One of the best hires for an entrepreneur that’s starting to get some traction is a sales assistant. With limited resources, a sales assistant can help make the entrepreneur’s time much more productive by freeing up some of the more tactical work, getting in front of potential prospects, and running aspects of the sales process. Think of the sales assistant as a way to help the entrepreneur continue juggling a number of initiatives while maintaining momentum on the sales front.
Here are a few thoughts on the sales assistant hire:
- Implement a sales development system like SalesLoft with corresponding best practices
- Hold the sales assistant accountable to a lightweight process (e.g. figure out the sales stages and map out how the sales assistant fits into those stages)
- Have the sales assistant sit in on the discovery calls and take notes
- Ensure all to do items, follow ups, etc. are off-loaded to the sales assistant and tracked (too many entrepreneurs hold on to details that are better off delegated)
The sales assistant is like a cross between a sales development rep and an assistant. Hiring a sales assistant early will help the entrepreneur sell more while ensuring that all aspects of the business continue to improve.
What else? What are some more thoughts on the sales assistant as an early hire?
David Cummings on Startups 
so…do you want us to buy SalesLoft?
Excellent post & guidance! This is sort of what I’m doing next week, except it’s for an admin asst position & I’m getting a few of them through my school’s volunteer pool (read: free).
I love mentoring young adults, so why not take on a few of them who are already majoring in my field? A win-win!