SaaSy Talk S01.27: Mastering the art of scaling of sales and customer success

About The Guest(s): Marina Golemis is the Senior Vice President of North American Sales at ShipBob, a technology-enabled fulfilment platform that supports over 7,000 e-commerce companies. Her leadership has contributed to the company's incredible growth, as she has been involved in every part of the Customer Acquisition process, as well as Customer Success, Implementation and Sales Engineering. She is recognized for her insights into how leaders can trust themselves and their perspectives, which is integral to the role of a sales leader​.   Marina lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and two daughters.  When not nerding out on sales podcasts, Marina can be found at her local yoga studio. Summary: Marina shares her journey into the tech industry, starting with a job in logistics after college. She then worked for a fashion startup before joining ShipBob. Marina discusses her role overseeing both sales and customer success and how it has improved alignment between the two teams. She also talks about the challenges of scaling a team and the importance of setting up processes and hiring the right people. Marina emphasises the value of honesty and transparency in customer success and shares her approach to forecasting and revenue retention. She also highlights the importance of consistency in leadership and the lessons she has learned from her mentors. Key Takeaways: Marina's early career in sales taught her the importance of grit and the value of working in a field you are passionate about. Success managers can benefit from learning sales skills to proactively identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling. Revenue retention and growth should be a key metric for success teams, and quotas should be set based on attainable goals. Scaling a team requires setting up processes and hiring the right people, as well as maintaining consistency in leadership. Forecasting can be challenging, but understanding the factors that can impact revenue and maintaining open communication with customers can help improve accuracy. Quotes: "We don't want to be the company doing layoffs every year where people aren't bought in because they're always scared that tomorrow's their last day." - Marina "Consistency and leadership is so important. I know what to expect from my boss, and that consistency helps me come prepared and anticipate his questions." - Marina Chapters:  00:06 Marina's Journey into Tech 01:33 Joining ShipBob and Company Growth 01:57 Balancing Sales and Customer Success 05:08 Upselling and Cross Selling Strategies 07:46 The Hiring Process and Team Scaling 10:15 The Importance of Culture Fit in Hiring 13:22 Maintaining Team Size and Increasing Productivity 15:47 Forecasting Methodology in Sales 16:09 The Art of Revenue Forecasting 16:21 Challenges in Forecasting and Overcoming Them 17:31 Impact of Macroeconomic Downturn on Business 17:44 Adapting to Market Changes and Building Resilience 18:59 The Power of Peer Groups and External Influence 20:05 Career Progression and Growth at ShipBob 20:32 Addressing Quota Challenges and Ensuring Team Success 21:43 The Importance of Accountability and Transparency in Leadership 22:04 Learning from Mistakes and Adjusting Expectations 27:07 Maintaining Consistency and Positivity in Leadership 27:58 Quick Fire Round and Closing Remarks Subscribe on Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/show/3ZVkJ12FIqD39oqgj7Kcjq  Subscribe on Apple:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/saasy-talk-unfiltered/id1709426070 Subscribe on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@SaaSyTalkUnfiltered  Subscribe on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasy-talk-unfiltered Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://substack.com/@saasytalkunfiltered Visit our Website:  https://saasytalkunfiltered.transistor.fm/  Follow Ricky Sevta on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/rickysevta/ Follow Sean Diljore on Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/seandiljore/