Companies tend to add salespeople at the point when they think those added salespeople can be productive. Salespeople are very expensive, and when a startup invests in them, they start paying their salaries immediately, but the salespeople need to be trained over a three- or six-month period before becoming productive. In other words, companies go into a cash hole whenever they hire a new salesperson. Recognizing this initial cost, the startup has to evaluate whether it can justify the investment of a new salesperson each time they hire one. Will that person pay back in six months? In nine
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