In this episode, we discuss the common mistakes made by founders of fast-growing startups when building their sales teams. The rush to meet revenue goals often leads to poor culture fit, hiring based on resumes instead of fit for the sales motion, and hiring based on current needs instead of strategic fit. These mistakes can result in decreased productivity, missed targets, and high staff turnover. The speaker emphasizes the importance of taking the time to hire the right people and prioritize culture fit, seller stage and price point fit, careful onboarding, and a manageable pace of work.
Take Aways
Poor culture fit can lead to decreased productivity and confidence in the sales team.
Focusing on a candidate's resume instead of fit for the sales motion can result in missed targets and wasted resources.
Hiring based on current needs instead of strategic fit can lead to a lack of proper training and onboarding.
Rushing to grow without considering the stress and support for sales reps can result in burnout, high staff turnover, and a negative company image.
When people are in a hurry to fill a job, it's easy to forget about things like culture fit. Think of that new team member as a bit of code in the software you're making. If it doesn't work well with the current system, it can cause crashes and glitches that hurt productivity and confidence.
Next is shiny object syndrome, which is when you focus on a candidate's great resume and previous sales numbers, instead of finding out if they're really a fit for your sales motion. We can probably think of many companies that hired a top salesperson without a history of selling in the space they were hired for.
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3rd, it's easy to fall into the trap of hiring people based on the current needs instead of strategic fit. For example, in a rush to meet growing customer demand, an AI company hired a sales team full of closers as quickly as possible, but they didn't have proper training and onboarding in place.
And the new sellers were all looking around at each other, wondering how to identify which buyers are willing to spend real money on their solution. Finally, let's talk about the stress of a lot of people leaving their jobs. In the rush to grow, sales reps often work in settings with a lot of stress and not much help.
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In a fast growing company, prioritize culture fit seller stage and price point fit careful onboarding and a manageable pace of work. Your sales team is what drives your growth. So don't rush to put it together.
