As sales leaders face uncertainty with a looming recession, steep inflation and interest rates, and geopolitical concerns, the Pavilion CRO Summit, an intensive, day-long summit held in New York City on November 9, 2022, was a chance for Pavilion’s global network to address challenges for revenue leaders as one.
As Pavilion’s CEO & Founder Sam Jacobs put it, “It’s not all doom and gloom — you have an opportunity to come out ahead.” In that spirit, this year’s premier, sold-out event featured expert-led education sessions and hands-on workshops to accelerate growth and improve efficiencies.
Even amid uncertainty in forecasting, a shaky job market, and an economic downturn, the upshot of this year’s summit was clear: interruptions in economic growth force all businesses to shift — but those willing to think outside the box will be positioned for success.
Missed your chance to unlock new approaches and dynamic growth tactics at this year’s CRO Summit? Fear not! Today we’re covering the key takeaways and highlights — be sure to keep an eye out for future exclusive events from Pavilion to elevate your business with insights from high-growth executives.
Focus on P&L fluency
Cassie Young, General Partner at Primary Venture Partners, has conducted hundreds of interviews with C-Suite candidates and has found that the #1 reason VPs fail to make the leap to great executives is that “they can’t walk their way through an income statement.” She’s found that leaders are focusing too much time on “swim lane metrics” (bookings growth, marketing metrics, NPS) and not the metrics that really matter, such as unit economics like Lifetime Value (LTV), Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC), and Payback Period.
New strategies for building enterprise teams
On the heels of a recession, moving upmarket can accelerate growth, reduce churn, and create higher LTV. Despite the current economic uncertainty, Gartner recently found that SaaS spending among enterprise organizations will increase by 17% in 2023. Tips for hiring top talent include product-led growth (PLG), refining sales processes, and defining the key performance indicators to measure success. To uncover how to build scalable enterprise GTM engines, Pavilion welcomed Ashley Grech, COO at Recharge, and Tim O’Neil, CRO at Alation.
How to build forecasts amid economic uncertainty
Forecasting in 2023 looks to be challenging. 52% of executive survey respondents have a negative outlook for next year, with 19% anticipating layoffs in the next six months. But economic uncertainty should prompt us to challenge the norm through creative and innovative forecasting methods. Profitability vs. top-line growth conversations should be a priority. Balance quantitative and qualitative information to build your forecast. And remember that revenue is a team sport — think about cross-departmental factors and investments needed to grow sustainably.
Job market expectations for 2023
Pavilion’s recent pulse survey found that 1 in every 5 companies has been through layoffs in 2022. Look at recent headlines to see major layoffs planned from tech behemoths like Twitter, Meta, and Amazon. Yet, at the same time, the US added 261,000 jobs in October. It’s been an extremely unpredictable job market for executives looking to maintain steady growth while minimizing CAC. For C-Suite candidates, it’s important to determine your market value by finding the right balance among cash, equity, and benefits and negotiating a solid comp package.
Next up is Pavilion’s CEO Summit for CEOs, Founders, Co-Founders, and COOs at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach on January 12, 2023. Register to attend today.
