Go-to-market recruiting: when to hire a new kind of sales leader

Why do companies hire go-to-market leaders to run their sales teams?

Most organizations can promote top salespeople through the ranks and turn them into effective player/coaches, but not all exceptional salespeople become exceptional leaders.

Many make strong managers, but rapid growth can expose deeper leadership needs within a sales organization.

Companies undergoing dramatic revenue scale often find themselves in this position. Their best salespeople may have served as capable managers, but they can’t always grow at the same pace as the business.

This is when it becomes crucial to bring in a true go-to-market leader whose skillset matches the desired company stage and who knows how to plug into the business and run the commercial organization from top to bottom.

Below, we share more about when to make this hire and the value these leaders bring.

Timing your go-to-market hire

Companies often outgrow their current sales leaders during periods of rapid growth, whether they’re acquiring other businesses or being acquired themselves. This growth then becomes the catalyst for new leadership who can step in to professionalize the sales function into a true go-to-market engine.

However, many firms underestimate the time it takes to hire, onboard and see the full impact of these executives.

Businesses with longer sales cycles (typically B2B companies) naturally take longer to realize the impact of a new go-to-market leader. The change can feel costly in the short term because revenue gains move at the pace of the sales cycle, but the right leader will prove their value over time.

How true go-to-market leaders transform your business

An internally promoted sales leader manages their team based on their own selling instincts, rinsing and repeating what worked for them to maximize immediate success. While these leaders can guide teams using their own playbook, they lack the broader strategic perspective of go-to-market executives.

A true go-to-market leader arrives with a sharp vision for the organization and the ability to align all moving parts into a scalable commercial strategy. Their focus is on building systems and processes that enable selling while also supporting partnerships, pricing, segmentation and market positioning.

Sales leaders know how to win deals, but go-to-market executives know how to build systems that win deals consistently.

Go-to-market hiring takeaways:

Companies often promote top salespeople into leadership roles, but as businesses grow, those player/coach leaders may struggle to scale the sales organization at the same rate. At that point, bringing in an external go-to-market executive can help professionalize the commercial function and build a true revenue engine.

Unlike internally promoted sales leaders who rely on personal selling instincts, go-to-market executives focus on designing scalable systems across sales, marketing, partnerships, pricing and market strategy.