In this episode of Revenue Insights, host Guy Rubin, CEO of Ebsta, sits down with Sam Jacobs, Founder and CEO of Pavilion, to explore the evolving landscape of B2B sales and revenue leadership in today’s fast-changing market. As the architect of a global 10,000-member executive community, Sam brings a candid, data-driven lens to the challenges facing modern SaaS companies—from customer retention struggles to the rise of AI-enabled sales organizations.

Sam explains why the traditional SaaS playbook is no longer effective and unpacks the strategic shift toward sustainable growth models. He discusses the growing importance of customer retention, the increasing cost of acquisition, and how leadership teams must recalibrate their thinking to thrive in a high-pressure, AI-driven environment. With practical advice on building resilient revenue teams, setting realistic targets, and maintaining culture amid rapid change, Sam offers a roadmap for navigating complexity without sacrificing innovation.

Whether you're a CRO adapting to market turbulence, a sales leader rethinking enablement strategies, or a founder redefining go-to-market success, this episode delivers critical insights on how to lead with clarity and conviction in a new era of revenue leadership.

Ebsta is a revenue intelligence platform that helps B2B sales teams drive predictable growth by leveraging relationship and activity data. With real-time insights into pipeline health and sales performance, Ebsta empowers leaders to make informed, data-backed decisions. Find out more: https://www.ebsta.com/get-a-demo 

Sam Jacobs explains how the traditional SaaS model assumption of high acquisition costs being offset by long-term retention is breaking down. The increasing ease of switching vendors, especially in SMB and mid-market segments, is disrupting the core economics that justified high customer acquisition costs. This shift means companies can no longer rely on customers staying long enough to recover their acquisition investments. For sustainable growth, businesses must either reduce acquisition costs or find ways to deliver so much value that switching becomes genuinely difficult. The model particularly impacts companies in the $8-20M range, where churn begins overwhelming brute force growth tactics.

Companies should consider bringing in a CRO when they reach $10-20M in ARR, as this represents the critical phase where scaling requires more sophisticated go-to-market strategies. The role requires an existing revenue engine to optimize, rather than building everything from scratch. A CRO should focus on strategic elements like pricing, packaging, and retention rather than just tactical sales leadership. Most companies make the mistake of hiring a CRO too early, expecting them to be a "sales savior" rather than a strategic leader. Success requires having enough operational maturity for the CRO to work with and improve existing processes.

When faced with aggressive revenue goals, CROs must build their case through mathematical analysis rather than emotional appeals. This involves examining unit economics, comparing acquisition costs to available budget, and analyzing historical growth patterns. The approach requires factoring in sales cycles and understanding that next year's results depend on activities starting months before. Success comes from making objective, quantitative arguments that help others reach the same conclusions independently. This data-driven method resonates better with CEOs than subjective pushback.

Member health scoring serves as the leading indicator of retention and growth for membership organizations. Rather than focusing solely on revenue, tracking engagement through a "good path score" helps predict and prevent churn. Top-of-funnel metrics like application volume must be balanced against quality standards and engagement levels. The key is maintaining high membership standards while growing sustainably. This approach creates a virtuous cycle where engaged members attract more quality prospects.