Scaling a business beyond the founder rainmaker is a formidable challenge. Many B2B services firms struggle to transition from relying on the founder's personal network and expertise to building a successful sales team.
In this blog, I’ll explore common pitfalls in this transition and outline the profile of an ideal first sales hire to improve your chances of success.
The Backdrop
Founders often leverage their established client base and personal network to drive business growth. Their unique approach to selling and customizing services helps secure and retain clients. However, when aiming for significant growth, founders recognize the need to build a high-performing sales team, starting with their first traditional sales hire.
Unfortunately, this transition often falls short, with many founders finding themselves back in the rainmaker role.
Why Does It Fail?
Several key factors contribute to the failure of this transition:
- Lack of a Sales Playbook: Founders often rely on their personal, intuitive selling style, which is rarely documented or standardized. Without a clear sales playbook, new hires are left to figure things out on their own, leading to inconsistency, confusion, and missed targets.
- Job Description vs. Success Profile: Too often, job descriptions are limited to generic responsibilities, missing the mark on clearly defining the role's mission, specific performance goals, milestones, and key competencies. This lack of clarity can result in hiring a candidate who isn’t the right fit for the role.
- Inadequate Onboarding: Founders frequently assume that experienced salespeople will hit the ground running with minimal guidance. However, without a comprehensive onboarding plan that offers structured support and direction, even the most seasoned hires can struggle to adapt and succeed.
- Lack of Regular Sales Meetings: In an effort to avoid micromanaging, many founders fall into the trap of not managing at all. The absence of regular sales meetings leads to poor visibility into the sales pipeline, inconsistent performance reviews, and ultimately, missed opportunities. Founders may think they are “delegating and elevating,” but in reality, they’re neglecting the very process that drives revenue.
Proper preparation, coaching and support are essential to guide new sales hires toward success.
Hiring the Wrong Profile
Beyond process issues, choosing the wrong candidate profile can derail your efforts:
- The Rolodex Salesperson: Many founders want to hire “plug & play” salespeople with industry experience and extensive networks, expecting immediate results. However, selling custom and complex services often requires a focus on solutions rather than relationships alone. I have yet to see this come to fruition.
- The Corporate Salesperson: Sales professionals from large organizations often struggle in smaller, entrepreneurial settings where they lack the support systems they’re used to, such as inbound leads or business development reps.
The Ideal First Sales Hire
When it comes to making your first sales hire, look for candidates who embody these key traits:
- Entrepreneurial Spirit: Seek someone with the mindset of an entrepreneur—whether they've run a business before or simply have the drive to do so. They embrace challenges, can deal with ambiguity, and be willing to roll up their sleeves and get things done.
- Coachability: Prioritize candidates who are eager to learn and grow. The ideal salesperson is open to feedback, adaptable, and continuously strives to improve, rather than assuming they have all the answers.
- Curiosity: A natural curiosity is essential. Look for individuals who ask insightful questions and engage in active listening. They should be more focused on understanding client needs than delivering rehearsed pitches.
- Drive for Results: The right hire will have an unwavering drive to achieve results. They should demonstrate a strong work ethic, persistence, and the internal motivation to meet and exceed targets.
- Organizational Agility: Choose a candidate who can seamlessly navigate different levels of an organization. They should be adept at building relationships across the hierarchy, tailoring their approach to connect with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Conclusion
Scaling beyond the founder rainmaker is a significant challenge, and hiring the right first salesperson is crucial. To increase your chances of success, clearly define your sales strategy, outline what success looks like at each stage of the sales process, and establish a comprehensive success profile with clear performance goals.
Next Steps
If you're ready to scale beyond the founder rainmaker, consider joining my cohort-based course: "Beyond the Founder Rainmaker - Building Your Outbound Sales Strategy." You'll gain access to customizable templates, practical tools, and actionable strategies to refine your sales approach and build a robust top-of-funnel sales process.
Go Deeper
Carver Peterson helps growth-minded leaders and organizations achieve predictable and sustainable revenue growth through a refined strategy, defined process and aligned structure.
