Darren Poznick

So many terrible channel layoffs past few weeks. I’ve talked to several people impacted, and I know you’re crunching numbers, looking at deadlines, and trying to figure out how long you and yours can survive comfortably before the launch into your next adventure…. The one piece of advice I’ve given to those I’ve chatted with … if there’s ONE THING you do spend money on and invest in, go to a Channel Summit!! Even if it’s a terrible crappy flight and you go in on a 5am flight and then back out on the last flight home so you don’t have to spend money on a hotel, the face to face time and catching people in person (planned or purely by magic and someone making an introduction on the spot) is invaluable! 💜💜 🌟 AVANT Communications Special Forces {Phoenix} is next week (okay, a little last minute but could still be doable and not crazy expensive for the central, mountain, and west regions) 🌟 MSP Summit {Atlanta} September 16-19 🌟Sandler Partners National Summit {Huntington Beach} October 7-10 🌟 Bridgepointe Technologies Tech Summit {Palm Springs} November 4-7 🌟Intelisys Channel Connect {Nashville} November 17-20 You could probably attend any of these by just being at the venue itself and catching people as they go into it/go on the conference floor and area, or talk to anyone at these amazing companies and see if you can get a free or discounted pass. You may not be a “partner”, but we’re all channel family at the end of the day. #channelfamily #channellayoffs #techlayoffs

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Calling all California employers! 🌟 As you plan for 2025, how is your business adapting to meet the evolving needs of your workforce? Staying competitive and fully staffed in today’s landscape requires new strategies—and we’re here to help. I’m thrilled to join PrideStaff and a stellar panel of industry experts for a virtual roundtable to tackle these pressing challenges. I’ll be moderating a discussion with: Stephen Avila, Plant Manager, Trillium Flow Technologies Eric Gregg, Founder + CXS, ClearlyRated Pankaj Jindal, Co-Founder, Sense Together, we’ll explore: ✅ How workforce needs in 2025 are evolving—and how to stay ahead ✅ Strategies to overcome skill gaps and attract top talent ✅ Tips for engaging and retaining workers in a competitive market ✅ Employment best practices driving success today ✅ The role of AI in shaping California’s recruitment landscape 🗓 Mark your calendar: December 11th at 10 AM PST Let’s dive into actionable insights that will position your business for success in 2025. I can’t wait to see you there! 👉 Register today: https://lnkd.in/gfNGTVC7 #PrideStaff #PrideStaffRoundtables #WorkforceChallenges #CaliforniaWorkforce #TalentStrategy2025

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What (Management) lessons can we learn from Los Angeles' apocalypse fires, and why is it time for Californians to rise against professional politicians and ideologues... First and foremost, I am so sorry for the hard-working people of Los Angeles, the gardeners, construction workers, retail/services managers, and entrepreneurs. What happened was unfair and heartbreaking but mostly outrageous because it was so predictable and avoidable. I (legally) immigrated to this country 25 years ago. In exchange for an Eb1 visa, I had to produce a five-year plan, hire many people, and pay many taxes. This led to a green card and eventually US citizenship... Originally, from Europe, I always thought of my affiliation as progressive, squarely leaning toward democrats (the 80s and 90s version), although I was always fiscally conservative... After 2 decades of no changes, worse infrastructures, growing taxes (why are we paying $4.89 a gallon vs. the national average of $3 again?), exploding homelessness, and consistent deficits... California, the 5th largest economy with a budget of $322B, should LEAD THE WORLD FOR ITS INFRASTRUCTURES, have the most modern high-speed trains (LA to Seattle in 5 hours), quality and abundant water, and clean (nuclear) energy (France relies 75% on it). Modern buildings, with yearly preventive clean-ups and fire prevention strategies and equipment, and communities of tiny houses solving homelessness and addiction. Dream on... The Tenderloin (a dangerous San Francisco neighborhood) 25 years ago is the same as it is today, but some say it is probably more dangerous and dirtier...Homeless people have grown significantly over these last 5 years (~200,000 people), $24B has been spent on the problem, and there has been no progress... Why? Less than 20% goes to helping people, the rest and the vast majority in the hands of administrations and mindless bureaucrats...such a waste, such as shame... It does not matter if you lean right or left; the bottom line is that we should not support politicians who are incompetent and live only to protect ideologies... When will California change and recognize that politicians have failed us over the last thirty years? It's time to rally, rise, and shake up the status Quo. Let's remain civil and temper our (justified) anger, but man o man... Go to any city in Asia or Dubai, and you'll realize we are short-changed. As in any capitalistic corporation, how about demanding the following from our leaders: 🔥 Extreme transparency on budget allocation 🔥 One-time term 🔥 Enforce Lobbyist $ Caps 🔥 Enforce performance-based reviews 🔥 Streamline Recall mechanisms

