Aaron Ross – The Revenue Makers Podcast Live

Kimberly Conklin

In a first for 6sense, we were delighted to welcome sales legend Aaron Ross for a special live edition of the Revenue Makers Podcast. 

Aaron quite literally wrote the book on the subject – his 2011 classic Predictable Revenue is often referred to as the ‘Sales Bible of Silicon Valley’. 

In a wide-ranging conversation with 6sense’s own Saima Rashid and Adam Kaiser, Aaron was, dare we say it, predictably good, offering touchstones and wisdom from a life well lived. We’ll share the full podcast as soon as it’s live - but for now, here’s a quick overview of the ‘best bits’. 

Timeless Principles 

Not one to shy away from controversy, Ross noted, “It’s easy to say things like outbound is dead, predictable revenue is dead, but nothing really dies, it just evolves.” 

Despite it being 13 years since its original publication, Aaron held true to form, stating that while the tactics in Predictable Revenue may have changed, many of the principles remain relevant. 

“The idea that we should have fewer people doing more specialized things is still important. It’s not about what subject line should I be using, but how do I get people focused on the things they do best?” In a world where the expiration date on any given tactic’s value is exponentially shorter (thanks AI), you need to find ways of working that have a deeper truth to them. 

Don’t Let Fear Get To You  

In life and in business, Ross is clear - you need to have a certain amount of trust in yourself just to get by. “Don’t let fear get in the way of trying something new - the approach that has worked for me is simply to say ‘I’ll figure it out’ and have some faith.” 

Whether in his approach to family (10 children and several horses prove he lives his word) or work, Aaron’s laid-back but determined approach is truly inspiring. 

As Ross noted, “The more things change, the more things stay the same - we’re working harder but it doesn’t feel like progress.” 

Work More Intuitively, Not Harder 

The ‘work smarter not harder’ line might be a cliché, but in Ross’s book, there’s something to be said for following your gut. “Do what feels right, even if it doesn’t make sense - doing something new means you don’t know whether it will work by definition - just do it, things get easier with practice.” 

Speaking of working habits, Ross noted that a lot of habitual work is stuff we don’t really need to be doing. In terms of evaluating yourself, you need to focus on the things that can’t be easily done by machines. 

What AI Can’t Do  

Echoing similar sentiments from other leaders, Ross emphasized the importance of authenticity in an increasingly AI-augmented world. “Reputation, brand, and audience can’t be copied by AI. Community, trust, and authenticity are harder to replicate.” 

Speaking on tech’s product obsession, Ross pointed out, “Tech needs to innovate on culture, ideas, audience, team, customers - building on the ‘intangibles.’” 

It was – as Saima Rashid pointed out - as if he had read our minds (or at least been at her keynote that morning). 

The Overthinking Trap 

 

The conversation closed with some lived wisdom: “We undervalue the ‘blessing of ignorance’ - if I knew how hard certain things would be when I started, would I have done them?” 

The answer that hung in the air was - probably not. 

Reiterating the “I’ll figure it out” mindset, Ross noted, “We can get trapped when we overthink - knowledge is helpful until we need to make a change. At that point, it can become just more baggage.” 

Judging by the audience’s response - it was a message that resonated.