Welcome to the world of RevOps After Dark, where we get straight to the revenue team news you (hopefully, probably) wanna know, adding in just a mickle of that Rattle-brand muckle.
This week, we're dishin' on:
- Google Calendar’s new augmentations
- Quelling David vs. Goliath hesitations
- Your sales process’ A/B-ifications
Let’s talk Ops!
Tools & Software News
😤 Slack changes its UI and the reviews are mixed... well actually mainly just loud booing
Don’t get us wrong: we adore Slack. It’s sorta part of our whole company here… but the recent redesign has drawn some rather unflattering (and perhaps, not totally unjustifiable) critiques from users and the media. The update, which was supposed to be "more focused," introduces an "Activity" tab, which tracks users' actions and accumulates notifications separate from the "Home" and "Unreads" tabs. The change reveals a blending of the boundaries between office work and the dopamine-milking social media platforms, which…We do like the new LOOK. Like, the gradients are cool. It does please us... On a chemical level. *Scratches neck* Back to Slack!
🎨 A.I. darling Typeset drops new prezo tool
In a move that’s made the marketing team here agog with a mix of excitement and laziness: Typeset launched a pretty rad little A.I. tool that insta-makes presentations and visuals based on text input. Originally named "Dropdeck," (which yeah good call in the name change) the feature was revamped by Samcart and has been a total hit since. Plans start at $19 a month and from what we’re reading, they aim to expand with even more features soon. Now, is it perfect? Flat-out no. It is not. But it is a major step in the right direction and we’ve personally gotten some use out of it here, so good on ya, Typeset team!
📆 Updated Invitation: G-Cal introduces bookable appointments, arriving to 5 years ago
Move over Calendly! Move over HoneyBook, Square, SimplyBook, PickTime, and ya know... a billion other integrations. Google Calendar has FINALLY introduced a feature allowing users to offer bookable appointments — and it's available for both free and paid accounts. The addition provides an easy-to-use, self-serve appointment calendar which can be shared for others to book time slots. (Users should note that bookable appointments assigned to non-default calendars will still appear in the default calendar). If you’re looking for a great how-to, Jack Wallen at ZDNet has a fantastic walkthrough here. (Also importantly — at least important enough for the NYT to cover it: Google hooked up its chatbot to Youtube and Gmail).
Strategy & Tactics
🧪 Reliably, quickly A/B testing your sales process: A thing now.
Believe it or not, the Rattle blog isn’t just us cutting up about topical Revenue Team news. From time to time, we actually jump in and provide actual value! Crazy, I know. This week, there’s a fantastic piece by our very own Director of Content on how RevOps can now bring the power of A/B testing to their sales process. The key? Standardizing the perfect execution of their processes and limiting the A-B variable to just the process itself (not how well the team feels about doing it). Read this one here. (Are you part of an A/B test right now? ... I dunno, maybe!)
🐶 Going up against the big dawgs? Here’s how to bite back
Sellers at startups: Pay attention. You can reduce the perceived risk of your product compared to larger, more established vendors, says Jeremey Donovan at Insight Partners. He points to involving executives in deals, offering proofs of concept, and providing customer references and case studies as some great tactics. Revenue teams can also look to offer structured deals, flexible terms, and certs to address concerns early as to also alleviate any hesitations. (One of the commenters duly noted that larger vendors might also use these strategies, the human element means they may not always be executed consistently. And as you all know, we think that’s a competitive advantage.)
😇 Sales-Marketing harmony through the icy, calculating lens of automation
Any leaders out there looking to ensure that marketing and sales actually work together without bad blood? We figured some of you might be. In this very helpful post, the revenue master Jerry Pharr (who’s worked with T-Mobile, Dell and some other huge names) says that one trick is embracing automation that sorts inbound leads into tailored sequences. By categorizing leads and designing sequences around categories like urgency or customer status, you're poised for meaningful engagements. That means not only do you give each lead its due, but you'll also be building stronger bridges with your marketing pals. And we’re not just good pals to have — we’re also powerful enemies to avoid.
🥾 Your weekly RevOps hype kick in the rear
We typically only reserve one embed for the R.A.D. and this week is no different. Here, friend of the brand, Rosalyn Santa Elena, emphasizes that while RevOps has tactical components, its true potential lies in its strategic value to companies, allowing them to identify gaps, pivot, and operationalize changes effectively. Despite progress over the last few years, she argues, there's still a need for RevOps pros to make that transition.
🥶 When your cold outreach is just dead as hell
This one reminds me of the famous quote by the Irish poet W.B Yeats: “Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” We stumbled on a pretty great Reddit thread from r/sales this week where user stanceycivic lamented the difficulties they’re facing in the realm of cold outreach. Despite having plenty of experience, OP admitted to struggling to engage new clients achieving, only a fraction of the meetings that their management team expects (stop us if you’ve heard that one before). But the weird part? OP's colleagues seem to fare better. The whole thread, where replies emphasize the importance of persistence is a super-solid read — not just for you, but for your SDRs too.
A Good Longer Read
🤖 Generative A.I. is on the way out and “Interactive” A.I. is on the way in
Mustafa Suleyman, once at the helm of DeepMind, now spearheads Inflection, an A.I. company with a mission to go beyond mere chit-chat. Harnessing the talents from the A.I. giants and backed by some serious investments, he's creating interactive agents that can genuinely aid users by doing the stuff they need them to do. While his high hopes for A.I. have raised human eyebrows… his interview with MIT is at-once kinda-scary, and actually inspiring. (Read it here)
The Ad-hoc
🧙 Who did this? Reveal yourself!
This spoof Ops account, Wizardius Ops, is one of the funniest things we’ve seen in some time. But it appears to already have been abandoned? We know you’re out there, Wiz. And we only have one thing to say to you: "Keep going. Please, please keep going."
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And that's it for this week!
We'll be back next Thursday night with more news, tips, and maybe some other fake LinkedIn accounts that make us laugh.
Thanks for reading — and remember, you always can reach out to us at hello@gorattle.com for any questions, comments, concerns, or William Butler Yeats fan-fic requests.
Love,
Your Team at Rattle
