I often have a conversation with entrepreneurs around their first sales hire and for me the best solution is often founder led sales with a BDR. There are many options for a first sales hire including but not limited to a VP of sales or Account Executive. Here are a few reasons why founder led sales with a BDR is a great first sales hire option for startups.

Unfun things in sales 

I often talk about the unfun things in sales. This means the research, email, cold calling, qualifying inbound leads, and many of the sales tasks in the early stages of an opportunity.  These are things that a BDR can do with a plan and some leadership. The main output of a BDR is discovery calls. 

Stay available for higher value interactions

By having your BDR book you discovery calls, that frees up more of your time as a founder for the higher value interactions. This means you can spend more of your sales time on demos, proposals, and presentations. There should also be more time for you to help with onboarding and customer success. It should be easier to keep a customer than to get a new client, so make sure they have a good experience.

More Affordable

Hiring a BDR is less expensive than hiring an Account Executive or VP of Sales. The BDR is also likely more effective at getting Discovery calls as that is the expectation. Sometimes more senior hires don’t want to do the unfun things in sales.  They would prefer the higher value interaction, which you can do yourself.

Grow with the company

Ideally your BDR grows in experience and capabilities in their time with you. This should align well with your need for additional sales resources.  A BDR today could be a Customer Success rep, an Account Executive, or even a sales leader in the future. You will get to know them and they will get to know your solutions and organizations.  That will mean new BDR hires and opportunities as the business grows.

If you would like to talk about founder led sales with a BDR or early sales hires please reach out to me.