GTM 47: Elena's "Pinch Me" Moment Going Public with Medallia

Elena Hutchison has over 15 years of B2B SaaS experience, including a 10-year run at Customer Experience leader Medallia where she supported the company's growth from Series B through IPO.As Medallia's Chief Strategy Officer, Elena led Product Marketing, Analyst Relations, and PreSales functions, and contributed significantly to the company's M&A and product strategy. Elena has particular expertise in scaling global PreSales functions - she joined Medallia as one of its first Sales Engineers and eventually led the 150-person org.S he has also built a reputation as an elite Analyst Relations practitioner, with multiple leading Forrester Waves and Gartner MQs under her belt.Prior to Medallia, Elena spent 5 years in Professional Services and Customer Success roles. (She also earned some phenomenal stories from her days as a political pollster and focus group moderator).What You Will Learn:How to stay motivated and stick with a company for 10+ years.Defining the role of Analyst Relations.Learning to step into an era of “yes” and an era of “no” equally in business.The importance of a peer group that gives you strength.Distinguishing which companies need Sales Engineers and which don’t.Highlights:(3:48) How Elena built her way up from Sales Engineer to C-Suite at Medallia.(7:22) How to fill the gaps when starting a new role.(13:10) Elena’s transition from engineering to analyst relations at Medallia.(18:24) Defining analyst relations.(25:16) Analyzing the concept of “Pay to Play”.(30:00) The metrics that matter for analyst relations.(31:41) Elena’s biggest mistake sitting at the executive table.(35:00) The power of outside mentorship.(37:20) The importance of bringing on Sales Engineers early on.Guest Speaker Links:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenahutchison/Elena's Consulting: uprightar.comHost Speaker Links:LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/The 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.