What's your framework to prioritizing needs/deliverables when you're the first sales leader at a company establishing the function?

When you are the first sales leader at a company establishing the function, you're going to constantly battle the demands on your time. Personally, I tend to use a mixure of the Eisenhower Matrix combined with ruthless diligence of writing down my Top 3 priorities for the quarter, the week, and the day. 

By being able to quickly take stock of my Top 3 priorities across each of those 3 time horizons, I can quickly determine the importance of other asks as they relate to those priorities. Unless there is an important task that is immediately urgent, I'll strive to complete my Top 3 daily priorities before I tackle any other projects or tasks. That way, I know regardless of what the remainder of the day has in store, I was able to move forward on the most important work.

Typically, I've found as a sales leader, I tend to focus my priorities across these 3 areas ranked accordingly:

1. People - most important is the investment in your people & culture that you create. Diverse hiring, providing personal coaching & development, promoting inclusive belonging, demonstrating empathetic leadership, etc. all result in disproportionate leverage across the other 2 areas

2. Customers - second only to your people is your customers. Meeting with them directly on a weekly basis, helping your team manage deals & relationships, and delivering value needs to always be a focus

3. Operations - finally, setting up the operationing structure for your team to execute within. Everything from defining your buy/sell process, building sales playbooks, refining reports & dashboards, etc. all contribute to an environment of consistenty & excellence

Any other demands of your time that do not fall into one of those 3 areas need to be Scheduled, Delegated, or not done at all.

#1 Need = REVENUE. Never forget that. Do everything in your power to exceed your number, everything comes after that. When you're the first sales leader at a company you're wearing multiple hats and you're under a ton of pressure. You need to get to know your team, what makes them tick, why they joined the company in the first place, what records have they set or broken and what will get them to do that again. Do you know their dog's name? What do they do on the weekend? How do they celebrate a big deal that they close? You also have to lead by example. Don't be afraid to work some pipeline on your own and get into the day to day of an Account Executive. It helps you answer questions in the future. You team will respect it.

I also recommend encouraging collaboration, celebrating wins, and creating a positive sales culture for the team that you're adopting. Don't forget to coach and mentor. This will allow your team to grow professionally and come to you for advice in sticky sales cycle situations.

Amazon does this best, but you have to stay customer focused. I recommend bringing your favorite customer to your next team meeting and have them walk you through their buying process and how they're currently utilizing your product.

As the first GTM hire and sales leader at Vanta, hitting our weekly revenue target was the absolute most important thing that I could do for myself, for the company, and for my CEO.

Yes, you read that correctly, I had a weekly revenue target that I had to hit (and that we exceeded on a weekly basis for the first few years). Why weekly? I think it came from some YC guidance. :)

If you're taking on a first sales leader role where there are literally no sellers, it's critical that you first roll up your sleeves and prove (on a repeated basis) that you can close deals and hit the revenue targets.

Once you've established that you can get the job done, it'll become obvious to you when it's time to start scaling. And if it's not obvious to you, it might be obvious to someone else, like your CEO.

To put yourself in a position where you're ready to start adding bodies, be sure to not overlook investing in key systems (i.e. buying your CRM) and processes (i.e. creating an AE hiring loop).

If you're taking on a first sales leader role where there are already butts in seats, your primary responsibility is still to hit the number, whatever it takes.

Rather than immediately rolling up your sleeves and learning how to close a deal (though this is something you should prioritize), you might instead start by doing an audit of the sales org that you're joining.

Doing an audit should help give you a better sense of how strong (or weak) of a position you and the team are in to hit the revenue targets. My advice, communicate up (to your CEO) your findings as they come, and with full honesty.

As the CRO of Snowflake once told me, "Sales leadership is a single elimination tournament, if you miss your number, you should expect to be replaced." It's a bit extreme, but it's also not wrong.

When establishing the sales function as the first sales leader at a company, it's essential to prioritise needs and deliverables effectively to lay a strong foundation for future success. Here's a framework to help you prioritise:

1. Understand Business Goals:

   • Gain a deep understanding of the company's overall business goals and objectives.

