Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Small businesses won one in five NSW government contracts last financial year, securing $8.3 billion of the state's $40 billion procurement spend. New direct engagement thresholds raised from $150k to $250k drove 1,500+ contracts in 2024, with Labor targeting more local supplier deals while cutting consultant spend by $300 million.
Jason Lemkin's team deployed 20+ AI agents, sent 60,000+ emails, and now sources half their revenue through AI SDRs. The tool matters less than you think: training and ownership drive 80% of results. Here is what actually worked.
ICONIQ Growth survey of 150+ GTM executives confirms what AEs already know: buyers are pushing for one-year deals instead of three-year commitments. The data says give in, then earn the renewal through deployment and NRR. Fighting it at the negotiating table makes the problem worse.
SaaStr's Jason Lemkin breaks down what actually happens when B2B SaaS growth slows: under 20% YoY, you are extracting revenue from existing customers, not winning new ones. Under 10%, you have fallen out of product-market fit. The numbers tell you when to fix go-to-market versus when to re-found the company.
If your SaaS growth has declined linearly for two years, you are sliding toward the bottom of a bifurcated market. The top B2B and AI startups are hitting 515% growth at Series A while 35% of B2B companies are declining. Here is what works to recover, starting with brutal honesty about product-market fit.
Marshelle Mooney runs a remote SMB sales team at Mangomint (salon and spa software) generating $7.20 in ARR for every dollar of OTE paid. Context: 3x to 5x is typical for SMB SaaS, above 6x is rare. She is doing it with $4k ACV, five-day cycles, and a stack consolidated to two surfaces.
OpenAI closed its Sora text-to-video app six months after launch, with Disney canceling a planned $1.4 billion investment. The shutdown affects sales teams exploring AI video tools for demos and social content. No Australian operations were impacted.
Ramp data shows Anthropic captured 73% of new enterprise AI spending in the past ten weeks, up from a 50-50 split with OpenAI. The shift signals vendor lock-in is happening now, with enterprises committing to Claude for coding and data analysis workflows. For sales teams evaluating AI tools, the window to switch providers is closing fast.
ICONIQ's 2026 GTM survey of 150+ B2B firms shows companies embedding AI in sales processes run 20-30% smaller teams while hitting 67% quota attainment versus 59% for low adopters. Meanwhile, sales cycles dropped 6 weeks but contract terms are shrinking: 13% of new logos now sign sub-1-year deals, up from 4% in 2023.
Melbourne IT integration startup Support Fusion closed a $1M pre-seed round led by Func Ventures and Exhort Ventures. The company is hiring go-to-market, partnerships, and customer success roles across Australia and the US. No comp details disclosed yet.
Stela Solar takes over as CEO of Stone & Chalk, ANZ's largest startup accelerator. Solar spent 20+ years in AI solution sales at Microsoft, Accenture, and CSIRO. Signals shift toward AI strategy and corporate partnerships.
Eight ANZ startups raised $373.3M this week, led by NZ agtech Halter's $314M Series E at $2.9B valuation. Silicon Quantum Computing added $60M, Cauldron closed $35M Series A. Worth noting: these are deep tech and agtech plays, not sales software. Limited hiring data disclosed, but Halter's expansion into Australia signals potential AE and AM roles as they scale territory coverage.