59. From Gut Feel to Revenue Intelligence: Sales in the Age of Data

This episode was an absolute blast. I’m joined by Guy Rubin, CEO of Ebsta, who brings not just revenue intelligence expertise—but also a love of physics, football (the British kind), and skiing—to the conversation.

We talk about the problem that’s plagued sales teams for decades: data that’s incomplete, inaccurate, or invisible. Guy shares how Ebsta evolved from solving Salesforce data issues into building a revenue intelligence platform that helps companies truly understand what’s driving wins—and where deals stall.

Some of the big takeaways from our chat:

✅ Your CRM isn’t the whole truth. Email, calendars, and “hidden” stakeholder interactions hold critical data about deals. Mining that signals where opportunities are real—and where they’re just wishful thinking.

✅ Sales is the last department to get truly data-driven. Imagine marketing running on gut feel—it’s unthinkable. Sales orgs need to catch up.

✅ B and C players can level up. Guy makes a strong case that coaching and data insights—not just “cutting the bottom third”—can help more reps replicate A-player behavior.

✅ Pipeline inspection needs consistency AND context. It’s not enough to follow a checklist; you need to tie activities and engagement to outcomes you can actually prove.

✅ Discovery is co-creation. We both rant (a bit) about how discovery is more than just running through questions. It’s a collaborative process that evolves throughout the deal.

✅ Retention > new logos (sometimes). Ebsta’s data shows that in B2B SaaS, existing customers generated more new revenue than new logos last year. The key? C-level engagement during QBRs.

We geek out about pipeline forecasting, coaching, the role of RevOps, and why “happy ears” still kill deals. Guy also shares fascinating benchmarks—like how engaging six stakeholders (including finance and a C-level exec) in stage two of a deal can nearly triple win rates.

Guy’s message is clear: Sales can (and must) become data-driven if we want predictable, scalable growth.

Check it out—and let me know which insights resonate with you most!

#sales #revenuestrategy #salescoaching #salesenablement #revenueintelligence #thoughtsonselling