# Sales Team Building Plan

## Company Snapshot

- **Stage:** Seed-stage B2B SaaS
- **Pipeline data:** 70 first meetings, 16 closed-won, 40 closed-lost, 14 pending
- **Win rate:** ~23%
- **ACV:** $12,000
- **Sales cycle:** 30–45 days
- **Inbound volume:** 2,000 signups/month (upgrades inconsistent)
- **Hiring budget:** 2 Account Executives (AEs)

---

## 1. Situational Assessment

### What's Working
- The founder has demonstrated product-market fit signal: 16 closed deals at $12k ACV is meaningful early revenue (~$192k ARR).
- A 30–45 day sales cycle is healthy for this ACV range — it suggests a straightforward buying process.
- 2,000 signups/month is a strong inbound engine for a seed-stage company.

### Key Concerns
- **23% win rate is below benchmark.** For founder-led sales at seed stage with warm/inbound leads, you'd expect 25–35%. This suggests qualification, demo, or objection-handling gaps.
- **40 closed-lost deals need forensic analysis** before hiring. If losses stem from product gaps, pricing, or wrong-fit leads, hiring AEs won't fix the problem — it will amplify it.
- **Inconsistent upgrades** from 2,000 signups indicate a broken or undefined product-led-to-sales-assisted conversion path.
- **Hiring 2 AEs simultaneously is risky at seed stage.** Better to stagger hires to iterate on the playbook.

---

## 2. Pre-Hire Groundwork (Weeks 1–4)

Before hiring anyone, the founder should complete these steps:

### 2.1 Closed-Lost Analysis
Review all 40 lost deals and categorize by loss reason:
- **Wrong fit / no budget** — qualification problem
- **Chose competitor** — positioning or feature gap
- **Went dark / no decision** — urgency or champion problem
- **Pricing objection** — packaging or value communication issue

**Goal:** Identify the top 2–3 loss reasons and determine which are fixable through sales process vs. product changes.

### 2.2 Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) Refinement
From the 16 closed deals, map:
- Company size (employees, revenue)
- Industry/vertical
- Buyer title and department
- Use case or pain point
- How they found you (channel)
- Time to close
- Expansion behavior post-sale

Look for clusters. The top-performing segment becomes the target ICP for AE hiring and enablement.

### 2.3 Document the Founder Sales Playbook
Capture what the founder does today in a repeatable format:
- **Qualification criteria:** What makes a lead worth a meeting?
- **Discovery questions:** The 5–10 questions asked in first meetings
- **Demo flow:** What gets shown and in what order
- **Objection responses:** How the top 3–5 objections are handled
- **Proposal/pricing:** How pricing is presented
- **Close process:** What triggers a close attempt, how contracts are sent

This doesn't need to be polished — a rough Google Doc or Notion page is fine. But it must exist before AE #1 starts.

### 2.4 Define the Signup-to-Upgrade Path
With 2,000 signups/month and inconsistent upgrades, map:
- What does the free/trial experience look like?
- What triggers indicate a signup is "sales-ready"? (e.g., invites teammates, hits usage limit, visits pricing page)
- Is there any outreach to signups today, or is it purely self-serve?
- What percentage of the 16 closed deals originated from signups vs. outbound?

**Goal:** Define Product Qualified Lead (PQL) criteria so AEs know which signups to engage and which to leave in the self-serve funnel.

---

## 3. Hiring Plan

### 3.1 Hire Sequencing: Stagger, Don't Batch

**Recommendation:** Hire AE #1 in Month 1, AE #2 in Month 2–3 (after AE #1 has initial ramp learnings).

Rationale:
- AE #1 will surface gaps in the playbook, tooling, and lead flow.
- Fixing those gaps before AE #2 starts dramatically improves AE #2's ramp.
- If AE #1 is a mis-hire (common at seed stage), you learn before doubling down.

### 3.2 AE Profile for This Stage

**Do not hire enterprise AEs.** At $12k ACV with a 30–45 day cycle, you need high-velocity closers, not strategic account managers.

