Self-improvement
So, you want to be a CRO…
“So, you want to be a CRO…” provides an idea of the quantity and diversity of skills one must possess, frequently without prior training.
So, you want to be a CRO…
Chief Revenue Officer – the Evangelist, the Head of Growth
Do you also like sticking needles in your eye and chewing on razor blades?
It’s good to aspire and have career goals; reaching CRO is a good one.
But you should know what “good” looks like to perform this role:
1) Deliver revenue – without it, there is no company (no pressure.)
2) Can’t do it alone – must use employees who are notoriously independent (sales professionals)
3) Find, hire, motivate, and coach sales team(s)
4) Manage sales team(s) daily – Are they doing the right things? (Not easy, their job is not straightforward)
5) Educate the CEO and the Board - You are on your own, there is typically no sales culture to support you. It is up to you to carry the flag – create, nurture, and sustain a sales culture.
6) Execute SaaS-based cross-channel marketing
7) Execute native advertising
8) Use software to do programmatic ad buying
9) Understand and execute digital advertising
10) Develop and execute a GTM growth plan for sales and marketing that is global
11) Develop sales strategies
12) Develop systems for analyzing sales performance
13) Do strategic planning – drive a multi-year revenue projection
14) Lead contract negotiations
15) Execute Channel / Partner development
16) Have skills in financial modeling, copywriting, and all of the typical SaaS products used in sales and marketing
17) Be the company Evangelist – speak at industry conferences, analyst, and media events
18) Lead and participate in sales cycles with the team(s)
19) Build executive-level customer relationships
20) Constantly test demand-gen. Create and experiment. Implement a “lean startup” culture.
How many years does it take to get exposure to and become proficient with the items on this list?
Beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed?
You are not alone. It’s one of the toughest jobs in any company.
Most don’t receive the proper training required.
The best CROs are typically life-long learners and are disciples of self-improvement.
If you don’t have a self-improvement plan, get started now.
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Notetaking
“Notetaking…” provides an overview of my Notetaking System, explaining the advantages of taking notes and providing best practices.
Notetaking is a common trait of successful people. I’ve always been a note-taker. It began for me in school, and I’ve never stopped. Here are some of the benefits I’ve found for business:
1) Better Absorption of the content
2) Better Listening to the Speaker
3) Better Memory of the content
4) Display of Respect to the Speaker
5) Encourages the Speaker to speak more while you Listen and take notes.
I have developed a Notetaking System to share best practices with others.
I use technology today as it enhances the capabilities and de-risks the System (with Cloud backup, etc.) But you don’t have to. I began with a pencil and a notebook, and my Notetaking System works well without my tech.
As for the tech, I use an Apple iPad Pro (10.5 inch), iPadOS version 16.2, Apple Pencil, and a notetaking App: Noteability v 11.2.2.
The App nomenclature is slightly different than I thought if I only used a pencil and notebook, so here are the terms I will use with a translation for a notebook approach.
Noteability uses Notes, Subjects, and Dividers. This is akin to note page(s), folders, and hanging files.
Follow these steps and be on your way to notetaking excellence.
1) Create the Subject: Daily Journal.
2) Create the following Dividers:
a) Accounts – for customer accounts
b) Opportunities – for prospective accounts you are working
3) If you lead a team, create a Divider called Weeklies for your weekly 1:1s with your team.
4) Create Dividers for Hiring, Partners, and Personal.
5) Within each Divider, Create only the corresponding Subjects for each Account, Opportunity, Direct Report, Employment Candidate, Partner, and Personal interest like Vacations, Family, etc. Example: I created an “AT&T” Subject for the “Account” Divider while doing this at Oracle.
6) Create the standalone Subjects: Leadership, Professional Development, and Business Development.
My approach to Notetaking
I take notes on almost everything I do. They are handwritten. If I need to use the notes to produce a more formal piece of content in text, I type a document. Occasionally, it may be duplicate work, but the benefits outweigh the lost productivity.
My Daily Journal is my “top dead center.” I begin each day by Journaling in a Note in “Daily Journal.”
Journaling is another best practice for successful individuals.
- Weekly – Write three (3) things for which you are grateful.
- Daily – Write down one positive experience in the last 24 hours, what You had to do with it, and what More you can do.
If I have more than one positive experience, I take the time to journal them.
Next, I write down the key events I have planned for the day, as found in my calendar.
I follow that with my 3:3:3 Plan:
- 3 hours on my highest priority
- 3 shorter, simpler tasks that I can accomplish
- 3 maintenance activities.
I now have captured what “good” looks like for my day.
Click here for an example of what my Daily Journal looks like for a given day.
In Noteability, I can use different colors to write in, so I alternate colors daily to help with the segmentation.
If a single day requires more than a single page often, I’d break it down and make a separate Note for each day to ease finding things later.
I developed some additional best practices for taking Notes when interviewing a candidate that I won’t cover here but will cover in a future lesson.
Enjoy, and good luck.
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