How To Become a Motivational Sales Leader

We’re all familiar with the hustle culture, “rise and grind” mentality. CEOs and founders maintain that the only route to success is through 18-hour workdays and pushing oneself to physical and mental limits.

Although we know this approach is unhealthy, many of us continue to do it because we think it’s the only way to secure funding and reach that rare $1B valuation. This week’s podcast guest believes otherwise.

Matt Melymuka is the Founder and Partner of PeakSpan Capital, a growth equity firm that takes a “contra-silicon valley” approach to scaling. Matt joined the Predictable Revenue podcast to discuss what’s wrong with this revenue growth at all costs model.

The problem with prioritizing revenue growth above all else

Most of the pressure for rapid revenue growth comes from outside the company, from venture capital investors. These investors expect a certain number of their companies to go to zero, which is why they push revenue growth at any cost.

The capital loss ratio of any given venture firm is typically 35% (meaning 3.5 out of every 10 companies will go to zero). With those odds, it’s easy to see why most venture firms choose to remain generalists and push the same revenue growth goals on every company.

Although an investor may push to scale from two to 100 reps, such rapid revenue growth isn’t necessarily the healthiest choice for your company.

The risks of rapid revenue growth

When a company experiences rapid revenue growth, that $1B valuation may come with a cost. If the company hasn’t scaled sustainably, there’s an inevitable dropoff, and founders are often left without an exit plan.

If you raise a massive amount of money at a high price, not many companies can afford to acquire you. Matt often sees founders who have backed themselves into a corner by raising so much so quickly. If you choose to go that route, understand that you may need to reach $3-4B before selling.

Another drawback of raising funding early on is that you become reliant on the capital market to fund the business; you raise one round of funding only to get to the next. Companies that have to grind in their early days learn resilience and resourcefulness, and they become very capital efficient.

What to do instead

Instead of aiming for the $1B unicorn, start with a more attainable target. For example, if you’re starting at $2.5 million, focus on reaching $7 million before moving on to your next revenue goal.

This slow and steady approach will help your company reach goals in a much more aligned way, and build resilience along the way. Matt and the PeakSpan team now have three companies approaching the $1B mark, all of whom have focused on this slower revenue growth approach.

How sales fits into sustainable revenue growth

Building consistent, repeatable sales performance is key to revenue growth–but often difficult to achieve when the company begins hiring too quickly.

Before hiring more reps, Matt recommends starting with the sales infrastructure: training and onboarding programs, enablement tools, and playbooks. Hiring more reps won’t be effective if you don’t have those foundations in place.

If you need help hiring, training, or scaling your sales team for predictable revenue growth, our coaches can help. Click here to learn more about our sales coaching!

Final advice for founders looking to raise capital

Focus on growing sensibly and prioritizing capital efficiency. Don’t get pressured into massive revenue growth goals, thinking you need to do so to secure funding. No one knows your company better than you do–set ambitious but achievable goals, and then stay the course.

If you want to connect with Matt to learn more about a sustainable approach to revenue growth, reach out via LinkedIn or email matt@peakscan.com.

We’re all familiar with the hustle culture, “rise and grind” mentality. CEOs and founders maintain that the only route to success is through 18-hour workdays and pushing oneself to physical and mental limits.

Although we know this approach is unhealthy, many of us continue to do it because we think it’s the only way to secure funding and reach that rare $1B valuation. This week’s podcast guest believes otherwise.

Matt Melymuka is the Founder and Partner of PeakSpan Capital, a growth equity firm that takes a “contra-silicon valley” approach to scaling. Matt joined the Predictable Revenue podcast to discuss what’s wrong with this revenue growth at all costs model.

The problem with prioritizing revenue growth above all else

Most of the pressure for rapid revenue growth comes from outside the company, from venture capital investors. These investors expect a certain number of their companies to go to zero, which is why they push revenue growth at any cost.

The capital loss ratio of any given venture firm is typically 35% (meaning 3.5 out of every 10 companies will go to zero). With those odds, it’s easy to see why most venture firms choose to remain generalists and push the same revenue growth goals on every company.

Although an investor may push to scale from two to 100 reps, such rapid revenue growth isn’t necessarily the healthiest choice for your company.

The risks of rapid revenue growth

When a company experiences rapid revenue growth, that $1B valuation may come with a cost. If the company hasn’t scaled sustainably, there’s an inevitable dropoff, and founders are often left without an exit plan.

If you raise a massive amount of money at a high price, not many companies can afford to acquire you. Matt often sees founders who have backed themselves into a corner by raising so much so quickly. If you choose to go that route, understand that you may need to reach $3-4B before selling.

Another drawback of raising funding early on is that you become reliant on the capital market to fund the business; you raise one round of funding only to get to the next. Companies that have to grind in their early days learn resilience and resourcefulness, and they become very capital efficient.