**Target profile:**
- 1–3 years closing experience in B2B SaaS (SMB or mid-market)
- Experience with product-led or inbound-led sales motions
- Comfortable with ambiguity — no playbook handed to them on day one
- Technically curious — can do their own demos without SE support
- Track record of 30–50+ deals/quarter at similar ACV
- Ideally has sold into your target buyer persona before

**Compensation benchmark (seed-stage, $12k ACV):**
- Base: $60,000–$75,000
- OTE: $120,000–$140,000
- 50/50 split (base/variable)
- Quota: ~$50k–$60k MRR annually ($600k–$720k ARR) — roughly 50–60 deals/year
- Ramp: 3-month ramp (25% / 50% / 75% quota), full quota Month 4

### 3.3 Where to Source

- **Startup sales communities:** Bravado, RepVue, Sales Assembly, Pavilion
- **LinkedIn:** Search for AEs at similar-stage companies in your space
- **Referrals from investors:** Angels and seed VCs often know strong early sales hires
- **Avoid traditional recruiters** at this stage — they tend to surface enterprise reps who won't thrive in a scrappy environment

### 3.4 Interview Process

1. **Recruiter/founder screen** (30 min): Culture fit, motivation for early-stage, compensation alignment
2. **Sales skills interview** (45 min): Walk through a recent deal from prospecting to close. Listen for process rigor, not just charm.
3. **Mock discovery call** (30 min): Give them a scenario based on your ICP. Evaluate question quality, active listening, and ability to uncover pain.
4. **Mock demo** (30 min): Provide basic product context. Assess how they structure a value-led demo vs. feature walkthrough.
5. **Reference checks** (2–3): Talk to a former manager and a former peer. Ask: "Would you hire them again for this specific role?"

---

## 4. Onboarding & Ramp Plan

### Month 1: Learn

| Week | Focus | Activities |
|------|-------|------------|
| 1 | Product & market | Use the product daily. Read all closed-won and closed-lost notes. Study ICP doc. Shadow founder on 3–5 live calls. |
| 2 | Process & tools | Learn CRM, sequencing tools, demo environment. Role-play discovery and demo with founder. |
| 3 | Supervised selling | AE runs first meetings with founder observing. Debrief after every call. |
| 4 | Solo with guardrails | AE runs calls independently. Founder reviews recordings and provides feedback 2x/week. |

### Month 2: Execute with Support
- AE manages their own pipeline end-to-end
- Weekly 1:1 with founder: pipeline review, deal strategy, coaching
- Target: 15–20 first meetings, 3–5 closed deals (ramp quota)

### Month 3: Full Velocity
- AE should be at ~75% of full quota
- Founder shifts from coaching to strategic deal support only
- AE begins contributing to playbook improvements

---

## 5. Lead Allocation & Pipeline Model

### 5.1 Lead Sources for AEs

Given your inbound volume, the initial motion should be **inbound-led, not outbound.**

**Lead math:**
- 2,000 signups/month
- Assume 5–10% show PQL behavior = 100–200 PQLs/month
- Split between 2 AEs = 50–100 PQLs each/month
- At 20–30% meeting conversion = 10–30 meetings/AE/month
- At 23% win rate = 2–7 deals/AE/month
- At $12k ACV = $24k–$84k new ARR/AE/month

This math works if PQL criteria are well-defined. If not, AEs will waste time chasing unqualified signups.

### 5.2 Lead Routing Rules
- **Round-robin** by default for PQLs
- **Founder keeps** strategic/enterprise leads and partnership deals
- **AEs own** all inbound PQLs and any outbound they generate
- **Clear SLA:** AE must engage a PQL within 4 hours of qualification trigger

### 5.3 Outbound as a Supplement (Month 3+)
Once inbound is systematic, allocate 20–30% of AE time to targeted outbound:
- Build lists matching the ICP from closed-won analysis
- 30–50 outbound touches/week per AE
- Focus on accounts showing intent signals (visited pricing, downloaded content, competitor mentions)

---

## 6. Sales Process & Methodology

### 6.1 Defined Sales Stages

| Stage | Entry Criteria | Exit Criteria |
|-------|---------------|---------------|
| 0 – PQL Identified | Signup meets PQL criteria | AE reviews and accepts |
| 1 – Discovery Scheduled | AE engages, meeting booked | Discovery call completed |
| 2 – Qualified Opportunity | Pain confirmed, budget exists, timeline identified | Champion identified, next step agreed |
| 3 – Evaluation | Prospect actively evaluating (trial, demo, POC) | Decision criteria understood, stakeholders mapped |
| 4 – Proposal Sent | Proposal/pricing delivered | Verbal or written feedback received |
| 5 – Negotiation | Commercial terms being discussed | Mutual agreement on terms |
| 6 – Closed-Won | Contract signed | Handoff to onboarding/CS |
| Lost | Deal disqualified or lost at any stage | Loss reason documented |

