Suggestions
Anna Baird
We Help Companies Increase Revenue With Sales Engagement at Outreach.io
Anna Baird is a seasoned finance executive with a diverse background in various industries including healthcare, digital media, and technology.
She has held key leadership roles such as CFO at Livongo Health, President & CFO at RadiumOne, and CFO & Head of Operations at SAY Media.
Anna's expertise spans finance, accounting, supply chain, governance, risk, compliance, and strategic leadership.
She is a CPA and Six Sigma Green Belt certified professional with a strong focus on global infrastructure, scalability, revenue recognition, and process improvement.
Anna's educational background includes executive courses at Harvard and Wharton, as well as a BS in Accounting from CSU, Fresno.
Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to excellence and leadership, serving in various capacities at reputable organizations including KPMG and McAfee.
Anna's specialties include financial and management reporting, channel operations, sourcing strategies, internal audit, Sarbanes Oxley compliance, and driving global initiatives.
Currently serving as COO at Outreach, Anna continues to leverage her vast experience to drive growth and operational excellence in the organizations she engages with.
Highlights
How do you find a great sales leader??
In the rocky market we have had over the last 2 years many CEO's have asked that question. But it honestly starts with doing some work up front to make sure you look for the right profile and experience as well as ask the right questions.
Loren Alhadeff and I just hosted a go-to-market AMA session with a group of Madrona portfolio CEOs to help them answer this question. See the highlights in the attached document. But a few key ones...
- Don't hire people who have not been through your stage of growth. They need to understand how to get you from where you are to the next level.
- Do they know how to build a team or just manage one?
- What sales motion are they experienced with? If their prior companies were primarily inbound sales and you need outbound prospecting motions that may not be the right fit.
One of the best pieces of advice I received was hire slow and fire fast. Hard to do but is the right answer - every time:)
Is it the market, your product or your sales team??
Great questions - I get asked this all the time from CEOs and Sales Leaders.
So let's start with what might have gone wrong in a product launch and the impact to your growth expectations.... We will cover the others soon too!
When it comes to launching a new product or feature, the process is as crucial as the product itself.
Over the years, I’ve seen incredible products fail due to poor launch strategies and mediocre products succeed thanks to outstanding launches. Success lies not just in the brilliance of the idea but in the execution of the launch strategy, and founders who master both the foundational groundwork and the execution process will be the ones who win in the competitive market.
I’m sharing this guide (link below in comments) to help you lay the foundation and execute the launch, setting your product up to achieve the success it deserves. In a few days, Loren Alhadeff and I are launching quarterly GTM sessions with our Madrona portfolio — so keep an eye out for blogs highlighting the insights from each of these sessions in the months to come!
And don’t hesitate to comment about what you think I missed/should keep in mind for future guides!
