Make the Number with Matt Maloney

In this short segment of the Revenue Builders Podcast, we revisit the discussion with Matt Maloney, SVP of Global Sales at Fireblocks, to dissect a critical lesson in sales leadership: the unwavering focus on hitting the number. Maloney recounts a pivotal mentoring moment at CloudLock that reshaped his approach to sales strategy, team structure, and market calibration. The episode also explores common missteps in early-stage startups—like trying to pursue too many use cases or building teams misaligned with the product’s true market fit. It’s a candid and practical masterclass for CROs, sales leaders, and founders navigating go-to-market chaos.KEY TAKEAWAYS[00:01:52] The #1 job of a sales leader isn't building teams—it's figuring out how to hit the number.[00:02:41] Calibration of resources is critical: Balance dominance in core markets with smart expansion into emerging ones.[00:03:41] A hard lesson: Building the wrong sales team for the product’s actual market fit can derail everything.[00:04:24] Why focusing on 3-4 key use cases is more effective than spreading thin across many[00:05:50] Avoid copying old playbooks—be objective about your current product and ICP[00:06:35] Collaborate with technical founders: Align sales goals, use data, and define outlier strategies together.[00:07:24] Operating without a clear ICP is dangerous—know how to scale, train, and forecast from it.QUOTES[00:02:15] "Your job is not to build an enterprise sales team or an SMB team—it's to build the right team to hit the number.[00:03:41] "I was convinced our guiding light was to build an enterprise team. What I didn’t realize was that our product was really suited for mid-market."[00:05:08] "You can’t build world-class products, marketing, or sales training for 13 use cases. Focus is everything.[00:07:00] "Outliers are okay, but you need a plan for them. Don’t pretend they’re your core ICP."[00:07:47] "If you can't identify your ICP and scale from it, you're operating in dangerous water."Listen to the full conversation through the link below.https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/blockchain-the-future-of-finance-with-matt-maloney-loysynttEnjoying the podcast? Sign up to receive new episodes straight to your inbox:https://hubs.li/Q02R10xN0Check out John McMahon’s book here:Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/1K7DDC4Check out Force Management’s Ascender platform here: https://my.ascender.co/Ascender/ Hosted by five-time CRO John McMahon and Force Management Co-Founder John Kaplan, the Revenue Builders podcast goes behind the scenes with the sales leaders who have been there, done that, and seen the results.  This show is brought to you by Force Management. We help companies improve sales performance, executing their growth strategy at the point of sale.  Connect with Us: LinkedInYouTubeForce Management