### 6.2 Win Rate Improvement Targets
Current: ~23%. Target: 30%+ within 6 months.

Levers to pull:
- **Tighter qualification:** Disqualify faster. A higher-quality pipeline with fewer deals but better win rate is preferable.
- **Multi-threading:** Don't rely on a single champion. Engage 2–3 stakeholders per deal.
- **Urgency creation:** Define a compelling event or business case for each deal. No compelling event = no real opportunity.
- **Faster follow-up:** Respond to every prospect action within hours, not days.

---

## 7. Tech Stack

Keep it lean at this stage. Recommended tools:

| Category | Tool | Estimated Cost |
|----------|------|---------------|
| CRM | HubSpot (free tier or Starter) or Pipedrive | $0–$50/user/mo |
| Email sequencing | Apollo, Instantly, or HubSpot sequences | $50–$100/user/mo |
| Call recording & coaching | Gong (startup plan) or Fireflies.ai | $50–$100/user/mo |
| Scheduling | Calendly or HubSpot meetings | $0–$15/user/mo |
| Proposal/contract | PandaDoc or DocuSign | $25–$50/user/mo |
| Product analytics (for PQL signals) | Amplitude, Mixpanel, or PostHog | Varies |

**Total per AE:** ~$150–$300/month

Do not over-invest in tooling before the process is proven. A spreadsheet tracking PQLs is fine for Month 1 if CRM isn't set up.

---

## 8. Metrics & Reporting

### 8.1 Weekly Metrics (per AE)
- New PQLs received
- Outreach attempts (calls, emails)
- Meetings held
- Opportunities created
- Pipeline value added
- Deals closed (won + lost)
- Revenue closed

### 8.2 Monthly Metrics
- Win rate (overall and by stage conversion)
- Average deal size
- Sales cycle length
- Pipeline coverage ratio (target: 3–4x quota)
- Lead-to-opportunity conversion rate
- PQL-to-meeting conversion rate
- Ramp progress vs. plan

### 8.3 Founder Dashboard
Track these weekly in a simple spreadsheet or CRM dashboard:
- Total pipeline value by stage
- Forecast vs. quota
- Win/loss ratio with trending
- Top 3 loss reasons (updated monthly)
- AE activity levels (leading indicators)

---

## 9. Compensation & Quota Details

### 9.1 Quota Setting

**Annual quota per AE:** $600,000 ARR (50 deals at $12k ACV)
**Monthly quota (post-ramp):** $50,000 ARR (~4–5 deals)

### 9.2 Commission Structure

- **Base commission rate:** 10% of ACV on closed-won deals
- **Accelerator:** 15% on revenue above 100% quota attainment
- **Decelerator:** 5% on revenue below 75% quota attainment
- **Ramp period:** Months 1–3, quota reduced (25% / 50% / 75%), commissions paid on ramp quota
- **Payment terms:** Monthly, paid with next payroll after deal is signed (not collected)

### 9.3 SPIFs (Short-term Incentives)
Use sparingly to drive specific behaviors:
- $500 bonus for first deal closed (during ramp)
- $250 bonus per multi-year deal signed
- Team bonus if both AEs hit quota in the same month

---

## 10. Upgrade & Expansion Strategy

To fix the inconsistent upgrade problem from 2,000 signups/month:

### 10.1 Define PQL Triggers
Identify 3–5 in-product behaviors that correlate with upgrade likelihood:
- Invited 3+ team members
- Used a premium feature (if gated)
- Hit a usage limit
- Visited pricing page 2+ times
- Active for 7+ consecutive days

### 10.2 Build a Simple PQL Workflow
1. Product analytics tool flags PQL trigger
2. Notification sent to assigned AE (Slack or CRM alert)
3. AE sends personalized outreach within 4 hours (not a generic "saw you signed up" email)
4. If no response after 3 touches, move to automated nurture sequence
5. Track conversion rate by PQL trigger type to refine criteria

### 10.3 Self-Serve vs. Sales-Assisted Split
Not every signup needs an AE. Segment:
- **Self-serve:** Individual users, small teams, low usage. Optimize the in-app upgrade flow.
- **Sales-assisted:** Teams with 3+ users, high engagement, target ICP match. Route to AE.

