Episode #50 of the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast features an interview with Tsafrir Lahav, Vice President of Global Sales at AimBetter.

  • Explore Tsafrir Lahav's extensive career journey in the data center and digital infrastructure industry
  • Discover the challenges and evolution of data centers, from tape libraries to cloud-based solutions
  • Understand the importance of training, consulting, and being seen as an expert in sales roles
  • Gain insights on advising young professionals and mid-career individuals in the industry
  • Identify the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the data center industry, including compliance and sustainability
  • Learn about the role of events, marketing, and transparency in effective sales strategies
  • Explore the future of sales and customer success roles, including the impact of AI
  • Shortlist must-have tools and resources for sales, marketing, and go-to-market teams

Host:
Joshua Feinberg, CEO
DCSMI

 

Special Guest:
Tsafrir Lahav, Vice President of Global Sales
AimBetter

The conversation between Joshua Feinberg and Tsafrir Lahav focused on Tsafrir’s career trajectory in the data center industry, emphasizing the transition from tape libraries to cloud-based solutions. He highlighted the importance of training and consulting in sales, noting that understanding the product deeply is crucial. Tsafrir also discussed the challenges of energy consumption and compliance in data centers, advocating for new ideas and technologies. He stressed the value of events for generating leads and refining sales pitches. Tsafrir advised young professionals to invest in learning and emphasized the evolving roles of sales and customer success in the future.

Outline

Tsafrir Lahav's Career Journey and Early Days in Data Centers

  • Tsafrir Lahav discusses the challenges organizations face in calculating cloud usage costs and the trend of returning to on-premises data centers.
  • Joshua Feinberg introduces Tsafrir Lahav, the global vice president of sales at AimBetter, and expresses curiosity about his career path.
  • Tsafrir Lahav recounts his early career and his role in teaching large organizations to use tape libraries for backup solutions.
  • He describes the evolution of data centers, from single tape libraries to disaster recovery plans, and the transition to cloud-based data centers in the early 2000s.

Transition to Virtual Infrastructure

  • Tsafrir Lahav explains his move to a company focused on database performance acceleration, internet acceleration, and DDoS attack protection.
  • He highlights the challenges of educating clients about DDoS attacks and the importance of branding and teaching in the data center industry.
  • Tsafrir discusses his role in founding and working with two companies that provided infrastructure analysis and end-to-end monitoring.
  • He mentions the unique project with IBM to offer mainframe services over the cloud, which was a significant achievement in 2016.

Current Role at AimBetter and Real Time Problem Solving

  • Tsafrir Lahav describes his current role at AimBetter, where they provide real time problem solving (RTPS) for enterprise IT organizations.
  • He explains the benefits of RTPS, which include end-to-end monitoring of databases, systems, and OS, and the ability to quickly identify and solve problems.
  • Tsafrir highlights AimBetter's success, with over 800 customers, including major companies like Amazon, Monday.com, and Burger King.
  • He emphasizes the importance of understanding the product and the market to effectively sell and implement solutions.

Advice for Young Professionals and Mid-Career Professionals

  • Joshua Feinberg and Tsafrir Lahav discuss the importance of training and consulting in the data center industry and the need for sales professionals to be seen as experts.
  • Tsafrir advises young professionals to work from the base up, understand the product deeply, and approach customers with respect and knowledge.
  • He emphasizes the importance of learning from technical teams and CTOs to provide valuable insights to clients.
  • For mid-career professionals feeling burnt out, Tsafrir suggests looking for new trends in the market, such as cybersecurity and AI, and considering opportunities in startups.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Data Center Industry

  • Joshua Feinberg and Tsafrir Lahav discuss the biggest challenges facing the data center industry, including energy consumption, cooling, and compliance regulations.
  • Tsafrir highlights the need for data center managers to be open to new ideas and technologies, such as AI and automation, to address these challenges.
  • He mentions the importance of green initiatives and the need for data centers to invest in new technologies to reduce their environmental footprint.
  • Joshua Feinberg and Tsafrir discuss the role of compliance regulations, particularly in energy consumption and carbon emissions, and the need for data centers to proactively meet these standards.

The Role of Events and Marketing in Sales Strategy

  • Tsafrir Lahav emphasizes the importance of events in generating leads and testing market pitches.
  • He shares success stories of events where they received significant leads and positive feedback.
  • Tsafrir discusses the balance between organic marketing and paid campaigns, highlighting the effectiveness of webinars and LinkedIn Ads.
  • He advises companies to invest in events and use them as opportunities to refine their sales strategy and gather real-time feedback from potential clients.

Future of Sales and Customer Success Roles

  • Joshua Feinberg and Tsafrir Lahav discuss the future of sales roles, emphasizing the need for professionals to be more knowledgeable and consultative.
  • Tsafrir predicts that AI will play a significant role in lower-level sales tasks, but human interaction will remain crucial for enterprise sales.
  • He suggests that SDRs should aim to become enterprise salespeople and that customer success roles will become increasingly important for retention and expansion.
  • Tsafrir highlights the need for companies to invest in customer success teams to provide ongoing support and build long-term relationships with clients.

Tools and Resources for Sales and Marketing

  • Tsafrir Lahav mentions the importance of webinars and marketing automation tools for generating leads and nurturing relationships with potential clients.
  • He discusses the high cost of attending events but emphasizes their effectiveness in generating leads and providing valuable feedback.
  • Tsafrir advises companies to use events as opportunities to test their market pitch and gather real-time feedback from potential clients.
  • He highlights the importance of investing in the right tools and resources to support sales and marketing efforts and achieve long-term success.

Final Thoughts and Resources for Listeners

  • Joshua Feinberg and Tsafrir Lahav wrap up the conversation, with Tsafrir sharing his LinkedIn profile and the AimBetter website as resources for listeners.
  • Tsafrir emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and staying updated with new trends and technologies in the data center industry.
  • Joshua Feinberg thanks Tsafrir for sharing his insights and encourages listeners to follow the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast for more valuable content.
  • The podcast episode concludes with a reminder of the sponsor, DCSMI, and an invitation for listeners to subscribe to the Data Center Sales and Marketing newsletter.

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