CEO\u2019s and Presidents, want to shake up your first executive leadership meeting of the year?\u00a0 Bring copies of this recent Forbes article for your team to consider, \u201cHow To Become A Billionaire by 33: Don\u2019t Hire Salespeople.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Is it blasphemy for a blog dedicated to Sales Leadership to promote this story about a company growing so successfully \u2013 without a sales force?\u00a0 No doubt it is to some old school\u2019ers<\/em>out there.\u00a0 No sales force means no sales leader, right?\u00a0 And what other traditional sales principles does it call into question?<\/p>\n But consider this matter from the CEO\u2019s point of view.\u00a0 A company\u2019s sales organization doesn\u2019t exist for any reason other than to create revenues.\u00a0\u00a0 If that responsibility can be accomplished in a non-traditional manner<\/em> then why not consider it.\u00a0 The aforementioned Forbes article profiles a wireless-networking equipment company called Ubiquiti that has no sales people.\u00a0 Ubiquity was launched in 2005 and in the 12 months ending Sept 30 it netted $64 million on $243 million in sales \u2013 the highest margins of any publicly traded computer hardware firm!<\/p>\n Is this the future of sales for B2B companies?\u00a0 Not at all, but it clearly suggests there are ways to achieve very successful revenue growth with non-traditional approaches<\/em> to the sales model.\u00a0 Consider these situations of company\u2019s that may benefit from seriously rethinking their revenue growth strategy.<\/p>\n We talk to many CEOs and founders of smaller, emerging companies that are convinced they need to hire a sales team to \u201cget to the next level\u201d of revenue growth.\u00a0 In many cases that is ultimately what they should do, but too many rush this decision before considering foundational aspects of the sales model that should precede hiring the first rep.\u00a0 Important things come before hiring a sales team if you want to create a selling system for long term, sustainable success.<\/p>\n Another common situation we encounter is larger organizations, (i.e. billion-plus in revenues) which are stuck in flat or low single digit revenue growth rates.\u00a0 They churn their Chief Sales Officer every 18 to 30 months, experience higher than average sales rep turnover, have a hard time winning new logos and continue disappointing investors.\u00a0\u00a0 Breaking this cycle is hard to do, particularly if the hiring profile for the CSO doesn\u2019t change.<\/p>\n Big or small, the numbers suggest a tremendous percentage of B2B companies are highly dissatisfied with their sales model.\u00a0 Consider these woeful statistics:<\/p>\nInstead of a sales force, this global company relies on a network of distributors and resellers for all revenues.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Small Company with Strong Growth Potential<\/em><\/h4>\n
Big Company with Stagnant Growth Rates<\/em><\/h4>\n
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