How to Build Sales Operations within Your Start-up

I have been working within start-up style companies for most of my career. As the 4th employee hired in my current company, I have both witnessed and participated in the company’s growth before its acquisition and thus, have been a major player of the founding team that today employs 300+ personnel worldwide. Through my experiences I have realized a commonality between start-ups: corporate processes are not defined or implemented, forecasting and sales planning is executed on a day-by-day basis, and everyone within the company must wear multiple hats; from project manager to sales person to production as well as technical support (essentially a ‘jack of all trades’).

As the company grows and more employees are added it is necessary that roles become defined and interfaced with the rest of the team in order to fulfill the company’s expectations. A particular role that is often neglected, but paramount in establishing a successful sales forecast and strategy is the role of Sales Operations (sales ops). Today’s post is about the importance of sales ops, their function within the corporation, and how this role helps you scale your sales team.

Sales Operations Core Functions:
All too often, the term Sales Operations acquires a misleading portfolio. It is generally interpreted as a Sales Team’s Administrative Assistant, responsible with overseeing the behind the scenes tasks such as: creating quotes, scheduling meetings, updating CRM, etc. This however, is far from the truth of the actual role.

1. Sales Diagnostics:
     A successful team needs to be aware of the trends. Sales operations is commissioned with the analysis and interpretation of the Big Data to isolate patterns and associations. In turn providing explanations of relevant data sheets to accurately anticipate forecasting sales and sales pipelines. As well, Sales Operations aims to align forecast goals and targets by consulting with Marketing and implementing changes foreshadowed within market demands. Meanwhile interfacing with the Operations department to ensure their ability to execute these market demands and sales forecasts.

2. Devising a Tactile Plan:
     A Senior Sales Operation leader is responsible for planning and coordinating the incentive plan, territory definition, growth planning, and renewals. As the executive, growth of the company is paramount and thus, devising strategies and policies that will drive sales and ensure high-level performance is necessary.

3. Frontline Sales Empowerment:
     In my opinion, a Sales Team is stressed by the need to meet quotas. At times, the pressure to satisfy this target leaves individuals within the team overworked and unable to meet other various responsibilities. Sales Operations is chartered with empowering their division by managing some of the following tasks in order to ensure a peak performance environment for the entire Sales Team:

• Sales Funnel definition, implementation and tracking
• Administrating Quotation tool
• Cross-referencing CRM to quotation tool
• Sales efficiency
• Sales training
• Tender (RFSO, RFI, RFP) support
  

4.Head of Sales Consultant:
     Despite being previously synonymous with the political world, this position has found a new home in start-ups. However, a query on LinkSV.com itemizes that currently;

• Chief-of-Staff: 32 out of 108,000 senior titles
• In active companies: only 27 people with that title
• In inactive companies: only 5 people with that title

In essence, the Head of Sales requires a confidant and the Sales Ops Leader is just that and more.