Jeff Stewart / Mark I LaRosa

Type of customer and product drives type(s) of sales functions needed: Marketing Inside Sales / Telesales Outside Sales Business Development Account managers Hunters vs Farmers

Base Commissions Draw

Recoverable / Non-recoverable Bonus Quota / Accelerator SPIF (Sales Promotion Incentive Fund) OTE (On Target Earnings)

Deals currently being worked in various stages

More calls = more leads = more sales

PR is best = qualified leads

Outsourced lead-generation Hourly / Success-based

Ask for the sale No gives the chance to ask why? No can mean:

Not now Not in that way Not at that price

If I… will you…. Good Cop – Bad Cop End of quarter pushes

Manage to metrics Ultimately expect results Let comp plan do the heavy lifting Press on accelerating the close

Flush out deals that are not real Don’t let salespeople trend to the easier

conversations

•Who to sell to? (Sniper or shotgun?)

•How do you “cross the chasm” (see: Geoffrey Moore)

•Do you market or sell? (Answer: Both)

•When should you get your first customer? (Answer: Yesterday)

•How do you get your first customers?

•When and how do you hire someone to focus on revenue?

•What to sellWhat to sell

•Who to sell toWho to sell to

•How to sellHow to sell

Your enterprise value should skyrocket once you figure out:

SEO is great, but there is no substitute for the awesome feedback that comes with rejection.

“There is a strong correlation between more salespeople, more sales calls, and more sales”

“Scale sales as fast as possible, but don’t scale sales till you know your head from your foot.”

“It is risky to more than double the size of any sales force”

•Finding great salespeople is often the biggest bottleneck for a growing company

•Failed salespeople are often the biggest waste of capital

•The right sales team can mean life or death for a startup

•Great sales people are easier to manage

•250 > 25 > 10 > 1

•The first 5 hires are critical (missionary sales)

•The next 50 can be less entrepreneurial

•Most companies find that only half of their sales hires succeed

• In startups, great salespeople often outperform their mediocre peers by at least 150%

• 55% of sales professionals are in the wrong occupation1

• Sales professionals that are job-matched outperform their counterparts by 40% and are twice as likely to stick2

• Make sure you know what you are looking for.

1. Croner, Christopher and Richard Abraham, Never Hire a Bad Salesperson Again, Inner Workings LLC, 2006.

2. Greenberg, Herbert and Jeanne, ”Job Matching for Better Sales Performance,” Harvard Business Review no.80505

20%

25%

55%C PlayersShould not be in sales at all

A PlayersTop PerformersAccount for 80% of Sales

B PlayersShould be selling elsewhere

•Drive, Motivation, Discipline and Goal Orientation

•Communication skills

•Relationship building skills

•Persuasiveness

•Ability to handle rejection

• Intelligence

•Enthusiasm

•Define your requirements upfront, and revisit often

•Look everywhere for candidates

•Get referrals form friends and investors

• Interview within multiple settings and dynamics

•Don’t cut corners

•Always check references

• Sales is not for the faint of heart

• It’s often feast or famine

• Reward your stars handsomely

• Fire underperformers quickly

• More sales lets you turn away business

• Customers provide feedback to development

• Reference accounts lead to more business

• Investors and Shareholders value revenue.

• Revenue is a precursor to profit. Profit is society’s way of saying “your business is a success.”