Artwork for podcast RevOps FM
Scaling from $100M to $1B ARR as a RevOps Leader - Cody Guymon
Episode 36 • 10th June 2024 • RevOps FM • Justin Norris
00:00:00 00:52:09

Share Episode

Shownotes

What does it take to scale a company from $100M to over $1B in ARR?

Cody Guymon has taken a journey that most revenue operators could only dream of—helping Qualtrics scale to an $8B acquisition and then a $27B IPO. Now he's back at an earlier stage company, hoping to repeat the trip all over again.

We chat through his lessons learned, his forecasting methodology, and how he architected a unified RevOps function with the CEO before joining Workato.

Thanks to Our Sponsor

Many thanks to the sponsor of this episode - Knak.

If you don't know them (you should), Knak is an amazing email and landing page builder that integrates directly with your marketing automation platform.

You set the brand guidelines and then give your users a building experience that’s slick, modern and beautiful. When they’re done, everything goes to your MAP at the push of a button.

What's more, it supports global teams, approval workflows, and it’s got your integrations. Click the link below to get a special offer just for my listeners.

Try Knak

About Today's Guest

Cody Guymon is a strategic sales and operations leader, leading teams at Vivint, Qualtrics, and now Workato. He helped scale Qualtrics from a $1B unicorn to an $8B SAP acquisition and then through an IPO at a $20B+ valuation. Today he serves as the COO of GTM Operations at Workato.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/codyguymon/

Key Topics

  • [00:00] - Introduction
  • [01:07] - What is GTM operations?
  • [03:50] - Working 1-1 with reps in the field
  • [04:46] - Creating a truly unified GTM ops function
  • [16:56] - Go-to-market analytics
  • [19:16] - Pros and cons of unification
  • [23:29] - Project planning and prioritization
  • [30:17] - Forecasting and thinking long-term
  • [39:24] - Experience at Qualtrics and SAP
  • [47:03] - Cody’s daily routines

Thanks to Our Sponsor

Big thanks goes out UserGems for sponsoring today’s episode. 

We all know running outbound is a huge pain—you need to manage a dozen different tools and data sources and it takes ton of manual work to keep it all going.

UserGems solves that with one platform to capture signals and automate next steps with workflows and AI.

You get a library of the most impactful signals in one place, automated playbooks to make sure your team executes consistently, and Gem AI to create personalized messaging for each prospect. 

So stop wasting time and start targeting your most promising buyers with less headcount. Click the link below for a special offer just for my listeners.

Try UserGems

Learn More

Visit the RevOps FM Substack for our weekly newsletter:

Newsletter

Transcripts

Justin Norris:

Welcome to RevOps FM.

2

:

Today, we are continuing our series,

looking at truly unified RevOps

3

:

teams, teams that are actually

supporting the entire go to market

4

:

organization for marketing to sales

to CS and exploring what does this

5

:

actually look like in practice?

6

:

What are the things that make it work?

7

:

What are some of the pitfalls?

8

:

And we are chatting with Cody Geimann,

COO of GTM operations at Mercado.

9

:

Which happens to be one

of my favorite platforms.

10

:

I'm a big fan of Workato.

11

:

Cody's been in RevOps for over 13 years

and he's helped navigate revenue teams

12

:

through some really incredible periods of

growth, like when he was COO at Qualtrics,

13

:

took them through an 8 billion acquisition

by SAP followed by a 27 billion IPO.

14

:

So he's been in the trenches.

15

:

He's got the scars to prove it.

16

:

And he's got a lot of wisdom to share.

17

:

I am excited to dig in.

18

:

Cody, welcome to the show.

19

:

Cody Guymon: Hey, thanks

so much for having me.

20

:

Appreciate it.

21

:

Justin Norris: I would love to just start.

22

:

think a lot in my own work about

like, what is this thing that we do?

23

:

What is it for?

24

:

What is the actual job?

25

:

Because it's sort of like,

glue that sits between a lot of

26

:

other pieces of the business.

27

:

How do you think about the scope

and mandate of GTM operations

28

:

through your own experience?

29

:

Cody Guymon: I love that.

30

:

I love the glue.

31

:

You said the glue.

32

:

I often think of the quarterback I

played baseball as a catcher, kind of

33

:

a field general type of position, but

I think Rev Ops really is that right?

34

:

And we're enabling go to market

to exceed, high growth goals.

35

:

That's ultimately the end goal.

36

:

And there's a wide variety of ways in

which RevOps can help accomplish that.

37

:

So, I like Glue, Quarterback, Enabler,

we're here to make sure that, the

38

:

revenue teams hit and exceed targets.

39

:

Justin Norris: One of the, themes

that I often explore and just things

40

:

that I reflect on in my own day to

day is the extent to which we're

41

:

both supporting those teams and

helping those teams and giving them

42

:

things that they asked for, and at

the same time, there's a reciprocal.

43

:

you mentioned the word coach, you know,

the coach is also kind of evaluating

44

:

the performance of those teams and and

driving them in different directions and

45

:

How do you thread that needle personally

between like I'm here to help you.

46

:

I'm here to support you But

I'm also here to like keep you

47

:

honest and keep you on your toes

48

:

Cody Guymon: it's all about the approach.

49

:

I think personally, Cause you know, we're

here to help, here to support, here to

50

:

enable, but at the same time, we have

access to a lot of data and insights that.

51

:

Sales reps don't have, I mean,

they're doing what I think is

52

:

the hardest job on the planet.

53

:

carrying a quota and 50 percent of their

pay is tied to it and all that good

54

:

stuff, but we, get advantage points.

55

:

So I think the approach is just the key

is like, even with the coaching, it's

56

:

still, I'm here to help say, Hey, I'm

seeing this on the insights I'm seeing

57

:

that your average sales price is declining

quarter of a quarter and our win rates

58

:

decreasing in the inbound channel.

59

:

Like what are we doing there?

60

:

And it's like collaborative,

what do you think's happening?

61

:

are we getting desperate?

62

:

So that's why the ASP is falling.

63

:

Mike.

64

:

why aren't we holding value stronger?

65

:

and I think that you can thread

the line as long as the approach

66

:

is super collaborative, right?

67

:

As soon as it becomes ivory tower,

Rev Ops folks saying, Hey, this, that,

68

:

and the other just doesn't feel right.

69

:

we've had coaches that are ones that'll

get in there with you and help you

70

:

figure it out and really work with

you for me, baseball on my swing or.

71

:

Whatever it might be.

72

:

So I think it's all about the

73

:

approach.

74

:

Justin Norris: It's interesting in your

example, you're kind of modeling working

75

:

with, reps down in the field to what

extent do you find it useful to go and

76

:

actually go one on one with members

of revenue teams, go to market teams

77

:

versus working through their manager,

their coach, the leaders of those teams.

78

:

Cody Guymon: it's always good to get

a pulse of the field at the rep level.

79

:

I meet with reps.

80

:

I wouldn't say that I do it weekly,

but every quarter for sure, I'm

81

:

meeting with reps every month.

82

:

I'm meeting with reps.

83

:

and so I think it's important to feel

the pulse reps and I'll mix that up.

84

:

High performers, medium performers,

that sort of thing, just to get a feel.

85

:

But then for the most part, working

through sales leadership, I mean,

86

:

even in my role, I'm working with,

the business leader segment leader

87

:

kind of level for most of it.

