How Megan Prince Scaled Sales Teams with Accountability and Culture: From BDR to CRO with a 14-Day Sales Cycle
Overview
Meet Megan Prince, the Chief Revenue Officer at Zeni. She's transformed their sales team and now they close deals in just 14 days. Pretty impressive, right? On this episode of "The Gap," Megan shares her journey from knocking on doors as a sales rep to leading revenue as a CRO. She started with only two account executives and built a team of over 30 reps. What's her secret? A perfect blend of accountability, culture-building, and smart tools that actually work in the real world.
Company Context
Zeni provides automated bookkeeping and accounting for startups. Founded by serial entrepreneurs Swapnow and Snehal, they're the go-to solution for everything finance-related. Need daily bookkeeping? Bill payments? CFO services? Zeni handles it all. They work with companies from bootstrap stage all the way up to Series D. Their dashboard updates daily, giving founders and CFOs the financial insights they need. This makes them especially valuable for companies that just raised funding and need to level up their financial operations.
Bridging the Sales Enablement and Execution Gap
Career Growth Through Mentorship
Megan's path from BDR to CRO shows what's possible with great mentorship. She believes in learning by example. "As an individual contributor, I always believed in the 'show me, don't just tell me' mentality," she says. "Seeing my leader in action made all the difference. It's what I replicate now as a CRO."
Building a Scalable Sales Infrastructure
Starting with just two account executives, Megan built an outbound sales function that now includes 30+ reps. She focused on creating solid hiring processes, training programs, and infrastructure. This approach helped her team consistently close deals with CFOs and financial decision-makers in just two weeks.
Creating Accountability Without Micromanagement
Culture sits at the heart of Megan's leadership style. She lives by a simple principle: "People respect what you inspect." She regularly checks in with her team and maintains high standards. This ensures everyone follows processes and meets goals without feeling micromanaged.
Tech Stack for Sales Performance
Megan uses tools like Trainual to document processes and Avoma to analyze calls. These tools help align her team with company goals. But she's quick to point out that technology alone isn't enough. The human element of leadership remains essential, especially when selling to recently funded startups.
Implementing Hybrid Sales Methodologies
Megan blends both Straight Line and Challenger Sales Methodologies. What makes her strategy unique is her peer coaching program. She carefully pairs top performers with newer hires based on personalities and complementary skills. Her team does weekly role plays, self-reviews, peer reviews, and group call reviews. This creates consistent execution and accountability without needing a dedicated enablement manager.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Megan cut the sales cycle down to 14 days?
She built a structured sales process with clear checkpoints. Her team practices through sales role-playing and peer coaching to nail their execution every time. They focus on recently funded startups with urgent finance needs, which makes her approach extra effective.
What tools does Zeni use to keep the team accountable?
They use Trainual for documenting and testing sales processes. Avoma helps with call analysis and coaching. For outbound efficiency, they rely on Aurum. Megan always stresses that tools work best when paired with consistent oversight from leaders.
How can you do peer coaching without a dedicated enablement person?
Megan pairs top performers with newer team members based on personality fit. She looks for complementary skills that help both people grow. Her team has structured weekly sessions including role plays, call reviews, and group training to make sure skills transfer happens naturally.
What's Megan's secret to bridging the enablement and execution gap?
Her approach centers on accountability. "People respect what you inspect" is her motto. She documents processes clearly, shows what good looks like, tests knowledge regularly, and creates multiple feedback loops to ensure everyone applies what they've learned.
Listen to the whole episode here for all of Megan's insights on building high-performing sales teams.
How GTM Buddy Fits In
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Unified Platform
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TL;DR
- Show, Don't Just Tell: Megan demonstrates what good looks like rather than just explaining it. This sets clear standards that her team can follow.
- Consistent Accountability: She checks in regularly and holds her team to high standards. This ensures processes are followed and goals are met.
- Culture Matters: When people feel valued and happy, they perform better. Megan celebrates personal milestones like birthdays, new homes, and babies to create a supportive environment.
- Balance Tech and Human Touch: While AI tools help optimize processes, human leadership remains irreplaceable. The best results come from combining technology with personal mentorship.
Spot Talent Everywhere: Megan found one of her best BDRs working at a salon. She looks for core skills like urgency, care, and coachability that transfer well to sales roles.