Clocking in for Sales, the Full-Cycle Seller, and Founder Hour 2

Hey founders, sellers, and the sales curious!

This month we’ve got a time optimising mini resource, we’re revealing insights into the return of the full-cycle seller, and we’re sharing updates on our second Founder Hour.

By the way, Sean will be at SouthStart this week. If you’re in Adelaide, make sure to swing by and say hi. He’ll be the one with the gluten-free beer.

SALES INSIGHTS

Founders on the search for their Inspector Gadget: Return of the Full-Cycle Seller

Does it feel like we've done a full 180? Last year, we saw layoffs, hiring freezes, the loss of underperformers, and founders getting back in the ring to sell. The value of a high-quality seller has increased, and thanks to AI spam emails, so has the challenge of booking qualified demos.

In the first months of 2024, we are being asked about hiring and whether to hire a deal-stage specialist or a full-cycle seller. We've affectionately referred to the latter as the 'Inspector Gadget' or the Swiss army knife of sales, who works alongside a founder to prospect, nurture, manage, and close deals.

Definitions

We’re pumped to see this because it shows:

1. The sales force structured GTM machine is on its way out

2. Businesses want to align skills to problems rather than simply increasing headcount to see what sticks

So, why the return of a full cycle seller? And, how does it benefit Startups/Scale ups?

For perspective, over the last 5-10 years of SaaS, ‘closers’ have been living off the glorious flow of leads from SDRs, BDRs, and marketing teams.

But, in 2023, it all changed. C suite have tightened their belts, SMB's have cut unnecessary SaaS costs, and tech companies are watching their headcount bloat.

As a result, deal management and complexity have increased, and B2B SaaS decision-makers are done being tossed around a GTM org like a volleyball. They want a specialist who understands them, builds rapport, and manages their account.

Benefits for the customer:

• Sense of consistency and continuity

• A faster product feedback loop, as insights are channelled via one team member

• A deeper understanding of the sales process breakdown and bottlenecks, allowing more clarity on what isn't working and faster turnaround to iterate your sales process

Benefits for the business:

• Founders manage less staff

• Founders have a team member who knows the sales process from start to finish, with whom they can work alongside

• The business has a team member capable of training and preparing the next sales hire

This is our big bet for 2024.

A world where the best-sellers are the ones who can source leads, actively prospect them, and move them to a close with the Founder or Leadership.