Today we are going to talk about how our teams are constructed, and how we got to this point. When entrepreneurs first start out, there is some hesitation when it comes to hiring and creating a team. It’s not possible to achieve scale without a team. We hope that sharing some of our experiences and hurdles helps you to find that balance between doing it yourself and delegating to team members.

Justin’s Experience:

In the past I tried hiring a salesperson first because I didn’t want to be bothered with sales. What I discovered was that it works best is to take care of the sales myself because no one is going to sell my product better than me. Focus on what you do best and what gets you the best results, and hire a team member to take care of the repetitious day to day stuff.

With LeadFuze, I hired an assistant/team member to take over the initial operations while I focused on sales. You can also contract a coder, but it seems to work better to have a dedicated team member or co-founder doing the development. Finding great people can be difficult. Having someone who can both strategize and execute is more of the role of the founder.

I have now created an interview process to avoid some of the issues I had in the past. I try not to fall in love with the initial applicant and instead follow the interview process.

Justin’s Interview Process:

  • Survey
  • 15 Minute Screen Interview
  • Full Interview

Greg’s Experience:

My path was influenced by Justin’s. I already had a virtual assistant, and she is now learning more Infusionsoft stuff. I then hired an Infusionsoft Ninja, who is Lisa and she has been leading the implementation charge. We also brought in someone to support her on the repeatable tasks.

A problem I was facing was that all internal projects were falling on my shoulders, so having an assistant/project manager helps us to continue to scale. This role is important to keep things moving forward. Our next hire will be another Infusionsoft expert. Having a process in place is important, but roles can be adjusted as things go along.

Key Takeaways:

  • When starting out – the founder can focus on sales
  • A hired team member can focus on day to day operations
  • You don’t want to be the bottleneck to your business, eventually you will need someone to manage things
  • It’s rare to find someone who can strategize and execute well
  • Having a coordinator and prioritizing roles is important
  • Offloading day to day things to focus on growing the business is important
  • Have a process ready for your new hires to walk into
  • Don’t waste time striving for perfection, but try to create a plan
  • Pods are an option in dividing up the number of customers a group can support
  • Salary structure – minimum salary with pay increases based on revenue increases and milestones
  • Perks also add up
  • We like people who read
  • Creating a culture from a remote perspective

Resources Mentioned:

Stay Connected:

  • If you’d like to take your entrepreneurial journey to a whole new level, join fellow “scalers” on the inside by joining the Zero to Scale Insiders program. For just $19/mo you get access to Justin and Greg and several other like-minded entrepreneurs who want to help you succeed in your journey!
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