Sales Success and Growing Pains: How to Build Systems That Scale

Two Tall Guys Talking Sales

In this episode of Two Tall Guys Talking Sales, Kevin Lawson and Sean O'Shaughnessey explore the complexities of rapid sales growth. While many companies aspire to grow, not all are ready for the operational strain accompanying success. The hosts share insights on scaling systems, optimizing sales operations, and ensuring growth doesn’t break your business. This episode offers actionable strategies for businesses facing fast-paced expansion, from onboarding salespeople to expanding infrastructure.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Recognizing the Pain of Growth (00:01:00) Sean discusses the challenge of managing growth when sales outpace operational capabilities, posing critical questions about when to add resources like marketing or legal support.

• Building Systems That Scale (00:02:30) Kevin shares how building robust, repeatable processes—whether hiring one salesperson or ten—ensures sustainable and scalable growth.

• When to Hire Sales Support Staff (00:03:32) The discussion highlights the importance of adding operational roles such as sales analysts or revenue operations personnel to ease the workload on sales teams.

• Maximizing Sales Efficiency (00:07:14) Sean advises identifying which tasks to delegate from high-performing salespeople to specialists, increasing overall efficiency and productivity.

• Tailoring Sales Strategy to Industry Needs (00:09:26) Kevin elaborates on how different industries may require unique sales strategies, emphasizing the need to adapt based on business size and market demands.

Key Quotes:

• Sean: "We need to grow, but can the rest of the organization grow with us?" (00:05:00)

• Kevin: "Growth is a cash event. Growth is a change event. When you 2x, 3x a business in sales, you often break things." (00:02:48)

• Sean: "Think about how much time high-performing people spend doing things that are not high-performing tasks, and figure out how you can take that off their plate." (00:12:52)

A Significant Actionable Item from this Podcast:

Conduct a time audit for your sales team. Identify non-sales tasks that consume their time, such as data entry or order processing. Delegate these tasks to a dedicated admin or sales operations role. This can significantly boost productivity and allow your top performers to focus on closing deals.

Summary:

In this episode, Kevin and Sean break down the key challenges of scaling a business during periods of fast growth. They offer practical advice on creating efficient processes, hiring the right support staff, and ensuring your sales operations keep pace with your revenue expansion. Whether your company is rapidly expanding or preparing for future growth, this episode is packed with actionable insights that can help you maintain momentum without breaking your business. Tune in to learn how to balance growth and efficiency for long-term success!

To understand if your company is doing a great job in sales, take this quick and easy 10-question assessment: https://salesxceleration.com/sales-agility-assessment/?locationid=28995327 You can reach out to Kevin at Lighthouse Sales Advisors & Sales Xceleration - [e-mail] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwlawson/ You can reach out to Sean at New Sales Expert, LLC & Sales Xceleration - [e-mail] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/soshaughnessey/