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5Why’s is a well known resolution tool coming from my friend #Leanmanagement. Linking it to #customersucess is a no brainer. Loopback between value expected to value realized is the secret sauce for any Saas company. Refreshing analogy and methodology to always focus on value delivered, and I am not even getting started on #ITIL4 here.

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RTO builds culture - just not the culture you want to build. Yes, sharing desks can improve communication and creativity But breaking your promise reduces trust. Last week of September, Dell Technologies announced sales teams will work from an office 5 days per week. The change would come into effect on Monday, September 30th. Employees were given less than a week to comply. Glossing over how this is possibly the worst RTO execution to date, this damages culture in other ways. With that said, they aren't wrong. Sharing an office is good. More on that below. So first, how does this damage Dell's culture? This shows that employers can't trust Dell's communication. In February this year, they announced a 3-day RTO. Then, they said employees were free to keep working remotely, but that they wouldn't be considered for promotion. A terrible strategy in itself (as it disproportionally affects women and minorities. At the time, I challenged how Dell can claim to women in their careers and enforce this policy). But a strategy that allowed workers to keep working remotely (albeit at career cost). Now, 6 months later, they backtrack on that promise. In other words, Dell shows how little their word is worth. Employees have learned that there might be significant change around the corner. Don't get too comfortable in your position. Employees worrying about food on the table tomorrow aren't working for the long term. They aren't working effectively. They are forced into survival mode. This is NOT a constructive culture. And it's not just these 2 datapoints. It's a larger trend. In 2022, Michael Dell himself called out how "CEOs counting hours worked from the office are doing it wrong" and how Dell are committed to "committed to allow team members around the globe to choose the work style that best fits their lifestyle – whether that is remote or in an office or a blend of the two." In 2018, Dell was the trailblazing innovator of remote work. Then sVP of HR directly linked their good performance and innovation to remote work. So why the change? I won't speculate in things I don't have insight into, but I will say this: There is a strong case to be made for working in a shared office. It can be less lonely. Friendships form and grow. Communication can be faster. Junior employees grow better. There's energy on a sales floor. Learning and development easier. Creativity and innovation are group activities. That's all true. But sharing a space isn't limited to being in the same *physical* space. You can do this digitally. There are online offices that give these advantages, without costing the advantages of remote work. I know. I've built one. ReSocialize. Dell Technologies - if any people leaders from your company have read this far - I'm happy to get you set up. Try it with a team or two. It's a minimal investment compared to the value. Reach out.

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🚨 The cracks are showing, and this is just the beginning. A Bay Area tech giant, once valued at $12B, has now plummeted to $159M, laying off hundreds in its wake. What went wrong? The inability to adapt to AI’s transformative potential. AI isn’t just a tool; it’s a revolution reshaping industries at lightning speed. Organizations that harness AI for process productivity—streamlining operations, automating workflows, and scaling efficiency—are thriving. Those who don’t? They risk being left behind. 👉 Here’s the takeaway: Evolve now, or risk irrelevance in the next few years. AI-driven process optimization isn’t just a competitive edge; it’s survival. From predictive analytics to operational automation, the potential for innovation is limitless—but only if you act now. 💡 How are you future-proofing your organization against AI disruption? Let’s discuss in the comments!

