Transform Your Tech Startup Sales With The Right Sales Leader

Early stage startups of any kind face innumerable challenges and obstacles - among them, finding the right sales leader to boost their revenue growth. Whether your sales team is trying to make its first million, wants to upscale to $20 million, or your business model simply isn't working, early stage companies need to find the right person for the job.

One man who knows his stuff when it comes to building a startup sales strategy and connecting growth-stage sales leaders is Jay Webb. Through his platform 'the GOATS of growth', Jay has mentored, coached and inspired hundreds of tech companies worldwide to power through their startup phase and start building organic growth.

We were pleased to welcome him to Leadium, where he revealed a ton of expert insights on finding the right revenue leaders to boost early stage startups. We talked about everything from common mistakes executives make when hiring sales leaders, the qualities a great sales leader needs, and how to know when it's time to hand the reins over to a new hire.

So if you're a tech startup or an growth-stage company of any kind, stick around - we're about to make your hiring process a whole lot easier.

What is a sales leader in an early stage startup?

As anyone who's ever started a company will know, most super-early stage startups don't usually have such things as sales leaders or revenue leaders. A small group of people will generally hold multiple 'positions' while the company works on its product and figures out its market fit.

But this all begins to change when companies start to generate revenue. Jay suggests that when revenue reaches around $2 million, companies often start to look into hiring a sales leader (sometimes called a revenue leader or a VP of sales). This is someone who'll:

• Build a startup sales strategy
• Work on the startup sales process
• Manage the sales team
• Align sales team efforts with company goals
• Work sales into your overall business plan

Simply put: as companies grow, founders alone don't have to the time or resources to provide this direction themselves, so they take on a specialist.

Different sales leaders for different stages

Having said that, it's important to recognize that not all sales leaders perform exactly the same role within different companies. Although the broad strokes of their remit will remain the same, in practice, as Jay points out, their day-to-day work will vary a lot.

Early stage startup sales leaders

During their early stage, companies are trying to position themselves within their target market, find new potential customers, increase their marketing efforts, draw in venture capital, and so on. In other words: it can be a scrappy, explorative period.

Sales leaders trying to bring a company from, say, $2 million in revenue to $10 million need to be equipped to succeed in this ultra competitive landscape.

Jay calls these types of sales leaders (typically the first official sales leaders after founders have decided to give the role to a specialized professional) 'expeditionary leaders'.

Sales leaders working 'at scale'

The experimental mindset required for startup sales leadership doesn't necessarily help someone leading sales at a company making $50 million plus. That's not to say it's always smooth sailing for big companies - but the process is completely different.

At that scale, a product or service is established, a business has a comfortable customer base, a tried-and-tested methodology, and hopefully a sustainable sales process. So the sales leader's role becomes much more managerial and procedure-based.

Goals, too, will vary depending on the size of the company. A sales leader working for a huge company may be more focussed on customer retention, whereas a startup wants to get notice by potential customers.

What qualities should early stage companies look for in a sales leader?

Jay's got some great advice when it comes to the qualities and experience you should keep an eye out for when searching for an early stage startup sales leader.

• Passion‍
  
  • It's no good taking on someone who's only ever managed an established company (or, for that matter, someone who's never worked for any); you want someone who shows a passion for the startup product, a passion for creating a killer sales process in a competitive (and low-resource) startup environment, and a passion for sales.

• Understands brand recognition‍
  
  • This is where startups often struggle. In fact, according to CB Insights, getting 'outcompeted' is the third most common reason startups fail (after running out of cash and not fulfilling a market need).
  • Effective brand recognition through a powerful marketing strategy could be one way to make sure you don't get outcompeted, and a great startup sales leader will be ready to improve your sales process by retaining clients as well as attracting new customers.
    ‍‍
• Understands their mission‍
  
  • Many startups make the mistake of aiming to high too soon. But in order to knock it out the park during the startup stage, it's important to set clear, achievable goals.
  • A good sales leader will create a sales strategy that works within the overall business model to deliver those goals (not promise $50 million in the their first year!).

What mistakes do early stage startups make when hiring a revenue leader?

We've touched on this before, but many young companies look to hire sales leaders based on the annual revenue of the companies they've worked for previously. 'This guy worked for a $100 million company! Let's hire him, right?'

Wrong. That candidate may be an accomplished leader and a top-tier player for an established company, but that doesn't make him the best fit for a startup.

As we mentioned earlier, the skill set required to take a company from $2 million to $20 million is completely different from that required to keep a $100 million business afloat. So although past success is essential, the sales leader you choose needs to be stage fit for your startup.

How to know when to hire a (new) sales leader

Given what we've discussed, and founder reading this will know that sooner or later they're going to have to either a) hire their first sales leader or b) hire a new sales leader who'll take them to the next level. But when's the right time?

For Jay, the answer's simple: data. Target market data, lead generation data, investment data, customer support data - you name it, data's the thing you need to determine how successful your current sales process is and whether it's time to spend money on a sales leader.

Even if you don't have the time or resources to allocate to building an in-house research team, you could consider outsourcing the task to dedicated B2B lead generation and sales development services like Leadium.

Boost your startup sales by investing in the right people

As with all sales endeavours, startup tech sales are a team effort. And in order to smash through that early stage and start reeling in prospective customers with your stand-out product or service, you need to surround yourself with the right people.

A great sales leader is key to giving your sales team the direction needed to make that jump. But with so many talented individuals to choose from, deciding on the right one is no easy task. So take our advice: look for someone with a startup attitude, who's ready to forego the big numbers because they love figuring out a winning formula, building trust with consumers, and establishing brand recognition.

Don't shoot too high, either. Remember: a sales leader may have had great success at an established company, but might not have what it takes to help an early stage business find its way.

Take it from us - there are few people in the industry as worth listening to as Jay Webb. Why not find Jay on LinkedIn? Don't miss out on his podcast, 'The GOATS of Growth', either - it's packed with useful tips and tricks for startup founders looking to up their game for long-term success.

Was this article helpful? Why not head over to the Leadium blog for a little more? There, you'll find plenty of actionable advice on everything from lead generation and business strategy to relationship-building and sales tactics.

Alternatively, see how our services can help you fill your pipeline and reach those early stage revenue goals.