SaaS Backwards - Reverse Engineering SaaS Success
Join us as we interview CEOs and CMOs of fast-growing SaaS firms to reveal what they are doing that’s working, and lessons learned from things that didn’t work as planned. These deep conversations dive into the dynamic world of SaaS B2B marketing, go-to-market strategies, and the SaaS business model. Content focuses on the pragmatic as well as strategic, providing a well-rounded diet for those running SaaS firms today. Hosted by Ken Lempit, Austin Lawrence Group’s president and chief business builder, who brings over 30 years of experience and expertise in helping software companies grow and their founders achieve their visions.
Episodes
159 episodes
Ep. 159 - Why Full-Cycle Reps Are Beating Your SDRs
Guest: Guy Rubin, Founder & CEO at EbstaMost B2B SaaS leaders know their top performers carry the team, but few understand why the performance gap keeps widening.The reality is that just 14% of reps are now res...
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Season 4
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Episode 12
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32:03
Ep. 158 - 97% of SaaS Churn at First Opportunity is Decided in the First 90 Days—Onboarding Is the Key
Guest: Srikrishnan Ganesan, Co-Founder & CEO of RocketlaneMost B2B SaaS leaders know that onboarding is important but underestimate its impact.The reality is that 97% of churn at first opportunity is decided in the firs...
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Season 4
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Episode 11
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31:57
Ep. 157 - AI is Reshaping B2B Marketing—Are You Ready?
Guest: Christina Richards, Fractional CMO & Author of Rise of the AI-Powered CMOMost B2B marketers think they’re using AI effectively. The reality? Many are barely scratching the surface—and failing to leverage...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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28:25
Ep. 156 - Why Traditional Sales Prospecting is Broken (And What to Do Instead)
Guest: Zach Wright, Co-Founder & CRO of Syft AIMost sales teams are still stuck in outdated prospecting tactics—mass email sequencing, generic outreach, and hoping something sticks. The reality? These methods are failing fa...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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36:54
Ep. 155 - You’re Probably Doing Discovery Wrong—And It’s Costing You Deals
Guest: Peter Cohan, Author of Doing DiscoveryMost sales teams think they’re great at discovery. The reality? About 80% are getting it wrong—and it’s the single biggest reason why deals stall, go to a competitor, or...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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33:52
Ep. 154 - Why Some SaaS Companies Are Turning to Billboards for Measurable Growth
Guest: Ty Tinker, Head of Analytics at AdQuickWhat if everything you thought about billboard advertising was wrong?Ty Tinker, Head of Analytics at AdQuick, breaks down the myth that out-of-home (OOH) advertising is...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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28:30
Ep. 153 - The End of the Gumball Machine: Why B2B Marketing Needs a New Playbook
Guest: Jon Miller, Co-Founder & CEO of a Stealth AI StartupJon Miller, co-founder of Marketo and former CMO of Demandbase, argues that B2B marketing’s traditional playbook—built on predictable demand generation, MQL s...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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29:18
Ep. 152 - The Critical Shift: Adapting Your Marketing to Align with Modern Buyer Behavior
Guest: Kerry Cunningham, Research & Thought Leadership at 6sense 85% of buyers initiate the first conversation with vendors—on their terms. If your marketing still revolves around capturing leads and push...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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38:20
Ep. 151 - How Quiz Marketing Unlocks Revenue Opportunities
Guest: Maxwell Nee, CRO at ScoreAppMaxwell Nee, Chief Revenue Officer of ScoreApp, shares the strategies behind scaling a low ARR SaaS product to 9,000 paying customers worldwide. By leveraging the principles of quiz mar...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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31:33
Ep. 150 - De-Risking Paid Social Campaigns: A New Approach with Ken Lempit
Guest: Ken Lempit, President & Chief Business Builder at Austin Lawrence GroupIn this episode, Austin Lawrence Group’s Ken Lempit shares a bold approach to overcoming the inefficiency of traditional advertis...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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32:27
Ep. 149 - The Buyer Has Changed—Why Haven’t You? How Splashmetrics Delivers the Experience Buyers Actually Want
Guest: Steve Brothers, CEO of SplashmetricsWith 77% of millennial buyers avoiding sales interactions until they’ve already made a purchase decision, buyers are consistently clear about what they need: fast, personalized, ...
