SaaSy Talk Unfiltered | SaaSy Talk S01.E02: Journey from being the first sales hire at the company to expanding Internationally

SaaSy Talk S01.E02: Journey from being the first sales hire at the company to expanding Internationally

September 4, 2023 / 39:08/S1:E2

About The Guest:

Roi is the CRO of Uptick, a company that provides asset maintenance software for Fire & security companies. Founded in 2014, Uptick now employs 80+ full time staff, and its customers maintain 800k+ buildings and 10+ million assets across both the UK and ANZ. Roi was the first commercial hire in the company straight out of university.

Episode Summary:

Roi Abraham, CRO of Uptick, shares his journey from being the first sales hire at the company to leading the expansion into the UK market. He emphasizes the importance of being hands-on and doing the work, as well as the value of hiring the right people and building a strong team. Roi also discusses the significance of consistency, failure, and learning by doing in sales. He highlights the importance of focusing on the right customers and providing excellent customer service. Roi also shares his thoughts on multi-year contracts and the need to prioritize the customer's best interests. He emphasizes the importance of simplicity in compensation structures and aligning incentives with the company's goals. Roi also discusses the role of marketing in sales and the importance of a unified approach. He shares his favorite sports team, music genre, movie, and travel destination.

Chapters:

(0:00:00) Lack of marketing department and importance of doing the work

(0:00:43) Luck led to joining Uptick as first commercial hire

(0:02:00) Started in sales as an SDR, facilitating founder's sales

(0:03:55) No playbook, just pick up the phone and be relentless

(0:15:00) Choosing to expand Uptick to the UK market.

(0:17:19) Building a model and making key hires for UK expansion.

(0:26:26) Customer profiling and targeting innovative iguanas for success

(0:34:47) BDRs and SDRs are the marketing team

(0:37:18) Quick-Fire Round

Key Takeaways:

- Being hands-on and doing the work is important, even as a leader.

- Hiring the right people and building a strong team is crucial for success.

- Consistency and learning from failure are key to growth in sales.

- Focusing on the right customers and providing excellent customer service is essential.

- Multi-year contracts may not always serve the customer's best interests.

- Simplicity in compensation structures and aligning incentives with company goals is important.

- Marketing and sales should work together as one team.

Quotes:

- "I think it's super important that you're still doing the doing in some way or form, and your team will love you and appreciate you."

- "If you're good, trust me, I'll do anything to retain you and I'll find a role for you."

- "Consistency, like all things in all businesses, is the key."

- "If you can be consistent at something and you can keep doing those things and if you understand the base metrics of what you need to achieve and you do it, you figure it out, success follows."

- "Let them go and leave a good taste in their mouth and yours."

- "Your customers, if they're super happy with the terms, they will stay."

- "The health of my sales guys and girls, how packed their calendar is, is the health of the company."

- "If you're fishing in the right place with the right tools, with the right rod, you will catch fish."

- "Keep it simple. It incentivizes them more if it's complicated."

- "We're one slack channel. We're all working together towards a common goal."

- "Your BDRs and SDRs are literally the marketing team out there."

- "Your marketing team is in Asylum on the side, it's a complete waste."

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