88

:

And then, folks on my team, whether

they're in sales ops or enablement,

89

:

they're going to also have counterparts

that are business units that they support.

90

:

And so we'll work through kind of a

combo of sales leadership and ops team

91

:

members that support those business

units to kind of work collectively.

92

:

For the most part, but I still like to

get a pulse by meeting with reps for sure.

93

:

Justin Norris: The examples

that we've chatted about very

94

:

briefly so far, sales examples.

95

:

very much.

96

:

and you have a sales ops background.

97

:

So that's the place where you

started from, just as I was

98

:

looking at your LinkedIn profile.

99

:

It's interesting to me when I chat with

folks about, what makes you nervous?

100

:

What do you worry about when you think

about a unified function, at least the

101

:

people that are outside of sales ops,

like on the marketing side of the CS side,

102

:

common refrain is, Oh, we're just going

to get like swallowed up by sales ops

103

:

and just be, sort of on the periphery.

104

:

And it's still really going

to be very sales centric.

105

:

and our concerns are going

to be pushed to the side.

106

:

How do you think about that?

107

:

Particularly as you've come more from

a sales centric place about keeping all

108

:

those functions in, view and in scope.

109

:

Cody Guymon: so just to

back up a little bit.

110

:

The scope that I have here at

work auto is, beyond sales ops.

111

:

Like you said, it's marketing ops.

112

:

It's C.

113

:

S.

114

:

Ops.

115

:

It's partner operations.

116

:

It is sales ops.

117

:

It's enablement.

118

:

go to market data, deal desk,

compensation, those sort of functions.

119

:

It's a great question and very observant.

120

:

do have a sales ops background.

121

:

So the things that I'm bringing up are

talking about, mainly sales reps and

122

:

things of that nature, but I think all

the other functions need to have the

123

:

same sales rep focus, I would say that to

my teams, like if you're marketing ops.

124

:

And you're generating pipe and you have

SDRs and you have inbound and paid.

125

:

Like, how is it converting

at the rep level?

126

:

Are you sitting down with reps?

127

:

Do they feel like the

quality is going up down?

128

:

what does it look like?

129

:

And even for partner ops, like we have

a partner ops function and, it's great.

130

:

we want to look at our PMMs and what

we're generating and that's awesome.

131

:

But what's happening at the rep level?

132

:

Are they feeling like they're

working well with partners?

133

:

Are they closing deals at a clip?

134

:

That's appropriate.

135

:

I know that I say it as you might say

as a sales operator, but I think every

136

:

other organization needs to have the

same mentality like is what we're doing

137

:

in our function, whether it's marketing

ops or not, marketing ops, partner ops.

138

:

Are we helping sales reps?

139

:

When if we are, we're doing our job.

140

:

If we're not, we're not doing our job.

141

:

I don't care what metrics and

dashboards we have to make us feel good.

142

:

We're not hitting revenue targets.

143

:

We're not winning.

144

:

And I think Mercado has that mentality.

145

:

our head of marketing ops, Michael

fan, he's written automations that are

146

:

happening in the background, and they're

generating pipeline at amazing clips.

147

:

one of his recipes that he's built,

which is a workflow automation.

148

:

is reaching out to people that

jump on our landing page, but

149

:

don't fill out our demo request.

150

:

If they leave the page and they're a

Mark Cato contact where Cato just in the

151

:

background will meet you will email them

within five minutes and say, Hey, saw you

152

:

jumped on a website to get a demo request.

153

:

You didn't fill it out.

154

:

Do you want to re engage?

155

:

And that little recipe automation that he

built generated over 2 million, a pipeline

156

:

and a quarter for our sellers to go win.

157

:

And he's very focused on am I as an

ops leader generating pipe for our

158

:

sellers to win, which I want all of

my leadership team to be thinking.

159

:

The whole time.

160

:

So really cool observation.

161

:

Good question, but I

don't know if that helps.

162

:

I would think everybody

should be thinking that way.

163

:

no matter

164

:

what org you're

165

:

Justin Norris: I love it.

166

:

And I actually was in, some meetup

of some kind where Michael was

167

:

presenting and he presented that

automation that you just described

168

:

and it was like jaws were dropping.

169

:

it's really cool on some level, but

even beyond the technical part, what I

170

:

find interesting is, the fact that he

is thinking about generating pipeline,

171

:

not delivering something else that

somebody else asked for so that they

172

:

can deliver pipeline, but in his own

right, and that is not a mindset.

173

:

A lot of ops teams.

174

:

Always have, a lot of them are

more in a service orientation type

175

:

of posture do you cultivate that?

176

:

Is that workado culture?

177

:

Where does that come from for you?

178

:

Cody Guymon: I think it's both.

179

:

I think Mercado had it before I arrived.

180

:

to Michael's credit, he's

been here a while to others.

181

:

Credit this we're here before I

was, I've been here 18 months.

182

:

So, it's definitely a workado culture

mindset, automate first, what can we do

183

:

with our tool, drink our own Kool Aid,

all that type of stuff to go help win.

184

:

And then, when I got on board, I

think I emphasized that as well.

185

:

Like, how are we going

to go generate pipe?

186

:

What are we going to go do to help

when, it's all of us collectively.

187

:

So.

188

:

yeah, I think it's a bit of both.

189

:

I've always been pro very pro sales, in

my career of like helping sales when, and

190

:

so that, might be, part of who I am as

well, but yeah, definitely it's a good

191

:

combo when it was already here for sure.

192

:

And then I'm trying to try and amp it up

193

:

too.

194

:

Justin Norris: So maybe we can

just dive a little bit deeper

195

:

into the structure of your team.

196

:

You mentioned some of the

functions that you support.

197

:

Can you walk us through who's on

it and how you kind of staff those

198

:

different areas of the business?

199

:

Cody Guymon: Yeah, for sure.

200

:

So we talked marketing ops, Michael fan.

201

:

Uh, he has a team of about five.

202

:

And so it is that team.

203

:

We have partner ops led by

a guy named Ryan McCabe.

204

:

He's got a team of one FTE and

two interns, a team of three.

205

:

We have CS operations, customer success

operations, Tom McClavish runs that org.

206

:

It's a team of two with

a couple of dotted lines.

207

:

we have our sales ops organization,

which is five led by Maria Joseph.

208

:

we have a field readiness org, which we

call it field readiness here, but it's,

209

:

often called enablement at other orgs.

210

:

Led by Chris Harper.

211

:

It's a team of six.

212

:

We have go to market compensation.

213

:

So all variable comp for

all go to market functions.

214

:

It's led by Sean Simpson.

215

:

We have our deal desk team led by Rebecca

Rubico and she's, got a team of three

216

:

supports from global, but wargs there.

217

:

And then we have go to market analytics

and insights led by Tyler Lawson.

218

:

It's a team of three right now.

219

:

We're going to grow that to four,

hopefully five years soon, but.

220

:

That's kind of the structure of my org.

221

:

I think what's nice is the purview is you

kind of see end to end all of the funnel.

222

:

You get to see, the whole view,

whereas at Qualtrics, it, I didn't

223

:

have that full purview is it was very

siloed in different organizations.

224

:

It's really just refreshing to see it all.

225

:

come together and you

can just move faster.

226

:

Planning's easier when you're all

coordinated and it's just, it's fantastic.

227

:

People know each other.

228

:

And so even my new things, like someone

will say, Hey, can I, you know, turn off

229

:

this sales, this field in Salesforce?

