Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Jason Lemkin warns B2B founders that experienced executives with strong LinkedIn profiles are joining AI startups without basic AI tool proficiency. The pattern: good logos, fluent talk, zero hands-on capability. Worth noting: this is not about tech skills, it is about leaders who have never built anything from scratch.
Jason Lemkin (EchoSign, SaaStr founder) ran three different commission structures on multi-year SaaS contracts. One worked. One printed money. One let a rep sell a lifetime deal for $200k and bank $150k commission. Here is what actually happens when you get the incentives wrong.
Chief Product & Technology Officer roles are showing up more at larger B2B software firms, especially those pushing AI transformation. The market reality: executive search firms report these hybrid roles typically fail because one person cannot cover both product strategy and technical execution well. For sales teams, a CPTO hire often signals organisational complexity rather than stronger execution.
Almost half of Australian organisations already have a Chief AI Officer, with that number expected to hit 64% by 2027. Enterprise CAIO roles pay $350k–$500k+, Head of AI positions sit at $230k–$350k. Big four banks all have executive AI leaders. The hires signal AI is moving from experiment to C-suite function, but only 40% of companies actually have an AI strategy.
Jason Lemkin runs an eight-figure B2B business with 3 humans and 21 AI agents. They peaked at 30 agents a month ago, could not manage more, and consolidated back to 20. Output went up roughly 4x. Here is what agent consolidation actually looks like when you are running revenue operations, not a demo.
Xero is paying underperformers to leave instead of putting them on PIPs. The move comes as the ASX-listed company's shares tanked 40% and the CEO's equity comp went underwater. Meanwhile, leadership is negotiating a new pay structure.
Only 21% of ANZ employees feel engaged at work, down from 23% last year. Remote sellers hit hardest at 7% engagement. The fix is not AI: it is manager training, clearer comp structures, and cutting the 305 systems your team is juggling.
AI presentation startup Gamma crossed $100M ARR profitably with 50 employees and no sales team, relying entirely on word-of-mouth growth. CEO Grant Lee now admits he should have added sales earlier despite the numbers. Here is what that scaling path looks like and why the typical 200-person playbook did not apply.
SaaStr founder Jason Lemkin says most VC pressure to increase burn rate and hire fast is wrong, especially from large funds. Founders already know their spending velocity by $6M ARR. The push often serves investor interests, not startup survival.
Brian Le scaled Notion's sales compensation from 80 to 400+ commissionable employees, building the comp infrastructure that enables top AEs to earn over $1 million in a single quarter. He moved comp from broken spreadsheets to automated systems, treating it as go-to-market infrastructure, not an HR derivative.
Richard White quit as WiseTech Global chair after 18 months, citing media attention as a distraction. Shares rallied 9% on the news despite a 75% decline over 12 months. White stays on as director and CIO. Worth noting: WiseTech runs $1.2B revenue with 97% recurring, employs 200-500 globally.
Melbourne unicorn Culture Amp is shedding 70 roles (9% of headcount), targeting middle management. Second cut since November. Revenue growth slowed to 10.8% in FY25, losses hit $91.5m over two years. New CEO Caroline Rawlinson calls it necessary restructuring.