Am I in safe hands?
It sits under “trust” on the slide I teach from. Your buyers ask it the day a new rep replaces you. A good handover answers it before they have to ask.
First sales team
From founder-led sales
You close every deal. Nobody else can yet.
From founder-led sales
to a first sales team that sells without you.
I’m Jose M Bermejo, a sales and pitch coach for B2B founders moving from founder-led sales to their first sales team. You still close most deals yourself. Now you want a team that can. I coach you through the handover: what to write down, who to hire first, and how to step back.
- One-to-one
- Your first sales hire
- On your real deals
Jose M BermejoSales and pitch coach
Apply for a 15-minute fit call
Free, 15 minutes. Tell me where you are: no sales hire yet, or a first rep who just started. If you don’t need a coach yet, I say so.
Client results
- Digital Smile Design$0 to $200KSame service. New pitch, story and sales process.
- Sincrolab+50% MRRMonthly revenue up 50% in under 4 months.
- Encamina$3M to $6M3x close rate on $50K deals.
Do you need a coach before your first sales hire?
Often,
not yet.
If your deals are small and they close, keep selling and write down what works. Outside help pays off when the handover starts.
Best for
- Founders of B2B tech startups who still close most deals themselves.
- You plan to hire your first sales rep, or one just started.
- Deals are bigger now, and you are on every call.
- Your first rep is struggling, and you can’t tell why.
Not a fit if
- You are still finding which buyers say yes. Keep selling, or decide it with your team in a one-day go-to-market workshop.
- You want someone to sell for you while you step away. That is a sales leader hire, not a coach.
Where the move from founder-led sales breaks
You hire a rep.
Deals slow down.
A first rep rarely fails for lack of effort. They struggle because the way you sell was never written down.
- Every deal still needs you on the last call.
- Your rep demos features. You sell the problem.
- Only you can set a price or change the terms.
- Buyers ask to speak to the founder.
- The pipeline looks full, but only your deals close.
Each of these has a fix you can write down. Why the rep is rarely the problem: Why Your Sales Reps Keep Failing (It’s Not Them).
If your reps also need the sales pitch built and taught, see pitch and rep training.
If you want the whole team trained and coached, not only the handover, see B2B sales consulting for your first sales team.
Sound familiar?
How it starts
Three steps,
one at a time.
- STEP 01 · 15 MINUTES · FREE
Fit call
Apply, answer three questions, and I confirm or decline.
- STEP 02 · 90 MINUTES · $950
Power Hour
90 minutes, live, on video. A sales pitch and storytelling challenge: you pitch, I roast it live. Booked after an accepted fit call.
- STEP 03 · AFTER STEP 02 · SET WITH YOU
Sales coaching program
One-to-one on your live deals, your sales pitch and your first reps. Length, format and price are set with you after step 02.
For the pitch itself there is Selling With Fire: 4 weeks for founders and CEOs whose pitch doesn't do justice to what they built.
- 15+ years selling B2B tech, first as a chief revenue officer who grew revenue 120%.
- $10M+ closed in high-ticket deals.
- I coach every session myself.
“I tripled my closing rate in less than 1 month. From 1-2 deals/week to 1 deal/day.”
“Our offering was broken. Jose diagnosed it in one session. The fix took two weeks. Absolutely eye-opening.”
Who coaches you through the handover
15+ years
selling B2B tech.
Jose M
Bermejo
I speak with fire. I listen with calm.
15+ years selling B2B tech, first as a chief revenue officer who grew revenue 120%. Predictable Innovation is my practice, and I coach every session myself. You may know me from my guides on Crossing the Chasm, go-to-market and positioning.
- $10M+closed in high-ticket deals.
- 50%average close rate on high-ticket deals.
- $5K to $1Mdeal sizes I've closed.
- 50+founders and CEOs coached on revenue growth.
Founder-led sales to a sales team: questions
Before you
hire.
Do I need a sales coach before my first sales hire?
Often not yet. If your deals are small and they close, keep selling and write down what works. A coach helps when deals get bigger, or when you are about to hand them to someone else.
When should a founder hire the first salesperson?
When you can say how you win a deal, and you can’t take more calls yourself. If deals close only because you are on the call, write down why first. Then hire.
Should my first sales hire be a founding account executive or a VP of Sales?
Usually a founding account executive (AE): someone who sells, not someone who manages. A sales leader needs a process to lead. Without one, they end up building it on your deals.
How do I hand over deals without losing them?
One at a time. Bring the rep to your calls, then let them lead while you listen, then step out. Tell each buyer who owns the deal now.
Is this the same as a fractional VP of Sales?
No. A fractional VP of Sales runs sales for you, part time. I coach you to hand sales over, so your own team runs it.
What does coaching for the move to a first sales team cost?
It starts with a free 15-minute fit call. The first paid step is the Power Hour: 90 minutes, live, on video, $950. After it, the price of the coaching is set with you: Selling With Fire, 4 weeks on the sales pitch, or the sales coaching program.
Guides
Handing over sales, in depth.
Apply
Apply for a
Apply for a
15-minute fit call.
Free. 15 minutes with me about the deal or pitch that's stuck. If I'm not the right help, I say so.
You answer three questions
- What do you sell, and to whom?
- Which deal or pitch is stuck?
- Have you worked with a coach before, and what did you get out of it?
Apply for a 15-minute fit call
If it’s a fit, the first paid step is the Power Hour: 90 minutes, live, on video, $950.