Building a Scalable Sales Function for a Fast‑Growing Tech Startup | Case Study
Fractional sales leadership, stronger sales capability, and pipeline growth in six months
I was brought in as a Fractional Sales Manager to help a fast-growing tech startup build a more consistent and scalable sales function. By introducing BMC’s experienced sales associates, mentoring the existing salesperson, and putting clear KPIs, performance metrics, and a structured sales process in place, I helped the business strengthen its pipeline and hire its own permanent sales team within six months.
CLIENT
Tech Start-Up,
Edinburgh, UK
PROJECT SCOPE
Fractional sales leadership, team development, and pipeline growth
ENGAGEMENT
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5 hours per week of sales management and mentoring for 6 months
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3 BMC sales associates working 15-30 hours per week for 6 months
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The COO of a fast-growing tech startup engaged me to strengthen sales performance for a newly launched product. While the business had a highly capable technical team, it lacked the sales structure, leadership, and consistency needed to build momentum in the market.
At the time, the company had one full-time salesperson with strong product knowledge but inconsistent activity levels, limited confidence in outbound outreach, and no clear framework for managing pipeline or performance. As the only person focused on sales in a predominantly technical environment, they also lacked the day-to-day support and accountability needed to perform at a consistently high level.
I was brought in to provide fractional sales leadership, mentor the internal salesperson, and introduce experienced outsourced sales support to model strong sales behaviours in practice. Over six months, I helped the business build the confidence, structure, systems, and performance benchmarks required to recruit and onboard a permanent internal sales team.
THE CHALLENGE
The business needed to improve sales performance quickly while creating a more sustainable structure for long-term growth.
Key challenges included:
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No clearly defined or repeatable sales process
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Inconsistent outreach and follow-up activity
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Limited confidence in prospecting and objection handling
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Weak pipeline management and poor opportunity prioritisation
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Over-reliance on short-term or easier wins rather than strategic revenue growth
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No clear KPIs, benchmarks, or expectations to support future hiring decisions
Without intervention, the company risked inconsistent sales performance, unreliable forecasting, and the recruitment of new team members without a clear model for success.
OBJECTIVES
My brief was to:
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Provide fractional sales management and mentoring to the internal salesperson
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Lead and oversee my outsourced sales team (3 associates, 15-30 hours each per week)
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Strengthen the sales process and improve consistency in outreach and follow‑up
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Build a stronger, more predictable sales pipeline
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Introduce and customise a CRM system to support both sales and tech support
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Establish clear KPIs, targets, and performance expectations
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Demonstrate what “good” sales performance looks like to prepare for permanent hires
MY APPROACH
1. Understanding the current sales process
I began by carrying out the sales process myself - making calls, handling objections, and tracking conversion timelines. This allowed me to identify gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement before making recommendations.
2. Introducing a structured, high‑performing sales team
I onboarded two members of my outsourced sales team initially, each responsible for a different geographical region. We communicated through a shared WhatsApp group with the client and internal salesperson, enabling quick questions, insights, and updates.
Weekly Monday meetings helped us set expectations, review performance, and maintain momentum. As results improved, we expanded to a third outsourced salesperson.
3. Building confidence and capability within the internal team
With a larger team around them, the internal salesperson quickly became more confident and motivated. I mentored them directly, helping them develop stronger performance management skills so they could eventually support and train new hires.
4. Strengthening systems and account management
The client introduced Pipedrive, which I customised to support the day-to-day needs of both the sales team and the technical support team. This created better visibility, improved follow-up discipline, and helped the business manage opportunities and customer issues more effectively.
To increase value from existing customers as well as new prospects, I also introduced a dedicated account management role within my team. While three team members focused on new business activity, the account manager worked on growing existing accounts and identifying additional revenue opportunities.
We also created a feedback loop between clients and the technical team, with the account manager capturing product improvement requests and client insights. This enabled the business to respond more proactively, improve the product, and strengthen client relationships.
5. Preparing the business for permanent hires
Within three to four months, we had established clear KPIs, stronger conversion visibility, and a more reliable sales pipeline. With this data and structure in place, I then supported the COO with shortlisting, interviewing, and assessing candidates for a new internal sales team.
After six months, once the permanent team had been hired and fully onboarded, my team and I completed a structured handover and exited.
WHAT I DELIVERED
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Fractional sales leadership and mentoring for a team of four
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A stronger, more consistent sales outreach and conversion process
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Customised CRM setup tailored to sales and tech support needs
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Clear KPIs, targets, and performance expectations
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A defined account management function to maximise existing revenue
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A confident, motivated internal salesperson ready to support new hires
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Recruitment support for building the permanent sales team
RESULTS
Within six months, the business achieved:
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A fully hired and onboarded permanent sales team
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Clear KPIs and predictable quarterly sales forecasting
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A stronger, more structured sales pipeline
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Improved confidence and performance from the existing salesperson
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A more efficient sales process with higher consistency
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Increased revenue opportunities through account management
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A scalable sales structure aligned with long‑term growth
CLIENT FEEDBACK
The client was delighted with the improvement in sales performance, team confidence, and process clarity, and went on to recommend my work to others.
TOOLS, METHODS & EXPERTISE USED
Sales Leadership · Sales Process Optimisation · KPI Development · Forecasting · Pipedrive CRM Customisation · Team Management · Coaching and Mentoring · Account Management Strategy
Through fractional sales leadership and hands‑on mentoring, I helped this tech startup understand what strong sales performance looks like, build a confident and capable team, and create a scalable sales structure. With clearer processes, stronger systems, and a motivated internal team, they were able to hire permanent staff and continue growing with confidence.
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