GTM 128: The Death of Demos and Selling What Customers Actually Need with Fred Viet

Fred Viet serves as the Chief Sales Officer at Aircall, overseeing global sales and playing a key role in scaling the company's reach over the last four years. With a background that includes leadership roles at AWS, Microsoft, and Lenovo, Fred brings a wealth of experience in building high-performing teams and driving revenue growth.Discussed in this Episode:The differences between selling in APAC and North America marketsThe evolving role of partnerships and channels in software salesStrategies for effective annual revenue planningThe impact of AI on sales processes and team structuresThe future of SaaS pricing models and their implications for sales organizationsHighlights:(3:29) Differences between selling in APAC and North America.(9:10) The importance of understanding your ICP in partnerships.(15:07) Advice on avoiding job-hopping early in your career.(19:59) The impact of AI on sales team structures.(24:34) The potential of AI to level the playing field for SMBs.(30:10) Mistakes to avoid in annual revenue planning.(35:46) The shift from demo-centric selling to value-based conversations(41:38) Strategies for aligning sales and marketing teams.(31:55) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Fred thinks is bull$***.(43:28) One thing that is working for Fred/Aircall in go-to-market right now.Guest Speaker Links (Fred Viet):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredviet/Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: https://gtmnow.com/tag/newsletter/Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):Website: https://gtmnow.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_nowThe GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/Product GTMfund is Using: Superhuman"Most people know that I am almost always on, regardless of holidays, but I certainly am not checking email as much as I normally would. And this year I came back to work and had so many emails in my inbox… the number was scary. But since I started using Superhuman last quarter, I was able to get back to inbox zero within minutes. It helps me and the team be so much more productive.I don’t know how I didn’t start on Superhuman sooner. It was the most seamless onboarding experience - everything in my inbox synced within minutes. Superhuman works with your existing Gmail or Outlook accounts. New year, time to take back control - 2025 is the year of inbox zero. If anyone also wants to take back control of their inboxes and empower their teams to do so, check out Superhuman at superhuman.com/gtmnow" - Scott BarkerThe GTMnow Podcast The GTMnow Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.