When sales start to stall or plateau, leadership teams often find themselves at a crossroads:
Do we invest in sales training or just hire a seasoned sales leader to fix it?
Both paths promise growth. Both come with cost. But one is more scalable and more cost-effective than the other.
Let’s break down the numbers, risks, and returns behind each approach.
The Case for Hiring a Sales Leader
Hiring a Head of Sales seems like the obvious move. And in some cases, it is.
A great sales leader brings:
- Proven playbooks
- Management experience
- The ability to hire and develop a team
But here’s the catch: You’re not just buying a salary, you’re also buying a system — or the lack of one.
Potential Cost Breakdown (varies on location, company size, industry, etc.)
- Base salary: $150K–$250K
- Bonus/commission: $50K–$100K
- Equity: Often 0.5%–2% in growth-stage companies
- Ramp time: 3–6 months before measurable ROI
You’re likely investing $200K+ in year one (not including time spent onboarding, aligning with execs, and getting buy-in from a team that may or may not follow them).
And what if they leave in 12 months? You’re back to square one.
The Case for Sales Training (Done Right)
Sales training and coaching (especially when built into a repeatable framework) gives you leverage.
You’re not hiring a hero. You’re upgrading the entire system.
At BridgeSelling, we’ve seen small teams go from underperformance to reliable, repeatable results (without adding a single headcount). Why? Because effective training:
- Improves the performance of everyone, not just one person
- Installs systems, not just personalities
- Scales across future hires
The Cost Breakdown (varies on sales team size and specific training program features)
- Program pricing: $10K–$75K+ depending on scope
- Implementation time: 30–90 days
- ROI timeline: Often within the first quarter of rollout
- Ongoing support: Optional and scalable (coaching, audits, playbooks)
Done well, sales training pays for itself quickly and keeps paying.
Here’s the Real Question:
Are you trying to delegate your sales problem or solve it?
Zig Ziglar (author and salesman) put it this way:
“You don't build a business; you build people, and they build the business.”
Hiring a sales leader is a delegation.
Training and coaching your people is development.
If your team has talent, but not structure… don’t hire a lifeguard. Teach them to swim.
When to Do Both
This isn’t a zero-sum game. The best sales organizations do both, but in the right order.
- Train your team. Get the fundamentals right. Build a shared language.
- Then hire leadership. When you do, they inherit a system—not chaos.
That’s how you scale.
Want the Cost-Effective Path to a High-Performing Sales Team?
Whether you’re starting fresh or refining what’s in place, we’ll help you build a sales system your team can actually use → Book a call today
