Driving Business Growth

In 2012, when I joined ZoomInfo as the VP Product, Growth & Strategy, they were stuck at $9M ARR. When I left 5 years later, we were at over $80M ARR. Here’s the 5-step GTM playbook we used to get unstuck and build the foundation to scale: Step 1: Develop contrarian products that satisfy unmet demand - Most companies can't convince themselves to radically innovate - In 2012, data companies were selling CSVs, no one was investing in product - We took massive risk and doubled down on building products to streamline data delivery - We started to "look different" from the space - Sometimes it's better to "look different" than "be better" Step 2: Focus on SMB or lower end of the market - Market disruption always happens at the low end - As a small company, it’s difficult to compete for your competitor’s best customers - Instead aim your efforts at the customers your competitors would give up without a fight - We focused on the SMB and lower mid market with a self-serve product at a low price - Everyone else was fighting for the more lucrative enterprise customers Step 3: Increase Prices, Decrease Churn, Add Features Rapidly - We rapidly developed features that gave GTM teams ammo for upgrades - With new products, we could add a new line item in the invoice and post growth with relative ease - New features also gave us the reason to reach out to customers to talk about upsell - All this was predicated on our ability to develop a sustained product roadmap with a strong understanding of the impact on GTM and our ability to attach growth initiatives to every small feature release Step 4: Intentionally Design Market Expansion for Virality - Nonlinear growth comes from getting the inbound engine started early - At first, we went after the spray and pray approach with some automation, which worked well - However, our revenues exploded when we started getting strategic with TAM and went after market niches, especially the ones that were ignored by other B2B data vendors - This allowed us to dominate multiple small verticals and as we got popular within those verticals it resulted in word of mouth - virality, inbound inquiries and increased retention contributing to the non linear growth Step 5: Cultivate a Leader's Mindset - Startups are often fighting just to stay afloat - this creates chaos, panic & unrest in organizations - By switching the mental model from a survival mindset to a leader's mindset, you can switch from a perpetual struggle for revenue growth to attempting to decimate competitors - You switch from being a price follower to becoming a price setter in the long run - This mindset provides a purpose, a better decision making framework, and results in a much healthier business and work culture TAKEAWAY: Markets are always evolving, and every market can be disrupted. Any business can get unstuck. The specific plays required to disrupt the B2B data market would be different today, but the ZoomInfo playbook's principles are timeless.

Tough Talk Tuesday? If your company says Customer Success is strategic but still treats it like a support function, stop pretending. If your CS team is occupied mainly with “check-in” meetings and renewal prep instead of driving outcomes, stop pretending. If your leaders talk about trust and value but can’t show how CS moves the business forward, stop pretending. Customer Success is not a concierge desk. It is not a feel-good function. It is a growth engine. And it needs to be treated like one. That means: • CSMs who understand the customer’s business better than Sales or Product • Success plans tied to business outcomes, not playbooks • Metrics that reflect value delivered, not just effort made • A culture where CS earns its seat at the revenue table by showing up with data, direction, and urgency We are not here to smooth things over. We are here to move things forward. Five steps to start shifting from support to strategic: 🔢 1. Replace activity metrics with outcome metrics Track customer impact, not just engagement frequency and volume. Stop counting touchpoints and start measuring progress. 🔢 2. Know the customer’s business priorities by heart Treat every EBR and senior executive session like a board meeting. Tie your updates to what your customer’s CEO and CFO care about. 🔢 3. Stop asking “How can I help?” and start saying “Here is what we should do next.” Lead. Recommend. Own the play. 🔢 4. Align CS goals with company goals Revenue, retention, margin, influence - whatever matters to the business should matter to your CS team. 🔢 5. Tell the story of value loudly and often One story, once a week. Share a real example of customer success inside your company until others start doing it for you. The future of Customer Success belongs to those who stop waiting to be seen as strategic and start behaving like it. What is one move your CS team could make this week that shifts how you are seen? #CreatingTheFuture #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #Growth #ClientValue #DISQO

