The Revenue Leadership Podcast with Kyle Norton

• E57: The New Rules of Executive Recruiting in the AI Era (Asad Zaman, CEO @STA)

  Hiring a VP or CRO has never been tougher (or more important). Asad Zaman, CEO of Sales Talent Agency - and one of the most trusted voices in GTM recruiting - joins host Kyle Norton to talk about how GTM leadership hiring is changing fast.   They dig into:   - Why AI broke the traditional interview process, and what they do now instead  - How to build a robust hiring scorecard that performs miles better than a fluffy job description - The trade‑offs that actually kill VP hiring processes - How top CROs should evaluate future leaders (and spot "pre‑peak" talent) - The biggest blind spot CROs have when hiring VPs I mean... who isn't curious about the tested frameworks from the guy behind 1,000+ GTM placements a year?     Thanks for tuning in. Catch new episodes every Wednesday.    Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters:   00:34 Guest Introduction: Asad from STA (Sales Talent Agency) 02:30 Today's Topic: The Challenge of Leadership Hiring   04:14 How AI Has Changed Executive Hiring   07:53 The Rise of the AI-Native Leader   10:26 Market Polarization: Talent Demand and Layoffs   19:03 The New Definition of a Great Leader   24:22 Building an Effective Leadership Hiring Scorecard   29:15 Defining Problems, Jobs to Be Done, and Constraints   35:11 Compensation Psychology and Negotiation Pitfalls   40:34 Mapping the Market and Operationalizing the Scorecard   49:27 Modern Interview Design for Senior Roles   53:12 Teaching as a Core Leadership Skill   56:27 Live Whiteboarding: Replacing Case Studies   01:01:54 Evaluating Candidates for Peak Performance and Potential   02:03:31 CROs' Biggest Blind Spot in Hiring VPs of Sales  

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• E56: Becoming a CFO Whisperer & Revenue Architect (Allison Metcalfe, CRO @ Zenoti)

  Allison Metcalfe's path to CRO was built on systems thinking, multiplier leadership, and a journalist's instinct for "why." In this episode, Kyle and Allison talk through what separates good revenue leaders from great ones, and how to actually lead peers and execs, not just manage them. And maybe we shouldn't tell you this, but… Allison even reveals her hardcore alter-ego that helps her better ride the highs and lows in the CRO role. Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday.  Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters:   01:47 Allison Metcalfe's Career Journey   03:41 Non-Traditional Path to CRO   05:16 Architecture Thinking and the AI Era   07:25 Systems Thinking and Curiosity in Revenue Leadership   09:01 Managing Executive Relationships   10:56 Discovering Multiplier Leadership   18:44 Decision-Making Without Consensus Paralysis   24:30 Building Healthy Executive Relationships   30:11 Authenticity and Connection in Remote Work   33:09 Using Enneagram for Team Understanding   38:00 Radical Empathy Across Departments   46:27 Collaborating Effectively with Finance   53:21 Navigating 2026 Planning Conflicts   58:26 Data-Driven Decision Making and Change Management   01:03:32 Quick Fire: Career Lessons, Alter Egos, and Book Recommendations  

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• E55: GTM AI Advice from a Salesforce & Siebel Veteran (Peter Grant, CRO @ You.com)

  Peter Grant helped take Siebel from $39M to $2B in revenue and was employee #9 for Salesforce in Europe. He knows exactly what a platform shift looks like. Now, as the CRO of You.com, Peter argues that the AI wave is moving 30x faster than the internet era—and your current sales playbook is already obsolete. In this episode, Peter strips away the hype to focus on the operational reality of running an AI-first GTM organization. He explains the skill stack today's sellers need, why your team needs to understand APIs, and the specific benchmarks you need to hit to survive the next two years. Plus a whole lot more!   Thanks for tuning in. Catch new episodes every Wednesday.  Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters:  00:00 Peter Grant's Career and Revenue History  07:32 Choosing You.com and Pivoting to Enterprise  11:46 How AI Search Transforms Sales Discovery  16:12 The Speed and Scale of AI Sales  20:55 Embedding AI Agents into Existing Workflows  27:11 Benchmarking Enterprise AI Spend and Adoption  33:14 Solving the Employee AI Literacy Gap  38:59 The Evolution of the Sales Rep Profile  43:06 Implementing and Prioritizing AI Transformation  52:05 The Hard Reality for Sales Laggards  59:30 Investing Upfront Time to Master Prompting  01:03:10 Why Revenue Leaders Must Be Context Setters  01:10:12 How Tactics Dictate Strategy in Enterprise Deals  01:12:49 Rapid Fire: Leadership Advice and Lessons  

