James Smith

Overseeing sales, marketing and customer operations, with focus on GTM planning, forecasting, sales process optimisation, systems, enablement, data, reporting, deal desk, sales support and sales commissions.

Achievements

• RevOps Function Creation - Brought together 6 regions and multiple business units/teams into new global RevOps function, allowing for process simplification and headcount reduction, helping enable company EBITDAC doubling in 2023 (from 34.4M to 75M)
• Forecasting Process - Replaced manual, slow, time consuming and inaccurate former process, enabling 27% new order booking growth in 2023, higher than ever before
• CRM Rollout - Within weeks of joining, managed 50+ project team, migrating entire company from legacy CRM to Salesforce and Hubspot within 6 months
• Customer Experience - Launched new global customer support solution via Zendesk
• Quota Credit Guidelines - Designed to allow for better definitions of sales commission plans for budget accuracy and control, whilst improving time to revenue
• Sales Closing Process - New rigorous process launched and supported in CRM to validate and improve bookings accuracy
• Migrations - Merged 5 business units into group wide GTM systems and processes
• Professional Services Automation - New modern solution delivered via Certinia, to help visualise PS utilisation rates and revenues across company, a manual and inaccurate process before

Providing strategic guidance into product and GTM for Lative - a SaaS sales planning/capacity tool.

Oversaw global team of 12 supporting GTM/sales function of over 100, as well as cross functional departments in finance, marketing, product, alliances etc.

*UK based manager/CRO left Xactly, leading to US job relocation requirement, resulting in move to Aareon*

Achievements

• Sales Process - Designed new global sales process and implemented within CRM to truly understand deal quality helping enable record 86% growth
• Forecasting Process - Launched new global forecasting tool for great insights into opportunities leading to 3% increased win rates
• Deal Desk - Created and owned new deal desk function reducing time to win complex deals
• Territory Planning - Revolutionised territory and account allocation process allowing greater focus on key accounts

Recruited by board member at Unit4 and former CEO of prior company Fairsail, to manage team for strategic program that overhauled companywide GTM processes and systems within 12 months to help enable company growth of +43% YoY, leading to $2.2BN acquisition by TA Associates.

Supporting a sales function of over 250, responsibilities included leading a team to help with sales forecasting, sales systems, sales reporting, data analysis, pricing/quoting strategy, commission management and sales support.

Achievements

• GTM Process and System Re-engineering - Led team of 6 that rolled out 5 new major GTM processes including forecasting, sales process optimisation, sales development, commission management and account insights, all within 12 months (via tools Clari, ClosePlan, Salesloft, Xactly and Dun & Bradstreet)

Initially appointed as Sales Operations Manager at Fairsail. Following Sage's acquisition of Fairsail in 2017, which grew 1277% over 4 years, promotion was awarded to the role of Sales Operations Director that same year to help roll out the product to 3 new markets alongside leadership team.

Achievements

• Sales Ops Ownership - Set up Fairsail’s global sales operation function from scratch, building to help support sales and marketing team of over 50. Recruited and managed high-achieving global sales operations team of 5.