Target: 70% of revenue from sales-assisted, 30% from self-serve (initially).

---

## 11. Risk Mitigation

| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|------|-----------|------------|
| AE mis-hire | High (50%+ at seed stage) | Stagger hires. 30-day check-in with clear performance expectations. Don't wait 6 months to exit a bad fit. |
| Founder becomes bottleneck | High | Document everything before AEs start. Delegate deal ownership fully — don't shadow every call past Month 1. |
| Not enough qualified leads for 2 AEs | Medium | Validate PQL volume before AE #2 starts. If PQL flow is < 100/month, one AE may be sufficient. |
| Win rate drops with AEs vs. founder | High | Expected — founder will always close better than new reps. Budget for a 15–20% initial win rate for AEs, improving to 25%+ by Month 4. |
| AEs churn after 6 months | Medium | Competitive comp, clear career path (AE to Senior AE to Team Lead), equity participation. |
| Product gaps surface through sales | Medium | Create a structured feedback loop: AEs log feature requests and competitive losses in a shared tracker. Founder reviews weekly. |

---

## 12. 90-Day Execution Timeline

### Weeks 1–4: Foundation
- [ ] Complete closed-lost analysis and ICP refinement
- [ ] Document founder sales playbook
- [ ] Define PQL criteria and build basic tracking
- [ ] Post AE #1 job description and begin sourcing
- [ ] Set up CRM with defined sales stages

### Weeks 5–8: AE #1 Onboarding
- [ ] AE #1 starts — execute onboarding plan
- [ ] Founder shadows and coaches daily
- [ ] Continue sourcing for AE #2
- [ ] Refine PQL workflow based on initial AE feedback
- [ ] AE #1 closes first deal (target: end of Week 7)

### Weeks 9–12: Scale
- [ ] AE #1 operating independently
- [ ] AE #2 starts (if AE #1 ramp is on track and lead volume supports it)
- [ ] Founder transitions to weekly 1:1s and strategic deal support
- [ ] First win rate analysis: compare AE performance to founder baseline
- [ ] Establish monthly pipeline review cadence

### End of 90 Days — Success Criteria
- 2 AEs hired and onboarded
- AE #1 at 75%+ ramp quota attainment
- AE #2 through Week 4 onboarding
- Win rate for AE-managed deals: 20%+ (improving trajectory)
- PQL-to-meeting conversion process operational
- CRM with clean data and stage-based pipeline visibility

---

## 13. Founder Role Evolution

The founder's role must change as AEs ramp:

| Timeframe | Founder's Primary Sales Role |
|-----------|------------------------------|
| Today | Doing everything: prospecting, demo, close, CS |
| Month 1 | Hiring, playbook documentation, coaching AE #1 |
| Month 2 | Coaching both AEs, strategic deals only, refining process |
| Month 3 | Weekly 1:1s, pipeline reviews, closing enterprise/strategic deals |
| Month 4+ | Sales leadership: hiring, enablement, process optimization, board reporting |

**Critical mindset shift:** The founder must accept that AEs will initially close at a lower rate. The goal is building a scalable machine, not maximizing short-term win rate.

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## Summary

The core recommendations are:

1. **Don't hire before diagnosing the 40 lost deals.** Fix qualification and process gaps first.
2. **Stagger AE hires.** AE #1 first, AE #2 after 4–6 weeks of learnings.
3. **Hire high-velocity closers, not enterprise reps.** $12k ACV demands volume.
4. **Fix the PQL pipeline before expecting consistent upgrades.** Define triggers, build routing, measure conversion.
5. **Expect win rates to dip initially with AEs.** Budget for 15–20%, plan to reach 25–30% by Month 4.
6. **Founder must fully delegate deal ownership.** Shadowing past Month 1 creates dependency, not scale.
7. **Measure relentlessly.** Weekly activity metrics, monthly outcome metrics, quarterly strategic reviews.