Chris Klayko

Salesforce isn’t just acquiring companies for growth—they’re doing it to reshape the future of CPQ. These acquisitions are strategic moves to enhance their CPQ and RevOps capabilities, not just to expand their portfolio. The real value? It’s in how these newly acquired technologies are driving innovation in pricing, quoting, and revenue management. Take Slack and MuleSoft, for example: These weren’t just tools to add to Salesforce’s stack. They’ve become integral parts of the CPQ process, connecting sales operations, streamlining workflows, and making it easier for teams to manage complex deals. Salesforce is positioning itself to lead in AI-driven CPQ, and these acquisitions are making it possible. What does this mean for your business? It means you’ll need to rethink your CPQ strategy. The old way of doing things—manual quotes, siloed processes, static pricing—won’t cut it anymore. If your sales team isn’t ready to adopt these changes, you’ll struggle to keep up. Salesforce’s acquisitions are about reshaping how you run your sales operations. #salesforce #slack #mulesoft

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Salesforce won’t invest more in CPQ. The market sentiment says so. Since the launch of RLM (Revenue Lifecycle Management), the market sentiment for CPQ has gone down. People are speculating: → no new advancement → differences b/w RLM and CPQ → CPQ as an outdated tool and more. Here’s the most absurd yet believable speculation: In light of RLM, Salesforce will discontinue CPQ in 2-3 years. But all of this may be just that - speculation. There is nothing to worry, yet. Because RLM isn’t ready to use. It is still in beta. I’ve been getting a lot of queries around - how to migrate from CPQ to RLM. My answer - There is no straight forward way. Even if we do, the migration is going to be costly. What do you think about the future of Salesforce CPQ? #cpq #salesforce #salesforcecpq #rlm

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The launch of Salesforce’s Revenue Lifecycle Management has given birth to doubtful market sentiment: → RLM vs. CPQ → no new CPQ advancement → the death of Salesforce CPQ In my opinion, it shouldn’t be a point of debate. RLM is a smart move towards automating and managing the product-to-cash process. It caters to businesses of all sizes and industries, aiming to streamline operations across: → product/service design → price management → contract lifecycle management → configuration, quote, and order management → billing, collections, and revenue lifecycle intelligence Salesforce RLM isn't a standalone product but a suite of offerings designed to address the full revenue lifecycle for a diverse range of customers. This includes: → Salesforce CPQ → Salesforce Contracts → Salesforce Billing → And RLM itself I have written a full article explaining RLM and the operational areas it covers. Link in comments below. #salesforce #salesforcecpq #rlm

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🚀 The Future of CX: Salesforce, Coveo, and GenAI Unite! 🚀 Join us for an unmissable webinar featuring Balakrishnan Subramanian, SVP of Product Management at Salesforce, alongside Nick Sweers, Tracy Carson, and Richard Tessier! 🗓️ October 24, 2024 at 11 AM ET Discover the Power of AI-Driven CX: Witness how F5 transformed their customer experience using AI-driven self-service. Learn about the seamless, secure data integration between Coveo and Salesforce across the entire ecosystem. Get an exclusive preview of Coveo's game-changing integration with Salesforce Data Cloud and its impact on Agentforce. Kishan Chetan, EVP & GM of Service Cloud, emphasizes: "Precise answers in service interactions are crucial for reducing costs and boosting satisfaction. Coveo's extensive connectivity and relevance capabilities are game-changers for enterprises with complex search needs in Service." Be at the forefront of the AI-driven CX revolution. Don't miss Balakrishnan Subramanian's expert insights on harnessing the full potential of GenAI, Agentforce, and Relevance Generative Answering. 🔗 Secure Your Spot: https://lnkd.in/gCzD7mTB #Salesforce #Agentforce #Coveo #GenAI #AI #CustomerExperience #FutureOfCX

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What is the meaning of Single Pane of Glass in Revops. Here is a video illustrating how Aviso helps. https://lnkd.in/gqap23AT #revops #ai #singlepaneofglass

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Most companies don't have the resources or time to build and train their own AI models. But the efficiency and growth gap between those using AI for efficiencies and those not grows daily. Yesterday, Salesforce announced over 100 highly-tailored and customizable industry specific AI capabilities from our Industry Clouds at Salesforce, including Energy & Utilities. So, why DIY your AI? Salesforce AI for Energy & Utilities: https://lnkd.in/gTDSSc45 Press release: https://lnkd.in/gB2Q-VEt #energyandutilities

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4 M&A targets... ...that Salesforce corp dev likely has on their radar We identified these using CB Insights new Exit Probability Score Check them along with a deconstruction of Salesforce's M&A strategy ⤵ https://lnkd.in/e4bcsT43

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Good 4 minute investment to watch if Revenue Intelligence is important to you.

