Adding New Sales Roles to Your Organization: A Strategic Approach
Welcome to the world of sales, where titles can feel like an alphabet soup: AR, AE, BDR, SDR, IS, TM, Rep, SME... the list goes on! Each role plays a unique part in driving revenue and building client relationships.
As your organization seeks to grow, the temptation to add new sales roles can be strong. However, this journey is not as straightforward as it may seem.
Many leaders face a significant challenge: how to strategically expand their sales team without falling into common pitfalls. Simply adding more salespeople won’t guarantee increased revenue.
It could complicate your sales process further if not done thoughtfully. Hiring without a clear strategy can lead to frustration for both leadership and new hires.
This article will guide you through the complexities of adding new sales roles effectively, ensuring that each new hire contributes meaningfully to your growth objectives. Let’s chart a course for success together!
The Sales Hiring Challenge
Many business leaders make the mistake of thinking that simply adding more salespeople will automatically increase revenue. However, this isn't always the case.
Adding more salespeople with quotas can actually make it harder to hit targets if nothing else changes in your sales process.
For example, if you have two people handling inbound leads and you add a third, you're essentially taking the same volume of leads and decreasing the number of leads per person.
Without also increasing your marketing efforts to generate more leads or improving your team's outbound sales skills, you're unlikely to see a significant increase in sales.
The Importance of a Sales Framework
Before you even think about hiring new sales personnel, it's crucial to have a solid sales framework in place.
This includes a clearly defined sales process, an ideal client profile, well-developed buyer personas, performance scorecards to track progress, and clear goals and objectives.
Without these foundational elements, adding more people to your sales team is unlikely to solve your problems.
Defining the Problem and Measuring Success
You need to clearly identify the problem you're trying to solve and define what success looks like before you start the hiring process.
Ask yourself:
What part of the sales process are we addressing?
What's the impact of solving this problem?
How will we measure success after the problem is solved?
Only once you have clear answers to these questions should you move forward with hiring.
Role-Based Growth Discussions
To determine the type of sales role you need, consider using a sales role scorecard. This tool can help you decide whether you need an inside salesperson, an outside salesperson (business development), or someone who helps close business but doesn't have a quota.
Key factors to consider in your scorecard might include whether the role has a quota, if they'll handle inbound or outbound sales (or both!), whether they'll be assigned existing contacts, and if they're responsible for finding new business.
By carefully analyzing these factors, you can avoid the frustration of hiring someone for one role only to have them end up doing a completely different job.
Frustration in the Hiring Process
One common pitfall is hiring an outside salesperson to generate new business when your real issue is expediting orders and communicating status to clients.
This mismatch between hiring and needs leads to a cycle of frustration where ownership is disappointed because new salespeople aren't bringing in new clients and revenue isn't growing.
To avoid this, it's crucial to look at the details of the problem to be solved before you start the hiring process. Analyze your current sales process, identify bottlenecks, and determine where additional personnel could make the most impact.
When to Consider a Fractional Sales Leader
If you've never been in a sales role and now find yourself leading a sales team, you might want to consider hiring a fractional sales leader.
These professionals can provide sales leadership expertise, an objective perspective on your sales organization, and high-level guidance on a part-time basis, which can be more budget-friendly for smaller organizations.
A fractional sales leader can help you navigate the complexities of sales growth, providing valuable insights into hiring decisions, sales processes, and overall strategy.
Strategic Growth: The Right People in the Right Roles
Adding new sales roles should be a strategic decision, not a knee-jerk reaction to slow growth. Here are some key points to remember:
Understand your sales process: Before hiring, make sure you have a clear, documented sales process in place.
Define roles clearly: Use tools like the sales role scorecard to clearly define what each role entails and what success looks like for that position.
Align with business goals: Ensure that any new role you're adding aligns with your overall business objectives and addresses a specific need in your sales process.
Consider training and development: Don't just focus on hiring - also consider how you'll onboard and develop your new sales team members.
Evaluate regularly: Regularly assess the performance of your sales team and be prepared to make adjustments as needed.
Putting It Into Action
Remember, hiring the right people for the right roles at the right time is crucial for sustainable sales growth. Don't rush the process - take the time to analyze your needs, define your roles clearly, and find the best fit for your organization.
In conclusion, adding new sales roles can be a powerful way to drive growth, but only if done strategically. By taking the time to define your needs, establish clear processes, and hire thoughtfully, you can build a sales team that truly drives your business forward.
And if you're feeling overwhelmed, don't hesitate to seek help - a fractional sales leader can provide the expertise and objective perspective you need to make smart hiring decisions and set your sales team up for success.