No one wants a stagnant sales team. On the other hand, the thought of scaling a sales team can seem overwhelming and difficult.
If your company is approaching the growth stage, it means that your organization has already identified a steady income base, a monetization procedure and proven sales techniques.
The mission now is to elevate your proven strategies so they grow as your company does. Here are ways you can make that possible.
1. Take a 10,000-foot view of your current structure.
Are you prepared to scale your sales team? Take a closer look at your current sales structure to find out.
What is your current approach? If your current sales strategy is made up of mostly email newsletters and content strategy, then you might not be ready to scale just yet. If information is funneled through general outlets, you may end up overlapping, and in turn, will not assist your sales-scaling mission.
Variability is not a great word when associated with scaling. Scale is all about quantity. Your organization should be confident in the consistency of leads. If your organization can’t say this wholeheartedly, you aren’t fully prepared to scale.
But if that scenario currently rings true: always be prepared for it. Scaling your sales team is much like a game of Chess which requires constant strategizing and being prepared for any shift or opportunity to arise. You most likely won’t be able to do this alone: scaling is a group effort and your hiring efforts will shift to better fit the goal of your organization, and investments are commonly utilized to support the initiative. It’s also time to think about bringing in force multipliers, such as Sales Enablement and RevOps.
2. Align strategy to ideal outcomes.
Ask yourself this and be specific, “if we double our sales team, what is the best possible outcome?” Now, what about tripling? Quadrupling? When thinking about the future, identify your ideal outcome first; this will make the scaling process much easier for all parties.
If you’re looking to scale in a new location, recruitment is going to be a major factor; identify specialists in your desired field that will enable your sales team to scale and build.
If your organization is attempting a scale-up primarily in the number of accounts with similar verticals, you will need to increase managers and supervisors to assist in leading the development.
If it’s the industry/verticals you are wishing to scale up, then hiring more business development representatives is the first step. Expanding on an industry basis will also require extensive marketing efforts to break the glass ceiling into new areas.
3. Ensure data drives decisions.
The motto to remember throughout this entire process is, “Work smarter, not harder.”
When scaling up your sales team, making the process repeatable throughout the entire organization is key. Hone in on an approach, and drive that approach through your entire company. What can assist here is data; use the data on pipeline, processes and personas to reinforce your mission and strategy. Let the data tell the story and drive your decisions.
For example, look at the LTV from your persona(s): if it’s not working, alter it. Look at responses from customers, especially during free-trial periods; identify what is leading to closed/won deals. Identify pricing; what is working, and what is not?
Don’t shy away from the information you can get from competitors. Talk to your competitor’s customers and understand why they bought a particular solution and conduct TAM, SAM, and SOM exercises to help gain insights from the market. Having honest conversations can prove to be helpful when looking for scaling opportunities.
Lastly, ensure that your tech stack is optimized and adopted, especially pertaining to sales enablement and rev ops. Conversation intelligence is a category that proves to be a force-multiplying technology in the pre-scale efforts; use it.
4. Hire to innovate.
Scaling your team isn’t just adding another warm body, it’s adding the right person or people who have proven, consistent success, regardless of what they’ve previously done. The best candidates are constantly curious (proven by asking great questions) and extremely coachable.
Recruiting isn’t an easy process, but if you strategically plan your scale and find new employees that can confidently execute this process with you and your organization, then success will follow.
Much is the same when adding new sales leaders to your sales structure. Look for missing gaps in your current sales team, and find industry professionals that can execute those tasks. If this is something you are investigating, Lever is a useful tool that can help link potential hire’s sales persona and your approach.
Scaling can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be scary
Like sales in itself, scaling is much like a never-ending roller coaster; you’re locked in and the exhilaration and momentum will lift you to new heights. Before you realize it, your sales team will have grown exponentially.
Always be in control of the scaling process. There is a fine line to walk when blending old and new processes in the initial stages of your organization. Be mindful of the data, revive and freshen up old techniques, and balance that with new and innovative methods.
If you successfully conquer that well-balanced plan, you’ll scale the competition out of the water.
Dan Templeton is vice president of sales, mid-market and enterprise, at Chorus.ai. Chorus records, transcribes, analyzes and provides actionable insights into the conversations that revenue teams are having every day.
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