For those who have gone on to build teams beyond founder-led sales, how do you know when its time to build out your sales team? What is crucial to be thinking about before making those hires? --- This post was migrated from connect.com and was originally published at an earlier date.
Hi Victor, Deciding when to expand your sales team beyond the founder-led efforts is a pivotal step for any growing company. At Axe Capital, we recognized the need to build out our sales team when we observed a consistent increase in demand and when it became apparent that the founders alone could no longer handle the sales volume and customer management effectively without sacrificing the quality of our service or other business operations. Before making these hires, it was crucial for us to have a solid onboarding process in place. We leveraged the HubSpot Academy extensively, coupled with tailored training sessions, to ensure that our new team members—starting with two apprentices—were quickly brought up to speed. This rapid onboarding process was essential not just for operational efficiency but also for maintaining the high standards of client engagement and sales management that Axe Capital is known for. In essence, it’s about ensuring the right infrastructure is in place to support an expanding team. This includes having established sales processes, clear role definitions, and a strong training program, all of which are necessary to scale effectively and maintain the quality of client interactions. Best, Simon BERNA, CEO Axe Capital --- This post was migrated from connect.com and was originally published at an earlier date.
Simon Berna - France great response to this very good and important question. I’ll just throw in some supporting words: 1) founders must know how to sell the product they are “founding”. How can a founder expect any sales person to sell if they can’t or haven’t? 2) Product market fit. Gotta have it. And that’s beyond founder-led sales which might have happened at high level discussions between the founder and another high-level person at the buying organization. Have you found the niche that really vibes with your product and gives you that initially product market fit? (See Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm -- Allie Kerr I’m rolling in my desk chair to grab it from my bookshelf lol.) 3) what kind of sales person/people do you hire? pure sales folks? or sales folk who can also manage accounts after the sale? I’d lean toward the later because in early stages you might find that sales people are selling “deals” and not solving customer problems with the product they are selling. I have seen it when a sales person snags a big sale and it gets handed off to customer success and dies. Then the blame game begins. But in the beginning, sales people who also manage the book of business can ensure less churn. 4) Lastly, make sure you have an incentive plan that truly drives the behaviors your company needs and has to have to succeed and be profitable. My two cents! --- This post was migrated from connect.com and was originally published at an earlier date.
I love that Crossing the Chasm is getting the love it deserves 
We might need to start a book club --- This post was migrated from connect.com and was originally published at an earlier date.
Oh that’s a great idea Allie Kerr! I’ll throw in also the classic Good to Great by Jim Collins --- This post was migrated from connect.com and was originally published at an earlier date.