As a software startup, it's easy to get caught up in the process of developing your product and perfecting your technology. However, it's equally critical to start thinking about your sales function early in your journey. Building a sales function early can help you avoid costly mistakes, accelerate growth, and improve your chances of success.

While it's understandable that founders may want to try to fill the sales function themselves in the early stages of their startup, it's essential to recognize that sales is a specialized skillset that requires experience and expertise. Founders who lack prior experience in sales may struggle to effectively build relationships with potential customers, understand their pain points and needs, and develop a sales strategy that effectively communicates the value of their product. In addition, founders may not have the time or resources to devote to building a sales function themselves, as they are likely also responsible for product development, fundraising, and other critical functions. By trying to fill the sales function themselves, founders may risk not achieving their revenue goals or missing out on key opportunities to grow their business. Instead, founders should consider working with a sales consultant or hiring a dedicated sales team to ensure they have the expertise and resources needed to build a successful sales function.

This does not mean the founder should not be involved in the sales process. On the contrary, pulling the founder or other managers into calls and conversations can increase credibility, provide information about the roadmap and vision as well as provide the founders direct feedback regarding their product.

One key reason to build a sales function early is to validate your product-market fit. By engaging with potential customers and understanding their pain points and needs, you can refine your product and ensure it's solving a real problem for your target market. This can help you avoid investing time and resources in developing a product that no one wants to buy.

Another reason to build a sales function early is to accelerate revenue growth. A strong sales function can help you start generating revenue and building your customer base more quickly. This can provide the financial resources you need to invest in further product development and growth.

Building a sales function early can also help you identify early adopters and evangelists for your product. These early customers can provide valuable feedback and testimonials that can help you refine your product and build your reputation in the market.

In addition, building a sales function early can help you build a scalable sales process. By establishing sales playbooks, identifying key performance indicators, and establishing sales workflows and procedures, you can set your company up for long-term success and growth. This can take a surprising amount of time, depending on the setup. Time that is no longer available as soon as business kicks off and leads want to be qualified, pain points discovered, value built, contracts negotiated, etc.. Getting ahead of the situation from the start will help you to stay there.

Finally, a strong sales function can make your startup more attractive to investors. Demonstrating early traction and revenue growth can improve your chances of securing funding to support further growth and development.

In conclusion, building a sales function early in your software startup journey is critical for long-term success. By validating your product-market fit, accelerating revenue growth, identifying early adopters, building a scalable sales process, mitigating risk, and improving investor appeal, you can set yourself up for long-term success and growth. So don't treat sales as an afterthought - start building your sales function early and reap the rewards.