Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)
2024-02-18 · 122 min · 88 entities
Asserted relationships
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Glengarry-Glen-Ross-James-Foley/dp/B002NN5F7A
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Wolf-Wall-Street-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00IIU9FQY
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0.77
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Impossible-Inevitable-Hyper-Growth-Companies-Predictable/dp/1119531691
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0.77
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/The-Terminal-List-Season-1/dp/B09HYNH8TK
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/OnePlus-Dual-SIM-Unlocked-Smartphone-Hasselblad/dp/B0CHN7M531
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author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch )
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Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
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co-founder of EchoSign
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co-founder of EchoSign
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director of SaaStr Fund
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director of SaaStr Fund
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co-founder of EchoSign
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co-founder of EchoSign
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president at Adobe Systems
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president at Adobe Systems
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president of NanoGram Devices Corp.
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president of NanoGram Devices Corp.
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president of NeoPhotonics
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president of NeoPhotonics
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Feed category: Technology
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Feed category: Business
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Feed category: Entrepreneurship
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://penname.co/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://salesforce.com/
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Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://saastr.com/events
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Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://app.saastruniversity.com/collections/20252
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Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://hubspot.com/
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Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://snowflake.com/en
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://github.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://gong.io/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://saastr.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://cloudflare.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://adobe.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zendesk.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://sap.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://twilio.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zoominfo.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://apollo.io/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://pipedrive.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://vistaprint.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://procore.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://joinpavilion.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://paramountmovies.com/movies/top-gun-maverick
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://opus.pro/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://go.marketo.com/about-marketo-landingpage-emea.html
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zoomtopia.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://shoptalk.com/
Entities found in this episode
websites 46
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://penname.co/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://salesforce.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://saastr.com/events
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://app.saastruniversity.com/collections/20252
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://hubspot.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://snowflake.com/en
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://github.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://gong.io/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://saastr.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://cloudflare.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://adobe.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zendesk.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://sap.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://twilio.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zoominfo.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://apollo.io/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://pipedrive.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://vistaprint.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://procore.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://joinpavilion.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://opus.pro/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zoomtopia.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://shoptalk.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://penname.co/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://salesforce.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://saastr.com/events
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://app.saastruniversity.com/collections/20252
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://hubspot.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://snowflake.com/en
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://github.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://gong.io/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://saastr.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://cloudflare.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://adobe.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zendesk.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://sap.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://twilio.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zoominfo.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://apollo.io/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://pipedrive.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://vistaprint.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://procore.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://joinpavilion.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://opus.pro/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://zoomtopia.com/
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://shoptalk.com/
companys 19
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co-founder of EchoSign
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director of SaaStr Fund
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president at Adobe Systems
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president of NanoGram Devices Corp.
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president of NeoPhotonics
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co-founder of EchoSign
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evidence rules-v4
co-founder of EchoSign
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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology
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evidence rules-v4
director of SaaStr Fund
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director of SaaStr Fund
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evidence rules-v4
co-founder of EchoSign
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evidence rules-v4
co-founder of EchoSign
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evidence rules-v4
president at Adobe Systems
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president at Adobe Systems
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evidence rules-v4
president of NanoGram Devices Corp.
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evidence rules-v4
president of NanoGram Devices Corp.
