Startups Hiring Sales - the Scorecard

You’re a startup that’s successfully built an MVP and has a few customers, when’s the right time to start hiring salespeople (i.e. become a scale-up)? There is no straightforward answer, and the timing is a matter of gut as much as data; however, the following scorecard can help you sharpen your thinking:

1. Market fit & readiness: are the market conditions right for scaling up your business? Is your ideal customer profile clear to you? After a sales call, do you spend more time tweaking the product or working on a quote? Do your customers use the product similarly or does each have a unique use case? Do your customers have elements in common (size, industry, GTM model)?

2. Repeatable sales process: is your sales process documented anywhere? Can you walk a new hire through how to close a lead? Do you have a sales playbook? Is your pricing/delivery model well-defined? How quickly can you get a quote out? How quickly can you process an order? Do you have brochures, a product overview, RFP support material? Can your sales team rely on marketing/lead gen support?

3. Scale-up readiness: is your product technically ready to scale up? How easily can your product be implemented at scale? Can you support and troubleshoot customer issues at scale? Is there a customer hotline/support channel? Do you have a customer success team/model? Do you have a partner network in place to support your customers?

4. Revenue & incentives: can you afford salespeople? Do you have enough recurring revenue/cash reserves to cover your expenses? How long is your sales process? What are your assumptions on when your salespeople can start bringing in revenue? Do you have an incentive model to ensure your salespeople are motivated without breaking the bank?

   
   

Score each area 1-10 on how ready you are. Total 30+ and not lower than 6 on any area, you’re probably ready for sales. An area of 5 or lower needs attention.

What areas have I missed? Let me know in the comments.