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Clarity

Paul McDonald

Arlington, VA

Senior Director, Industry Strategy, Oracle Utilities: I help utilities decarbonize by influencing energy consumer action. I'm responsible for strategic Opower accounts, growth strategy, and organizational planning.

Director, Global Solution Architecture, Oracle Utilities: built the Oracle Utilities cloud architecture practice. Integrated Opower and Oracle sales & support teams post-acquisition. Served as lead cybersecurity contract negotiator. Rolled out unified Opower+Oracle GTM messaging strategy.

Director and Principal, Solution Architecture, Opower: designed & operated Opower’s solution sales process as we launched six new products, dozens of service offerings globally, and integrated operations with Oracle. Recruited, trained, and led a rowdy global team of Opower solution architects. Personally architected deals totaling $325M in bookings, including the largest transaction in Opower history.

Associate Director, Technical Operations, Opower: Cut client launch time by 50% in our 100-person client services dept. with agile delivery strategy & process automation. Launched Opower’s second product & business line: behavioral demand response. Launched Opower’s professional services practice.

Manager, Consulting Services, CGI: led teams through all phases of enterprise software system implementations for some of the world’s largest government organizations with global operations.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-s-mcdonald

$1.00/min

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Product Strategy Public Speaking SaaS Strategic Planning SaaS Sales Cleantech Professional Services Sales Presentations Energy Efficiency Client Engagement

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Create & Deliver a Compelling Presentation

I’ve been the primary spokesperson for global enterprise SaaS company for a long time, and there’s nothing I love more than crafting and telling a good story. I can help you do exactly that.

Investor pitches, sales pitches and RFP orals, product vision & roadmap narratives, concept demos & technical proof demos, client case studies, conference presentations & webinars, analyst briefings, and internal all-hands—I’ve created and delivered compelling presentations in all those situations many times.

Enable Your Sales Team

Great salespeople gotta know your market, their prospects & clients’ problems, and how your products solve those problems better/faster/cheaper than anyone else. I can help you get your entire sales team into that zone.

I’ve designed & run the sales training program for global enterprise SaaS companies. I’ve taught and mentored dozens of salespeople on how to become indispensable to their clients. I’d love to help you up your sales team’s game.

Create a Company-Level Strategic Plan

I’ve led strategic planning for large leadership teams at global enterprise SaaS companies. It’s not easy, but the effort is so worth it. I can help you get it right.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. It’s the execution that matters. Great company execution needs focus and accountability. That needs commitment. Commitment needs debate and consensus. And all that requires inclusivity and trust within your leadership team.

Scale Your Enterprise SaaS Sales & Delivery Operation

How do you quickly scale up enterprise SaaS sales volume, deliver for all those new clients, and keep the tension healthy between R&D, sales, and delivery? I can help you do that, because I've designed & led those operations for global enterprise SaaS companies.

I've led product, sales, and delivery teams, and I know how to keep them working together for your clients' and your company's success. I did exactly that while Opower, a utility customer engagement company, doubled and tripled its bookings, graduated from product to platform, landed multiple true enterprise accounts, and launched half a dozen new products and dozens of new services offerings.

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Paul McDonald answered

What is a go-to-market strategy? How can I create one?

It's easy to get hung up on the word "strategy." There's no magic in it: a GTM strategy is just a documented set of decisions and a plan.

It's words on paper, and the purpose of it is nothing more than alignment. To hit your sales, revenue, and margin targets, you've gotta get and keep everyone on your team aligned on what needs to be done, why, by whom, and when. A good GTM strategy document answers all the questions mentioned in other answers. Questions about buyers & pain points, budgets, product overview, competition, differentiation, pricing, partners, sales & marketing plans, success criteria, etc.

A great GTM strategy, however, will inspire your whole team to row hard in the same direction and make some magic together. The way you engage your team (or don't) in the process of creating your GTM strategy, and the way you communicate it, makes all the difference. Give me a call if you'd like some help getting that right.
https://clarity.fm/paulmcdonald

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Paul McDonald answered

Do we need to solve a problem to make your idea great?

You might need to do both, and it depends on your ideal customer's buying patterns. If that buyer typically purchases your product and your competitor's product in a single transaction, and that buying pattern makes sense, you gotta to build, buy, or partner to offer your competitor's product. If you don't, you could quickly get shut out of the market altogether.

Partnerships are messy, but they're so fun. It's good to have friends in the market, and making the choice to partner can really clarify your company's purpose: the problem you want to be known for solving better than anyone.

Last thought: when you do pick a truly new problem to invest in solving, just make sure it's one you and your team care deeply about. You only got so much time to play with--do you really want to use it building a better mousetrap?

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Member since January 2021