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evidence rules-v4
president of NeoPhotonics
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president of NeoPhotonics
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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Technology
books 12
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Glengarry-Glen-Ross-James-Foley/dp/B002NN5F7A
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Wolf-Wall-Street-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00IIU9FQY
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Impossible-Inevitable-Hyper-Growth-Companies-Predictable/dp/1119531691
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0.90
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/The-Terminal-List-Season-1/dp/B09HYNH8TK
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0.90
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/OnePlus-Dual-SIM-Unlocked-Smartphone-Hasselblad/dp/B0CHN7M531
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0.77
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Glengarry-Glen-Ross-James-Foley/dp/B002NN5F7A
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Wolf-Wall-Street-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00IIU9FQY
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0.77
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/Impossible-Inevitable-Hyper-Growth-Companies-Predictable/dp/1119531691
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0.77
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/The-Terminal-List-Season-1/dp/B09HYNH8TK
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0.77
evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://amazon.com/OnePlus-Dual-SIM-Unlocked-Smartphone-Hasselblad/dp/B0CHN7M531
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author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch )
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author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch )
persons 6
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Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
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evidence rules-v4
Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://paramountmovies.com/movies/top-gun-maverick
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://go.marketo.com/about-marketo-landingpage-emea.html
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://paramountmovies.com/movies/top-gun-maverick
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evidence rules-v4
Link in episode "Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)": https://go.marketo.com/about-marketo-landingpage-emea.html
concepts 5
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Feed category: Business
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Feed category: Entrepreneurship
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Building a world-class sales org | Jason Lemkin (SaaStr)
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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Business
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evidence rules-v4
Feed category: Entrepreneurship
Episode description as stored
Jason Lemkin created and runs SaaStr, the world’s largest community for B2B/SaaS founders, and is the managing director of SaaStr Fund, a $90 million venture capital firm specializing in early-stage enterprise investments. He is also the mastermind behind two major tech conferences each year—one in the Bay Area, drawing in over 15,000 people, and another in Europe, with a crowd of more than 3,000 SaaS executives, founders, and entrepreneurs. Before SaaStr, Jason wore many hats: CEO and co-founder of EchoSign (later bought by Adobe), vice president at Adobe Systems, co-founder and president of NanoGram Devices Corp., vice president of NeoPhotonics, and a senior director at BabyCenter. In our conversation, we discuss:
• How far you should go without a salesperson
• Signs it’s time to hire salespeople
• Why you need to hire two salespeople
• How to compensate your salespeople
• How to interview salespeople
• When to hire a VP of Sales
• How to prevent their flaming out
• How to scale your sales org
• How to improve the relationship between your sales and product teams
• Much more
—
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• CommandBar —AI-powered user assistance for modern products and impatient users
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• LinkedIn Ads —Reach professionals and drive results for your business
—
Find the full transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/building-a-world-class-sales-org
—
Where to find Jason Lemkin:
• X: https://twitter.com/jasonlk
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonmlemkin/
• Website: https://www.saastr.com/
—
Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/
—
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Jason’s background
(06:18) The importance of sales in B2B businesses
(11:23) Signs that you should start hiring salespeople
(14:19) Attributes to look for in early sales reps
(19:08) Hiring a VP of Sales
(26:43) The role of a VP of Sales
(30:06) Interviewing salespeople
(45:16) Determining sales compensation and quota
(53:34) Transitioning from 100% commission to a smaller percentage
(56:58) Indicators of a hard-to-sell product
(59:39) Scaling the sales organization
(01:05:26) Understanding sales roles and titles
(01:10:02) Product involvement in sales, and vice versa
(01:20:32) Thoughts on product teams taking on P&L responsibilities
(01:27:23) One thing founders can do to become better at sales
(01:31:02) The ideal trial length for a free trial sales team
(01:39:50) Closing thoughts
(01:41:43) Lightning round
—
Referenced:
• Marc Benioff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbenioff/
• Snowflake: https://www.snowflake.com/en/
• Yamini Rangan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan/
• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/
• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com/
• Twilio: https://www.twilio.com/
• Cloudflare: https://www.cloudflare.com/
• GitHub: https://github.com/
• Columbo : https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1466074/
• What is Davos and why is it important? Your guide to the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting: https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/01/15/what-is-davos-and-why-is-it-important-your-guide-to-the-world-economic-forums-annual-meeti
• Adobe: https://www.adobe.com/
• Satya Nadella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satyanadella/
• Glengarry Glen Ross on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Glengarry-Glen-Ross-James-Foley/dp/B002NN5F7A
• The Wolf of Wall Street on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Wolf-Wall-Street-Leonardo-DiCaprio/dp/B00IIU9FQY
• A step-by-step guide to crafting a sales pitch that wins | April Dunford (author of Obviously Awesome and Sales Pitch ): https://www.lennyspodcast.com/a-step-by-step-guide-to-crafting-a-sales-pitch-that-wins-april-dunford-author-of-obviously-awesom/
• Pipedrive: https://www.pipedrive.com/
• Sam Blond on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-blond-791026b/
• Gong: https://www.gong.io/
• Zendesk: https://www.zendesk.com