Guest blog by Kris Holmes

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The biggest asset you can give your budding sales team is the opportunity to develop personally alongside their sales process. Not many people choose sales because it's hard. I fell into sales from construction at a 25 people saas startup. There was no formal training or onboarding process - it was a figure it out, you can do it, we are all in this together on a sinking ship mentality. Although our ship was far from sinking it was a rocket ship full of linchpins with grit and determination to succeed. Two years into learning, growing, and iterating our sales process we were acquired and now part of a 2,000+ organization. Here is where grit turned into desire and action in building myself as an asset, growing both personally and professionally  - allowing me to be in the top 3% of reps year over year. 

When building a sales team don't negate the power of personal development. When employees are happy and thriving outside of an organization they are more creative, engaging, and growth-oriented inside of the organization. Having had to own my journey almost entirely - growth would have accelerated with professional backing in the forefront constructing both a sales process and resiliency alongside personal growth.

Increasing employee wellbeing for your startup is imperative to gaining traction within your sales process.

8 Steps to Building and Scaling 

1. Find out how you make money. Is it MRR, ARR or both?
2. What channels will be most effective in reaching your clients? Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, email, calling, or ClubHouse.
3. Do you have a complex or transactional sales cycle?
4. Who is your ICP - What personas are you selling into?
5. Develop a team around strengths and weaknesses.
6. Use tools like Enneagram or Gallup - more objective.
7. Find books that resonant with the culture and character you want in your organization. 
8. Always ask for feedback from the team that you’re working with. 

Read more on Proofpoint’s website

Author’s Bio:

“I am a single parent of two kiddos, I have been blessed to be in sales the last 5 years, working and learning or as I say “queering sales”.  As someone in the LGBTQ community, it isn’t often or always you find a place you are not simply tolerated, but actually celebrated. I’m proud to be at Proofpoint Marketing where I feel just that.”

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