Craig Johnson 12/22/25 Craig Johnson 12/22/25

Bottleneck #3 – The 3 Hidden Bottlenecks That Doom Sales Hires

Bottleneck #3: I Know I Need Sales Reps, But I Don’t Know How to Lead Them

At a certain point, every founder reaches this crossroads. You’ve built something real, customers are buying, referrals are coming in, and your calendar is booked with sales calls you barely have time to run.

Revenue is growing, but the weight of it is growing, too.

You know it’s time to step out of being the primary salesperson because you can’t do it all anymore. You need a system and a way to hand off sales without watching it unravel.

But while it’s clear that someone needs to take sales off your plate, the part that’s less clear is how to lead them once they’re in the role. You’ve never had to train someone on your process, because, up to this point, you’ve never really had a process.

It’s all been instinct—conversations, gut feeling, a few proven responses you’ve picked up along the way. You know what works. You just don’t know how to explain it.

Craig Johnson 12/8/25 Craig Johnson 12/8/25

Bottleneck #2 – The 3 Hidden Bottlenecks That Doom Sales Hires

Bottleneck #2: I Tried to Hire Sales Reps… and It Blew Up on Me

We have personally seen the damage done by hiring a sales rep who doesn’t work out. It creates literal scar tissue for founders.

We’ve had founders come to us after hiring several salespeople in a row, each one a six-figure investment. Each one a gamble. Each one a disappointment.

One founder we worked with had already hired and let go four different full-time sales reps before he came to us. Each one came with a six-figure salary, relocation package, and health benefits. He ran them through a rigorous hiring process. He got buy-in from the team. He invested time, energy, and hope. Then watched them settle into new homes and new lives, all under the belief that this one would be different.

But by month four of each new hire, the pattern had already started to show. The numbers weren’t there. The conversations felt forced. Deals were stalling or disappearing altogether.

Craig Johnson 11/24/25 Craig Johnson 11/24/25

Bottleneck #1 – The 3 Hidden Bottlenecks That Doom Sales Hires

Bottleneck #1: Is 40 Hours per Month Really Enough?

This is one of the first questions we hear from founders considering fractional sales help: “Is 40 hours enough? How can someone part-time possibly drive real results?”

It’s a fair question, especially if your mental model of a high-performing salesperson is someone hustling from sunup to sundown, glued to their CRM, pounding the phones, and making magic happen. But the reality is most full-time salespeople only spend about 10–15 hours a week on actual sales activity.

Kevin McMillan 7/9/25 Kevin McMillan 7/9/25

The Right Person and the Right Plan

Hiring a salesperson shouldn’t feel like gambling. But too often, that’s exactly how it goes. You spend weeks interviewing, you finally make a hire, and then… you wait. You wait for them to get up to speed. You wait for them to “figure it out.” You wait for results while trying to squeeze in enough training between everything else on your plate.

Kevin McMillan 7/2/25 Kevin McMillan 7/2/25

The Advantage of a Fractional Mindset

With a full-time employee, there is an unspoken permission to be inefficient. You know they’re available forty hours a week, so training often gets pushed. You think, I’ll get to it when I have time, but of course as a founder, you rarely do. Important onboarding moments get delayed, diluted, or skipped entirely because the time always feels available…until it isn’t.

Guest User 1/8/25 Guest User 1/8/25

Rainmaking vs. Sales: Breaking Free From The SeeSaw Syndrome

Are you caught in the relentless grind of chasing new business today while scrambling to forge tomorrow's opportunities? This exhausting cycle—let's call it the "seesaw syndrome"—doesn't just drain energy; it creates a lid on your business's growth trajectory.

Guest User 11/13/24 Guest User 11/13/24

Sales And The Flywheel Effect: Don't Make This Common Mistake!

A Flywheel is a mechanical device which is designed to store kinetic energy and smooth out the power of an engine. They are typically made of very dense metal that takes a lot of energy to get moving. But, once they have momentum, that density and weight works to keep the engine running smoothly.

Just like a flywheel, sales requires a LOT of energy to get moving initially but, once the momentum is in place, the energy required to keep it moving is diminished.

Guest User 11/12/24 Guest User 11/12/24

5 Things You Need to Do Today to Prepare for 2025

There is no doubt that 2024 was challenging for many small and mid-sized businesses. Economic downturns, high interest rates, political uncertainty, and hesitant buyer behaviors left many stuck. But there is good news: 2025 offers a fresh start.

The key to sales success next year lies in one principle—MOMENTUM. By acting NOW, you can ensure 2025 is your best year yet. This guide outlines five critical actions you need to take today to get ready.

Kevin McMillan 8/21/24 Kevin McMillan 8/21/24

Two Lenses of Sales Success: Platform vs People

On the exciting path to ramping up sales, small business owners like us often hit a fork in the road that can really make us scratch our heads: Do we lay down the groundwork and build a strong sales infrastructure first, or jump straight into the action by hiring a savvy sales pro who can land deals and help build that foundation along the way? This decision might look like a no-brainer at first glance, but let me tell you, it's anything but simple. It's one of those big decisions that not only sets the immediate direction for our ventures but also shapes the way we grow and connect with our customers down the line.

Kevin McMillan 8/20/24 Kevin McMillan 8/20/24

Your Mission Matters: 4 Ways Your WHY Elevates Sales to a Whole New Level

In the fast-paced world of SMB's, where every decision counts, there's a secret sales weapon that can absolutely set your business apart: your mission. And here me out on this.....I'm not talking about a fancy tagline......I'm referring to the heartbeat of your organization, the soul that fuels every action and decision. The very reason you and your team show up for work every single day.

Let's dive into 4 reasons why your mission is the unsung hero of lasting sales success.

Altezza Sales Insights

Bottleneck #3: I Know I Need Sales Reps, But I Don’t Know How to Lead Them

Bottleneck #2: I Tried to Hire Sales Reps… and It Blew Up on Me