How to Build a U.S. Sales Engine That Actually Works
Transform your success at home into American market dominance
Workshop Agenda
Here's what we'll cover in today's session:
Market Readiness & ICP
Assess product fit and define your ideal customer for the U.S. market.
Sales Strategy & Process
Develop a tailored sales approach for effective U.S. market entry.
Building Your U.S. Sales Team
Learn best practices for hiring, compensating, and structuring your team.
Measuring & Optimizing Performance
Identify key metrics to track progress and refine your sales engine.
Common Mistakes & Q&A
Avoid pitfalls and get your questions answered for a smooth U.S. expansion.
MARKET READINESS & ICP
Many Companies Are Not Actually Ready To Expand to the U.S.(And That's Okay)
Signs You're NOT Ready
- No product-market fit in home market
- Pitch changes every presentation
- Can't explain value in one sentence
- Less than 3-6 months U.S. runway
- No founder willing to spend 50%+ time on U.S.
Signs You ARE Ready
- Consistent positive customer feedback
- Clear, growing unserved demand
- Predictable sales process works
- $1M+ ARR to justify first hires
- Founder commitment to be present
Your Current ICP Won't Work in the U.S.
Home Market Reality
Average deal: $10K-$30K
Relationship-driven sales
Slower decision cycles
Consensus-oriented buying
U.S. Expectation
Expected deal: $30K-$100K+
ROI-driven decisions
Faster decision making
Prove value in first call
Critical Reality: If your ACV is under $25K, you probably can't afford SDRs + AEs in the U.S.
The ICP Framework That Actually Works
01
Industry Focus
Which verticals have urgent pain? Avoid "we work with everyone."
02
Geography
Start with ONE U.S. region. Don't try to cover all 50 states.
03
Company Size
Revenue: $10M-$100M. Employees: 50-500. Sweet spot for most B2B.
04
Budget Reality
Can they afford you? Who controls budget for your category?
05
Buyer Personas
Decision-maker title, pain points, success metrics.
Critical Question: Are they ready, willing, AND able to buy?
Deal Size Economics: The Math You Can't Ignore
$600K
Annual Team Cost
2 SDRs + 2 AEs total loaded cost
$2M
Revenue Needed
To break even on sales team investment
$40K+
Minimum ACV
Required for sustainable team economics
If your ACV is $15K, you literally can't afford this team structure.
SALES STRATEGY & PROCESS
Sales Strategy = Function of Product + Customer
Transactional
Deal size: <$15K
Cycle: Days to weeks
Team: Inside sales, product-led
Consultative
Deal size: $25K-$150K
Cycle: 1-3 months
Team: SDRs + AEs + light implementation
Enterprise
Deal size: $150K+
Cycle: 3-12 months
Team: Full team + Sales Engineers
Key Insight: Your sales motion must match your product complexity and customer type.
The 4 Stages Every U.S. Sales Process Must Have
1
PROSPECT
Identify potential customers matching ICP
Exit: Validated contact info
2
INITIATE & EVALUATE
First contact, qualify interest and fit
Exit: Confirmed pain, budget, next step
3
PRESENT
Demo value, technical evaluation
Exit: Solution fits, ready for proposal
4
CLOSE
Negotiate terms, get signed contract
Exit: Signed contract, payment received
Define what MUST happen to move from one stage to the next. No ambiguity.
How Long Should This Take?
1
SMB (<$50M)
Discovery to close: 2-6 weeks
Faster decisions, fewer stakeholders
2
Mid-Market ($50M-$1B)
Discovery to close: 1-3 months
Balanced: Budget + speed
3
Enterprise ($1B+)
Discovery to close: 3-12 months
Slower, more stakeholders
Red Flag: Mid-market deals taking 6+ months = ICP wrong or value prop unclear
Why Your Messaging Could Be Wrong for the U.S.
What You Usually Say
"AI-powered platform with machine learning to optimize workflows with real-time analytics."
What Buyers Hear
"Blah blah blah buzzwords. What's in it for me?"
1
Why Change?
What's broken in current state?
2
Why Now?
What's the urgency?
3
Why Us?
Why are we the best solution for their situation?
U.S. buyers are trained to ask "So what?" after every statement. Practice answering that question.
The ROI Conversation You're Avoiding
Minimum ROI
3x Annual value created vs. your cost
Close Rate Increase
40% When ROI is clearly articulated
Months
4 Typical payback period expectation
The Numbers They Care About:
Cost savings
"Reduce spending by 40%"
Revenue impact
"Close Z more deals per month"
Efficiency gains
"Reclaim 200 hours/month"
Risk mitigation
"Prevent $X in fines"
Objection Handling: What They're Really Saying
"Your price is too high"
Means: "I don't see the value"
Response: Circle back to ROI
"We need to think about it"
Means: "I'm not convinced"
Response: "What specifically do you need to think about?"
"Let's revisit next quarter"
Means: "This isn't a priority"
Response: "What changes next quarter?"
The Pattern: U.S. buyers deflect. Your job is to uncover the real concern.
