Where does everyone think the macro economy is going to be by the end of 2023?
Think it will get: Better? Worse?
What industries do you think will improve or continue to skid?
Interested in any and all opinions.
looking at my business it is going to be a big hockey stick year for me. I do think things will get better. Of course this all depends on the product you are moving.
Right now, I would hate to be in the Media field, the strikes are killing that industry and recovering is going to be a long while.
If you look at the cycle of a company, when things are hot, they hire like crazy…in many cases over staff in an attempt to do a land grab for revenue. Is this really the right strategy?
When the economy goes to S in a hand basket, RIFs happen. Revenue Planning is going to be the key focal more for many years to come. Not to say it hasn’t in the past, but aligning Lines of Business (ie Marketing, HR, Finance, etc) to how they contribute to acquiring the mighty dollar is going to be key. Cash is king so impact to OpEx is where people are focusing their efforts.
The company goals of rev growth, EBITDA growth, has not changed regardless of the macro economic conditions.
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Tale of two halves. First half has been a carry over from 2022. Back half going into 2024 will pick back up with Deals activity leading the charge.
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@brandon.meek Do you think tech stacks are generally going to expand again anytime soon? Or will this be a new era of scrutiny and cost-cutting even if the economy picks up?
Great question! Of course, I am no prophet, but I think we’ll continue to see modernization activities, not so much expansion of the stack. Obviously there could be a temporary expansion of the tech stack driven by the Deals activity but anticipate that will be dealt with quickly via integration efforts to streamline and drive efficiencies. I expect that we’ll see larger R&D budgets in IT to determine how to best capture tech such as GenAI as a competitive advantage across the various industries, as well.
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This thread’s got me feeling optimistic. Appreciate y’all. 
Question for this thread — how has this particular macroeconomy stack up against periods you’ve experienced in the past?
Is it as bad, or worse, as anything you’ve been through before? Any similarities or standout differences that can paint a perspective for sellers that may be going through this kind of shake up for the first time?
@brandon.meek @steven.schneiderman @greg.nishihira @tim.hartwell
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I was 100% for Q1-Q3 last year and then crashed at 70% for Q4 and 93% for the year. Not a typical year for me. Customers are postponing projects. They are experiencing their own customer churn and employee churn challenges and it simply flows downhill to their service and product providers. So I pre-sell things to come in 2024 hoping the economy course corrects. I[m down about $100K in commissions from prior years. I don’t it pays to get worked up or consider changing jobs. Like the stock market, these things tend to reverse course. You just need to be able to ride it out.
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I’m very curious how your first experiences with dips in commissions were? Certainly it comes with the territory of selling to not expect a consistent cash flow, but do you have any particular advice to sellers in the earlier stages in their careers with how to prepare for the financial (and psychological) ups and downs? Maybe more specifically, how you can best ride things out and maintain a healthy relationship with someone you’re dating or married to. Strong communication’s gotta play a big role in that, yeah?
Keep 3-6 months of income in the bank if you can swing it. Invest your money wisely so it grows during challenging sales periods. Get educated in future trends and start pre-selling so when things turn around you and your customers will be positioned for success,
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Hey @Matt.Conley!
Great question and follow on conversations with @steven.schneiderman.
There is not doubt there are challenges. Do I think this macroeconomy is unique. In some ways, yes, but in general no. I remember back in the “dot bomb” days and 2008 economic crash, jobs were being lost, budgets tighten, companies shut down, etc.
There is no smooth ride in Sales, it’s a crazy (but fun) roller coaster ride. If you understand this, to Steven’s point, save up for a rainy day!
To directly answer your questions Matt, I don’t think current events are really that much different than events I have experienced in the past. That said, there are some solutions that execs will invest in during times like this. The most common is automation. Removing people from the equation seems to be a driving force to purchase…in some cases.
Story Time:
I have a customer who is in the process of rolling out a new model on our platform. Through recent RIFs and attrition, they needed resourced to help build out and maintain the system. Currently they have junior level people doing it.
I met with the VP who owns the platform to talk about the partners they are working with, project timelines, etc. She mentioned she did not have the budget for this project, but was able to find it. Let’s just say this is a nice 7 figure SOW, which involves a lot of things.
The point here is, she did not have the budget but was able to find it.
Late last year, I had an account which all the budgets were frozen and the CEO was going to personally evaluate every project and reprioritize based on where she wants to place the bets. All but two projects were placed on hold. Mine was one that was approved, resulting in a $16M contract.
Based on my experience, going through my first crisis I operated on every year there is going to be something that could impact where and when my customers are going to invest. It is my job to find as much pain as possible and tie it to corporate goals. it is easy to make money when everyone has it to spend, but the fun part is getting the money when customers are freaking out.
Hope I answered the question!
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This is such a great response, and really helps paint a picture of the mentality going into the profession at large when it comes to managing through a crisis — and then how that cascades into the individual deals and how to approach the importance of identifying and exploiting the customer’s pains.
The rainy day savings (3-6 months) is solid advice from you both! cc: @steven.schneiderman
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