Figma’s strategic shift to outbound sales and proactive education drives growth in a competitive market.
Key Takeaways
- Curiosity combined with prescriptiveness is crucial for success in enterprise tech sales.
- Balancing curiosity with actionable insights is essential for meeting customer needs effectively.
- Figma transitioned from a self-service model to a predominantly outbound sales approach.
- Initial growth at Figma was driven by customers adopting the product independently.
- Figma focuses on proactive customer education rather than traditional support.
- The current focus at Figma is on getting existing users to adopt new products.
- Seat-based pricing is still relevant, though its future remains uncertain.
- Businesses replacing labor with software should consider outcomes-based pricing models.
- SDRs need to be accountable for their own pipeline generation.
- Specialization in sales teams enhances their effectiveness and performance.
- Figma’s sales strategy emphasizes outbound efforts, especially in mid-market segments.
- Existing customers are a focal point for Figma’s outbound sales strategy.
- Proactive customer education helps Figma drive product adoption.
- Figma’s shift to a multi-product strategy involves encouraging existing users to explore new offerings.
Guest intro
Shaunt Voskanian is the Chief Revenue Officer at Figma, where he has scaled the sales organization to over 1 billion dollars in annual recurring revenue and built a team of more than 400 people. Prior to joining Figma in October 2021, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Datadog, where he similarly scaled the revenue organization to 1 billion dollars in ARR. His career also includes significant roles at Oracle and Google, giving him deep expertise in enterprise sales strategy and revenue leadership across high-growth technology companies.
The importance of curiosity and prescriptiveness in sales
- Curiosity and prescriptiveness are essential skills for success in enterprise tech sales.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Sales professionals must balance curiosity with providing insights to meet customer needs effectively.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Understanding customer needs while delivering valuable insights is crucial.
- A nuanced approach to sales can give a competitive edge in the market.
- Customer engagement dynamics are vital for successful sales strategies.
- The dual approach enhances customer relationship management.
Figma’s evolving sales strategy
- Figma’s sales strategy evolved from self-service to predominantly outbound.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Initial growth was driven by a self-service model with independent product adoption.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- The transition reflects a shift in market approach and customer engagement.
- Outbound sales efforts focus on existing customers.
- The strategy highlights Figma’s proactive approach to market penetration.
- Understanding Figma’s sales evolution is crucial for grasping their growth trajectory.
Proactive customer success at Figma
- Figma’s approach to customer success emphasizes proactive education.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- This strategy differs from traditional customer support models.
- Proactive education helps drive product adoption and customer engagement.
- Figma focuses on getting existing users to adopt new products.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- The approach aligns with Figma’s multi-product strategy.
- Understanding this strategy is key to comprehending Figma’s customer engagement efforts.
The future of pricing models in software
- Seat-based pricing is not dead yet, but predicting its future is challenging.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Businesses replacing labor with software need outcomes-based or consumption-based pricing models.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Different pricing models align with varying business operations and customer needs.
- Strategic considerations are crucial when choosing pricing models.
- The evolution of pricing models reflects broader industry trends.
- Understanding these trends is essential for software businesses navigating pricing strategies.
Accountability and specialization in sales teams
- SDRs must be responsible for their own pipeline generation.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Accountability in sales roles is crucial for effective strategies.
- Focusing sales teams on specific segments enhances their effectiveness.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Specialization leads to better sales outcomes.
- Understanding the role of SDRs is key to optimizing sales team performance.
- Strategic focus and specialization are vital for high-performing sales teams.
Figma’s strategic shift to outbound sales and proactive education drives growth in a competitive market.
Key Takeaways
- Curiosity combined with prescriptiveness is crucial for success in enterprise tech sales.
- Balancing curiosity with actionable insights is essential for meeting customer needs effectively.
- Figma transitioned from a self-service model to a predominantly outbound sales approach.
- Initial growth at Figma was driven by customers adopting the product independently.
- Figma focuses on proactive customer education rather than traditional support.
- The current focus at Figma is on getting existing users to adopt new products.
- Seat-based pricing is still relevant, though its future remains uncertain.
- Businesses replacing labor with software should consider outcomes-based pricing models.
- SDRs need to be accountable for their own pipeline generation.
- Specialization in sales teams enhances their effectiveness and performance.
- Figma’s sales strategy emphasizes outbound efforts, especially in mid-market segments.
- Existing customers are a focal point for Figma’s outbound sales strategy.
- Proactive customer education helps Figma drive product adoption.
- Figma’s shift to a multi-product strategy involves encouraging existing users to explore new offerings.
Guest intro
Shaunt Voskanian is the Chief Revenue Officer at Figma, where he has scaled the sales organization to over 1 billion dollars in annual recurring revenue and built a team of more than 400 people. Prior to joining Figma in October 2021, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Datadog, where he similarly scaled the revenue organization to 1 billion dollars in ARR. His career also includes significant roles at Oracle and Google, giving him deep expertise in enterprise sales strategy and revenue leadership across high-growth technology companies.
The importance of curiosity and prescriptiveness in sales
- Curiosity and prescriptiveness are essential skills for success in enterprise tech sales.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Sales professionals must balance curiosity with providing insights to meet customer needs effectively.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Understanding customer needs while delivering valuable insights is crucial.
- A nuanced approach to sales can give a competitive edge in the market.
- Customer engagement dynamics are vital for successful sales strategies.
- The dual approach enhances customer relationship management.
Figma’s evolving sales strategy
- Figma’s sales strategy evolved from self-service to predominantly outbound.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Initial growth was driven by a self-service model with independent product adoption.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- The transition reflects a shift in market approach and customer engagement.
- Outbound sales efforts focus on existing customers.
- The strategy highlights Figma’s proactive approach to market penetration.
- Understanding Figma’s sales evolution is crucial for grasping their growth trajectory.
Proactive customer success at Figma
- Figma’s approach to customer success emphasizes proactive education.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- This strategy differs from traditional customer support models.
- Proactive education helps drive product adoption and customer engagement.
- Figma focuses on getting existing users to adopt new products.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- The approach aligns with Figma’s multi-product strategy.
- Understanding this strategy is key to comprehending Figma’s customer engagement efforts.
The future of pricing models in software
- Seat-based pricing is not dead yet, but predicting its future is challenging.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Businesses replacing labor with software need outcomes-based or consumption-based pricing models.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Different pricing models align with varying business operations and customer needs.
- Strategic considerations are crucial when choosing pricing models.
- The evolution of pricing models reflects broader industry trends.
- Understanding these trends is essential for software businesses navigating pricing strategies.
Accountability and specialization in sales teams
- SDRs must be responsible for their own pipeline generation.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Accountability in sales roles is crucial for effective strategies.
- Focusing sales teams on specific segments enhances their effectiveness.
-
— Shaunt Voskanian
- Specialization leads to better sales outcomes.
- Understanding the role of SDRs is key to optimizing sales team performance.
- Strategic focus and specialization are vital for high-performing sales teams.
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Source: https://cryptobriefing.com/shaunt-voskanian-curiosity-and-prescriptiveness-drive-success-in-enterprise-tech-sales-figmas-shift-to-outbound-sales-enhances-customer-engagement-and-the-future-of-pricing-models-remains-uncerta/
