As a first-time founder, choosing the right growth strategy can be daunting. With a small team and limited resources, balancing sales-led and marketing-led approaches might seem appealing, but it’s often challenging to do both effectively.

𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀

For a B2B SaaS company, a quick way to decide is by calculating how many customers you need to hit a Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) of $100,000. Start with your average deal size:

1. $𝟭𝟬𝟬/𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: You’ll need 1,000 customers. With an average Sales Development Representative (SDR) closing 5-10 customers per month, you’ll need about 100 SDRs. That’s a lot!

2. $𝟭𝟬𝟬𝟬/𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁: You’ll need 100 customers. The number of SDRs required is still significant but more manageable.

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀-𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀:
𝟭. 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Your sales team can directly reach out to potential customers.
𝟮. 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵: Building relationships can lead to higher conversion rates.
𝟯. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗙𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸: Immediate insights into customer needs and objections.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀:
1. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲: Hiring and training SDRs can be expensive.
2. 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀: Scaling a sales team rapidly is challenging.

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘀:
1. 𝗪𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵: Marketing campaigns can attract a large audience.
2. 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲: Digital marketing can be less expensive than building a large sales team.
3. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Effective marketing can establish your brand in the market.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀:
1. 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲-𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴: Building a marketing presence takes time, especially for new companies.
2. 𝗟𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀: Initial campaigns might not yield high conversion rates.


𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲

For a new and relatively unknown company, a sales-led approach might be more practical initially. Focusing on building a small, effective sales team can drive growth more directly. Once you have a solid customer base and steady revenue, you can invest more in marketing to scale further.

𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝘃𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵

First-time founders should choose between sales-led and marketing-led growth based on resources. In B2B SaaS, calculate the customers needed to reach $100,000 MRR by deal size.

For example, a $100/month product requires 1,000 customers, needing about 100 SDRs. Initially, a sales-led approach may be more feasible for direct customer engagement and growth.

While marketing is essential for any company, it can be challenging for new and unknown companies to attract customers through marketing alone. Therefore, a sales-led approach might be more feasible initially, focusing on building a smaller, effective sales team that can directly reach potential customers and drive growth.