Who Should You Hire Next?
Photo by Patrick Langwallner
If your business is operating with a lean team and looking to hire for expansion, you’ll need to choose your next hire wisely to address your company’s most pressing need. Most early business dilemmas can be addressed across Product, Sales, or Operations. Here are some common business challenges that present early, and who you could hire to help.
Challenge 1 — Product needs to be refined or developed
Scenario: You have 1–10 customers live, however, you are struggling to get them engaged. You do not have full visibility into how customers are (or are *not*) using your offering.
Hiring Solution: A product expert with data/analytics knowledge. Typical names for this role may include:
• Product Manager/Product Designer
• Program Manager
• Instructor/Developer
Why: Your Product Manager will have the sophistication to build a product roadmap for your offering, and the analytical skills to research why the product is potentially stalling. They will collect customer feedback through surveys/interviews, refine your target audience, measure ROI, and determine how well the product fits with your business model. They will then use those learnings to speedily iterate and improve your offering.
Challenge 2 — Need more customers to grow
Scenario: Your customer profile is locked in, and now you’re ready to accelerate growth.
Hiring Solution: A scrappy salesperson. (Note that a Marketing hire is *not* included here, as an early salesperson should generate their own leads). Typical names for this role may include:
• Salesperson
• Account Executive
• Business Development
Why: Your Salesperson will manage the entire sales funnel and be hands on at each stage: Initial Contact > Qualification > Demo > Proposal > Evaluation > Negotiation > Closing. They will need to be persuasive, and effective at communicating the value proposition of your offering. They will close sales regularly, propelling your growth.
Challenge 3 — Growing rapidly, but having service issues
Scenario: Your customer base is growing at an accelerating rate, but you cannot fully service their daily needs. You are starting to have friction amongst your existing employees in response to ad-hoc customer requests, financial management, and HR matters.
Hiring Solution: An operations lead who is comfortable with customer communication. Typical names for this role may include:
• Operations Manager/Business Operations/Strategic Operations
• Customer Success/Customer Service
• Chief of Staff
• Relationship Manager
• Project Manager
Why: Your Operations Manager will oversee internal tasks such as cost management, human resources, payroll, vendor relationships, and compliance. Externally, they will interact directly with customers and use their findings to streamline service; allowing you to scale your business in an efficient, repeatable way. This cuts down your business’ excess and reduces manual processes, so you can be more nimble during expansion.
When your business is under 10 employees, be sure to narrow your focus as you search for new hires. Often, companies hire the right person at the wrong time which can lead to lost resources and team frustration. Give your business the best chance at maximizing growth by first assessing your biggest problem and how a new employee will solve it.
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Kaego Ogbechie Rust is CEO at Foresight Advisors - working with foundations, investment firms, non-profits, and for-profit ventures - offering comprehensive support across vision & strategy, investing & financing, and operational planning during critical periods of your growth.
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Originally published on Medium.