   • Align sales strategies and priorities with these goals to ensure coherence and effectiveness.

2. Assess Market and Competition:

   • Conduct thorough market research to understand the competitive landscape, target audience, and industry trends.

   • Identify key market segments and prioritize them based on potential revenue opportunities and ease of penetration.

3. Define Sales Strategy:

   • Develop a comprehensive sales strategy that outlines target markets, customer segments, pricing models, and go-to-market strategies.

   • Prioritise sales channels (e.g., direct sales, partnerships, online sales) based on their potential impact and alignment with business goals.

4. Build Sales Infrastructure:

   • Establish sales processes, workflows, and systems to support sales activities effectively.

   • Invest in sales enablement tools, CRM software, and other technologies to streamline operations and enhance productivity.

5. Hire and Train Sales Team:

   • Identify the skills and expertise required for the sales team and prioritize hiring based on these criteria.

   • Develop a structured onboarding and training program to equip sales representatives with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed.

6. Set Performance Metrics:

   • Define key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure the success of the sales function.

   • Prioritise metrics that align with business objectives, such as revenue targets, customer acquisition costs, and sales pipeline velocity.

7. Focus on Customer Acquisition:

   • Prioritize efforts to acquire new customers and build a strong pipeline of leads and prospects.

   • Develop targeted marketing campaigns, outreach strategies, and sales initiatives to attract and convert potential customers.

8. Establish Sales Culture:

   • Foster a sales-oriented culture that emphasises teamwork, accountability, and continuous improvement.

   • Lead by example and reinforce core values and behaviours that drive sales success.

9. Iterate and Adapt:

   • Continuously monitor and evaluate sales performance, processes, and strategies.

   • Adapt and iterate based on feedback, market dynamics, and emerging opportunities to optimize sales effectiveness.

By following this framework, you can prioritise the needs and deliverables of the sales function effectively, laying the groundwork for sustainable growth and success in your role as the first sales leader at the company.

When you’re the first sales leader at a company, establishing the function from scratch can be daunting. Here’s how I approach prioritizing needs and deliverables:

Leverage Existing Assets:

• Build on Experience: Over the course of my career, I’ve created a "treasure chest" of value assets, including quarterly business reviews, value engineering tools, first call decks, sales process templates, and more. I keep these in an off-brand format so that when I join a new company, I can quickly adapt them to the new environment.

• Uniform Sales Process: My sales process is relatively uniform across businesses, with key deliverables and milestones defined for each stage. The only adjustments I make are specific to the new company's terminology, product details, and business context. This allows me to hit the ground running without reinventing the wheel.

Simplify and Prioritize Key Deliverables:

• Focus on Core Deliverables: I prioritize deliverables with the highest impact on driving sales and aligning the team. This includes:

  • Sales Process: A clear, concise sales process with well-defined steps and milestones.

  • Key Assets: Such as a business case or value engineering asset, technical review templates, and value-selling principles. These are critical for ensuring the sales team and cross-functional partners are aligned and equipped to deliver value to prospects.

  • Prescriptive Content: For each stage of the sales process, I maintain a single, major deliverable that serves as the focal point. This could be an agenda slide, a hero’s journey narrative, or a pain menu. Keeping it simple ensures the team stays focused and the process remains agile.

Adapt and Iterate:

• Tailoring Content: While the framework remains consistent, I tailor the content to fit the business's specific needs. This could involve tweaking the value propositions, refining the messaging, or adjusting the sales collateral to better resonate with the target market.

• Utilize AI Tools: With advancements like ChatGPT, it’s now easier to adapt and synthesize past content quickly. I can input old assets into a large language model and generate updated versions tailored to the new business context, saving time and ensuring consistency.

Work Ethic and Commitment:

• Going the Extra Mile: Establishing a sales function from scratch requires much effort and overtime, especially in the early stages. It’s about doing whatever it takes to produce the necessary deliverables and set the foundation for a scalable sales operation.

• Continuous Improvement: As the business evolves, so does the sales process. I continuously refine and improve the framework based on feedback, results, and new challenges that arise.