Inflection Group’s Post

Imagine trying to build a sports car but never having a race car driver on your team. That’s what it’s like scaling sales without a Fractional Chief Sales Officer (CSO). In the fast-paced world of B2B SaaS, hiring a Fractional CSO gives you an EXPERT who’s been there, done that. Here’s why it’s a game changer: 1) Instant Expertise: You get access to years of sales knowledge without the overhead of a full-time hire. 2) Tailored Strategy: They analyze your sales process, pinpoint weaknesses, and create a plan that drives results. 3) Rapid Ramp-Up: They can jump in and start implementing changes right away—no time wasted. 4) Better Results, Faster: With a dedicated expert, you’re not just selling; you’re building relationships that lead to long-term growth. 5) Focused Attention: Your sales team gets the mentorship needed to perform at their best, supercharging motivation and performance. If you're looking to scale your sales team effectively, consider bringing in a Fractional CSO like Mehul Fanawala. What’s holding you back from making that leap? #B2BSaaS #FractionalChiefSalesOfficer #FractionalCSO #TheCluelessCompany

🚀 Want to Build a Winning Partner Team? Or Looking for a New Role in Partnerships? Here’s the Breakdown: Building a great partner team isn’t just about hiring—it’s about structuring it with the right roles and skills. Here’s a quick breakdown of the 3 core roles in a partner team and the profiles that thrive in each: 1️⃣ Partner Revenue Roles: Deal-makers who manage reseller/VAR relationships, hit quotas, and enable partner success. 💼 Thrives with: New logo sales experience + skills in training and forecasting. 🕵️♂️ Ideal: A former sales manager or top-performing AE ready to coach partners. 2️⃣ Strategic Alliances Roles: Big-picture thinkers who build long-term partnerships and align on shared goals. 💼 Thrives with: Strategic thinking, networking, and storytelling. 🕵️♂️ Ideal: Strategic AEs seeking a more intellectually challenging role. 3️⃣ Product Integration Roles: Tech-savvy minds who champion integrations, connect APIs, and drive collaboration. 💼 Thrives with: Technical expertise + sales instincts. 🕵️♂️ Ideal: A solutions consultant or sales engineer bridging tech and strategy. These roles are essential to building value-driven partnerships that fuel growth. Have you worked in or built a partner team? 👉 What roles worked best? 👉 What attributes did the top performers have? 👉 What roles would you add? And a shout out the partner legends I have worked with in the past! Charlie Kennedy, Ed Doyne-Ditmas, Daniel Campbell, Noel Christopher, Ari Levine, Maria Scaroni, Andrew Massad, Jason Magee and Alicia Marshia! #Partnerships #PartnerTeam #Ecosystem #StrategicAlliances #SalesLeadership

Extracting value from a partnership ecosystem isn't as simple as just hiring a Channel Partner Manager. Imagine this: You want to break into a new industry, region, and/or product line and so you hire a Channel Partner Manager to go find and build partnerships that will help meet that end. You comp that person based on the revenue that those chosen partners source and influence, But the sales team doesn't know how to speak to that industry, And doesn't have the subject matter expertise to establish credibility; Your marketing team hasn't tested the market for message/market fit; And there are no incentives for either team to have them prioritize the new initiatives. If this is you, then you might not be setting up the new Partner Manager for success. They'll be spending most (if not all) of their time researching the market, crafting messaging, creating campaigns, and more... All while trying to convince sales and marketing teams to prioritize the new partners they're focused on building, In parallel to going out and evangelizing their business to those new prospective partners. That doesn't sound like it's going to be very successful does it? Instead, hire Channel Partner Managers to do just that - 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 - not build. Their jobs should be to grow existing relationships that have been proven to be successful. Which is why comping on their associated revenue makes sense. TLDR: Partnership folks can't succeed in silos. Incentivize the rest of the org to help grow those partnerships as well and you'll see them sky rocket much faster. #strategicpartnerships