230

:

if you as a sales ops team, just

kind of like, Hey, yeah, everyone in

231

:

sales ops, we're good, but you know,

let's turn it off, a lot of times

232

:

damage happens now when you see, Oh,

CS ops is like, no, no, no, no, no.

233

:

We use that field for this reason

or that reason, or, everybody says,

234

:

no, we all don't need that field.

235

:

We can turn it off and we

can clean up stuff quick.

236

:

Like that's one little example of

how you can move fast, but it's

237

:

really nice just to be coordinated,

238

:

Justin Norris: And did you inherit

this unified structure or was

239

:

that unification project something

that you led when you join?

240

:

Cody Guymon: No, it was part of when

I joined it, but even ultimately

241

:

more upstream a little bit, it was

part of the recruitment process.

242

:

when I was interviewing for this role

and leaving, Qualtrics, I really worked

243

:

with BJ, our CEO to kind of design

what the org chart would look like.

244

:

what makes sense to have in this

organization and can we work seamlessly

245

:

and why and why not for each function.

246

:

So when I joined, I think, I think for the

first quarter, it was like just sales ops.

247

:

And I was learning just workado.

248

:

I was learning how we're set up and.

249

:

I joined in Q4, which every ops leader

knows is always fun because you're

250

:

doing the annual plan and getting ready

for territories and quotas and pipe

251

:

gen goals and all that type of stuff.

252

:

So it was just drinking from a water

hose, but then after the first quarter,

253

:

I'd started Q2, all the groups came

together and it's just been awesome.

254

:

Justin Norris: Were there specific pain

points or challenges with the way that

255

:

work had functioned before that, the VJ

was trying to solve by like recruiting

256

:

you and having that plan in place or

was it just sort of, we think this

257

:

is the next step and it'll be good.

258

:

I

259

:

Cody Guymon: of both.

260

:

I think we're kind of gotten to the

size and scale crossing, you know, a

261

:

hundred million in revenue and growing

and, at that size and scale, you gotta

262

:

get coordinated and you gotta set up

processing systems that work together.

263

:

So I think there's a bit of like

right size and scale to start

264

:

laying the groundwork there.

265

:

Uh, you know, when I joined, I

think there were some issues.

266

:

I think we were.

267

:

I, I remember trying to set up a pipeline

goals for the following year, and for

268

:

me, pipeline goals in dollars, like how

many dollars do we need by source and

269

:

by quarter and by sales team, so really

matrix down to the, granular level.

270

:

And, you know, when we started

doing that right off the bat, it was

271

:

like, okay, well, this org measures

in dollars, but this one's doing

272

:

count of ops and this one's doing.

273

:

Ops that are qualified in this stage,

but they don't really care about earlier

274

:

stages and it's like, well, how do we

get coordinated as a whole to know if

275

:

we're ahead or behind paces of business?

276

:

So we can't just like reach out

and ping everybody individually

277

:

and see if we're doing okay.

278

:

So it was just stuff like that, but

I knew that was going to be there.

279

:

When you have silos everywhere,

it's hard to be coordinated.

280

:

You're going to do what's

best for your business unit.

281

:

And that that's great.

282

:

And that works to a

certain scale of company.

283

:

Then you get to a spot where, if you're

a later stage, pre IPO company, need

284

:

to know future quarter predictability.

285

:

And is the pipeline we're generating

today enough for tomorrow?

286

:

And could we confidently.

287

:

Set a beat and raise if we needed to,

if we were going public and you start

288

:

working backwards from there, you need

to standardize on a lot of things.

289

:

So I knew that coming in though.

290

:

I mean, that's, that's kind of stuff

that gets me excited is going and

291

:

building and doing all that stuff.

292

:

I think once it's all set

and in motion and turnkey.

293

:

you know, it's not as, not as fun,

294

:

Justin Norris: to dig a little into the

example that you provided, because I think

295

:

it's really interesting and probably many

operators have that experience of like,

296

:

everyone's got their own spreadsheet,

their own metrics, not in alignment.

297

:

So the vision of the promised land,

so to speak, of where you want to get

298

:

to might seem clear, but getting to

Everyone on board, especially when,

299

:

there's a lot of different people

already doing things their own way.

300

:

That could be challenging.

301

:

What's the like change management

process that you follow to kind of

302

:

bring everybody into that aligned state.

303

:

Cody Guymon: not, not easy.

304

:

So I think one area that's like

the key starting point is that when

305

:

I joined, a fellow colleague who

worked for me at Qualtrics joined

306

:

at the same time, Tyler Lawson to

run go to market data and analytics.

307

:

So we had a central team that

was going to own standardized

308

:

reporting, pipeline pacing.

309

:

Average sales price definition, win rates.

310

:

Like you have one spot to go, right?

311

:

So that's key.

312

:

I think first is just to get like an owner

that sits in the org and that's great.

313

:

Now that person can really

collaborate with all the groups

314

:

and, bring that data together.

315

:

So that was kind of step one,

but to your point, it's still a

316

:

lot of change management to go.

317

:

Either take that reporting

on or in some cases tweak it.

318

:

We're going to go from count of ops to

dollars and that's going to be different.

319

:

And, we're gonna have targets

now that are different.

320

:

They're in dollars and not

count and things of that nature.

321

:

So there's just a lot that happens.

322

:

But I think one of the key components

for Ramos leader is to be collaborative.

323

:

If you work well with others and you

could talk to the why you start with

324

:

the why it's important to do that.

325

:

Not just I'm doing this because

it's the way I did it before.

326

:

And we're going to do it here.

327

:

And I know everything that's not

gonna work, but if it's like, Hey,

328

:

this is the reason why I think we

all want to standardize on dollars or

329

:

I'm using that as the example, but.

330

:

this is why it matters and why it

will really matter when we're public

331

:

or in the future at some point.

332

:

then I think it's all fine.

333

:

It's not super smooth, but like,

generally being friendly, collaborative,

334

:

looking out for their best interest.

335

:

Why would they not like it?

336

:

And how can you mitigate

that feeling generally goes a

337

:

long way.

338

:

Justin Norris: Don't be a jerk.

339

:

In essence,

340

:

Cody Guymon: Don't be a jerk.

341

:

Yeah, that's great.

342

:

I think that sums it up pretty

343

:

well.

344

:

Justin Norris: am intrigued

by how you described the go

345

:

to market, analytics function.

346

:

Hopefully I got that right.

347

:

I'd love to just like better understand.

348

:

What they do, are they like the

data team or do they work with

349

:

another sort of business data team?

350

:

I'd love to just go deeper into that.

351

:

Cody Guymon: The data team

352

:

for everything revenue.

353

:

Justin Norris: Let me know.

354

:

Okay.

355

:

Cody Guymon: So, you know, you're going

to have finance professionals in FP& A

356

:

that are going to own all the financial

data, but, as far as revenue metrics

357

:

are considered, this team owns it

and they, build out data dictionaries

358

:

and get buy in on definitions, right?

359

:

There's oftentimes 15 different

definitions for what a

360

:

customer is, Depending on which

department you're talking to.

361

:

And so if there's a place to document

that, like if finance is asking for

362

:

a data poll or whatnot, or they're

pulling data and that, that cut count

363

:

of customers looks different than maybe

the go to market analytics team polls.

364

:

why is that?

365

:

Right.

366

:

and if you have definitions

clearly laid out.

367

:

A data dictionary catalog, you know,

central source of truth for that

368

:

just becomes pretty easy, right?

