vs. OneLogin · 2012–17
Okta
Go upmarket with a large enterprise sales force
- What it did
- Dropped the small-company model after typical customers were under 2,000 employees
- OneLogin
- Chose small and mid-sized businesses on purpose (2011)
Strategy Map›Layer 5 · Go-to-Market Strategy›Sales Motion/The first purchase+ from outside the named canon
Top-Down Selling
What is Top-Down Selling?
The company sells first to a senior executive buyer (CIO, CISO, CFO, head of a function) through a direct or field sales force, and the decision is made for the organization rather than by users.
How Top-Down Selling works
An executive decides for the organization and a field sales force runs the sale, which suits purchases that change how a whole function works.
How companies won with Top-Down Selling
From the win chains in Strategy Canon case studies: what the winner did, and what its rival did at the same step.
vs. Motive · 2017–21
Samsara
Sell to operational complexity through direct reps and free trials
- What it did
- Prospects filtered by operational complexity, not size
- Motive
- 'We started with the small fleet' (2018): 500 to 30,000+ companies in a year on the mandate
vs. BMC Remedy · 2005–15
ServiceNow
Enterprise IT references, then take Remedy's base
- What it did
- Quit mid-market after a year; WageWorks buyer carried it to Edmunds, then Qualcomm and TIAA-CREF led to Hyatt
- BMC Remedy
- ITSSM revenue share fell every year 2010-14; sales 'slow to respond' and dropped off shortlists
vs. Netskope · 2009-18
Zscaler
Win the largest distributed companies through security chiefs and carriers
- What it did
- Pivot to CSOs; joint selling with carriers and integrators, top five partners 42-47% of revenue
- Netskope
- Sold SaaS-app control that sat beside the web gateway (2013)
Also tagged: Snowflake · Teladoc
The question to ask of a company
Who made the first purchase decision, and who sold it to them?
Who names it
| Author | What they call it / where it appears |
|---|---|
| Mark Leslie + | Sales-intensive motions |
| Christoph Janz + | Enterprise sales for elephants |
| Frank Slootman + | Selling to the largest enterprises |
Note. Near miss: A company with Fortune 500 logos that began with team sign-ups. Does not count: Enterprise customers alone; a sales team converting self-serve users (Product-Led Sales).