Mistake #7: Believing You Have a Sales Problem When Operational Shortcomings Exist

95% of the time founder’s tell us about their primary challenge is sales.  Before deploying expensive resources (aka sales personnel) we advise creating marketing and sales assets that new sales personnel can monetize to ensure the highest probability of success.
All of the following should be in place before hiring sales people and/or focusing on new business revenues.

1. A quality pool of highly profiled prospects has been created.
   
2. A market niche has been carved out and validated.
   
3. Brand Equities have been built.
   
4. Credible and Compelling References (‘Raving Fans’, 3rd party testimonials and assurances) have been created for each industry or target market being targeted.
   
5. Partners have been identified and validated.
   
6. The business is found online for its top keyword phrases.
   
7. The right number/quantity of products/solutions have been created to ensure that sales can close 1 in 3 sales calls.

Key takeaway: Do the tough work upfront or suffer the ramifications.