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SaaS Sales: How to structure a sales team and process of SaaS ?
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Dane Madsen, 35 years of looking for the perfect business. answered:

If you have no marketing strategy, hiring a sales force is not your critical need. I have watched several companies fail because they did not have product/market fit (a marketing function, not a sales function) and hiring a VP of Sales who wants a team of sales people who have no idea who they need to call, who really wants the product, and who does not understand the market needs. Hint: If you think you have product/market fit at this stage, you are wrong. If you are not wrong, you are the very first company ever to hit it at this stage.

There are four stages of sales:

1) Founder sales. If founders are not in the market talking to, and trying to sell to, who you *think* is your target market, then you will not understand the market. You and your co-founders must be talking to the people you think might like your product. You will not achieve product/market fit without this. This is also where you grasp the CAC/LTV that fuels your forecasting. Hint: It is way more expensive and competitive than you thought building code.
2) "Explorer" sales: Once the Founders have sold product enough times and think they have product/market fit (you will still be wrong) and must retool the technology, build a new tech strategy, and get the next version in production, you then hire one or two "explorers" who take that lead but with the express focus of validating the product/market fit, not only revenues. You must listen to their feedback closely.
3) Strategic Sales: This is a small team that 1) understands the market, and 2) selling cycles in that market who can develop the selling process. These are high-talent, intuitive sales people who know how to listen, not talk. They will build the process.
4) Infantry sales: This is once you have the product/market fit nailed, and a developed, replicable process the strategic sales people believe can be scaled.

You have a ton of work in front of you before you hire a sales team. Selling process is not your biggest concern at this point.

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