What if your biggest growth opportunity isn’t in your sales pipeline, but in your post-sale experience? While most revenue teams obsess over lead volume and top-of-funnel performance, high-performing organizations are reallocating resources toward the one area most overlooked (and most profitable): customer retention. You’re not losing revenue because you can’t acquire customers; it’s because you can’t keep them. Customer experience, loyalty, and client services are no longer “support” functions. They’re strategic growth levers. And the cost of ignoring them is compounding: - Customer acquisition costs (CAC) are rising 60–75% - Churn is erasing pipeline gains before they hit the forecast - Siloed orgs are failing to act on critical post-sale insights Here’s how growth leaders are operationalizing customer-centricity to outpace competitors: ✅ Shift GTM strategy from funnel-filling to journey stewardship. Map the full customer lifecycle, then build cross-functional ownership for every phase beyond the sale. ✅ Hardwire retention into revenue models. Redefine revenue metrics: CLV, NRR, and CSAT become as critical as quota attainment. ✅ Turn customer success into a revenue function. Enable CS teams to identify expansion triggers, churn signals, and feedback loops that inform both product and GTM. ✅ Engineer feedback into daily operations. Surface real-time insights from support, community, and product usage–not quarterly surveys or lagging indicators. The companies doing this right see up to a 25% lift in renewals, 35% higher LTV, and customer referrals that shorten sales cycles by 30–50%. Want to build a revenue engine that scales and sustains? Start by asking: How are we designing for the customer after the contract is signed? Read the full post: https://lnkd.in/dY3Rxsc9 __________ For more on growth and building trust, check out my previous posts. Christine Alemany Join me on my journey, and let's build a more trustworthy world together. #Fintech #Strategy #Growth

Your biggest revenue leak isn't failed sales calls. It's what happens after customers buy.   I'm grateful when leaders invite me to challenge their thinking about growth strategy. A recent engagement perfectly illustrates why this matters.   Two partnering companies brought me in to map their customer experience. Everything looked brilliant...until we hit the purchase point.   The journey just... stopped.   When I pushed on Time to Customer Value strategies, the leadership team was candid: "We're product-led. The product speaks for itself."   Their openness to challenge this assumption changed everything.   Here's the math that should concern every executive:   ➡️ A 5% improvement in customer retention drives 25-95% increase in profits. Not 5%. Not 25%. Up to 95%.   ➡️ McKinsey found that existing customers account for 33-50% of total revenue growth, even at startups. The cost? A fraction of new customer acquisition.   But here's where the math gets exponential.   Most companies focus CS efforts on annual renewals. They're thinking additively when they should be thinking exponentially.   Winning by Design's research shows companies focusing on monthly expansion opportunities see 41.6% higher revenue growth over three years.   The compound effect is brutal: 1% improvement daily = 3,778% gain annually. Customer Success isn't support. It's your most scalable revenue engine.   The best CS teams operate like sales teams — with conversion metrics across the post-sale journey: • Onboard • Retain • Expand   When companies cut CS headcount to "save costs," they trigger a death spiral.   More accounts per CSM = less attention per customer = higher churn = shorter contract lengths = massive CLV destruction.   Time to Value isn't just about customer satisfaction; it's the key determinant of ROI and customer confidence in you as a partner.   The question isn't whether you can afford to invest in Customer Success. It's whether you can afford not to.   What assumptions about post-sale strategy deserve to be challenged in your organization? Share your Time to Value insights below.   #CustomerSuccess #GTM #SustainableGrowth #TimeToValue #RevenueGrowth

How I Align Strategy with Vision to Achieve Exponential Growth In a world where disruption is the norm, vision without strategy is wishful thinking—and strategy without vision is just busywork. Over the years, I’ve helped financial services, FinTech, and mid-sized companies unlock exponential growth by tightly aligning long-term vision with executional strategy. Here's how I consistently turn bold ideas into measurable business impact: 1.) Craft a Vision That Inspires Action A vision isn’t a corporate tagline—it’s a vivid, motivating picture of the future. It must resonate with internal teams and customers alike. I always ask: Does this vision excite, focus, and direct decisions? If not, we refine it until it does. 2.) Build a Strategy That Bridges the Gap Turning vision into reality requires a strategic roadmap: --Clear objectives tied to business outcomes --Prioritized initiatives that drive momentum --KPIs that align cross-functional teams Results follow when every team knows how their work ladders up to the big picture. 3.) Operationalize for Scale Sustainable growth comes from systems, not scattered wins. I design growth engines using: --Omni-channel demand gen --Smart segmentation & personalization --AI-driven marketing automation These systems allow companies to scale efficiently, without sacrificing agility. 4.) Inspire Teams with Purpose People perform better when they believe in the “why.” I connect the vision to each role, creating a culture of ownership and high performance. Purpose drives performance, and performance drives results. 5.) Iterate Relentlessly Markets shift. Customers evolve. That’s why I build feedback loops and foster a test-and-learn culture. Strategy isn’t static—it’s living, breathing, and always improving. Bottom line: When strategy and vision are aligned, marketing stops being a cost center and starts driving exponential, repeatable growth. If your business is at a critical inflection point or seeking scalable momentum, I’d love to connect. Let’s talk growth, strategy, and what’s possible when vision leads the way. #GrowthStrategy #VisionToExecution #FinTechMarketing #StrategicLeadership #CMOInsights #ExponentialGrowth

