We entrepreneurs can be clueless at times, and that is okay. In February, I interviewed candidates for the first sales position at my company, JotForm. I have never been a salesperson, and I have never worked with one before. I may as well have been recruiting nuclear scientists, interpretive dancers or blacksmiths.
But my inexperience was a gift. It led me to recognize that cluelessness is at the heart of entrepreneurship, and how we deal with that cluelessness defines our company. With that said, I want to share how I was able to get the most out of my ignorance.
Cluelessness as an invitation
Entrepreneurs usually experience cluelessness as a result of or as a harbinger of change. For example, my company typically focuses on self-service solutions, so we’ve never needed salespeople. Recently, however, larger companies asked if we could provide an enterprise version with unique features, and, as we began building it, we recognized that selling a product to enterprise organizations requires a level of attention that only a salesperson can provide. So, we decided to make our first sales hire.
My cluelessness turned out to be an invitation to learn, but reading and asking good questions helped me learn enough about sales to make a good decision.
Talk the talk
Reading about sales processes and team structures had multiple benefits. First, it taught me that I needed a software as a service (SaaS) specialist because selling software subscriptions is different from any other kind of sales. Whereas real estate agents selling a house or ad sales people have a completely different skill set, SaaS sellers must convince someone to continue to purchase their product month after month.
Second, reading taught me lingo like CAC (customer acquisition cost) and LTV (lifetime value), both of which came up in interviews. Vocabulary matters. It would be difficult, for example, to speak intelligently about weightlifting if you can’t name any of the movements.
Once I read enough to imagine the type of candidate I wanted, I had to create a signal that person wouldn’t miss. To create the job ad, I read comparable postings and borrowed phrases I thought were relevant. LinkedIn ads led me to use expressions like:
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Demonstrated enterprise account sales experience with a track record of success
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Exceptional cross-organization collaboration and communication skills
I hate buzzwords, but I’d rather talk the talk than miss out on outstanding candidates who respond to these key phrases. Finding a strong hire for the first sales role is vital, and the process is as much about selling your company as it is about the interviewee selling himself or herself. You must know what you want before you can go looking for it.
Information versus validation
Asking questions gave me enough information to be creative and enough validation to avoid egregious mistakes.
Before hiring for this position, I was clueless about sales compensation. By interviewing candidates, I covertly learned a lot about salespeople: how they work, how their teams are structured and how they are paid. I didn’t even know how Salesforce worked until a candidate…