369

:

I mean, the average sales price

could be really interesting, right?

370

:

If you have a, quarter with a 9 figure

deal, that's the only 1 you've ever had.

371

:

And you're looking at a chart.

372

:

Do you exclude that 1 for the

sake of analytics purposes?

373

:

Just.

374

:

Exclude it.

375

:

So we could see without

that one, were we okay?

376

:

Or were you just going to celebrate

that we were just awesome because of

377

:

one deal pulled up the average, right?

378

:

So there's just different ways you can

slice data as a go to market professional.

379

:

And so you've got to have a

central kind of source of truth for

380

:

those, and that's what that team

381

:

does.

382

:

Justin Norris: This data dictionary

that you describe, this seems

383

:

like a very tactical question, but

I'm interested in these things.

384

:

Like, where does it live?

385

:

Is it a shared Google sheet

that people can access?

386

:

Do you have some kind of knowledge base, a

387

:

wiki?

388

:

Cody Guymon: the high spot,

389

:

it's a high spot page.

390

:

Yeah, that's what we use for our

kind of centralized repository for

391

:

everything kind of go to market related.

392

:

And we can kind of drop that

And send it to everybody.

393

:

Justin Norris: And does that team have,

if we just think about the tech stack

394

:

that they're using, do they have sort

of their own data warehouse, whether

395

:

that's like Snowflake or big query

or whatever they're using, or do they

396

:

still share space with the rest of the

org in terms of data and warehousing?

397

:

Cody Guymon: they'll have their own pulled

out for go to market and stuff like, and

398

:

utilize that.

399

:

Justin Norris: Thinking about,

you sketched out this org design

400

:

during recruitment, you've come

in, you've, you've built it out.

401

:

It sounds like 40 people.

402

:

I didn't, I wasn't keeping count,

but it felt like about there by the

403

:

Cody Guymon: Yeah.

404

:

35, 35 ish, Yeah.

405

:

Yeah.

406

:

It's a good, good man.

407

:

Interns probably 40.

408

:

Yeah,

409

:

Justin Norris: big team.

410

:

any like pain points or challenges

because I know there's the benefits and

411

:

I'm a believer in this function that's

why we're talking about this, but Being

412

:

realistic if someone else was to take

this journey, what are some of the

413

:

challenges that they should watch out for?

414

:

Cody Guymon: man.

415

:

That's a good question.

416

:

a lot of direct reports, so

that's, that's, tough with like,

417

:

you know, wanting to have enough

time with everybody, individually.

418

:

I think for me, the key there is when

hiring, make sure that you look for

419

:

people that can thrive in ambiguity,

if they need a lot of handholding, It's

420

:

going to be really difficult for me

to give them the time needed for sure.

421

:

so that, time spread, I think is key.

422

:

Now there's some things we could do.

423

:

We can find another person and consolidate

some stuff, but I don't want to do that.

424

:

I think we're trying to be lean

as a business, be more efficient.

425

:

I can do it.

426

:

I can be spread, but you

know, span of control.

427

:

It's a big team.

428

:

There's a lot of, folks there.

429

:

So that's just, I think, time management.

430

:

is important.

431

:

don't know that I would say

there's a lot of like challenges.

432

:

There's a lot more pros than any

cons bringing them all together.

433

:

I mean, we move faster, we move more

efficiently, we're more coordinated.

434

:

We, I mean, we did our annual term

within, a week, everything was done.

435

:

I mean, quotas were loaded for

the new year in the systems the

436

:

day the annual term flipped over.

437

:

So everybody had quotas, comp

plans were done and sent out for

438

:

signature within 10 days, territories

were done within three days.

439

:

I mean, like you can get stuff done.

440

:

Pipeline targets were done before

we even started the quarter.

441

:

It's it's a lot easier to be coordinated

when you have all the groups, when you're

442

:

kind of waiting on another group and

their, boss to like prioritize it for you.

443

:

And then that's a key component of

everything you're trying to build.

444

:

Like, if it's siloed, that just, now

your annual turn can take six weeks.

445

:

It can take two months.

446

:

I've heard of some areas of taking

three months, like, and the first

447

:

quarter before everything's dialed.

448

:

That's just so slow to get

started off on a new year.

449

:

So, I don't know many

450

:

cons

451

:

Justin Norris: Mean that's amazing

Exploring the example you gave a

452

:

little bit further let's say the

structures were separate, like

453

:

compensation, territory, stuff like that.

454

:

Is it the primarily like the marketing

sales alignment that makes that hard

455

:

when the groups are separate and

that, marketing's got to sign onto

456

:

its pipeline quota or.

457

:

Cody Guymon: Yeah, I

think it's all of them.

458

:

It's hard when they're all like, you

know, if it's just sales ops and marketing

459

:

opposites and marketing and partner

opposites and partners, it's just so hard

460

:

to get yet targets that you're pulling

up, like really difficult to get targets.

461

:

If you don't know what each

group is doing, And to check it,

462

:

like, are we good enough at the

macro to be able to hit a number?

463

:

And, you know, targets is part of it.

464

:

Territories is part of it.

465

:

SKO is part of it.

466

:

if you're fragmented all over the

place, it's really difficult to put on

467

:

a coherent SKO or, a revenue kickoff.

468

:

But, it's really difficult.

469

:

You're just waiting on hopefully

other people to prioritize what

470

:

you're prioritizing, but if you think

about in marketing, there's so many

471

:

different things going on at the annual

turn within just marketing, right?

472

:

Like, pipeline targets as part of it,

but the gardener magic quadrant comes

473

:

out in Q1 and is our website ready

what's our messaging to the market

474

:

going to be like, there's so much

stuff that has nothing to do with ops

475

:

that becomes Always mission critical.

476

:

So having the marketing ops pulled

out to be able to support that, but

477

:

also really prioritize and know since

August that these things were due, you

478

:

just work on it a lot earlier, right?

479

:

Like we have an offsite for my whole

organization in September every year.

480

:

And in September, we start end

goal in mind, February 1st,

481

:

which is our fiscal February 1st.

482

:

These are all the deliverables

we need to have done.

483

:

How do we back into that now?

484

:

Are we on pace?

485

:

Are we behind where we're behind?

486

:

Are we waiting on any key

decisions and we have that build

487

:

up all the way to February 1st.

488

:

So we know, it's getting

prioritized in Q3, for every group,

489

:

Justin Norris: The planning you

just described is, the operational

490

:

backbone planning of the company.

491

:

And then there's the, net new projects,

new features or deliverables or

492

:

requests and what you prioritize.

493

:

And in some ways, even though it's

siloed, having the functions, the ops

494

:

teams embedded within their functions.

495

:

That is.

496

:

makes it kind of simple because the

marketing ops person or leader goes to

497

:

the CMO and is like, what do you want?

498

:

And the sales ops person

goes to the sales ops leader.

499

:

What do you want?

500

:

Now you've got everyone together.

501

:

What does planning look like?

502

:

Like, how do you manage that?

503

:

And how do you figure out like, where are

we going to allocate and budget our time?

504

:

Cody Guymon: good question.

505

:

I think what I do is I do the

urgent and important matrix.

506

:

It's always mine.

507

:

Like, is this going to move

the needle for importance?

508

:

Like, is it going to bring

value to the business and then

509

:

is it urgent or is it not?

510

:

And I like to do that actually siloed.

