Build This Before Hiring Salespeople

Feeling the pressure? Revenue dipping, pipeline drying up, and that sinking feeling of bleeding out? Many founders have been there. In the face of these challenges, the instinct is often to launch a 'fire drill' – to hire fast and fill that empty seat. But what if that quick fix is actually a painkiller, a temporary shot of morphine for your P&L, rather than a lasting solution? This video dives into why 'urgency hires' can feel like the answer but often cost you more in the long run. You're not truly hiring a sales leader; you're hitting a pause button on the problem, not solving it. The real issue often lies deeper: a lack of a robust system, a clear playbook, or a defined process. Throwing a new hire into a broken system typically yields a fancy PowerPoint, not the tangible results you desperately need. Discover the exact checklist I use with founders to ensure they're truly ready to hire, transforming their approach from reactive to strategic. If you're a founder grappling with these challenges and ready to build a sustainable, results-driven sales engine, don't just hire – prepare. Book a meeting to learn how to implement a system that delivers real, long-term growth. Urgency Hires feel like a fix. But they can cost you everything. Revenue's down. Your pipeline’s dry. And you feel like you're bleeding out. Been there. So you launch the fire drill. Hire fast. Fill the seat. But what you’re actually buying? Is a painkiller. A shot of morphine for your P&L. You're not hiring a sales leader. You're buying a pause button—not a solution.” The real problem? No system. No playbook. No process. A new hire in a broken system gets you a PowerPoint—not results.” Want the exact checklist I use with founders before they hire? If you’re a founder just book a meeting. Key Takeaways ✅ Why 80% of First Sales Hires Fail - No documented process = new hire starts from scratch - They guess at what worked for you - Takes 6+ months to become productive (if they survive that long) - You waste $30K-$40K in salary before seeing any results ✅ What You Must Document First: The Sales Playbook Your playbook needs these 7 essential components: 1. Email Templates - Every sequence from cold outreach to close 2. Call Scripts - Opening, discovery questions, handling objections 3. Pipeline Stages - Clear definitions based on prospect actions (not hope) 4. Objection Handling - Your responses to the 10 most common objections 5. Qualification Criteria - What makes someone a good fit vs. time-waster 6. Competitive Positioning - How to handle "we're already using [competitor]" 7. Onboarding Schedule - Day-by-day plan for first 2 weeks ✅ The ROI of Documentation - Without playbook: 6 months to productivity = $30K wasted salary - With playbook: 2 weeks to productivity = ROI in month 1 - Plus: Every future hire onboards in 2 weeks (not 6 months) ✅ How Long It Takes to Build - If you close deals yourself: 2-4 weeks of focused work - If you work with a fractional leader: 4-6 weeks (they interview you and document) - Investment: 20-30 hours total - Return: Saves 5+ months per sales hire forever ✅ The Test: Can Someone Sell Without You? If you handed your playbook to an experienced salesperson who knows nothing about your product, could they: - Send a cold email that gets replies? - Run a discovery call that qualifies properly? - Handle the top 5 objections? - Explain why you're better than competitors? If no, your playbook isn't done. Keep documenting. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q: How detailed should my sales playbook be? A: Detailed enough that someone could follow it without asking you questions. Include exact email templates (not "send a follow-up email"—the actual email), word-for-word scripts for objection handling, and specific actions that move prospects through pipeline stages. If you're thinking "should I include this?"—include it. You can always simplify later. Too much detail is better than too little. Q: What if my sales process changes frequently? A: Then document your CURRENT process and update it monthly. A playbook isn't set in stone—it's a living document. But having something documented that's 80% accurate is infinitely better than having nothing documented. Your new hire can follow version 1.0 today and learn version 1.1 in 30 days. Without any playbook, they're just guessing. Q: Can I just have my new hire shadow me instead of creating a playbook? A: No. Shadowing tells them what you DO, not why you do it or how to do it themselves. They watch you handle an objection brilliantly, but they don't know the principle behind it. Plus, shadowing only works while you're there. If you go on vacation or get sick, they're stuck. The playbook is your documented expertise that works whether you're there or not. Q: What's the fastest way to create a sales playbook? A: Record yourself closing 5-10 deals. Then transcribe those calls and extract patterns: What questions do you always ask? What objections come up? How do you explain your value? Turn those patterns into templates and scripts. This is faster than trying to remember and write everything from scratch. Your actual closes contain all the wisdom you need. Q: Should I hire two salespeople or one? A: Two. Always. Here's why: If you hire one and they fail, you don't know if it's them or your system. Was the playbook bad? Was the hire bad? You can't tell. If you hire two and both succeed, your system works. If one succeeds and one fails, you know the system works but you made a bad hire. Two gives you data. One gives you confusion. Q: How much should I spend on a sales playbook if I hire someone to build it? A: A fractional sales leader will build your playbook as part of their engagement ($10K-$12K/month for 1-2 months = $10K-$24K total). This includes interviewing you, documenting processes, creating templates, and testing it with your first hires. That's infinitely cheaper than hiring a $60K salesperson who fails because you had no playbook. The playbook pays for itself with your first successful hire. TRANSCRIPT