The Nitty Gritty of Building a Sales Team from Scratch Shep Maher, VP of Sales, GudeSpark Sales Hacker Conference, New York City 2015

1. The Nitty Gritty of Building a Sales Team From Scratch
April 30, 2015
Shep Maher

2. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Goals for Our Session
2 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
What are we
going to
accomplish
here?
Why the hell
should I listen
to this guy?
The bar ain’t open yet
Start-Ups and Big Co’s
Exceptional coaches & mentors
Tactical & practical ideas
Benefit from my mistakes &
learnings

3. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Do Your Due Diligence
3 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
What you think is due
diligence … ain’t
So sign an NDA and …
Meet with CEO, Board
Member, & Customer(s)
Review Board Deck &
Pipeline

4. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
First Things First
4 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Start(ed) From the Bottom
Co-Locate
Act as if …
Set the bar high (performance &
culture)

5. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Behind Every Good VP of Sales …
5 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Leverage Technology to raise the
bar even higher
Operations Ratio = 1:10
Recruiting Ratio = 1:20
You ARE your leadership team

6. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Recruit Relentlessly
6 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
If I’m able to hire and on-board new
reps even a bit faster, it has a huge
impact on my end-of-year bookings.
- Brian Millham, Salesforce 3/19/15
People Pipeline Paramount
Green light to pull reqs forward
Move out low performers - now
Encourage nepotism
Diversity – make the extra effort

7. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Communicate Constantly
7 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
If it’s worth saying, it’s
worth writing down
Rumor, Assumption, &
Folklore
If it ‘goes without
saying’, then say it
PowerPoint is your
friend (seriously)

8. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Decide What NOT to Do
8 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Who is NOT your ideal fit customer?
What will you NOT change this year?
What geo’s will you NOT expand into?
What functions will you NOT manage?

9. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
You Ain’t Just Playin’ for the Current Quarter
9 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Give decisions 6 – 9
months
Space Mountain is for
wimps
See the vision. Help your
team see it.
Develop your talent with
your heart & soul

10. CONFIDENTIAL – DO NOT DISTRIBUTE
Never Stop Learning
10 COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
Articles & Blogs Books
Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything (S.
Blank)
You Can Negotiate Anything (H. Cohen)
Tours of Duty: The New Employer-Employee
Compact (R. Hoffman)
Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play (M. Khalsa)
Who’s Got the Monkey (W. Oncken, Jr.) SPIN Selling (N. Rackham)
IDEO’s Culture of Helping (T. Amabile et al.) Soup (J. Gordon)
Use Customer Cash to Fund Your Start-Up (J.
Mullins)
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (B. Franklin)
SaaStr (www.saastr.com) The Challenger Sale (M. Dixon et al.)
SalesHacker (www.saleshacker.com/blog) Predictable Revenue (A. Ross)
OpenView Labs (http://blog.openviewpartners.com) Never Eat Alone (K. Ferrazzi)
How to Sell Anything (www.inc.com/sales) The Score Takes Care of Itself (B. Walsh)

11. Thank You Sales Hackers!