Scaling Sales in a Startup: Don't Fall for the Success Trap

 This is one of the more difficult decisions any founder will face. People worry about scaling sales because they are nervous about how this will change their culture and it can be very expensive if done incorrectly.

There is no one size fits all approach but there are indicators to be on the look out for before you put all your chips on the table.

The interesting parts are the flags disguised as early success.

The most common trap: four to six successful sales people does not mean that you are ready to pour gas on the fire.  Many times you really have to dig in to see the accounts that got you there, vs. what is still left and pristine. If you have 5000 potential clients and your team has only closed 100 of those, it may look like “we have so much opportunity!” The key is to dig in deeper to see if those 100 represented the top opps—did your team actually go through many of the other top opps, and are they closing deals in a replicable way?

Be honest with yourself.  Don’t drink your own Kool-Aid. If it turns out you got there on the low hanging fruit, it’s not all bad.  You just have to be really careful and make tough decisions sometimes.  Meaning you need to take some of those top opportunities from your current rock stars and make sure you set your new hires up for success.

In a field that appears to be green and open, make sure that the roots underneath your current team have left room for others to grow and for your organization to scale.

Thank you,

Jake Dunlap, CEO Skaled