Initiative · Project
Building or improving sales
Your best salesperson runs the company. That's exactly the problem.
Setting up sales from scratch or fixing an existing one: model, process, team, CRM, materials, steering and pay.
The situation
“We need a sales function that works.”
So far, management has done the selling, and done it well. Now the business is growing, but their calendar isn't. Or there's been a sales team for years, but nobody can say what in the pipeline really counts.
Either way, it looks much the same. Everyone sells in their own way, and the CRM gets updated by whoever has time. And the quarterly forecast is more hope than calculation.
Where it often goes wrong.
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One hire to fix everything
The first salesperson is expected to build the sales function as well. Without target group, process or materials, they improvise, and they're often gone before it works.
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Software before process
The system goes live before the sales process is defined. It then maps fields nobody needs, and the team goes back to keeping spreadsheets on the side.
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Every deal counts the same
Commission depends on revenue alone, whatever the discount. So the quick discounted deal pays better than an order with a healthy margin.
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Contacts as private property
Relationships, notes and agreements sit in individual inboxes. When someone leaves the company, part of the customer base leaves with them.
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Targets without the maths
The revenue target is set, but nobody has worked out how many meetings, proposals and people it takes. So the target stays a number on a slide.
Which disciplines work together here.
3 of 13 disciplines, one team, one point of contact. Every service has a clear role, and you decide which ones we take on.
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D02 Sales
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Decides who to sell to and how, then builds process, roles and team to match.
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Sets up pipeline rules, forecasts and KPIs that make sales steerable.
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Creates playbook, presentations and objection handling, and trains the team to use them.
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Examines the existing sales operation and fixes, with the team, what costs deals and margin.
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Fills the pipeline with qualified meetings while your own team is still being built.
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D09 IT & Digital
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Selects the CRM to fit the sales process, sets it up and migrates existing data.
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D08 HR & Recruiting
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Finds salespeople and sales leaders who fit the target group, product and sales route.
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Designs base pay and commission so they reward the right deals.
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You decide the scope.
Typical starting points are an audit of your existing sales, a CRM that finally fits the process, or a build from scratch with target group, playbook and first hires. Each one stands on its own. We don't sell a package that bundles it all.
Good questions. Straight answers.
Will our current CRM do the job?
Often, yes. A CRM rarely fails because of the software, usually because rules are missing: which stages apply, which fields are mandatory, who maintains what.
We set up the existing system around your process. Switching only pays off if it really can't do that.
Can you lead sales until we've hired someone?
Yes, for a set period with a clear end. We run sales as interim management under a service or work contract, steering the work ourselves and taking responsibility for it. We do not hire out staff.
Meanwhile, we search for a permanent lead and plan the handover from day one.
Is there a commission model that suits everyone?
No. A team chasing new business needs different incentives from one looking after large accounts. We derive the model from your goals and run it against real figures.
We also check whether it rewards discounts that cost you margin.
Does a new sales function take long to pay off?
Usually longer than a campaign. The buying cycles in your market set the pace, not our project plan. But meetings, proposals and win rates show long before that whether you're heading in the right direction.
Isn't building a sales function expensive?
Not as expensive as one that doesn't work. Bad hires, lost proposals and a CRM nobody maintains cost money every month. You commission step by step and decide again after each stage.
Proof first. Contract second.
In the free Initiative Check, we listen for 45 minutes and ask the questions that usually only come up after the contract is signed. Then you get a short written assessment: what we see, how we would go about it and roughly what it would take.
No obligation. And if we're not the right fit, we'll tell you.
Or write to us at hello@intoops.com.