The Great Buffalo Hunt: A Tale of Sales Leadership
Congratulations on your promotion to Sales Manager! You're about to embark on an exciting journey that will shape the future of your B2B SaaS startup.
Whether you're riding the wave of post-Series A startup or even a 100% bootstrapped one, your way to success, building a high-performing sales team is crucial. Let's dive into the world of sales team structures and hiring strategies, peppered with real-world examples to guide your journey.
The Evolution of a B2B SaaS Sales Team
You're at the helm of a rapidly growing B2B SaaS startup, much like Slack in its early days. Your product is gaining traction, and it's time to scale your sales efforts. But where do to start?
The key is to envision your ideal team structure and grow into it gradually. Think of it as building a tree – you start with the trunk and add branches as you grow.
The Trunk: The Island Model
In the beginning, you might adopt what's known as the "Island Model." This is where each salesperson is a jack-of-all-trades, handling the entire sales process from prospecting to closing (even taking care of clients having issue with the product).
Real-world example: Consider the early days of Dropbox. In its infancy, the company relied on a small team of versatile salespeople who could handle everything from initial outreach to closing deals. This allowed them to move quickly and adapt to the rapidly changing needs of their growing user base.
Real-world example: At Slack, the sales team started with a small, multi-skilled team. As the company grew, it divided that team into several specialized sub-teams, each focusing on specific market segments.
The First Branches: Specialization
As your startup grows, you'll want to specialize roles to increase efficiency. This is where you'll start dividing your team into specific functions.
Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) and Business Development Representatives (BDRs)
These are your frontline troops. SDRs focus on inbound leads, while BDRs handle outbound prospecting.
Real-world example: HubSpot, the inbound marketing and sales platform, is renowned for its SDR program. They've built a robust system where SDRs qualify leads before passing them to Account Executives, ensuring that their closers are spending time on the most promising opportunities.
Account Executives (AEs)
Your AEs are the closers. They take qualified leads from SDRs/BDRs and guide them through the sales process to signing the contract.
Real-world example: Salesforce, the CRM giant, has a well-oiled machine when it comes to their AE structure. They segment their AEs based on deal size and complexity, ensuring that each prospect gets the right level of attention and expertise.
Key Account Managers (KAMs)
As you start landing bigger fish, you'll need KAMs to nurture and grow these valuable accounts.
Real-world example: Zendesk, the customer service software company, has a dedicated team of KAMs who focus on their enterprise clients. These KAMs not only ensure customer satisfaction but also drive upsells and cross-sells, significantly contributing to the company's revenue growth.
Beyond Sales: The Holistic Approach
Remember, your sales team doesn't operate in a separate space dimension. To truly succeed, you need to consider how it interacts with other crucial functions in your B2B SaaS startup.
The Four Main Functions of a B2B SaaS Startup
Most B2B SaaS business plans are organized around four cost centers, which reflect four major teams:
1. Sales & Marketing: Responsible for revenue growth.
2. Delivery: Costs related to the performance of the service sold.
3. Tech & Product: Development of the solution.
4. General & Administrative (G&A): Responsbinle for making the whole thing works together
Example: At Salesforce, each team is assigned a color to facilitate communication and collaboration. Growth teams are responsible for revenue growth, while Customer teams manage customer management.
Customer Management (Delivery)
The Delivery cost center corresponds to the costs directly related to the realization of the service or product sold. In a SaaS company, this mainly includes the costs of the Customer Management team, divided into two distinct functions: Customer Success and Customer Care.
Example: Zendesk has structured its customer management team into two sub-teams: Customer Success, responsible for customer satisfaction and retention, and Customer Care, responsible for technical support and issue resolution.
The Tech & Product Team
The Tech & Product team is essential to define the functionalities of the marketed product. It is composed of Product Managers (PM) who collect customer feedback, prioritize it, and ensure the technical development of the functionalities.
Example: Spotify uses “Squads” to organize its technical teams. Each Squad is responsible for a specific part of the app and works autonomously to continuously improve the product.
General and Administrative Expenses (G&A)
Support functions like HR, finance, operations, and legal are crucial for growth. At Indy, a startup specializing in accounting for freelancers, the “Scale” team is responsible for structuring these expertises in a coherent way.
Example: Stripe has a Finance & Legal team that handles not only finances and contracts but also e-signature and automated invoicing, allowing sales teams to focus on selling.
The Sales & Marketing Team
Marketing plays a crucial role in generating leads and supporting sales teams.
Example: At HubSpot, marketing automation is used to send personalized email sequences to prospects, qualifying them for sales teams.
Example: Marketo uses high-value content to position salespeople as experts and advisors, making it easier to sell.
Example: Dropbox has structured its sales team into several specialized sub-teams. SDRs and BDRs generate opportunities, AEs close sales, and KAMs grow existing accounts.
Why Should You Move for Role Specialization?
Role specialization allows for greater efficiency at each stage of the sales cycle. However, this specialization is mainly suited to long sales cycles. For short sales cycles, a flat organization may be more efficient.
Example: Intercom has a dedicated sales team for large accounts but uses a flat organization for smaller accounts, helping to simplify processes.
The Art of Hiring: Building Your Dream Team
Now that you understand the structure, let's talk about hiring. Remember, in a B2B SaaS startup, your people are your most valuable asset.
1. Define Your Ideal Candidate: Before you start hiring, create a clear profile of your ideal salesperson. Consider not just skills and experience, but also cultural fit and growth potential.
2. Leverage Your Network: In the startup world, referrals are gold. Tap into your network and incentivize your team to refer great candidates.
3. Look for Adaptability: In a fast-growing startup, things change quickly. Look for candidates who can thrive in a dynamic environment.
4. Test for Skills: Use role-playing exercises or sample projects to assess candidates' abilities in real-world scenarios.
5. Prioritize Culture Fit: In a startup, every hire can significantly impact your culture. Ensure your candidates align with your company values.
Real-world example: Stripe, the payment processing platform, is known for its rigorous hiring process. They use a combination of technical interviews, culture fit assessments, and even written exercises to ensure they're bringing on the best talent. This approach has helped them build one of the most respected teams in the tech industry.
Your Journey Begins Now!
As you embark on this exciting journey of building and leading your sales team, remember:
The key is to stay agile, learn from your experiences, and continuously adapt your structure to meet the evolving needs of your B2B SaaS startup.
Your role as a Sales Manager is not just about hitting targets; it's about building a team that can drive sustainable growth for your company. By understanding the intricacies of team structure, the importance of cross-functional collaboration, and the art of hiring (and firing), you're well on your way to sales leadership success.
Would you like to get answers from one of the best BtoB Sales educators in the World about any point that worries you?
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🚀 Exclusive LinkedIn Live: Unveiling the Secrets of Infinite Sales Leadership! 🌟
Mark your calendars for December 17th, 2024! I'm thrilled to host an electrifying live interview with the one and only Darius Lahoutifard founder of the MEDDIC Academy, streaming right here on LinkedIn!
Who is Darius, you ask? 🤔
- Robotics engineer turned serial tech entrepreneur
- Former senior executive at Schlumberger, PTC, and Oracle
- Best-selling author of "ALWAYS BE QUALIFYING: M.E.D.D.I.C. 2020" and "Leadership by Cyrus the Great"
- Founder of MEDDIC Academy
- Creator of the game-changing MEDDIC & MEDDPICC sales methodologies
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Whether you're a fresh-faced sales manager or a seasoned CRO, this training is your ticket to sales leadership excellence!
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