RevTalks, Episode 10: Latané Conant’s Bold Leap from CMO to CRO

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Randy Littleson: All right, so Latané, it's been a year since you moved from CMO to CRO. What's been the biggest shift in your approach?

Latané: When I started as CMO at 6sense, I had been a CMO before. I had been a decently good CMO—not to toot my own horn—but I kind of knew what I was doing. Then I took on this new role, and my surface area was very large. It included marketing, sales, professional services, partnerships, and customer success.

I guess I was coming off five years as CMO at 6sense. I’d built the team and felt very confident. Then I took this new role and didn’t feel like I had the right rhythm for how I needed to operate. I think the biggest thing for me has been finding that right rhythm. Now, literally, every week is pretty much scripted.

On Monday, I call it the “Monday Metrics Marathon.” Every functional area comes with their core KPIs, and we do an hour, hour, hour, hour, hour. This way, I feel data-ready for the rest of the week. If somebody asks something, I’ve got it all.

On Tuesday, we have the E-staff meeting. That’s when I focus on team alignment and getting everyone on the same page.

Wednesday and Thursday, I try to spend as much time as possible talking to customers.

Friday is when we do inspection and expectation setting, which is a big part of sales—always going back and inspecting.

Saturday is when I focus on creating, reviewing, or similar activities.

Randy: Now that you’ve gotten into this rhythm, do you feel more confident and in command of what you’re doing?

Latané: Absolutely. I don’t have fear of missing out (FOMO). For me, it’s fear of not being prepared.

Randy: Do you have a formula for tackling your first year in a new gig?

Latané: If you’re going to move up, you’re always going to face first years in new roles, whether within the same company or a new one. I tend to forget how hard that first year is—kind of like having a baby. If you remembered how hard it was, you’d never have another.

The first year in any new gig is challenging. You take the job, you’re excited, you have big plans, and you roll out the vision. In Q2, you’re grinding, making it happen. Q3, you’re still grinding. Then, at the nine-month mark, you hit this “trough of despair.” You’ve been working your butt off, but it hasn’t worked yet because it takes a year.

Starting around nine to twelve months, I call it the popcorn effect. It starts slow, then suddenly it’s “pop, pop, pop.” But it really does take a year, and you have to keep reminding yourself of that.

Randy: Given the breadth of your responsibilities and the importance of sales, how do you strike a balance across the various roles and disciplines you manage?

Latané: They’re all very different. Part of the rhythm is understanding the different functional areas and their unique demands. For example, end-of-quarter for sales is hugely stressful, but marketing might not have as much going on then. Conversely, the two weeks before a major event like Breakthrough are insane for marketing.

It’s about looking at each functional area’s rhythm and expectations and aligning my life design to ensure I’m planning ahead and giving each area what it needs. That’s why my schedule has been a game-changer.

Randy: You’re known for a term called “pragmatic positivity.” Love that term. How has it shaped your overall strategy?

Latané: I always try to take the worst-case scenario off the table. On one hand, I pride myself on being positive and a problem solver. On the other hand, as an executive, you’re like a professional worrier.

So when I’m stressed or overwhelmed, I ask, “What’s the worst case?” I play it out and figure out what I need to do to ensure it doesn’t happen. Once that’s off the table, I can live with the other options.

Randy: You can move forward with confidence.

Latané: Exactly. I also believe in taking our mission seriously, but not ourselves. I believe in the “fun factor.” Eight out of ten workdays should be fun. I try to find joy in what we’re doing. People ask me how I pick jobs or roles. For me, it’s about believing in the product. It’s not just a job—it’s a cause. As long as I have that burning passion for the cause, everything else falls into place.

Randy: Over your career, what are some of the biggest mindset shifts you’ve had to make?Latané: Growing up, rest was for the weak. You didn’t nap or sleep in. If you were awake, you were working.

About five years ago, I realized that to be my best, I needed to recharge. It was a big shift to tell myself, “You’re worthy of rest.” I have to recharge. It’s okay—you’re worthy of rest. That’s been a big lesson for me.

Randy: Good awareness.

Latané: The other thing is—I love Fleetwood Mac. They’re my favorite band. They didn’t all get along, but they made great music. I always think about who’s in my band. We don’t have to get along perfectly—it’s actually good if people disagree—but who’s going to be in it with me, making great music?

I think about that a lot and make sure those are the right people on the team, and that they get their shot—do the drum solo, or whatever it is. That’s big for me.

Randy: I’ve been a customer of 6sense a couple of times.

Latané: I know, you’re the best.

Randy: One of the things I liked about your team’s approach is that, as practitioners, you’re willing to lean in and give advice to people looking to buy technology and transform their business. You have the opportunity to talk to industry leaders all the time, right? What pieces of advice would you give to a CMO or CRO in today’s market?

Latané: I think adaptability is going to be one of the most critical success factors for us as leaders. It sounds cliché, but I do think we’re going through a time of unprecedented change. There’s a huge seismic shift with generative AI that’s going to disrupt a lot. We have to be poised and ready to adapt and manage through that change.

It’s funny—I did our sales town hall and said, “We are not going to stay the same.” So if you want to stay the same, that’s not an option.

We’ve got to lead through that with our teams. Again, it sounds cliché, but I think this is a very interesting time. The challenge with adaptability is getting clarity on the true KPIs. If you’re always changing, sometimes it’s hard to know—are we up, are we down, or did we just go in a circle?

So getting clarity on the most important KPIs, no matter how we’re changing, and then over-communicating is absolutely critical.

Part of the rhythm for me has been a lot more communication at all levels. It’s easy to communicate with your direct reports, but how do you communicate with the broader E-staff? A thoughtful status update sent to your peers or team is still really valuable. There’s a seriousness to it—like, “Hey, I’m going to recap the quarter, and this is what we achieved, this is what we need to work on.” That formality is important.

Randy: Yeah, I love your focus on adaptability. I think the market has changed a lot. We were just talking in our executive team meetings this week about doing hard things, how much you learn from them, and the sense of accomplishment it brings. That builds your career.

I think adaptability is one piece. Doing hard things is another way to look at it. The world has changed, and it may be different—and sometimes harder—but plowing through that and having resilience is really important.