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• E54: $40M ARR with 50‑Person Team (in less than a year) - Bryan Adams, VP Sales at bolt.new

  Bolt.new blew past past $40M ARR in just one year with only 50 people. In this episode, Bryan Adams, VP Sales at Bolt.new sits down with host Kyle Norton to break down how go-to-market operates at a hyper-growth AI company. Bryan shares some of their tech stack, and gets real about leadership—hiring "adults," firing fast, and focusing on what reps actually need to win.   If you're leading a modern GTM org, this one's worth your next commute.   Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday.  Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters: 01:30 Meet Brian Adams, VP of Sales at Bolt.new   02:06 What Is Vibe Coding and How Bolt Works   03:54 Building Successfully with Bolt's "Plan" Feature   06:11 Layering Builds and Iterative Development   08:47 Real Use Cases Built with Bolt   10:24 The Build vs. Buy Decision Framework   12:57 Inside Bolt's Go-to-Market Tech Stack   13:59 Using Freckle to Unmask and Enrich Leads   15:08 AI-Powered Prospecting and Support Automation   17:41 Shifting GTM Strategy: From PMs to Engineers   19:54 Outbound Strategy, Target Accounts, and LinkedIn Engagement   25:13 How RevOps and SDR Growth Teams Collaborate   29:13 Bolt's Growth, Scale, and Competitive Landscape   33:03 Competing in a Knife Fight Market   36:56 Contract Structures, Compensation, and Profitability   40:38 Hypergrowth Lessons and Leveraging Automation   44:47 Leadership Philosophy: Empowerment and Accountability   48:08 Building Trust and Team Culture   51:17 Leadership, Firing Fast, and Team Integrity   52:59 Quick Fire: Great vs. Good Sales Leadership   54:32 Hard Lessons, Best Advice, and Book Recommendations   57:13 Closing Remarks and Outro  

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• E53: Sales Capacity Planning That Doesn't Suck (Jenny Dingus, SVP Global Sales @ Clio)

  Clio's SVP of Global Sales, Jenny Dingus, joins Kyle Norton to talk about why the "people × quota" revenue planning model is terrible, and what they're using instead. Jenny shares how Clio's $1B acquisition flipped their planning model, how they forecast in high-uncertainty markets, and what "drawing the owl" looks like in real life. If you run revenue and you're tired of spreadsheet fantasy planning (or just want to know what two senior GTM leaders are thinking about these days), worth a listen! Thanks for tuning in! Catch new episodes every Wednesday.    Subscribe to Topline Newsletter. Tune into Topline Podcast, the #1 podcast for founders, operators, and investors in B2B tech. Join the free Topline Slack channel to connect with 600+ revenue leaders to keep the conversation going beyond the podcast!   Chapters:   02:15 Jenny's Career Journey from RingCentral to Clio   04:00 Vertical SaaS and Expanding Market Opportunity   06:10 Disruption, AI, and Modernizing Legal Tech   08:00 Educating a Skeptical Market on AI Adoption   10:15 The Myth of the "People x Quota" Growth Model   12:05 Why Linear Capacity Planning Still Persists   14:45 The Integrated Planning Alternative   17:10 Planning Amid Product Launches and Acquisitions   20:15 Quotas, Motivation, and Momentum in Sales Teams   23:00 Multi-Factor Revenue Planning and Emerging Markets   27:05 Managing Speculative Growth Bets and Reforecasting   31:10 Balancing Capacity and Demand in High-Growth Environments   34:40 Strategic Congruence: Playing the Right Company Game   38:30 Communication, Change Management, and Leadership Alignment   43:45 Inside Clio's Acquisition and GTM Integration Process   48:40 Leadership Communication Principles and "Feeling" the Message   52:00 Frontline Enablement During Massive Change   56:45 Building Continuous Feedback Loops and AI-Enabled Training   01:00:30 Quickfire: Lessons in Leadership, Humility, and Focus   01:04:00 Favorite Reads and Closing Reflections  

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