The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton

Most revenue leaders see a missed number and immediately jump to a solution: more training, new SPIFFs, or pricing changes. Product leaders isolate variables and solve for root causes.
Usha Iyer (Chief Customer & Growth Officer, President - US @ Hivebright) brings a developer's rigor, and a product leader's clarity to GTM. She explains why you should treat your GTM strategy like a product roadmap: test small, validate with data, and only scale what's proven to work.
Highlights include:
Input vs. Output: Why chasing results without fixing process inputs increases failure ratesThe SWAT Team Model: The safer way to scale processes
Churn Forensics: How to use control groups to diagnose retention issues (hint: it's rarely just pricing).
Friction Hunting: Stop selling the "happy path" and how to get at the truth.

Plus a lot more. And thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday. 
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: Usha Iyer's journey from engineering to revenue
03:52 Transitioning from product management to go-to-market leadership
07:34 The difference between winning in product versus sales
08:17 Identifying hidden customer friction points that data misses
12:19 How revenue leaders should communicate with product teams
13:36 Applying a product mindset to the sales process
15:56 Input-driven product development versus output-driven sales
21:48 Using data patterns and control sets to diagnose churn
34:46 Running hypothesis-driven experiments in GTM teams
37:39 Building data structures to track the customer journey
43:08 Experimenting with pricing and packaging strategies
46:02 Integrating onboarding directly into the product experience
52:00 Using SWAT teams to pilot new initiatives
56:16 Creating a culture of psychological safety for experimentation
01:01:05 Rapid fire questions and career advice

Crescendo went from zero to $100M ARR in under two years. And today's guest, CRO Michelle Donnelly, is leading the revenue team.
In a market where every AI competitor claims the exact same capabilities, Michelle argues that "trust me" sales tactics don't work anymore, and what her team is doing instead. She explains why she banned traditional sales demos in favor of building functional prototypes using prospect data (sometimes within 24 hours). Michelle also breaks down the transition to outcome-based pricing and how she she's working to compress new rep ramp time.
All this, and a ton more!
Thanks for tuning in. Catch new episodes every Wednesday. 
 
Subscribe to Topline Newsletter.
Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech.
Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!
 
Chapters:
01:39 Introduction to Michelle Donnelly and Crescendo
04:54 Leaving Salesforce for a risky hardware startup
11:25 Leveraging your network to spot market trends
16:18 Navigating pivots and finding product-market fit
19:44 Selling amidst the noise of the AI market
25:50 The challenge of simplifying complex messaging
30:45 Strategic priorities for scaling revenue teams
33:18 Replacing standard demos with "show me" solutions
35:50 Building trust by becoming your customer's customer
40:21 Balancing high-level strategy with frontline realities
43:02 Maintaining focus with the rule of three
45:09 Using internal AI to accelerate rep onboarding
48:23 Rapid fire: Traits of great revenue leade

As EVP of Sales and CS at Insight Partners, Jeremey advises over 500 B2B SaaS companies. In this episode, he reveals why the top 10% of performers are actually expanding their outbound teams, not cutting them.
And we cover a ton, including:
The Outbound Paradox: Why winning companies are doubling down on SDRs while everyone else pulls back.

Build vs. Buy: Why purchasing point solutions right now is a "risky business" (and the case for building your own).

The Great Consolidation: How AEs are absorbing the SDR function and what it means for your org chart.

The CRO Differentiator: The one trait that separates good revenue leaders from the truly great.

Thanks for tuning in. Catch new episodes every Wednesday. 
Subscribe to Topline Newsletter.
Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech.
Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!
 
