All three are grappling with the same sales problem, but each of them looks at it from a different point of view. And the solution is very specific for each role. For example, here is a particularly dire scenario for some of you CFOs...
“It feels like walking into a lion’s den wearing a pork chop jacket.”
A fair analogy of how a CFO feels when walking into a Board meeting after missing a sales forecast – by a large margin. And oh, by the way, your company just joined the legion of start-ups who turned over their VP of sales. Without a sales VP, how do you (the CFO) know that the sales funnel you are tasked with explaining is authentic?
You’re not alone. Turnover among sales leadership is rampant in Hard Tech start-ups. Market Operandi’s research indicates that within the first year of receiving their first round of institutional funding, over 80% of Hard Tech start-ups will turn over their head of sales. Unfortunately, it doesn’t get better after the first round. Very often, there is a second wave of turnover in year three or four. As CFO, this leads to a very real challenge in terms of understanding your sales funnel and the lack of sales activity in your start-up.
So, how do you address this with your CEO and your Board? As the CFO, you are the intermediary between the Board and the realities of the sales funnel. In the absence of the VP of Sales, it falls on you to assess whether the sales funnel is genuine or not. Transparency is key. You must provide an honest assessment of the sales forecast backed by data and insights. However, you don’t have to do this alone.
Our MO team believes this can be an opportunity for you to showcase your leadership skills and strategic thinking. For example, is your front-end funnel expanding but never seems to progress? And therefore, you miss your quarterly and annual targets. Or, how do you know that a particular deal in the funnel is healthy or not?
MO has developed (and successfully implemented) our proven analysis tool for opportunity assessment for all customers in the current funnel, as well as new prospects. It will give you a realistic picture of your sales funnel and when and where your next sales opportunities will present themselves. You will be able to face the Board with transparency and confidence as you outline where your start-up stands and where you need to direct current and future sales activities.
No one wants to face the Board after missing a sales forecast. However, CFOs at Hard Tech start-ups don’t have to go it alone; we can provide the resources and tools to help you navigate this situation in the absence of sales leadership. By partnering with MO, you can reverse a potentially overwhelming situation and turn it into an opportunity for sales growth and revenue acceleration.
Connect with Ron Tousignant, our Sales Systems and Scalability Lead to continue the conversation!