Welcome to Season 3 of 10/10 GTM: The Podcast for Revenue Leaders!

Our guest for Episode 51 is Alli Sitkiewicz, SVP of Sales at Built In. Alli joined Built In in 2015 as an Account Executive and steadily advanced from Director to VP, and now SVP. With over a decade of relevant experience, she brings valuable insights to the conversation.

In this episode, Ross and Alli discuss the importance of controlling the controllables, investing in your top performers, and strategies for building predictability into your operating cadence.

Listen to the episode here, and get the key takeaways from our conversation below.

Controlling the controllables

Alli believes that controlling the controllables starts with your mindset on a personal level. “I fundamentally believe that the head space you are in drives a lot of your outcomes. The most you talk is in your own head, not outloud. And it’s usually negative,” says Alli.

To assess your headspace, consider asking yourself these questions:

• Are you speaking to yourself positively?
• When something goes wrong, do you shake it off or carry it into your next call?
• How do you recalibrate after a setback?

To help her team get into a positive headspace, Alli sometimes puts them in what she considers uncomfortable situations. “Do we meditate with one minute of deep breathing? Or do I start with a quote to set a clear intention?” She also encourages her team to flip the script by asking them, at the end of the quarter, to focus on everything that could go right rather than what could go wrong.

When it comes to controlling the controllables on a professional level, Alli emphasizes the importance of starting with the basics by analyzing actual outputs — things like the number of calls made, emails sent, and quality interactions achieved. “The way we approach these activities has changed significantly over the past three years,” she explains. “I have a fundamental issue with doing activities just for the sake of doing them — like mass blasting emails without a clear purpose. If it now takes 300 activities to secure just one meeting, we need to rethink our approach.”

Alli suggests looking for more effective ways to drive results, such as leveraging leadership teams for more personalized outreach. “Is there an opportunity to tap into your leadership’s network or influence to make that connection more meaningful? Instead of focusing on sheer volume, we should be looking for ways to increase impact and efficiency.” By focusing on smarter, more targeted actions, Alli believes teams can control outcomes more effectively while avoiding the trap of activity for activity's sake.

Investing in your top performers 

Before investing in your top performers, it’s essential to first identify their core attributes. “If I were new to a job, the first thing I’d do is look at my top performers and figure out what makes them successful,” says Alli. “I’ve done this multiple times over the past few years as we’ve restructured, and two traits that always stand out are coachability and adaptability.”

These qualities, in addition to your team's core values, are what Alli considers crucial for top performers. “There’s a great quote from John McMahon that really resonates with me: ‘You can be a great performer, but if you can’t adapt to the next iteration of the company, you won’t succeed.’ This idea of adaptability, paired with coachability, is key to achieving long-term success and growth in any role.”

When asked what she thinks separates people who stay at one company and find new ways to succeed from those who jump ship after two or three years, Alli explains that it all comes down to leading with solutions. For high performers or high-potential individuals, she advocates conducting “stay interviews” and holding”'skip-level” meetings.

“We do something called stay interviews and skip-levels — meaning I meet with individuals who don’t report to me directly, and we have a regular cadence of conversations,” says Alli. “One of the key questions I ask is: ‘If you were to leave, what would be the top three reasons?’ or ‘When you think about what drives you, what’s the priority order?’”

The answers vary from person to person. For some, recognition is the number one driver, while others prioritize pay or flexibility. Understanding these personal motivators is crucial when it comes to investing in your top performers. When you know what drives them, you can customize your support and focus on the areas that matter most to them, whether it’s providing more recognition, opportunities for growth, or the flexibility they need to thrive.

Building predictability in our operating cadence 

To build a solid operating cadence, you need predictability at the core. “The number one thing everyone seeks in a relationship or partnership is predictability,” says Alli. “People want to feel secure and have a clear sense of what’s coming.” In an organization, this translates to having an operating rhythm that includes a consistent, predictable schedule. This structure allows your team to stay aligned and on track toward key goals.

Establishing a regular cadence where revenue leaders, marketing, product, and sales teams meet ensures that everyone stays informed about performance metrics, upcoming initiatives, and cross-functional priorities. Alli offers a practical example: “If someone on your sales team says, ‘Hey, I feel like I’ve been in the dark on these new product releases,’ I can literally look at my calendar and say, "We’re meeting with Product leadership next Tuesday, and the sales team has enablement training next Thursday. I’ll add this to the agenda, and it will be covered within the next 10 days."’

In addition to consistency, Alli emphasizes the importance of preparation for these meetings. “I’m a big advocate of preparation, which is a key component of having an effective operating cadence. For example, if there’s no agenda for a meeting, that meeting shouldn’t even happen. Everyone should know exactly what they’re walking into.” Having a clear agenda not only illustrates to others that you respect their time, but it also creates accountability and structure. 

About Alli

Alli began her career in revenue leadership at Teksystems, where she consistently ranked in the top 5 on the leaderboard and secured one of the company’s largest deals. After feeling she had hit a ceiling as an individual contributor, she transitioned to Built In, joining as one of the first 10 employees. Over her nine years at Built In, she has taken on various leadership roles, contributed to the company’s Series C fundraise in 2019, and played a key role in building out multiple revenue functions.