511

:

So I like to go with Michael and marketing

ops and be like, what's the most important

512

:

things you're working on right now?

513

:

Because what I don't want to do is

collectively, if we do that as a big

514

:

go to market, Operations organization,

I might be pulling if, if I did

515

:

that, I would be pulling resources

that should be dedicated to their

516

:

department into like a collective, you

know, group and, and I think then you

517

:

start service abilities really bad.

518

:

I think, you know, like, You start to

get away from what the rev ops leader

519

:

should be doing, which is supporting

each group individually, but like

520

:

collectively working together faster.

521

:

And so wouldn't do that.

522

:

like to do those actually siloed on the

like strategic projects you're talking

523

:

about, like for the CMO, I want to

make sure he knows like the marketing

524

:

ops team as they're back and they're

going to do things for annual planning

525

:

and for the broader org that matters,

but they're going to have dedicated at

526

:

least 50 percent of their time to go do.

527

:

Whatever strategic

project you're working on.

528

:

And so, I don't like to like get it

all together because you might have,

529

:

okay, this quarter, 90 percent of

my whole organization, we're going

530

:

to all put heads down and focus

on sales ops stuff that matter.

531

:

you're just a big sales ops team.

532

:

Justin Norris: And that's what like the

head of CS and the head of marketing

533

:

worry about with a central function is

that all like that the center of gravity

534

:

will get, sucked away from them and they

won't get, but at the same time, it is

535

:

interesting to me, sometimes I've seen

in businesses that I've been working in

536

:

like marketing's, doing pretty well and

CS is doing pretty well, like we don't

537

:

have a term problem, we don't have a

pipe generation problem, but the sales

538

:

team can't close and that's actually the

most critical, um, Area of the business.

539

:

Do you see it as your job

to triage that at all?

540

:

Like have that purview across the business

and direct those resources accordingly.

541

:

Cody Guymon: Yeah, do think

that's important to triage and

542

:

like have a focus for sure.

543

:

I don't necessarily love muddling

resources allocation at like

544

:

the analyst level, do that.

545

:

However, if there are times where it's

like, in this hyper growth late stage.

546

:

So.

547

:

It's not like I have a lot of folks that

are, sitting around with nothing to do.

548

:

If I did, that'd be sweet.

549

:

we could flex a little bit, right?

550

:

Like, I think one example where, you could

have some flex, especially at Workato is.

551

:

you know, a lot of people can

build recipes that work on it.

552

:

That's part of our, it's part of our

culture to be able to use the tool.

553

:

So if we had like a massive backlog

of really high impact, urgent

554

:

recipes, we wanted to go build the.

555

:

You know, drive the business forward.

556

:

And, they were mainly with,

let's say CS ops right now.

557

:

And, we just didn't have enough

builders in our CS ops team to

558

:

go through that backlog quickly.

559

:

Theoretically, if I had a lot of

bandwidth across my, my business, I

560

:

could say, Hey, team for the next three

days, let's get, a couple analysts

561

:

from marketing ops, a couple analysts

from partner ops, cause you all are

562

:

humming right now and have some time.

563

:

Let's get you to come build recipes

with CS and go, triage that you

564

:

could definitely do that for sure.

565

:

And I think there were times 4

plus years ago where you had some

566

:

excess capacity to be able to mix.

567

:

I think right now.

568

:

In the efficiency gain, get

profitable environment that we're in.

569

:

It's not a luxury.

570

:

I have at work auto.

571

:

It's not a luxury.

572

:

Most ops leaders have is to have

this like flex workload type of shift

573

:

because we're just trying to be lean.

574

:

So ideally, yes, you could do that.

575

:

I haven't seen that in the

last few years of my career.

576

:

maybe there are others that

have that, surplus workload,

577

:

Justin Norris: And from that point of view

of like, profitability, economizing, are

578

:

there ever times where you find yourself

like, hypothetical CMO wants to do X, Y,

579

:

Z, or head of CS wants to do, et cetera.

580

:

But actually this is where I feel

the business, needs most like,

581

:

, there's, giving them what they want

versus giving them what they need.

582

:

Do you ever find you have

to, negotiate that at all?

583

:

Cody Guymon: I think generally the

negotiation is more so, for instance,

584

:

like, my CS ops leader, it's like

he has a running prioritization,

585

:

to do list really, right?

586

:

Like big projects and things, and

it's kind of sorted high to low.

587

:

And I think more of the pushback is when

a new thing comes on to say, okay, CS

588

:

leader, we have 15 things here that we

have on the priority list one through 15.

589

:

If you want this by Friday, does

that mean you want number one and

590

:

number two to be delayed now, or are

we now slotting this in as number

591

:

one, or does that one come in?

592

:

And generally that's like a dance, right?

593

:

It'll be like.

594

:

I still need number one and number

two, but let's bring this into

595

:

number three and it's something quick

we can get done and that's okay.

596

:

If the other two get bumped

away, you know what I mean?

597

:

Like that's generally, I think the

negotiation, I think from my perspective,

598

:

I try not to Push back too hard on what

those domain leaders feel is important.

599

:

And that's, I guess I felt

like super strong about it, but

600

:

to me, like I'm not the CMO.

601

:

Like I've been versed in marketing

throughout my whole career.

602

:

And I feel a little bit of like, who am

I to, Say what's important and whatnot.

603

:

I can come back with

like, here's the list.

604

:

Here's how long we need

to get these things done.

605

:

And like, where do you feel like this

slots, I think is a better combo.

606

:

I mean, I could ultimately, like,

if I felt completely like no

607

:

way, that's not that important.

608

:

maybe say something, but generally

like, I'm pretty, reluctant to

609

:

really push back too far there.

610

:

unless I think it's like egregious,

which is very rarely, if any.

611

:

Justin Norris: Thinking about impact.

612

:

you mentioned that, project that

Michael worked on, which is, super cool.

613

:

What are the, some of the other things

that you're just, you know, really

614

:

proud of that you feel your team's been

able to deliver over the last while?

615

:

Cody Guymon: I think some of those

automations pieces that you either

616

:

drive pipeline or efficiency are great.

617

:

those will always be what

I say with Ricardo because

618

:

it's our tool and I love it.

619

:

But I think another one, that's

important Is, I'll just pull up a

620

:

report that I think it's used every

day by hundreds of people and it's, uh,

621

:

it's a pipeline pacing report, right?

622

:

for Q2 that we're in right now,

are we ahead or behind pace for

623

:

pipeline generation by source,

23 days into the quarter and then

624

:

tomorrow we refresh that thing.

625

:

And it's 24 days into a quarter.

626

:

We're ahead or behind pace and It's

by segment and then as you expand the

627

:

segment, it has every team underneath.

628

:

So I know.

629

:

Okay.

630

:

Overall, we're good with partners, but by

double click, we're like doing great in

631

:

a mea, but like, North America is behind.

632

:

Right?

633

:

what are we doing?

634

:

And so knowing that,

leading indicator piece.

635

:

Is a really important part

because it's beyond just a report.

636

:

It's, transforming an organization

to think not just about today.

637

:

It's like thinking about long

term success, future quarters.

638

:

and so I think like, if you were

to ask like what thing, when I

639

:

came here in the last 18 months is

like, hopefully trying to reorient

640

:

and think beyond current quarter,

for sustainable long term success.

641

:

rather than coming into a quarter

and be like, whew, thanks.

642

:

We got enough pipeline.

643

:

Great.

644

:

All right.

