Welcome to Season 3 of 10/10 GTM: The Podcast for Revenue Leaders!
Our guest for Episode 80 is Taylor Jones, VP of Sales, CoLab Software. With over a decade of sales leadership experience, including roles at Salesforce, Zip Intake-to-Procedure, and as a Founder of BlackArrow, Taylor brings a sharp perspective on coaching, performance, and building high-performing sales teams.
In this episode, Ross and Taylor discuss the power of data-driven coaching, how to maximize the ROI of time, and what it takes to build a collaborative culture without ego.
Listen to the episode here, and get the key takeaways from our conversation below.
Data-driven Coaching & Transparency
One of the most important things a sales leader can do is make sure every rep understands not only their quota, but also the metrics that drive their success. This means digging into data such as deal-stage conversions, sales velocity, and individual strengths and weaknesses. When you understand what’s working and what’s not working, you can coach with precision rather than relying on intuition or guessing.
But data-driven coaching isn’t just about numbers, it’s also about balance. Every rep needs to meet a minimum standard of execution which includes basic sales acumen like cold calling, strong openers, clear pitches, and the mindset to pick up the phone. Those fundamentals matter across the board.
Taylor takes a thoughtful, individualized approach to this. “I try to look holistically at the business or team — comparing reps to each other, to the industry, or to different performance parameters and identify one key hotspot for each person,” she explains. “Then I narrow in and focus coaching efforts there, so it’s not overwhelming.”
For example, if one of her top performers has strong conversion rates, but unusually long deal aging in certain stages, this indicates they’re having the right conversation, but probably not asking for the next steps early enough. “That’s where I step in and help them accelerate without compromising quality,” she says.
At the same time, it’s a mistake to treat every rep the same. Some are volume players, dialing 100 times a day with confidence and efficiency. Others win by doing more prep and crafting highly personalized pitches, converting at a higher rate with fewer calls. The job of a great coach is to identify those styles through data, then support each rep in building on their unique strengths.
“You can’t book a meeting on a cold call without making cold calls. If you're making 10 calls a week, you're probably not going to be very effective,” says Taylor. “But I’ve had top performers making 20 dials a day and low performers making 100. The key is knowing the difference and coaching to it.”
By anchoring your coaching in outcomes while staying flexible in how those outcomes are achieved, it’s easier to build a team that knows how to own their process and take control of their growth.
The ROI of Time
In fast-paced, high-growth environments, it’s not uncommon for reps to spread themselves too thin trying to chase every opportunity. But not all deals are created equal. That’s why Taylor encourages her team to base every decision on a single question: What’s the ROI on your time?
“When I joined CoLab, our team had an unlimited pipeline. It felt overwhelming. We were juggling huge enterprise deals, multi-threading across organizations, but the velocity wasn’t there. So, during QBRs, I asked the team to break down their week by how many hours they spent on each opportunity, assign a dollar value to that time, and then we discussed it. It was eye-opening,” explains Taylor.
This exercise helped reps stop chasing shiny objects and instead focus on deals with the greatest potential to move the needle.
“Now, reps come to me regularly saying, ‘I’m overwhelmed. My time isn’t well spent on these opportunities — can you reassign them?’ This honesty makes me happy because it means they’re aligning their efforts with what’s best for both themselves and the business.”
Taylor emphasizes that managing the ROI of time is about balancing pipeline maturity with reps’ capacity to hit their quotas, constantly course-correcting to focus on high-value opportunities.
Building a Culture of Collaboration without Ego
The best sales teams don’t operate in silos. Outstanding GTM performance happens when sales is closely aligned with RevOps, CSMs, BDRs, marketing, and SEs. When these teams work together in unison, it removes friction and accelerates desired outcomes. But in order to do this, you have to first build a culture where people feel safe to ask for help, share what’s working for them and what isn’t, and learn from each other without fear or ego.
Taylor’s advice? “Check the ego at the door. Ask for help, ask for feedback, collaborate, communicate frequently and often. Everyone should have a voice in everything we’re doing so we can run as fast as possible.”
Since joining CoLab, Taylor’s team has tripled in size making intentional collaboration even more critical and more challenging. With more voices in the room and faster growth, the need to over communicate and stay aligned is non-negotiable.
“My best reps are the ones calling me seven times a day,” she says. “It’s not a distraction. It’s how we shave days — sometimes weeks — off the deal cycle. They’re not lost. They’re moving fast, handling a lot, and they know that a 10-minute conversation could accelerate the deal.”
This mindset extends beyond AEs. Top performers are actively partnering with BDRs, borrowing insights from intro calls, and looping in CSMs to brainstorm expansion plays. The shared belief? Titles don’t define ownership — outcomes do.
The bottom line is that for teams to move faster, stay aligned, and execute at a higher level, collaboration without ego is essential.
About Taylor
Taylor is a transformative sales leader with over a decade of experience driving growth at top tech companies and scaling SaaS start-ups. With expertise across Enterprise, SMB, and Commercial B2B sales, she builds repeatable processes and high-performing teams that have generated over $40M in revenue.
Known for her data-driven approach and strong coaching mindset, Taylor is passionate about crafting GTM strategies that deliver results.
To connect or learn more, follow her on LinkedIn.