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From ServiceNow to Snowflake, the iconic CEO Frank Slootman turns companies into B2B giants. His secret: bringing ‘Founder Mode’ passion to professional management. In the latest episode of B2BaCEO, Frank breaks down why the Founder vs. Manager mode debate misses the point. Leadership lesson #1 from Slootman 👇 Rank-and-file employees don’t just watch a leader’s moves on Day 1. They watch every day—and compare notes. The leader’s character and credibility gets established with every decision (or hesitation). Slootman’s advice: move quickly, be decisive, engage employees on the real issues, not the fluff. Our full conversation in the comments.

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Actionable data has always sat weeks if not months away from leaders in key GTM roles like Sales, Service, Marketing, Advertising or BI. Bringing arguably the best BI tool to your CX teams allows them to make quicker decisions and show faster results.

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Great insights here... Sharing this post as I know many of my Salesforce connections have been interested in understanding what the future holds for them, and what Prodly has been working on to provide them with a path forward.

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ServiceNow Q3 FY24 Results exceeds guidance across all topline growth and profitability metrics; raises 2024 subscription revenues guidance 💲 💲 Stock up 5.5% and market cap touched $200B for the first time!!! Q3FY24 Financial Highlights: ▶ Subscription revenues of $2.715B (23% yoy). Total revenues $2.8B (22% yoy) ▶ cRPO at $9.36B (26% yoy). Total RPO at $19.5B (36% yoy) ▶ FY24 Subscription Rev guidance raised to ~$10.66B, @23% CAGR ▶ Q2 Operating Margin of 31%, +150bps yoy; Delivered $775M of Net Income. ▶ 96 deals >$1M in NNACV. 2,020 out of the ~8k customers spend >$1M with ServiceNow, at an average ACV of $4.8M. Industry best-in-class Renewal Rate of 98% ▶ 46% of NNACV was contributed by our non-IT Workflows ( Customer, Employee, and Creator) ▶ #APJ as a geo contributed to 11% of Revenues (vs 8% in Q1 FY18)     Q3FY24 Business Highlights: ✅ Amit Zavery named as president, chief product officer (CPO), and chief operating officer (COO) to lead product and engineering ✅ ServiceNow announced Workflow Data Fabric, an integrated data layer that unifies business and technology data across the enterprise, powering all workflows and AI agents with real‑time, secure access to data from any source ✅ ServiceNow and NVIDIA will co‑develop native AI Agents using NVIDIA NIM Agent Blueprints within the ServiceNow platform ✅ ServiceNow and Zoom announced an expanded strategic alliance to integrate the companies’ GenAI technologies – ServiceNow Now Assist and Zoom AI Companion ✅ Zero Copy partnerships with established data leaders like Databricks and Snowflake ✅ In Q3, we offered the Now Platform Xanadu release, with new AI capabilities including Now Assist Skill Kit and purpose‑built GenAI industry solutions ✅ Announced plans to integrate Agentic AI into the ServiceNow platform and unlock 24/7 productivity at massive scale ✅ ServiceNow announced a new National Academic Partnership with Singapore’s Republic Polytechnic to provide hundreds of early‑in‑career and lifelong learners access to emerging AI and cloud computing roles in support of the government's Smart Nation agenda ✅ ServiceNow was included in Fortune's Best Workplaces in Technology list, in addition to placing on the Time World's Best Companies, PEOPLE Companies that Care, Fast Company 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators, and more.

