The Sales Acceleration Formula: Using Data, Technology, and Inbound Selling to go from $0 to $100 Million

14Running Successful Sales Experiments

Great teams have a core philosophy of continual improvement. Whether succeeding or failing, there is always a way to improve existing execution, adapt to changing market dynamics, or consider expansion into new areas. Maintaining a culture of experimentation is a great way to foster this philosophy of continual improvement.

Let's navigate back to year two of HubSpot's journey. We had had a great first year. We were fortunate to have Gail Goodman, CEO of ConstantContact, on our board of directors. At the time, she pointed out, “Great year, but you guys are not experimenting enough. You have a very good model. It is working. But there must be ways to do it better. You are a young company. Try some things. Don't be afraid to fail.”

I took those comments to heart, and now I can point to dozens of best practices within the HubSpot sales organization that originated from Gail's philosophy. A key ingredient to the sales acceleration formula is fostering a culture of experimentation. I've included some of my favorite methods for establishing this environment.

“Great teams have a core philosophy of continual improvement. A key ingredient to the sales acceleration formula is fostering a culture of experimentation.”

Generating Ideas for Experiments

At HubSpot, we had what I would call a “bottom-up” innovation funnel. Our most groundbreaking ideas didn't necessarily come from our executives or directors, but rather from our front line. They ...