sell3r

GTM

Hesitant to talk to our CEO about a 3rd AE hire

Hey Bravado team,

I'm at an early stage company (less than $1 million ARR), and last year was an absolute grind.

We have 2 AEs, no marketing, and building pipeline off of pure cold outbound.

My CEO is looking to hire a 3rd AE (which doesn't make sense to me given that we barely hit 20% of our team number last year).

But I'm afraid to bring this up with him. While we do have lots of accounts to go after, I feel that bringing a 3rd person in introduces complexity to our outbound motion, and I'll basically spend more time doing less.

I feel like the money we spend on an AE can be better used towards marketing or content.

What's the best way to approach this?

👥 Hiring

🧢 Sales Management

16 comments

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Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

Do you know what are his plans? To grow the team or if the 3rd person performs, slash the number back to 2?
If I were you I will definitely talk if something is worrying me as ultimately if I am not selling, I am not making $

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

If you're comfortable having a conversation with him, you can definitely ask what the strategy is. Maybe he's got a plan in mind he has yet to communicate. Based on the small amount of info you shared, I'd guess he's trying to get better market penetration and things more outbounding will do that. Your concerns about your numbers and your quota are valid - will he listen?

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

This is super common and really annoying. Over hiring is the worst.
Do you have a boss/VP? I would go to them first before going to the ceo

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

Overhire then promptly layoff.

TennisandSales

Politicker

Head Of Sales

The vicious cycle that never ends

Justatitle

Big Shot

Account Executive

Your CEO probably needs to be reality checked, so by literally saying to him "CEO, all our sales are made from outbound efforts, this isn't a case of being inundated and not closing, the money you are willing to spend on a new AE would likely be better spent through marketing channels to help expand the pipeline, are you open to trying out marketing for 2-3 months before you decide to bring on another AE?"

KingofGIF

Politicker

The best approach to this is updating your Resume. IF early stage CEO forecasts grow out of a spreadsheet by adding AEs to increase demand(??) THEN you GTFO.

MaverickSF

Co-Founder, VP Sales and Marketing

☝️ this.

TheKing

Good Citizen

CEO

What's going on here is painfully obvious...your CEO does have a marketing plan, and you're it.
Since everything you're generating is from outbound cold calls, your CEO is thinking he can bump his marketing (outbound cold calling) by 50% simply by adding another AE.
Unfortunately, not all CEO's recognize the value of marketing. To them, there has to be a direct ROI to justify any expenditure. They do not recognize the value of building the brand or creating desire for their reps.
That kind of leader, and subsequently their company, will always have a lower ceiling because of that.
Punching up your resume' may pay dividends in the not-so-distant future.

MichaelVii

Director Sales

If we’re in your shoes I would approach your CEO, VP, but also have a solution thought out / put together a business plan that can point to a greater return of investment and the steps that will get you there. If you have a plan the idea will be received better and consideration given and possibly approved. But be ready to take on the task in addition to what your already doing.

GDO

Politicker

BDM

This should be a red flag to both of you

notdavemoss

Valued Contributor

CCBW

Not for nothing, this guy is trying to build his retirement on your back. Without marketing, you're doing all the work. Either 1. Ask for more or 2. Go somewhere else. You will never convince a guy who runs a business like that to do "what is right."

buckeyenation

Acclaimed Answer

"reality checking" is a good idea. If they are the type that has even a small capacity to listen, you might brain storm the hire with the CEO so he can see all sides of the coin.
They could be a sociopath and not trust you. Plain and simple. They could literally be throwing the three of you to the wolves to see who swims. Shitty, waste of talent, waste of resources, antiquated, but all too common. Have seen it first hand.
Startups of this size LOVE to hire sales people. It is like the most ego hire. The ceo gets to tell the "other ceo" that they made it - they have a team of AEs.
Also note: sometimes they have more confidence than they should in go to market fit and product market fit. I say definite reality check time.
And if he doesn't listen, you know where you stand.

New Business Development USA

In order to win the "sales wars" you must have marketing "air support."

MaverickSF

Co-Founder, VP Sales and Marketing

Be very candid. Speak the truth. Educate them on the Marketing and Sales process. You do not need another “closer” prospecting. They don’t get that. What you need is specialization in the marketing and sales process. You need more qualified leads in the pipeline. The most effective way is to have resources dedicated to feeding your closers.

quotascammedeverytime

Opinionated

account executive

This is pretty classic throwing shit at the wall. Sounds like your ceo doesn’t know what he’s doing

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sell3r

Hesitant to talk to our CEO about a 3rd AE hire

16 comments

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