What Not To Do
by Elizabeth Italiano
Missing Revenue Targets? Get no-bullshit strategies, execution plans and support that is rooted in real-life experience.
Welcome to What Not To Do. An operator turned go-to-market consultant’s tragedies, triumphs, tips and services that helps capture revenue opportunities, increase sales, and customer retention.
Rooted in reality and IRL experience – If I am writing or talking about it, I’ve actually done it and not just talked about it on LinkedIn.
Welcome!
The Why behind What Not To Do.
About Me
ELIZABETH ITALIANO
Elizabeth Italiano’s 19-year career spans sales, marketing, and customer success across various company scales, from startups to public enterprises. Notably, she contributed to successful exits, including Radian6’s acquisition by Salesforce. During her career she has scaled teams in her sales and customer success executive roles leading to highly successful revenue and retention results.
Shifting to consulting, she founded What Not To Do. Passionate about Sales and Customer Success strategies that drive revenue, she guides companies in optimizing their commercial teams and go-to-market strategies. As an “operator consultant,” Elizabeth ensures her strategies and execution translates into revenue.
Her personal life embraces dog training, running, cooking, reading historical fiction, and cherishing family visits in Nova Scotia amidst her love for travel.
Elizabeth was listed as a Top 100 Female GTM Leader, and is also an award winning Customer Success expert and was named in the Top 100 Customer Success Thought Leaders for 2023.
A WHAT NOT TO DO TIP
As the Winston Churchill saying goes “Perfection is the enemy of progress.” I fell into this trap during my website relaunch, aiming for a complete vision before the big reveal. The result? Slowed progress and unnecessary delays. I overlooked my own advice on incremental change, roadmap creation, and the “crawl, walk, run” approach. I’ve realized it’s alright if my planned video series isn’t ready from day one. Launching in phases is acceptable. While quality matters, perfection is unattainable. There’s always more to add or edit. My lesson?
What Not To Do
Don’t aim to launch with the final product. Don’t stall progress in pursuit of perfection.
What To Do
Set milestones and goals for each one. Build a road map and put target dates in place for each milestone. Launch when you are providing value and helping to solve a problem. Then build on that.
Join me on my journey of progress over perfection and as I aim to share my knowledge and learnings from my experience. As the site, the market, and I evolve, let’s navigate this together. #WhatNotToDo #ProgressOverPerfection
RESOURCES
Top Traits of a Successful Marketer: Insights from over 15 Years in the Field
As someone who’s seen success in both marketing and sales, Tijana Rackov has a unique perspective on what it really takes to thrive in these fields. Her experience has shown
Top Behavioral Traits of a Successful Customer Success (CS) Person: A Guide for Hiring, Coaching and CS Success
In a true customer-centric business environment, Customer Success Managers (CSMs) play a pivotal role in ensuring long-term client satisfaction and retention. The cost of retaining an existing customer is significantly
Top Behavioral Traits of a Successful Salesperson: A Guide for Hiring, Coaching and Sales Success
In sales, the ability to hit quota consistently is seen as the ultimate measure of success. But any experienced sales leader knows that understanding the qualities that make a great
Discovery Skills for Identifying the Root Cause of Churn Risks
When we hear the word “discovery,” it’s usually in the context of sales. But here’s the thing: Discovery is just as crucial for Customer Success—especially when working with existing customers.
Annual Sales Planning: Navigating the Challenges of Revenue Projection
One of the biggest challenges for SaaS companies is accurately forecasting revenue for the next fiscal year. Whether it's from new logos or existing clients, projecting new business, renewals and
Capacity Planning: A Key Component of Sales Success
When it comes to managing a sales team effectively, capacity planning is a critical piece of the puzzle. Without it, your team can quickly become overextended, resulting in decreased performance,