Cloud Radio | A SaaS Podcast

Cloud Ratings

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Made for "full stack" cloud operators, Cloud Radio covers all aspects of the business of software. Our target audience: SaaS investors that listen to SaaStr, The SaaS Podcast, SaaS Revolution, or Startups For The Rest Of Us and still want to learn even more.

3 SEP

Godard Abel - G2 - Software Buying In The Age of AI

Our Guest: Godard Abel, Co-Founder and CEO of G2, the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace. He previously built cloud CPQ pioneers BigMachines (acquired by Oracle) and SteelBrick (acquired by Salesforce). Episode Topics: AI across the stack: Infrastructure, data, models, and applications—where the most significant opportunities and risks lieIncumbents vs. startups: Why the next decade will reward incumbents with data and trust, and AI-first challengers with 10x user experiencesG2’s AI strategy: From generative engine optimization (GEO) to G2 AI as a buying assistantFuture of software buying: Will AI shorten shortlists? How buying cycles, transparency, and seller roles are evolvingMarketing in the AI era: Risks of losing optimized website conversion funnels and how vendors must retoolEndurance in entrepreneurship: Lessons from the Leadville 100 on perseverance and keeping vision through valleys Resources: G2 2025 Buyer Behavior Report Godard Abel LinkedIn

45 min
1 ABR

Guy Rubin - Ebsta - 2025 GTM Benchmarks

Guy Rubin is the Founder + CEO of Ebsta, a revenue intelligence platform that guides sales teams to more effective sales processes, pipeline reviews and forecast calls with Revenue Insights. Episode Topics: Overview of Ebsta’s 2025 GTM Benchmarks Report. Produced in partnership with Pavilion, the report covers $48 billion of pipeline across 655,000 opportunities, analysis of 240,000 minutes of seller discovery calls, and a survey of 2,000+ CROs + Sales Leaders.Guy’s perspective on the 11x velocity gap between top and bottom sales performers – up from 4x in 2022.Why top performers are 455% better at discovery – and what B & C players lack.The importance of engaging 6+ stakeholders early in the sales cycle to boost win rates from 12% to 40%+.The power of visual playbooks, AI-driven nudges, and qualification signals to drive consistency.Ebsta’s approach to forecast accuracy.The return of 360 sellers – handling full-cycle sales for stronger buyer relationships.High-performing sales channels: Partner/Referral (1.3x velocity), Organic (1.2x), Outbound (1.05x), Events (0.78x), Paid (0.68x).Investing in partner programs, communities, and warm referrals to raise win rates.Why disqualifying non-ICP deals early boosts productivity – 24% more likely among top reps.The human factor in sales management – helping the sales team through structure, not micromanagement.Ebsta Client Example: the role of data-driven RevOps in aligning leadership and driving 29% revenue growth.Why relationships still matter – even in an AI-powered B2B sales world.Resources:https://benchmarks.ebsta.com/2025-gtm-benchmarks https://www.saasletter.com/p/value-selling https://www.saasletter.com/p/sales-check-engine-light

46 min
4 FEB

Ben Pippenger - Zylo - 2025 Zylo SaaS Management Index

Our Guest: Ben Pippenger is the Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Zylo, a SaaS management platform that helps businesses gain full visibility into their software usage, optimize licensing, and streamline renewals. Episode Topics: Overview of Zylo’s SaaS Management Index annual report, which covers $40 billion of SaaS spendThe AI adoption surge in software spend - 75 percent increase in spending.The Rising of SaaS Costs - increased by 9.3 percent year over year.The shift from traditional seat-based pricing to usage and value-based models.Ben’s takes on the decline of multi-year SaaS contracts in recent data.Ben’s insight to IT’s shrinking influence over SaaS.Increasing SaaS waste - $21 million annually on unused software licenses.Strategies to manage and reduce rising SaaS costs effectively.What are some hidden costs of long-tail SaaS purchases?Ben shares vendor negotiation tactics and cost-saving strategies to optimize software investments. Resources:https://zylo.com/reports/2025-saas-management-index/ https://zylo.com/ https://www.saasletter.com/p/zylo-saas-management-index-2025 About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings: Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software. Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack. https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/ https://twitter.com/SaaSletter https://www.saasletter.com/ About Cloud Ratings: Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions. Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software. Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value. https://cloudratings.com/

