Jeetu Mahtani, former Global MD and sales leader at HubSpot, explains why HubSpot postponed international expansion until its unit economics stabilized.
“We were going to open Dublin in 2012, but we shelved the idea because our retention metrics were not great. Our gross retention was, like, low seventies.”
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More from Jeetu Mahtani
Insight
Mahtani: Prior sales experience is overrated when hiring sales reps
“I believe sales experience is overrated. I think When you are a highly tenured rep, I think some people believe that. It should be weighted the most when hiring a sales rep. I don't think that is true. I think there are other characteristics that I would weigh…”
Jeetu MahtaniSep 27, 2024▶ 53:26Jeetu Mahtani, Sales Leader @Hubspot: How and When to Go International and Crush It | E1207 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Mahtani: Mid-market SaaS reps require $10k-$12k ACV for positive ROI
“If you are sort of like mid-market, like HubSpot, SweetSpot, which we would define as 25 to 500 employees, you need an ACV of somewhere between 10 to 12 K ACV to make it work from a return on rep investment.”
Jeetu MahtaniSep 27, 2024▶ 12:42Jeetu Mahtani, Sales Leader @Hubspot: How and When to Go International and Crush It | E1207 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Mahtani: Hire a marketer 18–24 months before sales reps in new countries
“I would almost hire a marketer before you actually hire your first sales rep, maybe 18 to 24 months in advance, so they can get better work.”
Jeetu MahtaniSep 27, 2024▶ 31:02Jeetu Mahtani, Sales Leader @Hubspot: How and When to Go International and Crush It | E1207 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Mahtani: Pause CS hiring after first rep until self-service content is built
“I'll probably as founder, you know, like try and get your first CS rep so you can get the structure and the process and right, but then don't keep investing in CS reps until you get a foundation of like self-help and knowledge and content in place.”
Jeetu MahtaniSep 27, 2024▶ 45:33Jeetu Mahtani, Sales Leader @Hubspot: How and When to Go International and Crush It | E1207 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Mahtani: Leading with discounts hurts customers, companies, and reps
“I do not like to lead with discounting. It is a disservice to the customer and to the company and to you as a rep to lead with discount.”
Jeetu MahtaniSep 27, 2024▶ 0:02Jeetu Mahtani, Sales Leader @Hubspot: How and When to Go International and Crush It | E1207 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Mahtani: Rotate HQ expat teams to open international offices every 6–12 months
“So this playbook of sending an expat team, they open one office, they stay six to 12 months, They figure out that region, then they get shipped to another office so they can go and open that region in that office.”
Jeetu MahtaniSep 27, 2024▶ 11:14Jeetu Mahtani, Sales Leader @Hubspot: How and When to Go International and Crush It | E1207 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
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