Last week, I spoke with a couple of founders who are already hiring for sales roles. One is still pre-MVP, and the other is gearing up to productise after running a service business.   Sound familiar?   Yet, neither has fully figured out how to sell or to whom specifically.   My advice? Dive into it yourself first – handle the sales, the pitches, the demos, the feedback loops.   Here’s why: the lessons you uncover and the assumptions you debunk will quickly shed light on who your customer really is.   Only after booking enough meetings, running discovery, and delivering demos will you start to see patterns.   You’ll identify the Influencer, the Decision Maker, and the Validator for what you’re selling – and only then will a viable sales hypothesis start to take shape.   This groundwork lets you test a Sales Motion and craft a Playbook that actually works.   It’s worth spending this time up front rather than hiring, firing, and getting feedback to figure out your ICP, what Marketing's needed, the Sales process, the CAC if you do it versus hiring reps etc.   And consider this: would buyers prefer to connect with a co-founder or a junior sales rep? #b2bsales #gotomarket #founderledsales

Yesterday, I connected with a SaaS founder whose company was on the brink of breaking into the enterprise market. Their sales software product is incredible, I use it myself and It's the first investment I made for my own business!!! ....but regardless of that, the founder was drowning. They said: “I’m still running demos, chasing leads, and managing 2 sales teams, I can’t scale like this with this breakthrough.” Here’s the thing: a lot of SaaS founders hit this wall. You can’t grow ARR by being everything to the business. This founder needed an Account Executive (AE) who could: ➔ Take ownership of the sales pipeline ➔ Build trust with enterprise buyers ➔ Consistently close high-value deals We're now working together to find a candidate who doesn't just fit the role but will transform the business through this breakthrough. Our ambition is to find ⤵️  ➔ A 6-figure deal closer ➔ A team player to collaborate well with the SDR's and work together ➔ Someone who values hard work in return for a financially great opportunity with a wealth of balance too! - work shouldn't always be slog - you should be allowed to go for a gym sesh or a run or even a long lunch anytime in the day as long as you do the work you chose to do!! The lesson here: When you’re scaling, one strategic hire can completely change your trajectory. SaaS leaders, don’t try to do it all. Empower specialists to do what they’re great at, so you can focus on building. If you’re in this boat and ready to grow your sales team, let’s talk. That one AE could be your tipping point! 🚀 #saas #salestalent #AE #hiringsolutions #ThriveRiseAgency

Thinking of hiring a VP of Sales? Many get this hire wrong and pay the price. Here’s how to get it right from day 1: A great VP of Sales can transform your business - but here’s the harsh truth: Too many Founders hire the role before they’re ready—and waste months (or years) figuring that out. The problem? When Founders think a VP of Sales is the cure-all for their sales struggles. In reality, their success depends on what’s already in place—or missing—in your business. If you’re at $200K–$2M Annual Recurring Revenue and struggling to grow, ask yourself: 1️⃣ Do you need a builder or a scaler? → Builders design the entire sales engine—your ICP, outreach playbook, and pipeline structure. → Scalers optimize existing sales processes and grow a team around what already works. If you don’t know which you need, you’re risking $200k+ hiring the wrong person for the wrong job. 2️⃣ Are you stuck in the wrong sales cycle? Founders often rely too heavily on manual deals or "hustle-driven" sales. A VP of Sales thrives with scalable systems, predictable prospecting, and reliable conversion metrics—do you have at least some of these in place? 3️⃣ What happens if it doesn’t work out? Misalignment wastes months (even years), erodes trust with your team, and burns budgets. That’s why it’s crucial to… 👉 Build the systems for revenue growth before handing off the keys to sales leadership. 🟢 The Solution: Hiring a VP of Sales is a game-changer—but only if your revenue engine is ready to scale. P.S. I help Founders and Sales Leaders build predictable revenue systems. Feel free to drop me a message— happy to help you figure it out (you can start with us for free). #Founders #SalesLeadership #RevenueGrowth #BusinessScaling Video Credit: Ryan Walsh

