That Hotshot Sales Guy Won't Fix Your Revenue Challenges: Why, and What You CAN Do

Are you relying on a flashy sales hire to drive your company’s growth? Think again. In this episode of C-Suite Sidekick, we’re unpacking one of the biggest misconceptions among growth-focused CEOs: the belief that bringing in a “hotshot” salesperson will solve all your revenue challenges.

Spoiler alert: it won’t—especially if your organization lacks the structure, strategy, and alignment needed to support sustainable growth.

Exclusive bonus mini pod available to subscribers

Join Summer Poletti as she breaks down:

• Why a superstar salesperson from an industry giant may not thrive in your smaller company.
• The hidden dangers of skipping foundational sales strategies like playbooks and onboarding.
• Why organizational alignment between marketing, sales, and customer success is more important than ever.
• Proven steps to ensure your next sales hire becomes a true revenue driver, not just an expensive gamble.

If you’re a CEO or business owner planning your next growth move, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you avoid costly hiring mistakes and set your sales team up for long-term success.

Companion episodes:

• How to find a good B2B salesperson
• Grow revenue without increasing headcount
• 6 easy steps to better sales/marketing alignment

Show notes:

• Episode recorded and edited using Descript
• Repurposed content, such as this description created using CastMagic
• Visit Rise of Us for more information about Summer's services
• Connect with Summer on LinkedIn

