• by Michael Baer , Yesterday

When a B2B company -- especially an early-stage one -- hits a sales plateau, the knee-jerk instinct is usually the same: "We need to bring in another salesperson.”

Sure, there are times when a new sales hire can make a big difference. But more often than not, adding a salesperson only masks bigger issues. If the engine isn’t working, adding another driver won’t help -- and can even make things worse.

Why? What most of these companies are really experiencing is caused by faulty fundamentals and a wobbly foundation to sell from. And when you throw another rep at the problem, instead of addressing these deeper issues, you can exacerbate the problem.

Why Hiring More Reps Fails to Get to the Root of the Issue

Before hiring, first remember: Onboarding a new sales rep often costs six figures, and it can take up to a year for them to reach full productivity. So before assuming “more people selling” will solve the problem, it’s worth determining if the real issue is lack of outreach activity. If your message, systems, or demand engine are weak, no amount of headcount will fix it.

Hiring more salespeople usually masks these systemic issues, leading companies to believe they’re doing something when they’re actually just delaying the real work. Here's why this approach so often misses the mark:

• It amplifies noise, not clarity. When your value proposition is vague, generic, and doesn’t resonate or differentiate, spreading it more widely only amplifies the confusion and dilutes your brand.

• It undervalues customer understanding. If your team hasn’t defined their ideal customer profile, segmented the market, and mapped the buyer’s journey, even “rock star” new salespeople will be firing blind at customers’ needs. 

• It rewards activity over strategy. Without a strategic foundation or cohesive go-to-market motion, all that new activity is unlikely to gain momentum.

• It ignores the real conversion challenge. As I’ve written here before, most companies have a bigger conversion problem than a lead-gen problem. Hiring another rep won’t fix the lack of a coordinated nurture strategy.

What to Do Instead

Before defaulting to another sales hire to address your need for growth, start by answering the tougher, more strategic questions.

Here’s what that work looks like:

Invest in customer insight. Get clear on who your best customers are, what triggers their buying decisions, what frictions they experience, and what content or conversations unlock progress. Map the full journey -- from awareness to decision -- and align your efforts accordingly.

Sharpen your message. Make sure your positioning speaks directly to your ideal buyer’s pain points, goals, and decision-making criteria. It should be differentiated, specific, and tied to outcomes, not features or attributes.

Build a real demand engine. Think beyond sales-led outreach. Create content and campaigns that educate, generate interest, and build trust over time. Your marketing should support long-cycle buyers, not just chase quick wins.

Focus on conversion systems, not just lead volume. Marketing and sales should operate in tandem to track and manage how existing leads move through the funnel, developing nurture programs, email sequences and integrated efforts.

Enable the team you have. Focus on giving the current team tools to help them succeed. That includes sales enablement tools like FAQs, objection-handling frameworks, testimonials, case studies, and beyond. These go beyond nice-to-haves -- they’re what modern selling relies on.

Final Thought

Real growth comes when you build the right conditions for sales to succeed: clear positioning, focused targeting, aligned content, and a system that builds trust over time. Only then will adding a sales rep actually have the results you’re looking for.