perfectly, “Usually a company misdiagnoses a sales problem for a demand gen issue.” Religiously track how many new meetings and opps you are creating and constantly find ways to grow this number. This will have a bigger impact than a small increase in win rate. 2. I spent a lot of time searching for unicorn reps with the exact “right” profile Instead, invest time building the systems and frameworks to make any above average rep successful. That way, your success rate will be higher and when you do hire the truly great reps, they can be an order of magnitude more productive than their peers. 3. I over-indexed on the importance of product knowledge I come from a sales engineer background. The reality is that while product knowledge does matter, understanding of the PROBLEMS your persona and target account face is 10x more important than knowing the product inside and out. During training and enablement, think about ways to enable reps on the problems vs the nuance of your product offering. 4. I spent far too much time with reps in a 1-1 capacity and ended up wasting 100s of hours teaching and training on the same topics (without others benefitting) Implement mandatory enablement every 2-3 weeks. Before you have an enablement team, IT IS THE JOB of the sales leaders to own this. Lean on experienced reps and other roles within your org to deliver these training sessions. It’s critical to constantly level up your sales team AND do so in group settings to create space to share learnings, challenge each other, naturally compete, and scale. 5. I did my best to hire smart SDRs and get out of their way Outbound is significantly harder today. Remove as much of the decisions that an SDR needs to make. Determine the accounts and personas they should target, enable them on the problems each person in your buying committee faces, and search for areas you can improve by using data and constantly getting feedback. The outbound world is too hard today for junior reps to figure it out on their own. Takeaway: Scaling from $1M to $10M ARR isn’t about chasing the next deal or finding unicorn hires—it’s about building scalable systems, understanding your buyer’s problems, and constantly enabling your team to succeed at every level. Don’t make these dumb mistakes I did :)

Hustling for that promotion? This Thursday we are sitting down with Datadog's Neil Flanagan and Champify's Will Falkenborg 🌭 to learn what it takes to prepare SDRs to make the jump to AE. Set your self up for a strong Q4 finish and grab your spot here https://lnkd.in/ekB_2ZvC Can't make it? Register and we'll be sure to send you over the resources after the conversation