Bullets Before Cannonballs: Why Founders Should Test Sales Strategy Before Scaling

You have a whole list of strategic moves that could actually change the trajectory of your business. And finally—after months (maybe years) of grinding—you’ve got the momentum to start moving and making it a reality. But you can’t because sales keeps dragging you back. 

You're still the one doing the follow-ups. Still chasing proposals. Still hopping on that "one quick call" to close the deal. And while none of it is broken, it’s starting to break your bandwidth. Sales is no longer the growth engine, it’s the bottleneck standing between you and your next big move.

So you start to think: Maybe it’s time to hire someone full-time. Someone who can finally take this off my plate so I can focus on the rest of the business.

But right behind that ambition comes the hesitation. What if it doesn’t work? What if you spend six figures on salary, bonuses, benefits and still end up with someone who’s not closing? What if the time and energy it takes to onboard them only slows things down? Or maybe you have already tried to hire, and the sales representative didn’t work out, which makes you more afraid to try again.