From Impossible To Inevitable

Chapter 17Going Upmarket

So you have a good thing going already? Maybe it's time to push yourself on investing in salespeople, on pricing, and going after bigger, more complex customers.

If You Don't Want Salespeople …

A lot of people have a desire to avoid having to hire salespeople. They have this question of, “Do I even need salespeople at all? Slack and Atlassian don't have any (yet). Can't I just do a Basecamp model? Can't I just have customer happiness officers who make customers so happy that they keep referring new customers, and people simply buy my product without me doing anything or having to ‘sell’ it?”

Well, maybe you can. More power to you. As long as there is enough momentum in your business to keep hitting your revenue goals without a true sales team, then by definition you don't need one … but you will probably want one. Maybe your goals are too low.

A lot of founders who haven't managed the revenue side of a business can be anti-sales. They see it as an unpleasant part of the business if they haven't done it themselves or worked with a great sales team.

“Isn't sales just a bunch of guys in a virtual boiler room, trying to get people to buy stuff they don't really need? If my product is so great, shouldn't it sell itself, so long as I have Happiness Officers answering questions and moving things along?”

Again, it has been done. But is it smart for you?

But the “problem” with depending on Happiness Officers is threefold: First: What works at the bottom of ...