Transcript

0:00

Hello, and welcome back to C-suite sidekick. I'm your host summer poli. And today. I'm going to stir the pot a little bit. Are you looking at growing your company in 2025? Does that include maybe hiring some sales talent? It often does. Are you tempted by someone with a neat resume? A lot of connections, maybe experience with one of the giants in your industry. Big promises about tapping into their network to help your company grow. We have all been tempted by that. And I'm here to tell you that. They're not going to solve your revenue challenges. And in fact, they might cost you more in the long run than you realize. Before we start a couple of fun facts. We know that aligned teams. Achieve quota more often than teams that are out of alignment. I'm focusing specifically on sales and marketing alignment here. And according to a recent Gartner survey. 25% of top CSOC report collaborating closely with marketing. Now that's a low enough stat already. And I want to wager a guess as to where the hot shot stat is, honestly, how many of those folks are collaborating with marketing and customer success or other departments? There's often a lone Wolf attitude with hot shot sales folks. That's a topic for another day, but let's think about that as we think about a hot shots, potential role in your organization. First. Let's get real about why hiring sales person from an industry giant doesn't necessarily guaranteed success. Have you ever pondered this? If they're doing so great. Why on earth would they think of leaving? The first year or two in a sales role, especially in B2B. Is a ton of work. Building your pipeline takes time. It's the golden handcuff in sales. If someone is doing well, they generally feel like they can't afford to leave. So this is one of those times when I want you to ask yourself why they want to leave. If they really are crushing it. Of course, they could be dealing with a toxic manager a spouse's getting relocated and they have to change jobs. There can be valid reasons. But I want you to not accept. Something at face value that. They're crushing it at their current role and they're looking for something else because they're sick of crushing it. And then remember that those industry giants have huge marketing and advertising budgets. And if your hot shot candidate, isn't totally crushing it over there. And they're looking for a new gig. Ask yourself how they're going to do at your smaller company without a household name and a seemingly endless marketing budget. And even if they are crushing it. Over there. And they're looking for those other reasons. We talked about being totally valid. Start thinking about what their success might look like without that big marketing and advertising engine and the household name on their business card. And something critical. To your success is having your organization buttoned up. Those large competitors can get by on name alone. And often they do. Remember that lone Wolf attitude we talked about. Does the hot shot sales person use materials that marketing has created or do they go it alone? Because they know better. Do they work with the implementation and service team to ensure a smooth transition? Do they check in with clients later on to ensure they're successful and happy, or do they come from an environment where sales is king and as long as they get the contract executed, nothing else matters. And they're expected to get the contract and move on to the next and not maintain that relationship with clients. I'm getting a little glib here, but we all know that large companies often run with aggressive sales targets and aggressive sales behaviors to match. What is that gonna look like in your boutique environment? We're company culture and personalized service. Are generally very important to you. Next let's talk about structure without a strategic plan in place. Even the most experienced sales person is going to struggle to build pipeline, nurture relationships and drive revenue growth. I see this all the time. Companies hire a salesperson, expecting them to fix everything. But then they don't give them the framework or the guidance they need to succeed. Salespeople by nature tend to be doers rather than planners. They're great at executing, but often don't have the strategic vision required to steer the ship or pilot. Without that clear path they get lost. Spinning their wheels and wasting precious time. B2B buyer behavior and preferences are changing rapidly. Getting more and more digital. The seller who's going to win in the future is one who will collaborate with marketing to share common sales, objections, and hurdles. And then use the content produced. By marketing to nurture leads until buyers are ready to talk. They'll also understand the value of good relationships with clients who, as you know, are often your best partners. Today's successful seller. Is going to understand that you need to schmooze. Inside the organization, just as much as you need to do at trade shows. And there's something else that companies overlook sometimes a sales playbook and a structured sales process. What kind of sales process is your hot shot sales person used to. Do you want them to be doing full cycle sales? What if they're used to being a closer and receiving pre-warned leads from a team of SDRs? They might not have the skillset to nurture cold or lukewarm leads. Or generate their own using outbound tactics. Cause remember that advertising and marketing engine often brings. Ready to buy leads for a sales person to close. Do you have a defined sales process and a playbook that shows them how to win deals? With defined buyer, partner and competitor personas questions to ask. Objection handling. How to win against each competitor. What a team is getting ready to play the chiefs. They studied the offense and defense in advance so that they anticipate the moves. Can you even imagine what a disaster those games would be? If the opposing team didn't have a playbook. You'd play the way Patrick Holmes wants you to play, and nobody would have a chance of winning any games. Any given Sunday doesn't happen without a playbook. And practice. Without these in place, even the most skilled salesperson will struggle to drive consistent results. Why. Because then we'll end up following what the prospect asks for instead of leading the conversation. And when the sale is left up to the prospects. The odds of closing decreased dramatically. That is when we see status quo winning a lot of the time. Uh, sales playbook ensures that your sales person knows exactly what steps to follow, what questions to ask and how to handle the objections. It keeps them aligned with your company's goals and value prop rather than chasing prospects who might not even be a good fit at all. The playbook outlines the sales process from the initial outreach to closing the deal, ensuring that every sale follows a repeatable and successful path. Bonus. If the playbook is AI enabled and helps them to automate. Brainstorm and speed up their research. When your salespeople follow a defined process, they're not just reacting to what the prospect wants. They're proactively guiding them through the buying journey and helping them confidently make a decision. This not only leads to more consistent sales, but also helps build stronger, more trusting relationships with your clients who when they're happy, refer their friends. A sales person coming from a structured environment can feel a little like a fish out of water. If your organization lacks that same level of structure. When they don't have defined processes or metrics to guide them, they can become a little directionless. Salespeople need structure, whether they want it or not. Reporting and regular feedback to thrive. Without it, they can easily fall into the trap of doing the minimum and making excuses for lack of performance or doing random sales things, hoping for results. That's spinning their wheels again. Speaking of spinning. Nobody is better at spinning a conversation than a sales person. So they're going to be very adept. At telling you why they're doing enough activity. Why it's not in the CRM, why that deal is totally gonna close next week. They are practiced and pulling the wool over your eyes. Trust me. There was also an issue of hiding in plain sight. Now this isn't as common as somebody kind of spinning their wheels. Or doing