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As part of Aviso's Revenue Navigators Series, we spoke with Branden Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer at Medius. This post is the second of two segments breaking down Branden’s interview with Aviso. In this interview, Branden shares valuable insights on topics such as B2C practices in B2B, the Allbound model, and AI's transformative potential for go-to-market strategies. He highlights the importance of customer-centricity, personalization, and data-driven insights while discussing his decision to choose Aviso and its role in driving his team's success.
Aviso: What are the most important things we can learn in B2B from the B2C world?
Branden Jenkins: In my experience, there is a significant lesson that B2B businesses can learn from the B2C world, and it's something I'm very passionate about. Throughout my career, I've sold B2C software such as eCommerce, point of sale, and retail management solutions to businesses. I've noticed specific trends that are important for B2B companies and go-to-market teams to recognize.
Over the next five years, the expectation for consumer-like experiences in business environments will only increase. This applies across various industries, from procurement software to accounts payable automation and contract management software. Traditional industrial or typical B2B software experiences simply won't cut it anymore. The workforce is evolving, and employees are expecting better, more user-friendly experiences.
Focusing on delivering simple, elegant, and consumer-like experiences in B2B software offers numerous benefits for our customers and businesses. It provides a competitive edge, streamlines training and onboarding, and enhances overall efficiency. At Medius, we are committed to pushing these user-centric experiences forward in the B2B world, and I'm excited to see how it will all unfold.
Aviso: What is the Allbound model for driving revenue? How can teams shift to Allbound model from more traditional models?
Branden Jenkins: I believe that adopting an Allbound model approach to driving revenue is essential for modern businesses. Traditionally, SaaS companies have focused on the sales funnel, moving leads from the top, through the middle, and to the bottom. However, B2B businesses require more than just inbound demand generation to succeed. They need to delight customers and maximize revenue extraction.
The Allbound model incorporates not only inbound marketing efforts but also outbound sales strategies, resellers or channel partners, and aftermarket teams. The goal is to create a cohesive, well-rounded approach that targets new leads, develops referral programs, and offers additional products or services to existing customers through cross-selling and upselling opportunities.
Instead of keeping these elements separate, the Allbound model encourages organizations to integrate them to retire quotas across all channels. This requires a clear understanding of the mathematics behind these channels and a commitment to visibility and accountability among all stakeholders.
The Allbound model approach is not about assigning credit to specific individuals or departments. It's about maximizing the potential of all channels and avoiding missed opportunities. In the current business climate, SaaS companies like Medius are often evaluated on their efficiency and growth, with metrics like the 'rule of 40' being crucial. The Allbound model provides a streamlined, elegant solution to these challenges, ensuring companies grow profitably and acquire customers as efficiently as possible.
Aviso: What areas of AI do you see having the highest potential for transforming the way companies go to market?
Branden Jenkins: I see AI playing a transformative role in the way companies go to market. We at Medius are strong believers in AI's potential. We are confident that machines can ultimately handle tasks more efficiently than humans, especially in areas like fraud and risk mitigation. Consequently, we have invested heavily in AI for our technology and customer offerings.
Moreover, AI is becoming increasingly essential for our internal go-to-market strategies. One of the key challenges we face as leaders is managing the vast amount of data generated by customer journeys, prospects, and various tools. AI helps us overcome this challenge by providing valuable insights, buyer intent information, and seller behavior data, which ultimately helps us better understand our business.
The main goal is to find solutions that help us analyze buyer behavior, seller behavior, and the overall impact on our business. We are actively exploring pilot projects and looking to operationalize AI-based tools within our organization. We have already seen the benefits of AI in marketing automation and business analytics. However, when it comes to seller behavior, we are still in the early stages, and tools like Aviso are providing us with valuable insights.
Aviso offers macro-level predictions, showing us where we are headed and enabling us to make more informed decisions.
As we refine our data and processes, we believe these predictions will become even more accurate. The most immediate benefit of AI for us is its ability to correlate large amounts of data and provide opportunity-specific insights. For instance, it can analyze a seller's past behavior and predict the likelihood of success for a given commitment or identify patterns in customer behavior at different stages of the sales cycle.
These insights are incredibly valuable for driving our business, improving our Allbound model, and enhancing conversion rates. We are eager to explore and capitalize on any opportunity that helps us harness the full potential of AI in our go-to-market strategies.
Aviso: How did you choose Aviso and how does Aviso help you and your team succeed in your revenue work?
Branden Jenkins: Choosing Aviso was a strategic decision that has proven to be highly beneficial for our team at Medius. Our private equity firm introduced us to Aviso about a year ago, and since then, it has become a key component in driving the visibility and accountability necessary for our Allbound model. But what's even more important is the role it plays in helping us scale our business. As the COO, my goal is to see Medius become a billion-dollar company, and to achieve that, we need to have a strong foundation in terms of forecastability and predictability.
Aviso has been instrumental in delivering these insights to our go-to-market leaders.
While Salesforce provides us with basic tools like opportunity tracking and forecasting functionality, Aviso takes it a step further by offering a detailed view of our sales cadence, accountability, and visibility. Additionally, the platform's analytics and AI capabilities have been nothing short of impressive.
In just one year, I've become an avid Aviso user, regularly ranking among the top users within the company. The reason is simple:
Aviso offers me valuable insights and a clear view of our business's trajectory, acting as the headlights that guide us toward our ambitious goals.
It has not only enhanced our revenue work but has also played a crucial role in our journey toward success.
Conclusion
This interview with Branden Jenkins highlights:
- B2C Practices in B2B: In B2B, understanding the evolving customer experience from B2C is essential to create personalized, engaging interactions that meet clients' needs, fostering long-term relationships
- Allbound Model of Revenue: Integrating inbound and outbound strategies, channel partners, and aftermarket teams maximizes revenue extraction and business growth.
- AI's Potential: AI helps manage data, improve lead generation, provide valuable insights, and revolutionize go-to-market strategies, driving conversion rates.
Building upon these insights, businesses should focus on creating seamless, consumer-like experiences, strategically leveraging all revenue channels, and integrating AI-powered tools for better decision-making. By embracing these principles, organizations can stay ahead of the competition, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive sustainable growth in an ever-evolving marketplace.
Aviso's AI uses predictive analytics for improved lead scoring, automating repetitive tasks, and delivering data-driven insights, enabling businesses to make informed decisions and optimize marketing strategies.
Aviso's AI empowers COOs and revenue leaders by providing data-driven insights, automating workflows, and enhancing decision-making.
Interested in knowing more? Book a demo with Aviso now. You can also read other customers' success stories here.
Branden Jenkins, COO, Medius
Branden Jenkins is a seasoned executive with 20 years of experience, including CEO and Chairman roles, as well as Global General Manager and Vice President roles at Oracle NetSuite. He specializes in driving rapid business growth and running cross-functional teams, helping grow Oracle NetSuite from $250M to $2 billion. As Chief Operating Officer at Medius, he leads the strategic direction in go-to-market, product strategy, corporate development, and alliances.