(2005-06-28) Leslie Sales Learning Curve

Marc Leslie on the Sales Learning Curve for a Start Up. The time it takes to achieve cash flow breakeven is reasonably independent of Sales Force staffing. It is, instead, entirely dependent on how well and how quickly the entire organization learns what it takes to sell the product or service while incorporating customer feedback into the product itself. Because the entire organization has to come up to speed, hiring a large initial sales staff does not speed up the time to breakeven, it simply consumes cash more quickly... Rather than starting with a large sales force, a company using the SLC is better served by hiring a small team of sales execs with the analytical skills and patience to lead the company through an Iterative Learning process that includes the continuous discovery and solution of small but crucial problems. (Selling)