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Today’s renters expect more than just four walls—they want fast, reliable Internet, and it’s non-negotiable. Recent surveys like NMHC and Kingsley confirm this: nearly 90% of renters won’t even consider a property without high-speed Internet! From remote work and streaming to managing 10+ IoT devices, connectivity is central to modern living. And with studies from Pew and Forbes showing that 30% of U.S. adults are still working remotely at least part-time post-COVID, high-speed Internet is no longer a perk; it’s a necessity. Take a look at this video where Todd and I unpack these trends and explore what they mean for property owners in the evolving connectivity landscape. I'm Scott McGee, and I’m here to help others navigate the complexities of multifamily connectivity and Proptech. Message me if you want to discuss more.

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#BTB sales Who in my network needs help with b2b sales? I’m offering a free consulting meeting to the first 5 folks that respond. This is B2B sales only! Can be an individual rep or a sales leader. Who’s in?

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Today T-Mobile and Starlink opened up T-Mobile Starlink Direct-to-Cellular service over impacted areas of Southern California to deliver wireless emergency alerts and SMS and enable 911 texting. While SpaceX's direct-to-cell constellation has not been fully deployed, we are once again temporarily making this early test version available for those who need it most." T‑Mobile Stands Prepared as Wildfires Impact Southern California (Updated 1/9) ‑ T‑Mobile Newsroom                                                                  

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Today on FiredUp!, we talk to Gong VP of GTM Enablement, Stacey Justice about how to equip sales and customer success teams with the tools they need. As you get traction, how do you scale that success to create a repeatable process that is aligned and consistent but also adapts as customer needs develop. How do you get leadership buy-in? How do you measure the effectiveness of your enablement efforts. Gong is clearly a great platform to help with that GTM alignment - so this is a chance to learn from the Stacey who is leading their enablement efforts. https://lnkd.in/g_YdV6pf

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The overlooked reason why you might not be maximizing your Net Retention. Every SaaS exec I speak to wants to know the best way to increase net retention -- and they’re all trying different tactics to do it however perhaps we just need to follow the data… 2 in 10 RevOps leaders believe they have clean and actionable data in their Salesforce org, so… here are some things you can start to dig into: 🎅 What and how are you cleaning your data - manual, tools or other? Check your data foundation, specifically your account data. 🎅 Mastering your account data is where the gold lies, how are your Parent-Child data set up, how are you bringing to life your enrichment data (if you say APEX or SF Flows, I challenge you to dig more). 🎅 How does your team carves territories, how does finance managee billing, how does marketing operations route leads, and ultimately, how you build your GTM strategy. From a CRO point of view, if revenue teams want to expand and retain across your large enterprise customers, you have to bring your account data to life and align it into a process. When your team understands this in a visual way (and no, native account hierarchies or account hierarchy data is NOT the same thing) it will help resolve duplicate accounts, ensure visibility into your largest accounts, and make sure accounts are always owned by active sales reps. It also means that come territory season (which I’m sure your team is still reeling from) you can effectively reassign and mass modify directly in Salesforce. Whether you’re looking to reduce churn or sell more effectively, or even just stay consistent through different market events like mergers and acquisitions, it all starts with having clean account data. Clean, Connected SF Account Data IS the path to Higher Net Retention! Happy Holidays!

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Thank you so much for this great writeup of the PMM role in SMB/MM and Enterprise! Out of curiosity, how do you know if you've accomplished the metrics for success in Enterprise you set out in (3)? Do PMMs in developer/infra focused companies need to be technical to get beyond 'the core?' I'll use an example relative to me. I've used CloudFormation and have some very specific opinions on that product. As such I can semi-credibly outline a customer value prop and highlight use cases for an IaaC solution from Pulumi or HashiCorp. But that clearly can't be what proficiency means to you because then I (or anyone else) would need how to deploy and manage containers to work at Docker, Inc or any company using Kubernetes. So how do you think of what it means to be proficient and how have you gone about getting there throughout your career? Thanks again for the post and for any thoughts you can offer.