645

:

We, we feel okay.

646

:

And then it's like, Ooh, pipeline

got cleaned those first two weeks.

647

:

Now we're behind.

648

:

Oh no, now I don't feel good.

649

:

Right.

650

:

It's like, should be cleaned real time.

651

:

So it's not like a cleanup

every start of the quarter.

652

:

We should know actually, before we even

get to that quarter, we feel pretty

653

:

good because we know we've been on track

for the last three quarters or not.

654

:

but that goes with, long term

planning, annual planning goes into

655

:

forecasting and having an idea about.

656

:

running a forecast call.

657

:

Part of my job is I run the sales forecast

call for all of our business units.

658

:

And when I go into that call, every week,

eight or nine of the quarter, we have

659

:

a current quarter forecast call, but we

also have a future quarter forecast call

660

:

and every rep and leader in the company

will go and look at their next quarter,

661

:

scrub the pipe and give an initial

call for that against their number.

662

:

And so it's not just pipeline, but

we're talking forecast now, and then,

663

:

you get beyond that and you're looking

at an events calendar and marketing.

664

:

And there's a lot of ways that you can

be thinking more into the future, and I

665

:

think that's key.

666

:

Justin Norris: Let's drill on forecasting

because a, it's just super interesting.

667

:

It's super important.

668

:

And it's an area where I think, a

lot of businesses now that we're

669

:

not in the hyper growth, free money,

everyone's just buying everything mode.

670

:

a lot of businesses perhaps have seen

the fragility, the weaknesses in their

671

:

own forecasting methodology to use

a particular, like you, described it

672

:

at a high level, some of the things

that you do, is there a particular

673

:

methodology you follow, or is it

really just about, Clean data, regular

674

:

inspection, that sort of thing.

675

:

Cody Guymon: I think it's a lot

of things, it is clean data.

676

:

That's important.

677

:

it is regular forecast calls

weekly with inspection.

678

:

it's knowing people well, reading people.

679

:

you probably see right here, I've

got a poker table in my office.

680

:

Like part of my favorite thing is to read

people like, are they bluffing me or not?

681

:

Right.

682

:

That's important to know, So there's

the art and the science to all of it.

683

:

And I think, can use all the data

and analytics in the world for sure.

684

:

But if you have a massive needle mover

deal, have you done enough inspection on

685

:

that, the analytics will give you a yay

or nay based on like Salesforce hygiene.

686

:

But, do we feel like we're

going to go get that deal?

687

:

Yes or no?

688

:

Is the sales leader going

to do whatever it takes?

689

:

Is the sales rep going to go

on site and camp out there for

690

:

a week to get the deal done?

691

:

there's a lot of intangible kind of things

that I think are important to a forecast.

692

:

So it's just about getting in the details.

693

:

It's about knowing the needle mover deals.

694

:

It's about.

695

:

Knowing people and if they, if

they sandbag or they don't, it's

696

:

about, knowing if they have a

claim, do they have multiple paths

697

:

to that number or do they not?

698

:

Is it a single path to that number?

699

:

And so very risky, or is there multiple

paths and what are those paths look like?

700

:

and so you can rely on it a bit heavier.

701

:

it's asking those questions.

702

:

Okay.

703

:

If that deal falls out, how

do you get to that call still?

704

:

And I also think, some people

are too rigid on their forecast.

705

:

manual submissions, there'll be like

a commit and a high, like two things.

706

:

You're like, well, it's just

going to get you a massive range.

707

:

Doesn't really help you.

708

:

Right.

709

:

So I like to do.

710

:

A lot of people call it, uh, closest to

Penn, nearest to Penn, but I, what I want

711

:

to do is I want to hear that, but I I

want somebody's response to that question.

712

:

I don't want them to have fear if

they actually think it went down

713

:

week over week, with a low and a

high, you want them to converge.

714

:

Low, you never want to have drop

on that range when you're getting

715

:

the sides of your range, right?

716

:

The high generally, I guess it would

be okay if it goes up, but generally

717

:

you want it to hold, or it probably

is going to converge and come down

718

:

a little bit as the quarter goes.

719

:

But that like middle one, whatever

you want to call it, your call, your

720

:

forecast, your commit, your closest

to the pin, whatever we use there.

721

:

I think it's really important for people

to be like, Plus or minus 3 percent on

722

:

that number, like a lot of people just

want to see that thing go up and so

723

:

they'll say just plus 3%, but like, I

don't want that to be a sandbag low number

724

:

that just comes up every quarter because

I actually then don't know what we're at.

725

:

But if there's lack of like fear of

retaliation on that one coming a little

726

:

bit now, if that thing catapults to

the low, that, I mean, that's a whole

727

:

nother story, but if you're plus or

minus 5 percent on that thing, and you're

728

:

generally hitting right or right at it,

maybe four weeks into a quarter, I think

729

:

that's important too, is to create an

environment where you can get honesty.

730

:

I've been at some organizations where

it's like, you better come out the

731

:

gates forecasting at least 80 percent

of the number or you could get fired.

732

:

Well, what if really the forecast is 60?

733

:

you want them just to lie,

to make you feel better about

734

:

it so they don't get fired?

735

:

Like, it's just a weird environment.

736

:

But if you're like, no, no, no, I

want to know the real all the time.

737

:

And that also means on the high, I want to

know the real, I don't want you to parking

738

:

lot deals in the next quarter that you can

bring in in the last second and be a hero.

739

:

That's not going to be a hero to me.

740

:

And I'd rather have it be an upside

deal within the current quarter.

741

:

Like, so we know about it.

742

:

Let's just be honest and

communicate about it.

743

:

So we're, good.

744

:

And I also know if you've exceeded your

number on the last day of the quarter and

745

:

you want to push them stuff, you can also

tell me, if you need it, we can bring

746

:

it in at the global level, but I might

not push for that signature today because

747

:

I have a light next quarter pipeline.

748

:

It feels good to start off a

little bit better, but I'll do it.

749

:

Like I want to hear that concern

come out I don't want to be

750

:

searching for it, you know?

751

:

Justin Norris: It's so logical and common

sense what you're saying and it's cultural

752

:

and it's back to not being a jerk.

753

:

all that good stuff.

754

:

And yet it's, not that common.

755

:

Like the negative stereotype of sales

culture is the other thing you said,

756

:

encouraging this deceptive dishonest

behavior and that's really toxic and

757

:

it's actually harmful to business

performance, not just harmful to people.

758

:

why does that dysfunction exist?

759

:

Do you think, why are more people

not kind of commonsensical the

760

:

way that you just described?

761

:

Cody Guymon: I think a lack of, probably

fear, it's a fear based culture, you know,

762

:

and you don't have somebody that's willing

to say like, no, I want transparency.

763

:

I want honesty.

764

:

I want, that then it's really hard, you're

in an environment where that's like,

765

:

tops down and you have to come out the

gates a certain number, you could get

766

:

fired and like, That's just the culture.

767

:

you need somebody brave

to push back against that.

768

:

and that's rare because I think, people

want to be comfortable and maybe don't

769

:

want to stand up to that type of stuff.

770

:

But, it is rare ish.

771

:

hopefully it's like becoming less and

less rare, but it can set you apart.

772

:

I think for those that are opportunistic

listening to this, Like if you want to

773

:

set yourself apart as a RevOps leader,

be willing to get uncomfortable.

774

:

Be willing to ask like uncomfortable

questions and just sit in

775

:

the silence for a little bit.

