Startups have seen a gigantic growth since 2010 and with an expected growth to as high as 2000+. At the same time job creation by them is also expected to multiply with the same speed. A lot of start-ups, very well supported by venture capital firms and angel investors have failed at a very initial level. The reason being that even in the startup world, talent gap exists. Successful startups have shared that over a period of past six months of their launch, their workforce has tripled and the numbers keep growing with time. A lot of their initial days and time are spent in the conference rooms, interviewing prospective candidates starting from technical to salespeople to marketing professionals. While the startup startups are here to stay in India, hiring the right resources for your sales and marketing is a must investment.

HIRING THE RIGHT FACE THAT THE CUSTOMERS SEE & INTERACT WITH

Startups today are selling either a product or a service or both. The quality of sales and marketing team can be game changers. It is a proven fact that the success and failure of startups depends on the quality of their sales and marketing team. Why is that some startups succeed while similar startups offering similar products and services fail? People buy what they see. While a great idea is the base, but it has to reach to the targeted customers. Startups today are plagued with this basic problem today. The idea and product is strong, the capital is there, but a lack the vision and passion is missing. Becoming visible to customers is the key to business.

Your sales people are your faces in the market and their hiring is the most important. Hiring whoever comes along and providing inadequate training to them can kill a startup. We usually see startups focusing on training the technical people to just refine the products. Training of the sales staff seldom happens. Why do we miss on the fact that if there are no takers for your products, your innovative ideas will go in vain and eventually, you have to shut shop. For a long-term sustainability of the company, investing time, money and resources for hiring and training is absolutely necessary. They are ones who will bring actual revenue to the company in the long-term.

BUILDING A STRONG TEAM THROUGH SALES TRAINING

We understand that startups are always on a tight budget. At an initial stage they might want to avoid spending additional funds on hiring a specialized trainer for sales. To avoid this, the core team members can train the new hires and deliver their passion and energy into them. We need to understand that, as your startup expands, there will be an increase in the number of client meetings, inbound calls, requests for demos, and so on. This is when your sales team plays there cards. It is your feet on street who reach your target customers and prevent your competitors from poaching them. This will be done only if your sales team knows the product front to back. It is the conviction that sells the product to the potential clients. 

As a startup, your image and brand building is what you should e focusing on. While the salespersons are the first representatives that clients get to interact, they have to be well polished. A good product knowledge makes them more confident. They identify and address the specific client and thus do closures.

THE PROCESS

Recruiting, right hiring and a strong leadership is the only thing that can scale up your team. If you do not have a strong pipeline, the hiring process will always be a pain. You will end up starving for talent. The cost of mis-hires is huge. Moreover, the leaders and core team should e growing and up-skilling at the pace of the business.

In conclusion, your team ultimately impacts the business. A good leadership and the right team enables every team member, including the founders to reach the desired output. Not only will it gives you a high return in investments, but also saves your time from mistakes.