random acts of sales behavior. But some salespeople are experts at finding environments where they can kind of fly under the radar. They can look for a company that gives them a decent enough base pay that they can live off of where there's not a lot of structure and they might be able to do even less than the bare minimum, knowing that there's not really anybody to. Hold them accountable. And maybe they can coast by, on that base pay for awhile without really anybody noticing if they're not working all that much. Again, it's not all that common, but if you have an environment. Where some of the structure is lacking. You're going to be more likely to attract the type of person that is looking for a place they can hide. So think about, think about those playbooks again. There's a coach holding people accountable for running those plays and practicing the skills. Sales folks, myself included have a tendency to chase shiny objects without someone to keep them on track. They're likely to do a lot of work and not accomplish much. And we haven't gotten into how quickly things are changing these days. The job of the leader is to study the playing field and adapt strategies to ensure we continue to win. And without that strategic leader in place. Modifying the playbook, things like that. You run the risk of running plays that no longer work. Think about using a time machine to pluck Joe Nemeth and put him on the jets right now. Um, even in his prime, he couldn't win another Superbowl because the game has changed so much. And here's another common myth. Just because a sales person has a big network. Doesn't mean those contacts are automatically going to jump ship and follow them to your company. Business relationships don't move as easily as people want to think. If a sales person is banking on their network alone without working to prove your company's unique value. It is not gonna work. And then there's do you know if the hot shots network aligns with your ICP? Even if they're working in the same industry, are they servicing the same size of client? Are they servicing the same exact target market? Do these companies have business challenges that you can help them resolve better than your larger competitor. Do you know, if the larger competitor has a non-compete that they will try to enforce when your sales person moves over to your company? I know my fair share of sales professionals who have received the nasty gram, the cease and desist from a former employer. And I bet you do too. But let's pretend you don't have to worry about any of that. People do business with companies that they trust and building that trust takes time. And well-connected professional, we'll book, a lot of meetings or demos, but they don't always convert to sales. Have you ever looked at a deal that was lost and then realized that there wasn't a whole lot of substance there? If there? aren't true business challenges with recognizable impact those contacts, aren't going to change service providers, get new insurance or install a new software platform. It's likely they take the meetings. To be nice to your sales person or because they might be curious what they're up to. You're not. likely going to see a lot of substance in those deals from their network. Aside from a few, obviously. All right. So, how do you avoid falling into this trap now that I've stirred the pot and lectured you a little bit? Here are some actionable steps that you can take to get your sales team and your revenue growth. Ramped up for success in the new year. One having a sales strategy in place first. Before hiring a salesperson. Who is designed to grow your revenue, make sure you have a clear strategy for them to execute and make sure it's. Updated. This includes a detailed go-to-market plan. Clear sales processes and a defined target audience. Number two. Develop a sales playbook and sales process. It's structured sales process. ensures that your team isn't leaving the sale up to the prospect. You know, following their directions, giving them what they want. And with a sales playbook in hand, your sales person knows exactly what steps to take to guide the conversation and close the deal. Remember, this is all about helping buyers confidently, make decisions. I think our first heard it from Gartner buyer enable it. This is key for consistency and longterm success. Number three. Create a detailed onboarding and training time. Salespeople, no matter how experienced need time to learn your business, your product and your customer base. A comprehensive onboarding plan ensures that they hit the ground running. Now I'm talking about. Shadowing teams. Sales coaching, milestones that they should be hitting. I get very detailed and longer than you would think with the clients that I work with. I'm generally working with people that are on a one-year success plan. Number four. Implement regular reporting and metrics without tracking performance. How will, you know if they're underperforming or succeeding? Set up key metrics to measure progress. And ensure accountability. And then you're going to adjust some of those plans, according to the results. Number five hire or appoint a sales leader to hold them accountable. If you don't already have a sales leader or someone watching the team, it's a good idea to get that person in place before you grow the team. Even if it's a part-time leader. You need someone who can provide oversight and coaching. Again, salespeople need guidance, feedback, and someone to keep them on track. And make sure that they're not pulling the wool over your eyes. Right? Number six. Focus on strategic partnerships. Set structure around a partner program, build partner personas, and don't forget your best source of referrals. It's not your friends or college buddies. It's your happy clients. And while you're working with that partner program, make sure to fold that into your marketing efforts so that you're cross promoting. Number seven. Focus on client success, expand of the work that you do with current clients. Focus on helping them meet their goals. Improve retention and make sure that you're consistently asking for reviews, the social proof and referrals. Number eight. Get marketing sales and customer service working in sync. I cannot stress this enough. That's why I saved this one for last. If those departments are working in silos. Or God forbid pointing fingers at each other. No hot shot sales person can win and retain business today. Buyers expect a seamless journey with common experiences and common language. There's no tolerance for confusion. I have an episode dedicated to getting sales and marketing in alignment. If you want some specific tips around that work. And here's a bonus. I hire for potential train for expertise. I get the temptation to hire the hot shot. I do. I've done it before. Sometimes it's worked. Sometimes it hasn't. Sometimes it's better to hire someone with great sales chops and teach them the industry knowledge that they need, rather than bringing in someone with a lot of experience and little potential for growth. You can look for someone who wants to change industries, you can look for someone who wants to grow their career. Maybe they're an SDR now and they want to be an account executive. I've also had some success. Looking at the sales folks that. We know it's illegal, but other companies won't touch them because perhaps they're further along in their career. Those folks can sometimes make excellent hires onto your team. I cover B2B sales hiring, including some good questions to ask in another podcast episode. So I'll keep this short. Key takeaway here is that experience is important, but without strategy structure, process accountability, even the best sales person, hot shot or not will struggle to succeed in your organization. If you're struggling with revenue growth and thinking about bringing in a new sales person. Take a step back. Evaluate, whether you have the right strategy structure or sales process and leadership in place. And if you need help developing any of this spoiler alert, this is. this is. my thing. Um, more than happy. To have a conversation with you and see if I can help in any way. If you found this episode valuable, please share with your network subscribe so you don't miss anything. And by the way. I would love a review. It helps my reach. Thank you for listening and I will see you next week.