Here's what your customers really think about your "account management"… "They only call when they want to sell us something." "Our quarterly business reviews are just glorified product demos." "They ask how we're using the platform instead of how it's impacting our business." "When we have problems, they always blame our implementation." "They act like customer service reps, not strategic partners." (I’m guessing as a sales leader, you’re cringing as you read those quotes. If so, read on) Most account managers are order-takers with fancy titles. They manage renewals, respond to support tickets, and pray nothing breaks. Meanwhile, customers are getting pitched by hungry competitors who actually understand their business. Here's the shift that changes everything: Stop thinking like a vendor. Start thinking like a consultant. Vendors manage products. Consultants drive outcomes. Vendors react to problems. Consultants prevent them. Vendors talk about features. Consultants talk about ROI. Vendors hope for renewals. Consultants create expansion opportunities. The account managers crushing it right now are doing three things differently: #1 They own business metrics, not product metrics. Instead of tracking "seats deployed" they're measuring "cost savings delivered." Instead of "feature adoption" they're focused on "time to value" and "user productivity gains." #2 They facilitate growth, not just maintain status quo. They're constantly asking: "What's next for your business? How do we help you get there?" They position expansion as business evolution, not vendor upselling. #3 They become indispensable strategic advisors. They know their customers' markets, competitors, and challenges better than most employees do. They bring insights from other customers and industry trends. The results speak for themselves: Average account managers: 85-95% NRR, constant churn battles. Elite account managers: 120%+ NRR, customers become references. Your existing customers are your biggest growth opportunity. They already trust you. They have budget allocated. They know your product works. But only if you're thinking bigger than maintenance mode. Your customers want partners who help them win, not babysitters who manage products. — Sales Leaders! Stop treating symptoms and start solving the real problem behind missed quotas. Claim your free diagnostic and pinpoint the exact cause in minutes: https://lnkd.in/g8M-ah5s

Selling to mid-market customers with an enterprise sales motion is like racing a Ferrari in rush hour traffic - it’s not built for speed. A lot of companies try to move downmarket. They see a bigger total addressable market and assume smaller deals = faster sales. But the mistake they make? They don’t change how they sell. Enterprise selling doesn’t translate to mid-market. If you don’t adapt your pricing, process, and positioning, here’s what happens: 1. Your sales cycle is too slow. Mid-market buyers don’t have six months for a decision. If you’re running three discovery calls before a demo, you’ve already lost. 2. Your pricing is a mess. If your team is just “discounting” enterprise rates instead of using a scalable pricing model, you’re leaving money on the table. Big ticket enterprise CPQs don’t work when deals need to close in weeks, not months. 3. Your contracts are a deal killer. If a $150K customer gets the same 30-page contract as a $1M+ enterprise deal, legal will stall the sale. Flexible terms, shorter agreements, and self serve options remove friction. 4. Your internal teams aren’t built for mid-market. Enterprise CSMs aren’t used to fast moving, high volume accounts. If post-sale support isn’t streamlined, churn will skyrocket. The Fix? - Speed up the sales process. One discovery call, one demo, fast pricing. - Offer right-sized pricing tiers instead of arbitrary discounts. - Simplify contracts and onboarding. Don’t let your enterprise DNA slow you down. Mid-market growth isn’t just about selling to smaller customers. It’s about operating like a MM company. If you don’t adapt, someone else will.

