SalesTechStar Interview With Dean Glas, CEO at SellX

Dean Glas, CEO at SellX talks about the core challenges faced by B2B sellers in today’s complex marketplace:

_________

Welcome to this SalesTechStar chat Dean, tell us about your journey in the tech industry and of course, more about the SellX platform: what inspired it?

SellX is the world’s first platform that connects top sales talent with fast-growing companies to help them scale faster and easier than ever before. We offer companies a data-optimized platform that comes complete with end-to-end integrated sales and marketing tools, which track performance, automate workflows, and manage payments.

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset, and after selling my previous startup to TikTok, I was looking for the next market opportunity. A conversation with my brother-in-law about his new sales job sparked my interest. A strong sales team is crucial for a company to make money and grow, but not only is it extremely difficult to put these teams together, there is a high level of churn as sales reps often feel overworked and undervalued. Fast forward to hundreds of conversations with friends and colleagues in sales about how the system is broken and I knew there needed to be a better way.

SellX was built from the ground up, using our own systems that can integrate and scale with a company. Essentially, SellX allows companies to save the time it usually takes to hire, onboard, and ramp up sales teams by providing access to a remote pool of vetted skilled sales talent that can be activated at the push of a button. Our suite of sales tools offers a transparent look at the activity and performance of a company’s campaign showing what works and what doesn’t, allowing them to make informed decisions on their sales strategy.

What are some of the biggest challenges you feel B2B sales leaders and teams face when it comes to building / scaling out their sales teams?

From beginning to end, the sales cycle in most organizations represents a host of challenges.

1. Figuring out who to hire – it’s difficult and time consuming; an entry level sales position can take 6 months on average to hire. It could be weeks or months before it’s officially determined the hire is not a fit, wasting time and money.
2. Onboarding & ramping up – 57% of sales reps don’t hit their quota or don’t get the results that were expected. Training and ramping up, which can take up to a year, is the time when reps learn and get skillful at the position. Going through a year of work and for the majority of reps to still not make their quota is seriously ineffective.
3. Churn – sales is a tough business, and the turnover rate is often the highest of any other department (averaging 35%). It’s a high stress game. Companies spend all this time and money deciding who to hire, training them only for them not to make their sales goal and then are back at square one when they ultimately leave.

Due to this broken process, organizations often treat the sales role as a revolving door of talent, and reps continue to feel unsatisfied and undervalued as they take on what can be the most crucial and challenging role in the company.

Read More:  ChurnZero Announces CSM Appreciation Week Award Winners

How do you feel the future of B2B sales is set to shape up, when it comes to how teams will work and be structured to suit evolving B2B selling needs?

Companies have traditionally used freelance marketplaces or outsourcing firms to supplement sales efforts, which each have their own host of issues. While effective when looking for a wide breadth of workers, freelance marketplaces do not guarantee quality and skill. On the other hand, outsourcing firms that provide sales teams typically use outdated or third party tools that don’t seamlessly integrate into a company’s system and makes the whole workstream opaque, leaving effectiveness and performance up in the air.

Looking at the future of work trends, companies need to have the tools to empower a remote or hybrid workforce and create room for specialized skilled positions, or else they will be left behind.

What has clearly been accelerated as a result of the pandemic is that workers want to have more flexibility. With SellX, sales reps have the flexibility to work when, where, and how they want and to apply to campaigns that align with their unique background and interests. Companies can utilize platforms like SellX to adapt and empower this change. A company’s sales team can work entirely remote, opening the doors to a broader pool of top-tier talent across the country.

In addition, with the growing capabilities of data and technology, B2B sales efforts are getting more granular. Companies can identify what skills a sales rep has and have that rep focus on carving out and refining that skill. So it will no longer be a general salesperson in the position but a well rounded team of highly skilled and hyper focused reps that together make an effective campaign.

If there were five best practices you hope all sales leaders keep in mind when it comes to aligning sales teams and sales talent: what would they be?

• Focus on performance – it shouldn’t be about the hours you work but the results you get. Tying company goals to performance allows you to put growth at the forefront of your strategy and make decisions based on what is working and what isn’t. For example, SellX is a performance based platform that can empower sales leaders with a neutral look at top performers.
• Training & enablement – training is more than “showing the new guy the ropes.” Set your team up for success by ensuring all new sales reps understand the product/service inside and out and the overall value proposition.
• Gamification/incentivisation – sales is a lot of rejection and morale is key in maintaining a healthy and effective sales team. Make the position as fun as possible by offering bonuses/prizes, leaderboards, etc.
• Payment focus – gone are the days of bi-weekly paychecks. Offering a more consistent payment stream can incentivize workers to keep at it. For example, SellX pays out every 72 hours of work to provide our reps with the instant gratification of completing all their tasks.
• Path for growth – part of setting your sales reps up for success is being an ally in their career path. Help them build an outline and give them the tools that will allow them to gain experience, get better and grow.

Read More: SalesTechStar Interview with Ladina Lane, Senior Marketing Specialist at Panasonic Connect

A few thoughts on the future of hiring for sales and what different types of roadblocks businesses should be prepped for?

Whether external factors such as the pandemic or the rising generation with different ideals starting out in their careers, the workforce is changing dramatically, and companies need to adapt to keep up.Those hiring in sales will need to emphasize the company’s values and culture, as people no longer want to work where they don’t feel like they belong or are valued.

The beauty of platforms like SellX is that our sales reps can work for the companies they want to.  The companies we work with are vetted to ensure their products/services are conducive to our own corporate values.

The allure of freelancing and remote/hybrid work is also growing stronger as people desire more control and flexibility in their lives.

Companies who insist on being in the office full time are limiting themselves from finding top-tier talent that may not be in their area but a perfect fit for the position.

Some last thoughts, takeaways, before we wrap up!

Despite being necessary to nearly every company, sales is a major pain point in both company growth and hiring in general, and technology is the conduit that will empower change.

SellX not only provides access to a growing pool of talent that would otherwise be out of reach for companies; it provides the ability to deploy a premium sales team faster than ever before. For the first time, everything in the sales process/cycle from discovery to work and payment, is happening in one optimized marketplace that continues to improve the more it is used and as additional data is collected. From matching reps with companies (and vice versa) better than ever before, to providing analytics on what type of campaigns reps are successful at and more, we can learn and create an environment that is more predictable and effective for both sides to reach their highest success.

Read More:  CPM: Taking Corporate Strategy to Execution