@markeelliott @itbeginswithif

Growing Your Sales Team

Mark ElliottCo-Founder

Venture Accelerator Partners

@markeelliott @itbeginswithif

Agenda• What type of Sales Rep• Sales Targets• Compensation• Recruiting• Interview• Sales Tools• Onboarding• Communications Plan• Personal Development

@markeelliott @itbeginswithif

@markeelliott @itbeginswithif

Background

• Mark Elliott, Co-Founder Venture Accelerator Partners

• Provides Part-time sales and marketing• 8 Years since the start of VA Partners• 10 Years at Fortune 500 Technology Company• Champion of Sales P2P at Innovation Factory• At VA Partners

– Worked with over 70 Companies– Helped book hundreds of meetings– Drove millions of web page views– Customers have realized millions in revenue

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Type of Sales Person

• Inside vs Outbound• Local vs Remote • Channel• Inbound Lead Generation

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Factors to Consider

• How do customers buy?• How complex is the sales

cycle?• Customer Lifetime Value• Resources available

– Time – Money

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Sales Targets

• What organization?– Geography– Vertical– Size– List

• Contact within company– One or Many

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Compensation• Salary• Variable

– Revenue– Margin– Activities

• What is the right split?– 50% to 70% Salary, the rest

variable

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Recruiting

• Always be recruiting• Networking• Local schools• Use Social Media• Recruiters

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Candidate Evaluation

• Have the tailored their cover letter• What does their Linkedin look like• Do they use other digital

platforms?• Do the jump around a lot• Do they quantify results?• If candidates are junior

– Customer service– Achievements in school

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Interview• Create questions based on the

job• Ask for specifics• Situational Questions: Tell me

about– biggest win– most challenging customer– your CRM use

• Ask about process• Be more creative with junior

hires

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Sales Tools

• CRM• Path to Sales Success• Social Tools• Scripts

– Email– Calling with objections

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Onboarding• Have the week scheduled• Admin is ready for day 1• Tools are set-up• Solution review

– Focus on benefits and Value prop

• Break apart the sales cycle– Start with simpler tasks

• Practice• Make yourself available

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Communications Plan

• Management by walking around

• Team meetings• Joint calls or meetings

– Coaching opportunity• Individual meetings

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Individual Meetings

• Funnel Review with CRM– What was expected– What is expected– What has changed– Updates on larger

opportunities– Be accountable

• Other administrative tasks• Personal Development

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Personal Development• Identify a few areas for

improvements– From Rep– Observed– Something new

• Create a plan– Could include training– Practice– Sales leader involved

• Does not need to be expensive

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Social Resources

@marsdd@vapartners

@AA_ISP

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@Profit_Magazine