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Season 4
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Episode 2
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28:40
Ep. 148 - From Pain Points to Purchase: Understanding Customer Motivation
Guest: Beth McHugh, Fractional Product LeaderWhen deals stall, buying committees often default to doing nothing. Why? Because they didn’t all agree that the problem was worth solving.In this episode, Beth McHugh ex...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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31:37
Ep. 147 - How to Discover What Really Drives Customer Decisions
Guest: Bob Moesta, Author of “Demand-Side Sales 101”In this episode, Bob Moesta, author of Demand-Side Sales 101, reveals why uncovering your customers’ “struggling moments” is the single most efficient step for...
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Season 3
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Episode 47
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34:58
Ep. 146 - Why Your Demos May be Costing You Deals
Guest: Peter Cohan, Author of “Great Demo!”Have you ever walked into a software demo, hoping to learn something new, only to sit through a “Harbor Tour” of irrelevant features? You’re not alone – and neither a...
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Season 3
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Episode 46
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35:44
Ep. 145 - The Death of the MQL: A New Playbook for SaaS CROs
Guest: Randy Likas, Head of North America Go-to-Market at NektarTraditional marketing tactics are losing their edge, with MQLs falling short as costly, outdated signals of real buyer intent.In this week’s episode, ...
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Season 3
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Episode 45
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31:23
Ep. 144 - Why Your GTM Strategy Breaks Without Alignment
Guest: Isabelle Papoulias, Fractional GTM & Business Operations ExecutivePipeline isn't just a metric—it's a team sport.But when marketing, sales and customer success work in silos, it creates a fractured buyer...
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Season 3
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Episode 44
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29:01
Ep. 143 - Is the CRO the Key to Aligning Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success?
Guest: Warren Zenna, Founder of The CRO Collective Scaling a SaaS company is no walk in the park. At a certain point, operational complexity demands more than just growth—it demands cross-functional align...
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Season 3
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Episode 43
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34:02
Ep. 142 - Why SaaS Pricing and Packaging Matters More Than You Think - with Dan Balcauski, Founder & Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility
Pricing and packaging can either bog down your go-to-market engine or fuel it to peak performance.This week’s SaaS Backwards podcast features Dan Balcauski, Founder and Chief Pricing Officer at
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Season 3
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Episode 42
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39:37
Ep. 141 - How Gifting Helps SaaS Companies Break Through the Noise - with Kris Rudeegraap, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at Sendoso
Gifting can be a powerful outbound strategy that captures attention far more effectively than an email. In this week’s SaaS Backwards podcast episode, we spoke with Kris Rudeegraap, Co-CEO and Co-Founder at
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Season 3
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Episode 41
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22:27
Ep. 140 - Why Traditional ABM is Failing Your SaaS Business - with Dmitri Lisitski, Co-Founder & CEO at Influ2
Building meaningful connections with individuals using different channels can be more effective than running an ABM program that only provides a shallow understanding of what’s happening within an account. In this week’s SaaS Backwa...
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Season 3
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Episode 40
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31:15
Ep. 139 - How SaaS B2B Companies Can Leverage Sales Calls for Content Creation - with Parthi Loganathan, Founder & CEO of Letterdrop
We often emphasize the importance of understanding what’s being talked about in sales conversations to shape content strategy and tell unique, compelling stories.In this week's SaaS Backwards podcast episode, we talk with Parthi Loganath...
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Season 3
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Episode 39
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30:32
Ep. 138 - Prioritizing and Enriching Data for SaaS Enterprise GTM Success - with Elio Narciso, Co-Founder & CEO at Scalestack
The ability to leverage data and prioritize sales and marketing efforts is essential to the success of enterprises with broad addressable markets.Recognizing the struggles enterprises face in managing vast amounts of data, this week’s Sa...
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36:01
Ep. 137 - Why SaaS Companies Should Unify GTM under the CRO - with Cliff Simon, CRO of Carabiner Group
Consolidating sales and marketing into the office of the CRO might be a controversial topic, but it can be healthy for demand and sales functions to become enmeshed.In this episode of the SaaS Backwards podcast, our guest Cliff Simon, CR...
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Season 3
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Episode 37
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27:04
Ep. 136 - Going Back to Personality-Driven Sales in SaaS - with Alex Grace, Founder & CEO of Velocity Sales Consulting
With all the current tools and technology available to salespeople, many have naturally slipped into a less personal approach than what used to be the norm. As a result, their calls and emails are ignored, and they struggle to get quality leads...
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Season 3
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Episode 36
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35:43