BUILDING YOUR U.S. SALES TEAM
The Hiring Sequence That Actually Works
Phase 1: Founder-Led
Close first 5-10 deals personally. Validate ICP and messaging.
Phase 2: First SDRs
1-2 SDRs to feed YOU demos. Need pipeline before closers.
Phase 3: First AEs
1-2 experienced AEs to execute proven process.
Phase 4: Sales Engineer
Add technical support when complexity requires it.
Phase 5: VP of Sales
Hire leader when you have 3-5 AEs to manage.
The Mistake: Hiring "Head of Sales" as first U.S. hire → 80% failure rate
Sales Roles: What They Actually Do
SDR/BDR
Job: Generate qualified meetings
OTE: $65K-$95K
Quota: 20-30 meetings/month
Account Executive
Job: Convert leads to customers
OTE: $160K-$240K
Quota: $500K-$1M ARR/year
Sales Engineer
Job: Technical pre-sales support
OTE: $140K-$200K
Focus: Complex technical demos
VP of Sales
Job: Build and scale organization
OTE: $230K-$370K+ equity
Team: 3-5 AEs minimum
What You'll Actually Need to Pay
Reality Check: Add 40% for benefits and taxes. Total loaded cost = OTE × 1.4
Compensation Models: How to Structure Pay
Salary + Commission
Best for: Most B2B SaaS
Split: 50/50 to 70/30
Quota: 4-5x their OTE
Accelerators
Above 100%: 1.5x commission rate
Purpose: Motivate overperformance
Result: Reps hunt vs. coast
Ramp Period
Months 1-3: 50% quota
Months 4-6: 75% quota
Month 7+: 100% quota
Industry Standard: ~20-25% of revenue goes to sales compensation
How to Recruit (Without Wasting 6 Months)
01
Define Salesperson Persona
3-7 years experience, similar deal size, similar ICP
02
Source Candidates
LinkedIn Recruiter, agencies, network. NOT job boards.
03
Pre-Screen Questionnaire
5-10 written questions before interview. Tests cooperation.
04
Interview for Fit
Coachable? Ask good questions? Listen well?
05
Work Sample/Role-Play
10-minute pitch. Handle objections. Eliminates resume exaggerators.
You'll interview 20-30 people to find one great hire. Budget the time.
MEASURING & OPTIMIZING PERFORMANCE
What 'Good' Looks Like: Benchmarks
50
Calls/Day
SDR activity target
30%
Demo → Proposal
AE conversion rate
40%
Proposal → Close
Win rate benchmark
3x
Pipeline Coverage
Needed to hit quota
Red Flags: Sales cycle 2x industry average, win rate under 15%, pipeline not growing
The Weekly Sales Review Cadence
1
Pipeline Review (20 min)
Every open opportunity: stage, next steps, blockers, close date
2
Deal Coaching (20 min)
Deep dive 1-2 deals, role-play objections, strategize
3
Activity Review (10 min)
Are reps hitting targets? Diagnose issues.
4
Wins & Losses (10 min)
What we won/lost this week and why. Lessons learned.
MEDDICC Framework: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, Competition
When to Panic vs. When to Be Patient
Panic Now (Fix Immediately)
- ❌ Zero pipeline after 90 days
- ❌ Meetings but no second calls
- ❌ Demos but no proposals
- ❌ Proposals but no closes
- ❌ Rep below 50% activity targets
Be Patient (Give It Time)
- ⏳ First 90 days: Rep ramping
- ⏳ Pipeline growing, no closes yet
- ⏳ One bad month after good ones
- ⏳ New market testing (6 months)
Diagnosis Framework: No meetings = targeting problem. Interest but slow = no urgency. Long evaluations = wrong deal size.
COMMON MISTAKES & Q&A
Five Mistakes That Kill U.S. Expansion
1
Wrong First Hire
Hiring "Head of Sales" vs. building from scratch
2
Premature Scaling
Adding 5 reps after 2 customers
3
Home Market Pace
2-week follow-ups kill U.S. deals
4
Founder Absence
Can't delegate market validation
5
Technology Mismatch
Tools that don't scale in U.S.
Rapid-Fire Troubleshooting
"Getting meetings but no deals"
Diagnosis: Value prop not resonating
Solution: Record demos, run MEDDICC qualification
"Reps not hitting quota"
Diagnosis: Unrealistic quota, wrong fit, wrong ICP, or PMF issue
Solution: Separate activity from results first
"Can't afford U.S. salaries"
Diagnosis: You're not ready
Solution: Stay founder-led longer, increase deal sizes
Your U.S. Sales Roadmap: Next Steps
What You Can Do This Week
- Define U.S. ICP
- Calculate deal size economics
- Map current sales process
- Review your messaging
The U.S. market is the most competitive in the world. But if you get the fundamentals right—ICP, messaging, process, team—you'll outpace competitors who've been here for years.
Open Q&A
Your Specific Situations
- What specific U.S. expansion challenges are you facing?
- Let's workshop solutions together
- Learn from each other's experiences