776

:

Like, Hey, are you really

just committing that deal?

777

:

Cause you like are worried if your

commits lower, like you're going to

778

:

hit a list on a PIP list somewhere.

779

:

Cause like, I feel like there's no

way you're getting to that number.

780

:

Convince me that I'm wrong, please.

781

:

Because like, I want to know

why you're saying that number.

782

:

Maybe I'm missing something,

but that feels forced.

783

:

It feels.

784

:

Like, it's not going to happen.

785

:

I would love for it to like, tell me why.

786

:

And maybe you're opportunistic.

787

:

There's some stuff that

I don't know about.

788

:

Great.

789

:

But like, I think those are the

type of combos that's really where

790

:

you can set yourself apart versus

just like reporting the news.

791

:

Right.

792

:

Oh, the forecast was 90%.

793

:

It's going to be 90 percent and I think

it takes a leader to be like, no, what

794

:

do you actually think it's going to be?

795

:

well, I think it's going to be like 70%.

796

:

Why?

797

:

Because the data says this and I

think this person's kind of scared

798

:

because they had a bad quarter last

quarter and they don't want to come

799

:

out the gates with another bad call.

800

:

So they're probably inflating it.

801

:

you know, you just got

to dig a little bit.

802

:

but you can set yourself apart,

803

:

Justin Norris: I love it.

804

:

one of the things maybe that's

in your, corner, at least now at

805

:

Workato having that conversation.

806

:

You know, you had a great run at Qualtrics

and you hit some highs that not, everyone

807

:

gets to hit probably relatively small.

808

:

Number of people get to have those

sorts of exits So maybe first question

809

:

is do you feel that that's like

an asset that previous experience

810

:

now that you go into new roles?

811

:

And number two, maybe just walk us

through Some of that journey and some

812

:

of the battle scars and things that

you learn through that kind of growth

813

:

Cody Guymon: for sure.

814

:

No, I feel very fortunate, very blessed

to have joined Qualtrics when I did.

815

:

I mean, I joined a rocket

ship that was taken off.

816

:

And so a lot of that was

just, yeah, I'm grateful.

817

:

Grateful that I joined when I

did, because I think I learned

818

:

30 years of experience in six.

819

:

I we went from 100

million in revenue to 1.

820

:

5 billion when I left.

821

:

I mean, it's like, It's insane.

822

:

Not many companies grow that fast

and go through such transformational

823

:

organizational changes in such

a short time that it's wild.

824

:

We put some op stability in

place and prep to go public.

825

:

And, you know, Sequoia gave a checklist.

826

:

Here's the things you

got to do to go public.

827

:

We create the roadshow deck.

828

:

We got to do the things.

829

:

And then we got acquired by SAP a

couple of days before going public

830

:

for 8 billion, which was super

exciting, fun, sad for some people.

831

:

Some people wanted to go public.

832

:

So, finance team was like, Oh,

I wanted that on the resume

833

:

and now it's gone, whatever.

834

:

But, it was a crazy experience to

go then for the next two years.

835

:

Learn what a big company does at scale.

836

:

How do they operate at scale?

837

:

How do they operate with

15 lines of businesses?

838

:

How do they forecast with

15 lines of businesses?

839

:

How do they communicate about

opportunities where you might have

840

:

four businesses all working with the

same economic buyer at the same time?

841

:

Like that's.

842

:

learning experience being a part of

a company that was when I joined 600

843

:

people at the acquisition, maybe it

was:

844

:

up to the first sales kickoff event

for SAP it's called field kickoff.

845

:

And I show up to that event.

846

:

There's 15, 000 sellers in North America.

847

:

and you're learning how

do they do that at scale?

848

:

so I learned so much

there that was helpful.

849

:

my career and got tutored by

some amazing ops leaders there.

850

:

And, but then I also learned what, kept

Qualtrics as a small, nimble machine.

851

:

What's the advantages of

being small and nimble too.

852

:

Like there's a reason we were

outpacing growth of the big company

853

:

because we, we can move quick,

like steering a cruise ship's hard,

854

:

steering speed boats pretty easy.

855

:

So, learn that.

856

:

And then two years after the

acquisition, it was, we're going

857

:

to break off and go public.

858

:

And so we were ready for that.

859

:

So that was prepping for you go

public again for the second time.

860

:

And then actually going public.

861

:

And we went public in a COVID

environment, which was wild.

862

:

I mean, it was like a virtual ringing

of the bell, you know, it was like

863

:

a button and it wasn't a New York.

864

:

It was

865

:

like in the Utah office,

866

:

Justin Norris: it on zoom?

867

:

Cody Guymon: was on zoom, I was in my

house just watching it on my TV, right.

868

:

It was just wild.

869

:

It was just different.

870

:

And so, yeah, I learned a lot

about that, but then being public

871

:

is a whole different beast.

872

:

Being public is a different beast than

being acquired by somebody that's public.

873

:

we were a blip in SAP's

radar as far as revenue goes.

874

:

But then like actually, setting a beat

and raise model, you know, quarterly

875

:

earnings calls, prepping for those,

having actual stress of like that ticker

876

:

right there that I'm looking at, it's

going to go up or down based on the

877

:

quarter, whole different environment.

878

:

So I did that for like six

quarters, seven quarters.

879

:

And then, um, wanted to go back

private, smaller, do it again.

880

:

So joined Ricardo's later stage

series, E last valuation, 5.

881

:

7 billion.

882

:

And, just felt like that the team

here and the product is great.

883

:

And so made the jump here to try and

go rinse and repeat and hopefully

884

:

get Ricardo to that big, billion

plus in revenue one day and all that

885

:

fun stuff too.

886

:

Justin Norris: Well, I think

you made a good decision there.

887

:

And I'm curious as you were describing

that, really amazing journey.

888

:

you asked some hypotheticals, like how

do you communicate about opportunities?

889

:

How do you forecast it?

890

:

Like, I'm actually curious for

the answers to those things.

891

:

Obviously you can't give it in

depth, but give us an example.

892

:

cause it does kind of boggle the

mind a little bit about how you

893

:

would do that at that sort of scale.

894

:

If at least for me, who

has not experienced that.

895

:

Cody Guymon: So at each

level in an organization, you

896

:

sync with your counterparts.

897

:

And there's generally like at the head

company, like a sales leader, that's

898

:

over all of the lines of business.

899

:

Right.

900

:

So like Qualtrics, would represent

the global forecast for Qualtrics.

901

:

And so I would join a call with

the global SAP software leader.

902

:

And I would be one of 10

lines of businesses, right?

903

:

You've got Concur and you

have SuccessFactors and you

904

:

have lots of other products.

905

:

And so I'm giving the Qualtrics

number and then someone else is giving

906

:

this number and it's all aggregating

together in this like massive tool.

907

:

and then you get that forecast, right?

908

:

So that person's making the

same judgments against me that

909

:

I'm making like, am I truthful?

910

:

Am I a beat and raise person?

911

:

Do I miss a lot?

912

:

Like they're doing that for

their Global unit for the overall

913

:

call.

914

:

Justin Norris: So it

just becomes a roll up of

915

:

a roll up of a roll up type of thing.

916

:

Cody Guymon: it's a roll up of a

roll up and they're all the same.

917

:

Every call is the same call.

918

:

It's just a roll up of a roll up.

919

:

So think about SAP, like with

just a lot of product lines,

920

:

like if you at your company have

multiple product lines, right?

