The world of sales is in a hyper-state of transformation as all sellers globally are now digital-only selling. Salesloft is in a unique position as the leading provider of sales engagement software helping sellers best serve their customers. It’s the perfect time in our growth to welcome our new CRO, Steve Goldberg.
From beginning his career in sales at PTC, Steve has been an integral leader in growing and scaling successful sales teams. He was an early member at Siebel Systems and Salesforce, taking ownership of growing their enterprise business. He then joined InsideSales.com (now Xant) at the earliest stage of the sales engagement market helping some of the early innovators understand how to modernize their sales processes. As the category has emerged, and with Salesloft positioned to lead, it’s the perfect time to have Steve at the helm. We had the opportunity to sit down (digitally) to dive deeper into understanding why now and why Salesloft.
Welcome to Salesloft! What was it that made this the right decision for you now?
I grew up in Massachusetts and I’m a huge Patriots fan. Their head coach, Bill Belichick, is known for launching the careers for many of the best head coaches in the NFL. I have been fortunate in my career to learn from some of the best — Jim Steele, Susan St. Ledger, Dave Rudnitsky, Patrick Blair, and David Obrand, to name a few.
Why now? The growth I have been a part of, and the segments I have broken into and expanded, have all led to this moment. I feel really prepared and excited to challenge myself and get to a new level. This industry is in my wheelhouse, and throughout my entire career, I’ve been selling and serving customers. I also know that this is where the market is growing, and it’s because our platform helps salespeople be more effective.
I’m also here for the culture. I’ve learned you have to live culture from the top down. One small crack in leadership can create a larger gap throughout the organization as the company scales. I got to experience my first positive example of this culture at Salesforce, which set my standard after being there for 10 years. The same level of alignment and commitments throughout all levels of the organization exist here at Salesloft.
How have your previous experiences in sales leadership prepared you for the CRO role at Salesloft?
I have learned from some of the best people out there in our field. Everything I’ve done in my career up until now was for this role. This is where the market is going — helping salespeople be more successful, drive more revenue, and generate more pipeline. That’s me and I’ve never been more ready.
You are very committed to process. Why is it so important to you?
First, the purpose of processes is to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience for our customers. You have to understand the way the process works today before you can think about changing it. The changes you make need to first be in service to better the customer experience while also driving efficiency and predictability for the business.
You also have to be thoughtful about change management as you make those changes. The change has to solve a problem; you can’t just change things for the sake of changing them.
My job is to make everyone else’s job easier. The outcome of the process changes is to create efficiency for my team.
What has you most excited about the future for Salesloft and the sales engagement industry, especially now?
The world is changing, the way you sold yesterday is not going to get you there today. The way you interact with customers will be different. You see the trends — the trend here is the world is changing, but companies will continue to buy technology that drives pipeline, creates operational efficiency, takes down cost, and allows you to work from anywhere. You have to arm the champion with a strong business case to ensure they are positioning against all the possible investments of the company. Salesloft is in a very good spot.
What brings you the most joy outside of work?
I love watching my kids grow up and the joy of family. The other day, as I’m sure many families are facing, we are concerned about the hours of Fortnite and Madden NFL our boys are playing. So, we told them to put a proposal together to tell us the “why” and how they can balance those things with staying active and spending time with the family. They got straight to work and called their friends to help them build their business case (because then they all get to play together!). I have tons of similar examples, but it’s the creativity and commitment to family that brings me joy.
You also are a coach for your kids. How has what you’ve learned from your leadership made you a better coach?
I tell my kids that I help customers build their playbooks and solve problems. For every team that we play, each one will be different. You might have to change your approach halfway through the game. That same analogy for how we help our customers win will help our kids win. But you have to practice and work hard!
How do you manage the stress and pressures of your job?
My wife runs three fitness studios, so we both keep very busy. I enjoy yoga to maintain my mental and physical health. It allows me to unplug, clear my mind, and stay healthy. You have to make time for that.
What piece of advice have you recently received that resonated the most with you?
Have a beginner’s mindset. Don’t just assume you know all the answers. You have to listen. You have to really listen. As you are listening, are you listening “for” or are you listening “against” ? Listening “for” is key.
Please join us in welcoming Steve to Salesloft’s executive leadership team!