Mark Osborne advises founders to build a sales development function and hire junior AEs before bringing in a CRO or VP of Sales. Establish processes and traction first, then hire the leader to run an engine that already works, rather than paying top dollar for someone to build it from scratch.
And if you're looking to leverage, don't look for that CRO or VP of sales to just go out and build a team for you cuz it gets expensive. Start building out a sales development function or using an outsourced firm, hire AEs and get that going. Maybe even on, it's a smaller level, it's a smaller cost too, but it's gonna get that leveraging model in place, those processes and procedures in place. And then you bring in the leader to come lead those functions that's already been established.
How Can You Maximize Your Business Value Before Selling? with Randy Katz Video
