Growing a business to nine figures requires a clear and disciplined approach to sales, and often significant shifts must take place as a company scales. Here are five major changes that helped drive one company’s Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy to surpass the nine-figure revenue mark.
1. Increasing the Number of Closes by Focusing on Monthly Targets
In the early stages of a start-up, closing deals at the end of each quarter with a final sprint of effort might be achievable. However, as a company scales, this approach becomes unsustainable. Negotiating and closing every deal within a narrow window creates too much pressure and strain on the sales team.
To counter this, the company shifted its focus to monthly targets, creating regular closing periods throughout the year. This involved fostering a culture of monthly closing and distributing the workload more evenly across the quarter. By hitting 25% of the quarterly target in the first month and another 25% in the second, the team found they could comfortably exceed their remaining 50% in the final month.
The result? More predictable revenue, reduced burnout, and better focus on deals as they progressed through the pipeline.
2. Simplifying the Salesperson’s Role to Three Key Tasks
As the sales team grew, the role of a salesperson became burdened with multiple responsibilities. To maintain consistency and focus, the company streamlined the salesperson’s role to just three core tasks: Building Pipeline, Capturing Attention, and Closing Deals.
This simplification not only made it easier to onboard new team members, but it also allowed for more effective measurement of performance. By focusing on what really drove revenue, the sales team could concentrate on personal ownership of their territories and hitting their monthly targets.
This narrowing of scope led to a sales team that was more efficient, more focused, and ultimately more successful.
3. Elevating the SDR Role to a High-Profile Position
Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) are the backbone of a successful GTM strategy, but the role can be emotionally taxing. To ensure SDRs felt valued and motivated, the company made the SDR role one of the most high-profile positions within the organisation.
By celebrating wins, promoting creative approaches to prospecting, and providing clear career pathways, the company motivated SDRs with opportunities for advancement into Sales, Sales Engineering, or Customer Experience roles. This recognition not only kept top talent engaged but also ensured the sales pipeline remained consistently full.
4. Focusing on Getting Contracts Through Enterprise Procurement on Time
Closing deals with enterprise clients involves much more than persuading decision-makers. The procurement process can often present significant obstacles and delays, so the company developed a strategy for organisational alignment, constant oversight, and scenario planning to ensure contracts moved through procurement on time.
By keeping the right stakeholders engaged and maintaining a mindset of “productive paranoia,” the company was able to anticipate potential delays and remove bottlenecks, ensuring enterprise contracts closed when forecasted.
5. Believing the Keys to Success Were Within the Team
As the company scaled, leadership realised that the answers to their biggest challenges were already within the team. By identifying and refining the best practices already happening internally—whether it was prospecting, discovery, sales process management, or objection handling—the company was able to drive success from within.
This focus on internal knowledge sharing and continuous improvement became a cornerstone of the company’s culture, enabling them to scale effectively without constantly seeking external solutions.
Takeaway: Keep Testing and Iterating
There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for reaching revenue milestones. What works at £10M may not be the same strategy that gets a company to £100M. The key is recognising that different stages of growth require different strategies. The five changes outlined here had a significant impact on this company’s ability to scale.
But success is never static. Continuous testing, iterating, and refining are essential. The journey to nine figures is one of constant learning and adjustment—and that’s what makes it so rewarding.
