Marc Benioff on How and Why Salesforce.com Succeeded: My Favorite Plays
Scott Maxwell · OpenView
FreeIntermediate
Covers how the No Software logo and button became a repeated physical act rather than a tagline. The lesson is that a category claim only sticks when the whole company performs it daily.
Benioff's rule of thumb: 25 to 50 percent of headcount should be salespeople (at Salesforce it was half the company).
Nine times out of ten companies miss plan because the sales force was never big enough, not because reps were unproductive.
Salesforce targeted companies under 30 employees first for higher close rates and lower cost of sale.
Position yourself as the leader or explicitly against the leader, and give everyone a two sided laminated card so the answer never varies.