What to do instead

Instead of aiming for the $1B unicorn, start with a more attainable target. For example, if you’re starting at $2.5 million, focus on reaching $7 million before moving on to your next revenue goal.

This slow and steady approach will help your company reach goals in a much more aligned way, and build resilience along the way. Matt and the PeakSpan team now have three companies approaching the $1B mark, all of whom have focused on this slower revenue growth approach.

How sales fits into sustainable revenue growth

Building consistent, repeatable sales performance is key to revenue growth–but often difficult to achieve when the company begins hiring too quickly.

Before hiring more reps, Matt recommends starting with the sales infrastructure: training and onboarding programs, enablement tools, and playbooks. Hiring more reps won’t be effective if you don’t have those foundations in place.

If you need help hiring, training, or scaling your sales team for predictable revenue growth, our coaches can help. Click here to learn more about our sales coaching!

Final advice for founders looking to raise capital

Focus on growing sensibly and prioritizing capital efficiency. Don’t get pressured into massive revenue growth goals, thinking you need to do so to secure funding. No one knows your company better than you do–set ambitious but achievable goals, and then stay the course.

If you want to connect with Matt to learn more about a sustainable approach to revenue growth, reach out via LinkedIn or email matt@peakscan.com.

Motivation is a challenge for most outbound sales organizations, especially during the summer months. Without the right strategies, it’s difficult to keep your team on track to hit revenue goals. Our latest guest on the Predictable Revenue podcast shared his best tips to become a more motivational sales leader.

Rene Zamora is the founder of Sales Manager Now, a Fractional Sales Management consulting firm, and the author of Part-Time Sales Management. Rene is one of the pioneers of the fractional sales management industry and has plenty of insight to keep your team on track to hit quota.

What does it mean to be a motivational sales leader?

As any sales leader knows, the hiring process is pivotal for building a top-performing sales development team. Strong motivation is critical for a successful career in outbound sales, so start looking for that drive early on in your hiring process. Have potential candidates complete personality assessments to determine their level of motivation.

Once you’ve assembled the best possible outbound sales team, there are two main ways you can increase the motivation of your sales development reps (SDRs): 

Removing Obstacles

Listening to your reps is the best way to improve as a sales leader. When an SDR brings up an issue, make sure you follow up. If an SDR to brings up the same issue more than once, it means they didn’t feel heard the first time.

Once you’ve identified an issue, don’t just fix the symptoms–look for the root cause. If there’s a product delivery problem, for example, go to the leadership team to find out why. If your reps don’t have the information they need to sell, find out where the bottleneck is and fix it.

When you address these issues, it reminds the team that their sales leader will take care of them. Make it easy for them to do their job and they’ll reward you with better motivation and more deals closed.

Providing Tools

On a similar note, you should provide whatever tools and systems your outbound sales team requires. This could be anything from a CRM software to apps, playbooks, and training. Set clear expectations for each SDR, so they know exactly what they should be doing every day, month, and quarter.

The best way to enable sales development is to create systems. There should be a clear process for how to handle objections, navigate different scenarios, and for reps to see what resources are available to them. All of these systems should be documented in an outbound sales playbook.

If you need help developing or documenting your processes, reach out to our coaching team. We can help you with playbook creation, call flow, team structure, and more! 

How to stay motivated as an SDR

As an outbound sales rep, your energy can make or break your success. While you should aim to approach each call with a positive attitude, the fact of the matter is that it isn’t possible to feel 100 percent every day.

The first step is to recognize when you’re having an off day. If you don’t feel good about what you’re doing, you won’t be able to do your job well. That’s when it’s time to take a break. Go for a quick walk, read something uplifting, or start a conversation with a positive coworker. If you’re struggling, reach out to your sales leader.

What you can do as a sales leader

Setting goals is a great way to keep your sales development team motivated. That said, make sure your targets are both realistic and achievable. Don’t just set goals for the sake of setting goals. 

As a sales leader or someone in a sales management position, it’s your job to provide accountability for the team. If you’ve assigned quotas, how are you monitoring each rep’s performance? Which metrics are you tracking?

Next, make sure you have clear expectations for each role. Have a look at your SDR job descriptions and compare them to the real thing. Are you asking your reps to take on tasks outside of their job description? 

Sometimes a sales leader will choose to keep certain SDRs on their team, even if they consistently underperform. Have a hard look at your team to make sure you have the right people in the right roles–or if any of them might be better suited to a role outside of outbound sales.

Maintaining motivation in outbound sales

Being a motivational sales leader requires listening to your team, active problem-solving, and establishing clear expectations. With the right strategies in place, your team will consistently hit their revenue targets all year long.

If you want to connect with Rene to learn more about sales management and how to become a better sales leader, visit SalesManagerNow.com.

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