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PE Growth Insights - what CEOs & CROs of PE-backed companies can glean from the Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) Earnings Call In a nutshell: Many software companies now need a lot more in the sales pipeline (than in the recent past) to hit their bookings target. FYI from Marc Benioff, CEO (from the Earnings Call): " ...we are having to start every quarter with much higher pipelines. We look at these pipeline multiples as much higher than we've traditionally had to start with. And where traditionally, we might have to start our pipelines at 2x, now our message to our distribution leaders is...you better start out at 3x. And this is also our message to our peers as well to evaluate the pipeline much more aggressively than ever before, that means a much deeper inspection of the pipeline but holding it at a much higher level. That is evidence of this environment. And if you would ask any leader in this company, how many times they've heard from me or from Brian that they better started at a 3x pipeline, because that is the world that we're in today." --- Source: Earnings call: Salesforce maintains FY25 guidance amid growth focus: https://lnkd.in/ev3mZdSR --------- #revenue #sales #gtm #growth #business #pe #privateequity

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I'm looking for CPQ success stories! If you don't have one yet, perhaps consider our Health Check offering. We specialize in CPQ remediations and have quite a few success stories to share. CPQ can be tricky so if yours gets a gold star, do share. I'm sure others would appreciate any tips or best practices. #happytohelp #cloudgiants

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Three big announcements for the #Salesforce Data curious and data passionate #TrailblazerCommunity members as well as business leaders: 1. Data Matters Community Session on Tools and Techniques Salesforce uses internally to manage one of the oldest org's in the ecosystem is now live https://lnkd.in/gdXg7P6y 2. Dreamin In Data conference's first Key Note Speakers are confirmed!!! https://dreaminindata.com/ William Dressler, Head of AI Innovation and Adoption, and Courtney Prince, Head of Data Strategy and Operations at Salesforce will share their practical experiences, DOs and DON'Ts. William will share insights into the success and challenges of AI across various organizations, drawing from internal and extensive customer experiences. Meanwhile, Courtney will delve into the evolution of Salesforce’s internal data strategies, managing one of the oldest and most complex orgs. This keynote is designed for business, data, and IT leaders, as well as Salesforce admins, architects, and consultants. It's a unique opportunity to learn about proven practices and common pitfalls in AI and data management that could transform how you approach technology in your roles. 3. Dreamin In Data Call for Speakers is open until Friday. While we have a great set of candidates already, there is room to submit: Join us to share your expertise and insights on - Data Strategies for different industries - Data Governance and Stewardship for Quality, Compliant, Secure data - Data Integration patterns, tips, and techniques with MuleSoft or Data Cloud - Data Visualization and Storytelling with Tableau, CRM-A, Reports and Dashboards or sign up to attend for the early bird benefits. It will be a great event. #BetterTogether #SalesforceAdmin #SalesforceArchitect #SalesforceConsultant #DataFam #DataMatters #DataManagement #DataGovernance #DataQuality #DataIntegration #DataCloud #Tableau #MuleSoft #SalesforceEvent

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Have you talked about 'RAG' with non-tech folks? I have...And why it is needed went better than what it is Esp. when it comes to your Salesforce Use cases & BYOM Today every major AI vendor, Offers a RAG capability, & there are niche ones. Check this video from GPTfy, And let me know what I missed. #rag #salesforce #gptfy #servicecloud #chatbot #einstein #byom

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Salesforce saw a year-over-year increase in revenues and earnings but fell short of market expectations. This led to a big hit in after-hours trading. A sizable portion of the revenue shortfall was in the Professional Services and Other category (not a big surprise, PS is hurting everywhere), but there was also growth in all product areas. Salesforce also increased its 2025 fiscal earnings forecast but kept revenue estimates flat. Commentary from leadership on the investor call made major mentions of financial transformation (margins, cash flow, dividends, etc). Also a great deal of commentary on AI being integrated into multiple product lines and good initial adoption. Good financial discipline is good business, but the level of excitement from the leadership team in AI would suggest a higher level of investment (and lower not increased earnings forecasts) to drive a long-term revenue ramp. #SFDC #MoorInsights #AI #CRM

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Great article and areas to watch! The next frontier isn't just in using AI but in mastering its integration into sales workflows, turning predictive and personalized analytics into true competitive edge - all while blending human intuition with AI-driven insights.

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