Missing sales headcount targets inevitably breaks next year's revenue forecast
Chad Peets · Chad Peets: Why Most Sales Reps Underperform & Remote Reps Ignore Development | E1193 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Aug 23, 2024 · at 43:09
Chad Peets (venture partner and sales executive) explains why tech startups scaling sales cannot afford to compromise on hiring volume.
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“When you're hiring at scale, you have to hire. Because if you can't hire next year's forecast, not this year's, but next year's forecast is shot. Now you're going to the board saying, I got to lower the number. I know we raised off of doing 200 next year. I get it. I'm sorry. I can't hit 200 because I'm 50 heads behind because I can't hire. Lower the forecast, which usually means a CRO is getting shot. It's balanced to answer your question, but not hiring and missing recruiting is, is not an option.”
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Peets: Continental European tech sales talent lacks required work ethic
“I just think it's hard to find the types of people harder, I should say to find the types of people, particularly outside of the UK in Europe that are willing to put the effort in that I think is required to be successful. I just think it's challenging.”
Peets rejects sales reps unwilling to make a 30-minute commute
“If a sales inside salesperson is not willing to make the sacrifice of a 30 minute commute every day to further his own career, I don't want that person.”
Sales leaders, not founders, must build a startup's initial sales playbook
“I don't want to say it's BS. I think it's backwards. You need a salesperson to create the sales playbook.”
Including engineers in sales rep interviews slows hiring and creates friction
“So you bring the engineer in, number one, it slows the process down, ok? Number two, there's risk. I don't know what this engineer is going to say to the sales guy. We're recruiting. He could say something about the product that he shouldn't say. It scares the…”