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The role of sales and startup leadership in enterprise deals
As someone who has been both an individual contributor and a leader in the startup enterprise sales world, understanding how and when assisting reps with deals is a big, challenging grey area.
Should you be on calls… or should you let them handle it? When is the right time to get involved? When is the right time to back off?
You want to help… and it often feels like if you don’t, the deal could go south.
Full disclosure, I’ve had more instances where leadership involvement has actually hampered my deal rather than helped it… including a few deals lost.
On the flip side, I’ve been fortunate to have some incredible leaders show me how their involvement can be a good thing in the right circumstances too. Including some that have helped me get deals across the finish line, I never could have by myself!
Here are two examples from my own career to help illuminate this.
The first illustrates this delicate partnership done well.
The second showcasing where it wasn’t, along with things to think about to determine whether your involvement is necessary and in what capacity.
