A Founder's Must-Haves when Launching B2B Sales
Founders are the best salespeople in the organization. They have an intimate understanding of the product, a contagious passion when speaking to customers, and the unparalleled resilience and resourcefulness you want in your best salespeople.
They have the ingredients for success; so when launching a B2B sales team, think about how to build the tools and processes that enable others to replicate the best salesperson in the company.
Whether you’re hiring one person or twenty, the goal is to put them, and your organization, on a winning path. To do so, think about the best way to shorten a new hire’s ramp, increase their productivity, and minimize their reliance on having the Founder in every sales pitch.
To start, we’ve compiled a shortlist of deliverables that should be defined and documented to help onboard your sales team...
Have you defined and documented your ideal customer (ICP)?
What is important to them?
Where else are they “shopping”?
What is your unique value differentiation?
Why should they buy from you vs the competitors?
Is your pricing strategy clear and packaged up?
Does this include rate approvals your team can use without having to “ask the sales manager” and delay a close?
Do you have a recording and a written script of your general presentation?
And have you documented common questions and objections?
What does success look like for the sales role?
What are the productivity metrics and goals you expect of every new hire?
Are your performance management guidelines clear?
How will they be supported and onboarded?