May 23, 2016 · 26m · mad
Predictive Analytics for B2B Marketing // Amanda Kahlow, 6Sense [FirstMark's Data Driven]
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this Data Driven NYC talk and Q&A session, 6Sense Founder and CEO Amanda Kahlow demonstrates how predictive analytics and intent data transform modern B2B sales and marketing by detecting invisible in-market buyers. She illustrates the platform's power through massive ROI case studies at Cisco, NetSuite, and BlueJeans while sharing insights from her entrepreneurial journey.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Matt holds 6.5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Matt as informed peer 0.8 Guest teaching 0.8 Guest disagreement 0.4 Matt pushing back 0.4
speaking balance: gold is Matt, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 21:03 Direct refusal to disclose proprietary data sources
Amanda directly shuts down an audience query regarding how 6Sense accesses search data, asserting it as a trade secret and key competitive differentiator.
Hardest push from Matt ▶ 16:59 Matt challenges 6Sense on attribution skepticismMatt pushes back on claims of predictive accuracy by highlighting the multi-factor reality of B2B sales cycles and how account executives dispute attribution credit.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 22:38 Amanda explains why B2B lead scoring models are flawedAmanda educates the audience on why individual lead scoring fails in B2B environments, contrasting anonymous multi-buyer committee behaviors with individual B2C transactions.
Matt holds his own ▶ 16:59 Matt demonstrates understanding of B2B sales attribution complexityMatt displays sharp industry knowledge by asking how 6Sense handles model feedback loops and isolates software predictions from salesperson influence.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Matt as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Matt pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Story: Perseverance and Female Empowerment | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | In this solo presentation segment, Amanda shares her personal founder journey, facing 66 VC rejections, and her purpose to inspire women entrepreneurs. The host does not speak, so all host scores are zero. | |
| The Failure of Traditional B2B Lead Generation | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Amanda presents a monologue criticizing traditional B2B lead generation forms and linear buyer journeys. While she forcefully rejects industry standards, the dynamic is non-interactive as the host remains silent. | |
| What CMOs Want: Timing In-Market Buyers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Amanda continues her keynote detailing how 6Sense aggregates anonymous intent signals and search data to identify buyers. The host is silent during this monologue. | |
| The Future of B2B Marketing and Automation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Amanda presents on automation and AI taking human intervention out of B2B marketing before sharing metrics from Cisco and BlueJeans. The host does not participate in this segment. | |
| Case Studies: Exactly and NetSuite Insights | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | Matt enters the conversation to ask probing technical questions regarding model training feedback loops and B2B attribution challenges. He gently pushes back on claims by pointing out that sales reps often claim credit for deals rather than predictive software. | |
| Q&A: Amanda's Founder Journey and Raising Capital | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Matt asks a warm founder journey question about Amanda's transition from services to SaaS. Amanda recounts her fundraising struggles and hiring her YC co-founders in a supportive atmosphere. | |
| Q&A: Search Data and Target B2B Criteria | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Audience Q&A begins with Amanda bluntly declining to explain proprietary search data acquisition before educating an audience member on the structural differences between B2B and B2C sales cycles. Matt acts solely as a moderator. | |
| Q&A: Data Partnerships and Event Conclusion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Amanda finishes answering a question about data partnerships with publishers like Forbes before Matt intervenes to close the session due to time constraints. Matt provides logistical housekeeping for the event. |
Statements from this episode (18)
Only three out of 350 CEOs at a recent conference were women
“I was at a conference yesterday with about 350 CEOs, and there happened to be maybe three women in the room.”
Amanda Kahlow received 66 VC rejections before securing funding for 6sense
“I had a 66 VC nose before I got my yes. I made it to 22 all-partner meetings.”
B2B buyers leave much richer digital traces than B2C consumers
“And the beauty for B to B is that the research That you're doing in a B to B environment, as you're going across these multiple screens, and you have multiple buyers across these buying committees, they're leaving a far richer digital trace than anything B to …”
Traditional B2B lead generation is broken because buyers despise forms
“The entire premise of B to B marketing and lead generation is broken. Because it's based on something that buyers inherently are object to doing. They do not want to fill out these forms.”
6sense processes 90 billion behavioral signals to predict buyer intent
“We're processing ninety billion rows of behavioral signals to predict precisely when a company has a need for the products that our customers are selling.”
When asked, 25 CMOs agreed their top intelligence need is buying timing
“I was in a room with about 25 CMOs recently, and this is one of my most favorite moments. The question was asked, what was the number one thing that you would like, that you want to know of your prospects? The number one thing that CMOs answered was timing.”
Triggering click-to-chat only for active buyers yields high ROI
“If you're a B to B company, you have tens of millions of visitors coming to your site, and you pop up click to chat on everyone, it's going to cost you way too much money. But if you pop it up when somebody's actually in a buying mode, and they're actually rea…”
Traditional B2B sales territories are arbitrary assignments that ignore buyer needs
“What are territory lists? Random, arbitrary assignments by some sales leader that has nothing to do with what your buyers need or want, right?”
Cisco's marketing-to-sales conversion rate jumped from 5% to 71% using 6sense
“They bond from a five percent marketing to sales conversion rate to 71%.”
Cisco's predictive pipeline grew from $2 billion to $7 billion
“They started with two billion dollars in pipeline from predictive to now seven billion dollars in pipeline”
Cisco's average deal opportunity grew from $10,000 to $50,000
“The opportunities that come through predictive are five times greater the size because they're getting into the deal early. So what was previously a 10,000 dollar opportunity size is now on average a 50,000 dollar opportunity size.”
BlueJeans reduced required sales touches to qualify leads from 33 to 10
“They found not only a four X lift in their opportunities, but one of the really interesting things is the sales product It usually took one in 33 touches for an inside salesperson to qualify a lead. Now it takes them one in 10 with the six cent scores.”
Intent data delivers the largest impact for companies lacking top brand recognition
“So looking at those signals, and for them, and for companies that aren't first in their market, so people don't think blue jeans when they think video conferencing, this can have the biggest impact.”
Xactly derived 86% of its pre-IPO business from 6sense predictions
“The quarter before they went public, 86% of their business came from our purchase stage predictions.”
6sense intent data generated a $1.7 million Anheuser-Busch deal for Xactly
“Well, sure enough, they're in a sales cycle with their competitor, and it turned into the third largest deal in the company's history, 1.7 million dollars.”