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Jeremey Donovan's Career Journey
03:59 AI Adoption: Disillusionment vs. Reality
06:28 Shifting From Bottom-Up to Top-Down AI Innovation
08:29 Navigating Governance and the "AI Czar" Role
13:58 Why Disciplined Execution Trumps AI Tactics
16:11 AI for Performance Reviews and Real-Time Feedback
21:45 The Rise of "Build" and Agentic Coding
27:33 Augmentation, Outbound Sales, and Human Effort
41:40 The Build vs. Buy Debate in RevTech
52:13 Realistic Expectations for AI Productivity Gains
59:13 The Future of SDR and Solutions Engineer Roles
01:03:12 Redesigning Processes and Unbundling Roles for AI
01:13:06 Preserving Critical Thinking in an AI World
01:19:05 Quick Fire: Leadership, Hiring, and Hard Lessons

Jordan Crawford (Founder @ Blueprint GTM) returns with a reality check for GTM leaders: The ChatGPT era is over. We're entering the season of Claude Code. That means you can move past static prompts and brittle workflows. We are now in a world where autonomous agents write code, execute complex goals, and learn recursively. Jordan breaks down how to set up local environments where context compounds over time, allowing you to deploy "infinite interns" against your most manual processes.
 
A few of the topics we cover:
The 3 Eras of GTM AI: Why we've graduated from ChatGPT (text) and Clay (linear workflows) to Claude Code (autonomous engineering).
Adapt or Die: Jordan shares some benchmarks of the absurd growth that's possible in specific areas
Atomic Leverage: How to identify the tasks in your sales org that agents can execute at scale.

COUPON CODES:
Get 10% off AutoClaygent.com with code NortonKnows. No limit on redemptions, but the code expires Feb 28th, 2026.
 
Get 50% off your own GTM Playbook with code KyleKnows (limited to the first 50 customers only) available at https://playbooks.blueprintgtm.com 
 
Contact Jordan at https://linkedin.com/in/jordancrawford if you have any issues.
 
Thanks for tuning in. Catch new episodes every Wednesday. 
Subscribe to Topline Newsletter.
Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech.
Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!
 
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to Jordan Crawford and Claude Code
02:46 Defining Claude Code and Agentic Capabilities
04:47 Real-World Example: Automating Manual Enrichment
08:17 How Claude Code Differs from ChatGPT and Gemini
11:12 Building Compounding Context in Local Folders
15:23 The Three Eras: ChatGPT, Clay, and Claude Code
19:09 Recursive Improvements and Autonomous Agents
26:08 Claude for Work vs. Terminal-Based Claude Code
28:06 Understanding Plan Mode and Sub-Agent Workflows
37:05 The CRO's Role in Identifying Automatable Tasks
40:06 Scaling Atomic Tasks for Massive Productivity Gains
46:54 Developing Technical Taste and AI Intuition
51:49 The Critical Role of Context and Integration
58:44 Building an AI Chief of Staff for Decision Making
75:40 How to Install and Start Using Claude Code

Tyler Will (VP RevOps, Intercom) breaks down how Intercom overhauled its go-to-market engine after shifting to AI-first products.
What we cover:
- Why too many revenue leaders obsess over success metrics but ignore the inputs that actually drive them
- The specific comp plan changes Intercom made when moving from seats to usage-based pricing... including giving reps MRR credit for overages without forcing awkward contract conversations
- How post-sales motions fundamentally change when you're monetizing resolutions instead of seats
- Tyler's four principles for comp plans that actually work
Also discussed: When to do a real comp overhaul vs. minor tweaks, why RevOps teams are getting bigger before they get smaller, and using Claude Code to query Snowflake directly.
 
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Guest Background
01:59 Shifting Focus From Success Metrics to Input Metrics
06:06 AI Literacy Required for Modern Revenue Leaders
09:24 Selecting Metrics Without Micromanaging Behavior
17:01 Intercom's Internal and GTM AI Transformation
20:01 Shifting to Resolution-Based Pricing Models
25:46 Evolving the CSM Role for Consumption
28:53 Adapting Compensation Plans for Usage-Based Revenue
33:52 Core Principles for Variable Compensation Design
44:37 Aligning Compensation Strategy With Product Roadmaps
52:00 Restructuring RevOps and Hiring GTM Engineers
56:44 Automating RevOps Tasks With Cloud Code
01:05:58 Impact of AI on SDR and Success Teams
01:09:10 Specific Internal AI Use Cases at Intercom
01:15:20 Quick Fire: Good vs. Great CROs and Advice