# Top 10 in Tech - What to know for Week ending December 11, 2020

Published: 11 December 2020
Canonical: https://www.top10in.tech/posts/week-ending-december-11-2020

## 1. SaaS METRIC OF THE WEEK

EARLY STAGE BENCHMARKS - Metrics are only good if you know what to benchmark yourself against and [Chartio has a list of 20 benchmarks for Growing Startups](https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/392937/Whitepaper/Chartio%20-%2020%20SaaS%20Benchmark%20for%20Growing%20Startups.pdf?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fchartio.com%2F) all handily broken down by department (such as Sales, Marketing, Product, Revenue).

Link: https://f.hubspotusercontent30.net/hubfs/392937/Whitepaper/Chartio%20-%2020%20SaaS%20Benchmark%20for%20Growing%20Startups.pdf?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fchartio.com%2F

## 2. GROWTH

A strong follow from above - I hear this complaint a lot, and it seems to be (anecdotally) increasing: Companies are expected by investors/shareholders to measure the right things at the wrong stage. The SaaS world is such a metric-heavy industry - we want to measure the things we want to improve. So here is advice for everyone (especially early-stage investors): [Don’t focus on metrics like MRR too early on](https://conversionxl.com/blog/saas-metrics/) (but qualified leads - for sure!). And here is how to [measure product-market fit](https://www.dropbox.com/s/a7p6pjc3q5l8akk/Growth_for_Startups_SUS.pdf?dl=0).

Link: https://conversionxl.com/blog/saas-metrics/

## 3. QUOTA 1/2

Hands up if you're forecasting or re-forecasting for 2021! Compensating SaaS Sales Reps is complicated and expensive. [This blog post from Kyle Racki](https://blog.kyleracki.com/how-to-compensate-your-saas-sales-reps-4f26e29240) of [Proposify](https://www.proposify.com/) has a pretty comprehensive guide from how to set quotas and commissions. But here is a quick shortcut to make it easy for all you Account Executives: The average annual quota in [this report from David Skok and Co](https://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/hubfs/resources/2017_SaaS_AE_Metrics.pdf?t=1499803746776) was found to be $770K in ACV and on average, the quota was found to be **5.3X OTE**. An expanded top10inTech teardown of that report (which admittedly is from 2017 so starting to get a bit long in the tooth) [can be found here](https://medium.com/north-america-tech-for-kiwis/new-saas-report-from-the-bridge-group-680c2b7cd3d6).

Link: https://blog.kyleracki.com/how-to-compensate-your-saas-sales-reps-4f26e29240

## 4. FORECASTS

Outside of setting quotas, running a SaaS business has a primary reliance on cashflow - so it is imperative to forecast future revenue to avoid a cash crunch when trying to scale. So [check this article covering Sales Forecasts and Pipeline Reviews](https://medium.com/point-nine-news/sales-forecasts-and-pipeline-reviews-why-and-how-aa1de7f65dd7): Why and How from a cash perspective

Link: https://medium.com/point-nine-news/sales-forecasts-and-pipeline-reviews-why-and-how-aa1de7f65dd7

## 5. SALES ENABLEMENT

Now that quotas are sorted thanks to #3 and #4 above: What are the best practices for optimizing performance with revenue teams? Sales Hacker have their [5 Do’s and Don’ts](https://www.saleshacker.com/sales-enablement-best-practices) for peak results as well as [an infographic](https://www.saleshacker.com/sales-enablement-content) (BTW [61% of organizations have a dedicated sales enablement person](https://www.csoinsights.com/sales-enablement-grows-up-4th-annual-sales-enablement-report/)).

Link: https://www.saleshacker.com/sales-enablement-best-practices

## 6. SDR RAMP

According to [past studies](https://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/hubfs/resources/SDRMetricsReport_TheBridgeGroup.pdf), time to ramp for an SDR [averages about 3.2 months](https://medium.com/north-america-tech-for-kiwis/2018-sdr-metrics-report-from-the-bridge-group-f7fee0ad46df). From Saleshacker [here are some tips and tricks](https://www.saleshacker.com/5-sdr-onboarding-ramp-hacks-sales-managers/) to make this ramp time as effective and successful as possible.

Link: https://blog.bridgegroupinc.com/hubfs/resources/SDRMetricsReport_TheBridgeGroup.pdf

## 7. QUOTA 2/2

Thought provoking article from #3, #4 and #5 above**. [Your Sales Team has a Sales Quota. Your Marketing team has to have a quota too](https://www.saastr.com/your-vp-sales-has-a-sales-quota-your-vp-marketing-needs-a-lead-quota-period)**. as they are also part of your revenue team. Getting both sales and marketing teams aligned beyond quota though is a real trick and [Tomasz Tunguz has a quick diagnostic to determine if your sales and marketing teams are working well together](https://tomtunguz.com/sales-marketing-slope-connected/).

Link: https://www.saastr.com/your-vp-sales-has-a-sales-quota-your-vp-marketing-needs-a-lead-quota-period

## 8. SPEED

First Round Capital always a [take on speed](https://firstround.com/review/speed-as-a-habit/). This is because top tech companies are top performers and market differentiators in-part [due to the fact that they operate at a cadence that is faster than most](https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/five-fifty-fast-and-modular). It’s [all about execution](https://medium.com/point-nine-news/the-rhythm-of-the-fight-why-a-startup-needs-cadence-to-succeed-bdc8938923a6) and [heartbeat](https://avc.com/2018/06/the-heartbeat/), which requires a [fierce focus and prioritization](https://feld.com/archives/2019/09/fierce-prioritization.html)[.](https://feld.com/archives/2019/09/fierce-prioritization.html)

Link: https://firstround.com/review/speed-as-a-habit/

## 9. SECURITY

There is an ever-increasing value seen in good security practices when investors evaluate startups. Especially when evaluating mid-market and (especially) enterprise targeted tech. Here are a couple of great articles from HeavyBit discussing this in detail - from what [investors are looking for in a team's response to security](https://www.heavybit.com/library/blog/startup-security-venture-capital) to [how to pass those awkward, sales-friction-inducing, Enterprise Security Reviews](https://www.heavybit.com/library/video/passing-enterprise-security-reviews)….and also [how to get started](https://www.heavybit.com/library/video/security-from-the-start-startup-security-basics/).

Link: https://www.heavybit.com/library/blog/startup-security-venture-capital

## 10. MOBILE

AppAnnie has compiled [5 key (data informed) post-COVID trends you need to know about mobile for 2021](https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/2021-five-things-you-need-to-know-in-mobile): TikTok is forecast 1.2 BILLION (yes billion)MAU for next year. Thats bonkers! Also "Couch commerce" is the new phrase I cant get enough of now that being more at home is the new normal.

Link: https://www.appannie.com/en/insights/market-data/2021-five-things-you-need-to-know-in-mobile

## POD OF THE WEEK

[Reid Hoffman pretty much talks about everything in this podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/twenty-minute-vc-venture-capital-startup-funding-pitch/id958230465?i=1000501575304)(he already talks at 1.5 speed, so keep the speed settings at normal on your Pod App): Starting LinkedIn, investing in Airbnb, passing on Stripe, the different styles of Leaders, how to think through price in Venture, the power of a learning mindsets, etc, etc...

Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/twenty-minute-vc-venture-capital-startup-funding-pitch/id958230465?i=1000501575304