The Role of Fractional Sales Leaders in Startups

Startups have two competing goals: they need to scale without burning all of their capital. Like any business, a startup needs to stay alive: sales.

A startup can hire a full-time sales team with SDRs, BDRs, and a sales director, but this could burn a lot of capital. If sales aren’t good, the sales team could cost the startup so much that it no longer has enough capital to scale.

That’s why more startups are considering fractional sales, a service that allows a startup to hire a sales director for a specific task. This contrasts with a full-time sales director, which costs on average, $200,000+ each year.

Fractional sales is the best of both worlds: a sales leader that brings expertise and the ability to generate new clients but without the cost of hiring a full-time, salaried sales leader.

Another benefit is that fractional sales leaders often have experience working with startups, so they understand the challenge of meeting certain targets. They also understand how to get the job done without the benefits of a fully built team. They can bring strategies and ideas to help the startup through the various investment rounds.

Startups need flexibility since anything can change the original plan: the economy, politics, or the market they’re in. They also don’t have unlimited capital, so they have to be as efficient with every dollar as possible.

Fractional sales leaders have proven strategies they can implement right away, which is critical for any startup that wants to go to market.

A fractional sales leader can join the startup for a specific period or product. It’s like renting a tool long enough to complete one job rather than buying the tool when you only need it for a specific job.

Another key benefit of having a fractional sales leader is that they often come with exclusive access to a network of executives and connections that a startup or small business wouldn’t have access to foxglove6, for example, has access to a LinkedIn advisory partner network and a health plan advisory board. foxglove6 also has strategic partners to generate leads by phone and email. That’s how foxglove6 provides a concierge solution.

When you hire fractional support, you have more time to focus on product development, operations, and hiring. That’s because you’re not spending all day trying to find your next prospect and turning them into a customer. Fractional support lets founders do what they do best.

Finally, a fractional sales leader allows you to make sales while you scale the company. This saves you money at a critical stage because you’re not employing full-time staff. With time, you will have enough capital to build a complete sales team.

In summary, fractional sales leaders give startups and small businesses the flexibility to scale and grow. They save precious capital by not hiring full-time sales leaders but still need somebody with expertise and access to an exclusive network. You get the best of both worlds: the benefits of a sales team without the full cost of building one.