Scaling Sales at a Startup with Chris Reisig

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Nov 2, 2025

Chris Reisig, a five-time Chief Revenue Officer, shares his wealth of knowledge on scaling sales at startups. He emphasizes the importance of wearing multiple hats to find your ideal customer profile and highlights the necessity of prioritizing product features that address customer pain points. Reisig discusses the significance of recognizing sales patterns before hiring reps, and how founders can transition out of day-to-day selling to focus on larger visions. This insightful conversation is a must-listen for entrepreneurs aiming to grow their businesses.

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INSIGHT

Founders Must Play Dual Roles Early

Early-stage founders must wear many hats, acting as product manager and salesperson simultaneously.
Being on the first 20 deals and capturing objections reveals ICP and repeatability.

ADVICE

Prioritize What Drives Immediate Revenue

Prioritize product work that directly reduces customer pain and drives immediate revenue.
Communicate those priorities clearly to engineering and investors to focus development.

INSIGHT

Pain Determines Purchase And Prioritization

Selling succeeds when you identify acute customer pain that compels action and budget.
Deeper pain and higher cost of inaction make solutions much easier to sell and prioritize to build.

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In this episode of The Revenue Builders Podcast hosted by John McMahon and John Kaplan, Chris Reising, a five-time Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) with extensive experience in scaling sales at early-stage tech companies, shares invaluable insights into the challenges and strategies involved in scaling sales functions for startups. From finding product-market fit to hiring the right sales reps and understanding the importance of pain points, this conversation provides a comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[00:01:17] In the early stages of a startup, you must wear multiple hats, including being a product manager and a sales professional. Understanding the ICP and gathering customer insights are crucial.

[00:02:31] The early days of a startup involve learning every day, attending sales meetings, understanding objections, and identifying the value your technology brings. Effective communication with the product team is key.

[00:04:05] Investor relations play a significant role. Early-stage investors look for different data points, and their feedback can be invaluable in understanding market signals.

[00:06:11] The importance of prioritizing technology components based on customer pain points and the potential to generate immediate revenue.

[00:07:44] Recognizing a recurring pattern in sales discussions where customers react positively to specific functionalities is a sign of repeatability and scalability.

[00:09:05] Founders who want to remain deeply involved in the sales process need guidance on when to step back. It's a common challenge in early-stage startups.

[00:12:42] Breaking down a grand vision into bite-sized chunks of value that address specific business problems is crucial for achieving repeatability and market success.

[00:13:30] Expanding the vision is essential but keeping the framework simple enough for the market and sales team to understand and execute is key to early-stage success.

[00:13:50] The importance of focusing sales efforts on the most productive areas and avoiding the mistake of spreading sales teams too thin.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:06:56] "When you start to recognize a recurring pattern...you start to say, 'Now I have some sense of repeatability,' and that's really important."

[00:10:08] "There's a huge difference between a first and second-time founder...you need to help them understand that stepping away is an important part of growing the business."

[00:13:01] "Recognize you've got to break that big vision down into bite-sized chunks that can be digested by your go-to-market team and by the market, by customers."

[00:13:30] "Where are we going to place our salespeople? Where are they going to be the most productive? That's really a key point."

Listen to the full episode with Chris Reisig in this link:
https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/building-a-scalable-culture-with-chris-reisig

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