I’ve closed over $440,000,000 in sales in my career. A lot of my success comes from building sales teams using my Scientific Entrepreneurship process to take the guesswork out of what works. This approach has allowed me to create a sales team that pays for itself many times over. Today I’ll share how I did it and provide the checklists and calculators you need to build your own team, even if you think you can’t afford it.

The Scientific Process for Sales Success

The key to building a successful sales team is to STOP focusing on hacks and tactics … and start using a scientific process. You must test, measure, adjust, and repeat. This cycle gives you certainty in sales instead of relying on guesswork. By using REAL data, you improve your sales performance every month and quarter.

Understanding the Sales Funnel

First: understand the sales funnel. At the top, you have a large pool of potential customers who are just becoming aware of your product. As they move down the funnel, they become interested, consider a purchase, show intent, evaluate, and then make a purchase. The goal is to filter through a large volume of prospects to find those who are ready to engage.

Key Roles in a Sales Team

There are four critical roles in a sales team that you need to understand:

• Sales Development Representative (SDR): Focuses on generating and qualifying leads. They are the first point of contact for potential customers.
• Account Executive (AE): Handles the closing of deals. They need strong negotiation skills and a real (not superficial) understanding of client needs.
• Sales Operations: Manages tools and technologies, ensuring that the sales process is effective.
• Sales Management: Oversees the sales team, sets quotas, and provides training and motivation.

Hiring for Success

Always use the Noah Principle: hire two at a time. This allows you to compare performance and make better hiring decisions. Expect that not every salesperson will work out. It’s better to go through multiple candidates to find a superstar than to try to make a mediocre employee into a top performer. If they aren’t working out in 60 days, they’ll never work out. Fire fast.

Training and Development

We hate training. We want the rep to “just work”. If you do that, you’re asking to fail. Record sales calls and conduct breakdowns to help your team learn from both successful and unsuccessful calls.

Measuring Performance

Track key metrics such as time to close and conversion rates. Understanding these numbers is the only way to tune your sales process and improve overall performance.

Here’s What To Do Next

If a salesperson isn’t working out within sixty days, let them go. Keeping underperforming sales reps WILL drain your resources and energy. Don’t do it. Be clinical in your approach to hiring and managing your sales team. The right people will help you scale your business effectively.

For more resources – along with templates, scorecards, and everything else you need to build your sales team, visit the CEO Workbench.