So this isn’t a sub-tweet, or sub-post. I’m not talking about any close friends in sales here. But — there are a ton of folks I know that used to be great in sales. But not anymore.
The other day someone who used to be an A+ sales leader emailed me about a position I’d introduced to him as a super hot start-up. The email to me was:
“What do they do again?”
I mean laugh if you want. But he used to be great. Maybe not epic, but really a sales leader I looked up to. Almost too smart for his own good, but great. I made intros and connections and put him on stage.
But it doesn’t matter why. He’s not that today. And you just might want to hire him.
Because his LinkedIn looks great, and he knows process. And the talk.
But he just isn’t a great seller anymore. He’s done selling, and probably, being curious. When you hire the perfect resume, make sure they still are, too. If he doesn’t even exactly know what an A+ company I introduced him to does … he’s just looking for a soft landing place.
Your startup almost certainly isn’t a soft-landing place. No matter how much you’ve raised.
Loren Padelford, CRO of Slice, I think put it well the other day at SaaStr Workshop Wednesday: Most of us don’t need a CRO. That’s somone that optimizes process and team and strategy. As Loren noted — what 90%+ of us need is a VP of Sales. Someone that wants to sell.
Go deeper and really ask during the interview process. Especially if they’ve done it before. Ask especially what they’d do their first 30 days. If their first answers don’t include going out and meeting customers, don’t make the hire. If their answer is all about systems and process, and not selling … don’t make the hire.
A related post here:
The 3 Types of Hires You Just Can’t Make Today: The Jaded, The Broken, and The Done
(image from here)
The post A Lot of Great Sales Leaders — Just Aren’t Great at Selling Anymore. And Why You Really Need a VP of Sales, and Not a CRO. appeared first on SaaStr.
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Jason Lemkin, Khareem Sudlow