47 min
30/04/2024

Sally Duby - Sales in 2024: SaaS AE Metrics Report

Our Guest: Sally Duby is the Chief Sales Officer at The Bridge Group Inc., a sales strategy consulting firm for B2B companies looking for more from sales development, sales, and customer success. Episode Topics: Marketing contribution to the pipeline rose from 33% in 2022 to 40% in 2024.Characterization of the account manager and customer success manager.Who is responsible for renewal, upsell, and cross-sell?Average years of experience required at hire by Annual Contract Value (ACV).The increasing Account Executive (AE)’s average ramp time.How tenure and ramp time affect productivity time - Median time at productivity sits at 24 months.Increasing trend of quotas across all bands from $5k to $250k+ by ACV.Win rates declining from 23% in 2022 to 19% in 2024.Decreasing trend of quota attainment among AEs from 2012 to 2024.Common problems of clients The Bridge Group works with.The Bridge Group playbook for improving sales.Sally’s viewpoints on outbound sales and SDR functions.Effective strategies for outbound sales efforts. AI’s role in improving SDRs and AEs productivity. Resources: https://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/2024-ae-metrics-compensation-benchmark About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings: Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software. Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack. https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/ https://twitter.com/SaaSletter https://www.saasletter.com/ About Cloud Ratings: Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions. Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software. Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value. https://cloudratings.com/

1 h y 17 min
26/03/2024

Guy Rubin - 2024 B2B Sales Benchmarks

Our Guest: Guy Rubin is the Founder and CEO of Ebsta, a Revenue Intelligence Platform that provides insights into what drives over 500 B2B companies' success. Episode Topics: What is Ebsta’s 2024 B2B Sales Benchmark report?Reliance on top sales representatives - 17% of reps generate 81% of revenue.Difference in deal progression between average and top performers - average performers tend to lose deals during negotiation, whereas top performers experience more losses during the qualification and discovery stages.Guy’s insights on increasing pipelines and adopting best sales methodologies.How does AI fit within Ebsta’s product suite?How does discussing ROI accelerate the sales cycle?Based on poor quota attainment and certain layoffs, has sales forecasting gotten harder?Guy's insight on improving forecasting accuracy. Resources: https://www.ebsta.com/2024-b2b-sales-benchmarks/ About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings: Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software. Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack. https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/ https://twitter.com/SaaSletter https://www.saasletter.com/ About Cloud Ratings: Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions. Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software. Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value. https://cloudratings.com/

33 min
19/03/2024

Matt Slotnick - Co-Founder + CEO of Poggio Labs, An AI Sales Workspace

Our Guest: Matt Slotnick is the Co-Founder and CEO of Poggio Labs, an AI Sales Workspace purpose-built for Account Executives. Poggio is backed by Accel and Spark Capital. Episode Topics: Understanding end-user workflows in GenAI applications.How understanding customer workflows influences team construction?How Poggio Labs handles the new challenge of managing user expectations for AI.Insights and lessons from early adopters of Poggio Labs software.Potential competitive tensions arising from intersecting workflows.Matt’s take on incumbent’s ability to innovate and why the “data is the new oil” narrative might not be trueHow does an iterative approach drive real product innovation?Implications for building AI versus established playbooks in SaaS.What aspects of Poggio are generating raving enthusiasm among users?Matt’s lessons learned from his cycling passion applied to entrepreneurship and company building. Resources: https://poggio.io/ Thread on building AI products + emerging moats: https://twitter.com/matt_slotnick/status/1747686262914568444 About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings: Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software. Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack. https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/ https://twitter.com/SaaSletter https://www.saasletter.com/ About Cloud Ratings: Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions. Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software. Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value. https://cloudratings.com/