Chris, I just got an amazing job as a Chief Commercial Officer. However, I have only ever been in Sales. Is there a book I can read? Belive it or not, I have had several conversations like this in the last month alone. My response is always the same. Nope, there is no book that one can read that will lead you through all of the many and varied responsibilities of a CCO. A CCO is typically responsible for Sales, Marketing, Sales Operations, Product Management, and more. And in the MedTech world the role is even more complicated as these are highly regulated products. One false move like off-label marketing and things can seriously blow-up. Generally, I advise someone in this predicament to get solid advisors. Talk with others that are willing to share their knowledge. Be a sponge! And don't be afraid to ask for help! Or, you could go the Homer route and just push a button at random. If you're looking for talent that knows what buttons to push, contact Due North! #marketingrecruiter #salesrecruiting #medtechrecruiter #hightechrecruiter

Read This Before You Hire A Full-Time Sales VP The #1 mistake I see early-stage Founders make? Rushing to hire a full-time Sales VP when a Fractional Sales VP would be more effective. Here's a brief comparison between the two: Full-Time Sales VP 1. They expect > $200 + equity. For early-stage companies (sub $3M ARR), this is usually premature. 2. They will cost 2x to 3x to simply validate and implement a sales model. Most "VP-level" candidates usually haven't built a sales org from scratch. 3. They've inherited teams or managed existing processes. Early-stage companies need someone who's done the startup journey before. The real cost to Founders from the wrong Full-Time Sales VP hire: • 6 months to realize it's not working before saying, enough. • 3 months to find the right replacement. • 6 more months to ramp and see if that works out. That's 15 months of lost momentum hitting the bottom line. Fractional Sales VP brings: 1. Battle-tested and proven sale playbooks of best practices. 2. No long-term commitment if it's not a fit. No HR issues. 3. Objective perspective on what's working and what’s not. 4. Experience hiring their replacement, when you're ready. The harsh truth: Most companies below $3M ARR don't need a full-time Sales VP. They need someone who's solved their specific problems before and can do it again. What's your experience been? Have you considered a Fractional Sales VP, or did you jump straight to full-time? DM me know if you'd like to explore if this approach could work for your stage. I have a spreadsheet that lets you plug in your numbers and find out.

"Hire for the stage you're in, not the stage you're dreaming about!" 👇 Every founder I've worked with has heard me say this at some point. The founders feel the pressure to bring in a heavy hitter to lead their sales. They think they need a VP of Sales to set strategy, so they hire one, expecting magic But what they really need is someone to roll up their sleeves, find early customers, and drive revenue—a Founding Account Executive (AE). It’s a common mistake: thinking you need a senior leader when you actually need an executor. This distinction can make or break your early growth. Here’s the breakdown: 👍🏻 What your AE should do 👍🏻 ✅ Self-Source Leads – Find prospects and build relationships from scratch ✅ Drive Early Sales – Pitch, demo, and close deals with early customers ✅ Adapt to Ambiguity – Pivot as ICP and GTM strategies evolve ✅ Maintain Feedback Loop – Share insights to adjust product for PMF 👎🏻 What they don’t need to do 👎🏻 🚫 Develop Long-Term Strategy – That’s a VP of Sales role, focused on scaling and setting long-term goals. 🚫 Build and Manage a Sales Team – Founding AEs execute sales, not recruit or manage others. 🎜 Join our upcoming webinar, where Hilton and I will help you hire your first AE and discuss preparation, the hiring process, onboarding, and compensation. 🗓 Save your spot! link in the first comment #StartupSales #FoundingAE #HiringEssentials #B2BFounders #EarlyStageGrowth #Webinar

VC in a B2B SaaS startup doing 0-1? ➡ Answer these for the Founder 1️⃣ PMF What do I need to know to start and succeed at founder-led sales? How many deals should I close before I know I have a playbook? Which channel should I focus on in early days - outbound or inbound? 2️⃣ Early sales team What kind of sales team should be in place before I hire a VP? What does a good sales rep look like in early days? Signals that I did not hire the right reps? How should I set targets for the reps? 3️⃣ VP sales How long before I consider hiring my first VP of sales? Should the VP be the first hire in sales team outside the founder? How to hire a great or possibly a good one? Founder doing 0-1 ➡ Select your VC based on these answers #knowyourVC #successmindset #0to1