The 3 biggest mistakes you will make when building a sales team for the first time

I know this one will be fun…

1. You will find a rep with great experience at a big brand and think that will translate.

This will be one of the costliest early decisions you make.

I get it: you started a company, have sold some deals and are just looking for time back.
A rep from a big brand with a big reputation is a sure-thing right?

Wrong! I have worked with countless reps at orgs where it was clear their sales process wasn't up-to-scratch, but the big US tech brand opened doors for them.

2. You won't lay the foundations for repeatable sales.

You call a company, with your founder email signature, and it works out most of the time. Easy peasy right?

But you're trying to scale this business, and unless I'm living under a rock: I am pretty sure you can't clone yourself.

A deep understanding of your TAM, SAM, ICP, messaging, channels, audience attention and more are required.
Knowing what resonates, with whom, where and when is what creates repeatable sales.

3. You will think sales take about half as long as they do.

Sales cycles are getting longer in APAC, not shorter.
Why?
Trust, cost of living, AI noise and more.

We live in turbulent times.
The cost of making a bad investment in a software solution is very expensive.
Your buyer will lose:
- Money
- Reputation
- Social Capital
- Maybe even their job.

All things considered it's a wonder any deals get done, right?
Good reps don't push deals, they invite buyers.