55 min
17/01/2024

Scott Brinker - Martech in 2024

Our Guest: Scott Brinker, VP of Platform Ecosystem at HubSpot, shapes Hubspot's platform strategy and leads business programs for its global technology partner ecosystem. He is also an editor at chiefmartec.com, with over 50,000 readers, analyzing topics at the intersection of marketing, technology, and management. Episode Topics: How much does Scott Brinker see AI impacting marketing headcount?Scott on the need to adapt and rethink categorizations in light of the evolving MarTech landscape.What are some concerns about the sustainability of the current level of saturation in the martech industry? How should companies in the torso (top 100 companies) and head (top 10 companies) navigate the presence of a large number of competitors in the long tail (12,000 companies)?What does composability truly mean for MarTech? The business and technical risk of composability.Scott's recommendations and principles to CMOs and marketing leaders for implementing composability. How does competition among major platforms provide opportunities and leverage for smaller, long-tail partners in ecosystems? Sources:https://chiefmartec.com/2023/12/major-trends-in-martech-for-2024-the-real-changes-underway-in-a-99-platitude-free-report/ https://chiefmartec.com/2023/10/products-in-the-long-tail-of-martech-have-a-wide-range-of-different-strategies-and-aspirations/ https://www.saasletter.com/p/mckinsey-cloud-roi-ai-roi About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings: Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software. Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack. https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/ https://twitter.com/SaaSletter https://www.saasletter.com/ About Cloud Ratings: Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions. Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software. Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value. https://cloudratings.com/

35 min
18/10/2023

Scott Leese 6x Leader + Founder + 3x Author - Seller Realities + Go To Work

Our Guest: Scott Leese is a six-time Sales Leader and a two-time best-selling Amazon author in the category of sales. He maintains active communities like GTM United and is also focusing on helping companies build revenue-driving motions across the organization. Episode Topics: Scott's view on shifting away from traditional VP career paths and expectations.What are the qualities to look for in someone who is a first-time VP of Sales?Scott’s advice for someone who is considering transitioning into an account executive (AE) role + Director/VP Sales level.The type of leaders or CEOs that Scott gets along with.Overall framework of the evolution of Sales from Go-To-Market to Go-To-Network.What type of seller performs best?Scott on the sales productivity of Go-To-Network approach versus cold outbound strategy.Scott's take on Sapphire Non-AE GTM Bloat - 90% of GTM spend is non-AE, down from 70% in 2018.Strategies or approaches that are currently successful in the broader environment.Scott elaborates his Linkedin post on self-inflicted errors: “Most deals die from predictable self-inflicted errors. Avoidable problems turn into cyclical failures caused by a lack of focus on reverse engineering root causes.” Resources: https://www.surfandsales.com/ https://twitter.com/SaaSletter/status/1700517476017246334?s=20 https://www.linkedin.com/posts/scottleese_you-dont-get-good-at-anything-by-giving-activity-6990657671431405568-lVpl?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop About Cloud Radio by Cloud Ratings: Made for "full stack" cloud + SaaS operators, Cloud Radio is a SaaS podcast covers all aspects of the business of software. Our host - Matt Harney - is active on Twitter @saasletter and writes "SaaSletter", an investing-oriented SaaS newsletter on Substack. https://cloudradio.cloudratings.com/ https://twitter.com/SaaSletter https://www.saasletter.com/ About Cloud Ratings: Cloud Ratings is a customer outcomes-focused, data-driven software research analyst firm. We exist to allow organizations to make more confident, lower-risk software purchasing decisions. Our Cloud Ratings Category Reports combine user reviews with verified vendor data to impartially identify leading software products. Recent report examples include: Board Management Software, Account-Based Marketing Software, Cap Table + Equity Management Software, Lead Routing Software, and Sales Training + Onboarding Software. Built upon investigative customer interviews, our True ROI Reports quantify and provide 3rd party validation of a software product’s business value. https://cloudratings.com/

39 min

Made for "full stack" cloud operators, Cloud Radio covers all aspects of the business of software. Our target audience: SaaS investors that listen to SaaStr, The SaaS Podcast, SaaS Revolution, or Startups For The Rest Of Us and still want to learn even more.

Creador

Cloud Ratings
Años de actividad

2023 - 2025
Episodios

20
Clasificación

Explícito
Copyright

© 2025 Cloud Ratings
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Cloud Radio | A SaaS Podcast