921

:

So like at Qualtrics, we

had multiple product lines.

922

:

So I would get a product line

forecast for each of them.

923

:

And so imagine that's just like a

line of business instead of like

924

:

a product within your own company.

925

:

Right.

926

:

It kind of is, it's a sub

product of a bigger company.

927

:

And so it's just.

928

:

It's kind of the same thing.

929

:

And it goes back to the principles

we talked about of like, how

930

:

do you get accurate at that?

931

:

You create transparency, you create safe

environments, you dig in and questions.

932

:

You have data that will support, you

ask really good questions that the data

933

:

says that validates or invalidates it.

934

:

But it's ultimately the same

thing, which is kind of an

935

:

interesting thing that I learned.

936

:

it's just a lot of layers.

937

:

So instead of like in your company,

you might have four sales layers.

938

:

You might have.

939

:

15 to 30 sales later

layers at a bigger company.

940

:

And each group has their own thing.

941

:

So the head of North America will

have a forecast with all the North

942

:

America line of business leaders.

943

:

And then you go beyond that.

944

:

And it's like the AVP of enterprise West

for SAP, we'll be meeting with all the

945

:

AVPs of enterprise West for all of the.

946

:

Lines of businesses because they all

got to coordinate on the, opportunities.

947

:

Right?

948

:

So it's like, if one of the lines of

businesses has a 2 million deal going

949

:

with Apple, it's like, Oh, I've also got

something going with Apple and the work.

950

:

Can I work on that with you?

951

:

And we can coordinate, right?

952

:

It's all about coordination at that point.

953

:

Pipeline transparency.

954

:

And, you're working a bill of materials

now with Apple at the executive level.

955

:

You're not just doing a departmental

deal with like, a manager you're

956

:

now going at like, Oh, wow.

957

:

We're going to deal with

the CEO of that big company.

958

:

it's going to be part of a larger deal.

959

:

We call them bombs or bill of

materials as part of a larger

960

:

bill of material transaction.

961

:

But it's ultimately the same thing as if

you are a company with multiple products,

962

:

Justin Norris: That's wild, man.

963

:

that's pretty far out.

964

:

appreciate that glimpse in,

uh, inside, you know, steering

965

:

the cruise ship, as you put it.

966

:

maybe the last, question we have time

for, and we'll just shift gears a little.

967

:

I, I'm super curious, for people,

especially that have, Managed to go

968

:

through these growth stages and have

achieved a lot just ways of working and

969

:

personal systems routines You have 10

million things that require your attention

970

:

at any point in time you start your day

How do you kind of figure out where to?

971

:

Direct your focus and make sure that

you're prioritizing the right things

972

:

Cody Guymon: Yeah.

973

:

I think, especially in

a remote environment.

974

:

people have got to have routines and

systems, I'm up every day, seven o'clock

975

:

in the morning or earlier, right?

976

:

It's never after I'm getting going

mountain time, usually seven 30.

977

:

and then I'll go late, you know,

if I'm working with, APJ region,

978

:

but like, I have my time dedicated.

979

:

My calendar is like insane.

980

:

I think we scheduled this

thing like six weeks ago.

981

:

Like, you just have to have

like, be dialed on like, do

982

:

you have hard work ethic?

983

:

Are you somebody that's just

going to crank, you know, and ops,

984

:

you should have a motor, right?

985

:

You should have an ability to work hard.

986

:

and so those systems, matter.

987

:

I think there's a second part of your.

988

:

Question about more prioritization

rather than like actually

989

:

like work ethic and tools.

990

:

And I think prioritization is always

the battle, but I talked about a little

991

:

bit earlier, but urgent and important,

where does it fall on that quad?

992

:

Is it, top, right?

993

:

Is it super urgent and super important

than we've got to prioritize that one.

994

:

And then where do they fall off and which

trade offs do you make are the other ones.

995

:

So that's generally what I'm trying to do.

996

:

I mean, every day I come in and I've got.

997

:

like a note card with like the

five things I need to like get done

998

:

that day or three things sometimes,

sometimes it's one thing like today.

999

:

It's like board deck board

deck needs to get done.

:

00:48:51,820 --> 00:48:52,720

And I got this podcast.

:

00:48:52,770 --> 00:48:53,440

That's like.

:

00:48:54,265 --> 00:48:55,385

All hands on deck.

:

00:48:55,465 --> 00:48:57,355

So we have a board meeting next week.

:

00:48:57,995 --> 00:49:01,655

So coming in and I like to start with

like a fresh piece of paper every day.

:

00:49:01,885 --> 00:49:04,105

And I just sit, you know,

early in the morning.

:

00:49:04,805 --> 00:49:05,905

This is what I need to get done.

:

00:49:06,055 --> 00:49:10,335

This is what we needed to get done as

a team one thing that I do is like,

:

00:49:11,345 --> 00:49:13,235

what can I cancel from my calendar?

:

00:49:14,665 --> 00:49:18,035

I think that's important every day

to do any of these meetings, do they

:

00:49:18,035 --> 00:49:19,515

slip out of urgent and important?

:

00:49:19,915 --> 00:49:21,605

And are they part of this

list that I wrote down?

:

00:49:21,605 --> 00:49:23,445

If they're not, can I bump them a week?

:

00:49:24,405 --> 00:49:25,525

Sometimes that's annoying.

:

00:49:25,525 --> 00:49:28,285

Like, so sometimes if I've like bumped it

enough, I got to be like, okay, I got to

:

00:49:28,285 --> 00:49:31,595

take that meeting because it's urgent now

because I've bumped it multiple times,

:

00:49:31,595 --> 00:49:35,525

but I think it's important to really get

strict on prioritization and I'll say it.

:

00:49:35,555 --> 00:49:37,735

Hey, sorry, board decks,

everything right now.

:

00:49:37,925 --> 00:49:38,845

I got to bump this meeting.

:

00:49:39,565 --> 00:49:44,288

but generally it's like being able to say

no, being able to push stuff off, being

:

00:49:44,288 --> 00:49:47,598

able to prioritize your day and then

making sure things fall in line with it.

:

00:49:47,598 --> 00:49:49,908

I think in day by day, if you're

doing that every day, then

:

00:49:49,908 --> 00:49:51,448

your year became prioritized.

:

00:49:51,618 --> 00:49:54,238

So I don't try and make

it like too complex.

:

00:49:54,528 --> 00:49:59,318

I'm not one to like file it all in

JIRA and project management tools

:

00:49:59,388 --> 00:50:02,688

I'm sure somebody can help me with

that, but I'm just like pen and paper.

:

00:50:03,398 --> 00:50:04,218

Excel spreadsheets.

:

00:50:04,228 --> 00:50:04,508

Great.

:

00:50:05,024 --> 00:50:05,494

Justin Norris: I love it.

:

00:50:05,544 --> 00:50:08,934

And I am grateful that I was the

second thing on your list today.

:

00:50:08,944 --> 00:50:11,834

In addition to the board deck,

I really appreciate that.

:

00:50:12,334 --> 00:50:14,324

This was a super fun chat, Cody.

:

00:50:14,324 --> 00:50:15,984

So thank you very much for doing it.

:

00:50:16,345 --> 00:50:16,875

Cody Guymon: Thank you.

:

00:50:16,895 --> 00:50:17,485

I had a blast.

:

00:50:17,485 --> 00:50:18,192

this was awesome.

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube