As a retained recruiter I get to work with orthopedic companies as they grow and mature. The sales needs of a young company evolve over time.
Phase 1"Get me people who have surgeon relationships. Someone who can sell to our targeted customers. Without sales, we don't have a company (messy startup phase)."
Phase 2"Get me people who can both sell and find new customers. We need more sales. We need hunters, not gatherers."
Phase 3"Get me people who can recruit and train 1099s to carry our product(s) into territories where we are weak. This way we can service the entire US. I just need a Distributor Hunter."
Phase 4"Get me seasoned sales managers so we can manage all these 1099s. It's hard to keep our products "top of mind" with all these 1099s. It's like managing cats. "
Phase 5"Get me someone who can lead national sales and put together sales processes that can scale."
Phase 6"Get me specialized sales people who can negotiate contracts and people who can train surgeons on a larger scale."
Phase 7"We are going direct. Get me a sales leader who can convert all these independents into direct sales employees to improve our margins (organized big company phase)."...
