As a sales leader, have you ever moved into a newly created position? How did you navigate the transition and first few months?

When I moved into a newly created sales leadership role, the first few months were all about understanding why the role was created, building relationships, and delivering quick wins. I spent time listening to the team, learning the processes, and figuring out what was working and what wasn’t. At the same time, I focused on making small, impactful changes to show value early on. Clear communication was key, both in defining my role and aligning everyone around the goals I was brought in to drive. 

Moved into a new role this year.  Everyone was anxious about a new leader starting so I made them comfortable by telling them nothing was going to change.  I built credibility really fast.  They wanted to know what was coming next and I fed really small things that would have big to a few people in the office who would try it on their sales calls then would tell everyone about the success.  Naturally, that made more people want to speak with me.

The biggest change came from pricing.  The company had been run for 6 years without a price increase.  I didn't want to be that CRO who comes in and increases prices without understanding the business when the existing head of sales had been running the show.  So, I used data to paint the picture and asked him how he would feel if we put the control in the AEs hands.  We told the AEs they could charge higher than list price.  If they pitched and closed higher than 20% on top of list price, we would give them 25% of the difference.  Across 20 AEs that generated an extra quarter of mill in the first month and over the quarter we saw less discounting and our ASP go up by 33%.  That experiment warranted the price increase the following quarter

It sounds simple but I learned to take very small steps and create realistic timelines for producing results. Only once I was able to build a foundation with some general procedures, was I able to get a better view of the level of effort required and then plan for the scaling required for the role. 

I became overwhelmed very quickly by trying to take on too much and seeing the bigger picture which hadn't quite formed yet. 

You got this!

The bad thing is you are missing an existing structure, so you don't know where you fit in. However, I assume you were hired for the role because you had expertise the employer wanted. The good thing is that you get to define the role and function based on your experiences and what makes the most sense to you.  It is most important to know where you are expected to head otherwise you will never get there.  (E.g heading to NYC vs LA makes a big difference in the path you take). So my first suggestion is to understand the expectations of your customers, whether they are internal or external.  Once you figure that out you can then figure out the best means, based on your experience, to satisfy them.