Most companies don’t fail due to lack of vision. They fail because they lack execution. Here’s how to fix that ⬇️ Every stage of business growth demands a new operating strategy. What works at $3M will break at $13M. What works at $30M will bury you at $60M. You need new roles, new strategy, new perspective, new tech for each stage. I made this visual to show the 5 Operating Stages of Growth — from $1M to $100M — and what to prioritize at each stage. Let’s break it down: ➤ Stage 1: $1M to $5M ↳ Focus: Establish repeatable processes ↳ Challenge: Consistent delivery and cash flow ↳ Action: Document every process from sales to fulfillment. 💡 85% of companies that fail at this stage suffer from poor process management. (HBR) ➤ Stage 2: $5M to $10M ↳ Focus: Build a strong leadership team ↳ Challenge: Growing without losing your culture ↳ Action: Identify key roles. Hire for vision, not just skills. 💡 Companies that hire strategically see a 30% higher success rate. (Deloitte) ➤ Stage 3: $10M to $25M ↳ Focus: Implement scalable systems ↳ Challenge: Maintain efficiency as volume increases ↳ Action: Adopt ERP & CRM tools. Automate repetitive tasks. 💡 ERP cuts costs by 20% during this phase. (Panorama) ➤ Stage 4: $25M to $50M ↳ Focus: Scale operations ↳ Challenge: Maintain service quality as you grow ↳ Action: Standardize and document processes. Prioritize customer satisfaction. 💡 40% of companies struggle with quality during scaling. (Gartner) ➤ Stage 5: $50M to $100M ↳ Focus: Expand into new markets ↳ Challenge: Grow globally while staying profitable ↳ Action: Build a market entry plan. Localize distribution. 💡 75% of companies here invest in international growth. (KPMG) Every stage demands different tools, decisions, and leadership behavior. ✅ Map your systems to your size ✅ Invest in people before problems appear ✅ Treat operations as a competitive advantage ♻️Repost & follow John Brewton for content that helps. ✅ Do. Fail. Learn. Grow. Win. ✅ Repeat. Forever. ___ 📬Subscribe to Operating by John Brewton for deep dives on the history and future of operating companies (🔗in profile).

Hitting $10M isn't the finish line, it's where the real race begins. Most brands stall here, thinking what got you to 8-figures will surely get you to 9. After scaling dozens of brands past this critical threshold, I've cracked the code on how to break through: #1. Diminishing Returns - Diversify revenue streams to combat rising customer acquisition costs. - Optimize unit economics before scaling further to preserve profitability. #2. Product Expansion - Successful brands add complementary products around their core offering. - Growth comes from diversification, not diluting your core business. #3. Margin Focus - Elite brands optimize unit economics rather than just increasing spend. - Focus on cash efficiency, high-margin products, and post-purchase monetization. #4. Creative Investment - Allocate 5-10% of the budget to new creative or risk growth. - Divide spend: 50% proven, 30% variations, 20% experimental creative. #5. Team Evolution - Replace generalists with specialists who excel in specific areas. - Delegate control and increase overhead to enable efficient scaling. #6. Customer Retention - Your top 10% of customers drive nearly half your profit. - Build tiered VIP systems with exclusive access and personalized experiences. #7. Financial Rigor - Surface-level metrics lead to million-dollar mistakes at scale. - Don't just track metrics—interrogate them and question assumptions. #8. Strategic Leadership - Micromanaging founders become the bottleneck, preventing further growth. - Implement OKRs and frameworks that empower teams to decide. #9. Strategic Alliances - Form partnerships that accelerate reach without proportionally increasing costs. - Explore co-branding, distribution deals, and strategic licensing arrangements. #10. Long-Term Vision - It's okay to stay at $10M if that's your comfort zone. - Sustainable growth systems compound over time, not through quick wins.

How a VP of CS became the fastest-growing revenue leader in the company. This VP was tired of CS being seen as “support". They wanted a seat at the revenue table, and they earned it. Instead of just reporting on churn and renewals, they owned a number → tied their team’s targets directly to net revenue retention. Spoke the language of revenue → presented expansion ARR and churn prevention as growth levers in every exec meeting. Built cross-functional trust → partnered with Sales and RevOps to co-own expansion pipeline. Brought data, not anecdotes → surfaced adoption trends, growth signals, and advocacy potential in real-time. Within 2 quarters, their team drove more net revenue growth than the new business team. 💥 The result? This VP became the fastest-growing revenue leader in the company, and recognized not for “keeping customers happy,” but for fueling growth. When CS leaders carry a number, use data to prove impact, and work cross-functionally, they don’t just retain revenue, they grow it. ----------------------- Hey, I’m Nicholas 👋 I run Lucidly, the customer intelligence platform for post-sale revenue growth. I post every weekday morning (8:30am PST) about retention, expansion, and building a SaaS from the ground up. Follow for ideas you can put to work the same day. DM anytime.