Going From Founder-Led Sales To A Predictable Demand Generation Engine

Transitioning a business from the startup phase to a more mature, scalable operation is filled with challenges. For entrepreneurs aiming to advance their business, mastering the art of sales is crucial.

In my time, I’ve found that this process can be broken down into two key components: Building a repeatable and predictable demand generation engine and transitioning from founder-led sales to leadership-led sales.

The first step involves thoroughly understanding your market and identifying your ideal customer profile. Sure, that may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people speed through this step, neglecting customer interviews and thorough market research.

Before really digging in, it’s important to roll up your sleeves and analyze your existing customer base, study market trends and leverage data to pinpoint the characteristics of your most profitable and satisfied customers. Once that’s done, heed these key steps to building success in sales.

While your sales team plays a pivotal role in customer acquisition and customer relationship management, don’t overlook your marketing efforts. Your marketing strategy should be tactical and speak to your target audiences. After all, 96% of prospects do their own research before speaking with a human sales rep, per Hubspot’s “2024 State of Sales Report” (download required).

This means they’re reading user reviews, visiting your website, reading your blog and scoping out your social media channels. Make sure you’re delivering content where your audience is most likely to look for it.

Depending on your business’s size and budget, a marketing strategy may involve various channels. Understanding where to focus is key to meeting your audience where they are. Focus on high-quality content to build awareness and provide tools for your sales team. In fact, 74% of companies say that content marketing increases lead generation.

Here are some critical places to start:

• Content marketing: Your content program should include several different types such as blogs, ebooks, videos and webinars (the medium will vary depending on your market, goals and budget). These can all serve as tools for your sales team.

• SEO: Invest in search engine optimization (SEO) to ensure that people can easily find your content. SEO evolves on a regular basis, so it’s important to follow the latest best practices. Get tactical and ensure you look at all your content channels, not just your company’s website.

• Social media: According to a Forbes writeup, “Social media and community-building efforts are where businesses spend most of their content marketing budget.” Use these platforms to show your company’s human side; interact with your audience, share content, build trust and foster a vibrant community around your brand.

• Email marketing. Implement targeted email campaigns and leverage this channel to cross-promote content that you’ve already created for your owned channels.

Focus on hiring experienced sales leaders who share your vision and understand your market. These individuals should not just be any sales leaders; they should be the trailblazers in your company who will lead your business into sales leadership.

They should be capable of performing sales development representative (SDR) functions and using platforms like LinkedIn and email to generate new leads and nurture customers throughout the sales process. Be careful not to add too many tools that could create cognitive overload, though; in its recent “State of AI Report,” Hubspot found that 45% of sales professionals are overwhelmed by the number of tools in their tech stack.

Your sales leader should also create a repeatable SDR playbook and close deals. Developing these skills takes time, so I recommend seeking candidates with a track record of at least two to three years of successful demand generation and account management.

Once you have the right sales leaders in place, work together to define a clear and repeatable sales process, which should be documented in your SDR playbook. Outline each step of the sales journey, from lead generation to closing deals. These should include:

• Lead qualification. Establish criteria for qualifying leads to ensure your sales team focuses on high-potential opportunities.

• Sales training. Provide comprehensive training to your sales team on your products, market, and sales techniques.

• CRM implementation. Invest in a customer relationship management (CRM) system to manage customer interactions, track activities, and analyze performance. Use these analytics to measure against your goals.

The success of your sales team hinges on their empowerment. Equip them with the tools, resources and autonomy to thrive. Provide access to sales enablement materials, conduct regular training sessions and foster an environment that champions collaboration and innovation.

Establish transparent and fair performance metrics and attractive incentive structures to instill accountability and help drive motivation. Metrics such as sales targets, deal closure rates and customer satisfaction scores can effectively monitor progress and pinpoint areas for enhancement.

Additionally, crafting a compensation plan that acknowledges high performers and aligns with your business objectives ensures a sense of fairness and equity in the system, making the sales team feel connected and committed to your company’s goals.

As your business scales, it is important to maintain the consistent quality of your product or service. You can achieve this by implementing quality control systems and providing regular employee training.

While meeting immediate sales targets is key, focusing on long-term strategic goals is equally important. To help with balance, I think sales leaders should be incentivized based on quarterly results and their contribution to the company’s strategic objectives.

The journey from startup to fully-fledged business is full of challenges. However, with the right sales strategies and leadership in place, I’ve found that these difficulties can be transformed into opportunities for success.

As startups broaden and become more established, the focus must shift from simply generating demand to building a sustainable and efficient sales system led by experienced professionals.