GTM 131: Being CMO Under Marc Benioff of Salesforce, the Innovator's Dilemma and AI SDRs

The GTM Podcast

Kraig Swensrud is the Founder & CEO of Qualified where he provides crucial experience and entrepreneurial energy to create the future of enterprise sales tech. Prior to founding Qualified, Kraig founded GetFeedback which was successfully sold to SurveyMonkey. Kraig also led marketing as the CMO of Salesforce during very formative years of the company's history.

Discussed in this Episode:

• The parallels between the disruption caused by SaaS and AI
• How pricing strategies are changing for AI products
• Why SaaS companies need to earning their renewals
• The impact of AI SDRs on your pipeline

Highlights:
13:26 The importance of product marketing in the growth of Salesforce
20:17 Exploring the innovator's dilemma
25:59 The next generation of software & building for non-human users
39:05 Obsessing over your customers is key to success
46:44 Using the V2MOM framework to drive company alignment
50:43 The adage of 'hire fast, fire fast' is bs
Guest Speaker Links (Kraig Swensrud):
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kraigswensrud/
V2MOM Framework: https://www.salesforce.com/blog/how-to-create-alignment-within-your-company/
Host Speaker Links (Scott Barker):
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ssbarker/
Newsletter: thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/
Where to find GTMnow (GTMfund’s media brand):
Website: https://gtmnow.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gtmnow/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/GTMnow_
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GTM_now
The GTM Podcast (on all major directories): https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/
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The GTM Podcast
The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.
Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.

Chapters

1. GTM 131 - Kraig Swensrud - Full Episode (00:00:00)

2. Introducing Kraig Swensrud, Founder & CEO of Qualified (00:04:48)

3. The genesis of Kraig's entrepreneurial path (00:06:42)

4. The importance of Product marketing in the growth of salesforce (00:13:26)

5. Exploring the Innovator's Dilemma (00:20:17)

6. The Next Generation of Software & Building for Non-Human Users (00:25:59)

7. Obsessing over your customers is key to success (00:39:05)

8. Using the V2MOM Framework to drive company alignment (00:46:44)

9. The adage of 'hire fast, fire fast' is bs (00:50:43)