"Make living in a grateful state, non-negotiable. Servant Leadership will transform your team to go beyond great and be outstanding." Rob Swymer - Inspiring and Actionable Interview with Authority Magazine Rachel Kline ❓What are your five strategies that will help turn a good sales team into a great one? ✅Common Mission — We all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves, to be part of a common mission or vision. ✅ Leveraging Your Ecosystem — I always encouraged my team to reach out to those in the ecosystem before you need them, build those human connections and let them know how much you appreciate them. Selling is a team sport, and the ecosystem is a great example of that. ✅Servant Leadership — In my opinion, this mindset will transform your team to go beyond great and be outstanding. Remember to lead the entire person under your charge, not just the job they have on the team. ✅ Operational Cadence and Excellence — This is the table stakes of the sales game. Teams need to be laser-focused on a consistent process and cadence along with the common language from the first level up to the Chief Sales Officer. ✅Give vs. Get Mindset — As a leader, the give vs. get mindset is something that both your team and your customers will benefit from. This is a simple mantra that can transform your relationships with your team, your customers and the people you love. #servantleadership #leadership #love #growthmindset #sales #career #keynotespeaker #speaker #author #tedx #mentorship #equity #mentalhealth #tonyrobbins #splunk #coaching #team #teamwork #success Yes, a man can have a female mentor! It would be fun to do a joint keynote or workshop to share this powerful dynamic. This is how change happens, perspective... In awe of the massive impact, you are making sharing your story of adversity and positive change.

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Prospecting just got a whole lot easier. ✨ ZoomInfo Copilot connects you to the right buyers at the right time, so you don't have to spend hours searching for your next lead. Request a demo to see Copilot in action: bit.ly/3Vj9RCS #ZoomInfoCopilot

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It feels like I have had more and more conversations recently with sales leaders and AE’s who are evaluating whether to stay in a sales role or take new opportunities. Plus with funding harder to get it seems like a trend of more sales leaders being asked to take fractional/ “work for yourself” type consulting roles to help build, scale and sell for early stage companies. It brought me back to my podcast convo with 🏄‍♂️ Scott Leese. If you are considering any of the above I highly recommend listening, and following Scott for some impactful learned experience & insight. Scott shared with me his learned, earned, and burned" framework suggests three criteria for evaluating whether to stay in a role or seek new opportunities: - Learned: Have you reached a point where you have nothing left to learn and no one else to teach you in your current role? - Earned: Have you consistently maximized your compensation plan, indicating mastery in your position? - Burned: Have you experienced mistreatment, being passed over, or feeling unsafe in the workplace? What are the best strategies to evaluate staying or going in a sales role or deciding to go work for “yourself” full time?! #sales #leadership #career https://lnkd.in/e9rgfjaf

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I can’t say I am the biggest EV proponent as I am still a big ICE fan but I have to make mention that if anyone is in the market for a truck or possibly a trade-in to save money, you’d be hard pressed to find a deal better than a #Rivian lease right now. I bit the bullet on a 4 motor RT1. I went with a 36 month, 12k miles per year, $1800 dollars down ($1k holder/binder & $800 trade in equity). $2800 total at closing netted a monthly payment of $667. Their numbers are not smoke and mirrors. If you are not familiar with the RT1/RS1 (SUV), they are 95% pick up truck (or SUV), 165% roller coaster, 150% off-road beast, 90% luxury car. This equates to 500% of stupid-grin inducing, Semi-hauling, (possible) planet helping, gas pump ignoring, assisted driving euphoria.

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What should you do when a promising deal goes dark? 🧐 Sales Manager David Mansfield shows how ZoomInfo Copilot can help you identify and re-engage with key contacts to get your deal back on track. Don't let a stalled opportunity mean a lost deal. Learn how ZoomInfo Copilot's AI capabilities make it easier to multi-thread, connect with decision-makers, and keep the momentum going. ⬇️ #ZoomInfoCopilot

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GTM efficiency has become a key topic in 2024 and will be front and center for CRO’s and CMO’s as planning begins for 2025. SDR effectiveness and productivity is a significant problem. At The Pipeline Group we built ground up the right talent, data quality, best practices and tech stack to break through the massive digital noise and to not just CREATE pipeline but to help PROGRESS it. Get ahead of the brutal 2025 plan and let us show you how we can take out costs and drive efficiency. I know you have all had a bad experience with outside agencies but we are proven and different! You have nothing to lose, I won’t waste your time and if we can’t help it will be stated in the first 15 mins. DM me or Ken Jisser

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