Professionalising sales is one of the decisive steps for a startup to be able to convert its first clients into a solid and scalable growth model. With this objective, CEEI Valencia and Startup Valencia held the Focus Pyme “Sales to Scale: mistakes and successes in sales” at Base 2, an event that brought together 150 professionals from the Valencian technology ecosystem.
The event, promoted and funded by the Generalitat Valenciana through IVACE+i, featured leaders from reference companies and business development specialists, who shared learnings on the creation of sales teams, the definition of sales processes and the adaptation of strategy to each stage of growth.
Ramón Ferrandis, CEO of CEEI Valencia, and Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia, opened the event by highlighting the importance of strengthening the commercial capabilities of innovative companies. Both agreed that a strong technology proposition needs a clear sales strategy that allows for a better understanding of the client, the generation of recurring business and growth with a sustainable structure.
The conversation between David García, Head of Regions East Spain at Glovo, and Teresa Ramos, CMO of Draper B1, addressed the evolution of sales teams and the decisions that allow the transition from an initial acquisition phase to an organised and replicable sales system. The coordination between marketing and sales, client knowledge and the definition of responsibilities within the team were among the topics discussed.
Andrés Crespo, co-founder and COO of SaaSGrowth, focused his address on the most common mistakes during the commercial development of a startup. Among them, he highlighted the lack of a defined process, insufficient qualification of opportunities and the absence of indicators that allow an understanding of what works and where the sale is lost.
The event concluded with a roundtable in which Amelia Arroquia, from MINICOOL; José Bort, from Eventcase; and David Valero, from Imperia SCM, shared their experiences in acquiring first clients and the subsequent evolution of their commercial models.
The event made clear that scaling sales does not consist solely of increasing the number of clients, but of building a commercial system that can be measured, improved and grow at the same pace as the company. The event also facilitated the exchange of experiences and the generation of new connections between startups, entrepreneurs and business professionals.
In this regard, Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia, noted that “one of our objectives is to connect startups with the knowledge, talent and opportunities that allow them to accelerate their growth. Events like this drive the exchange of experiences between the different players in the ecosystem and contribute to strengthening the competitiveness and scaling capacity of innovative companies”.
For his part, Ramón Ferrandis highlighted that “collaboration with the ecosystem is key to the growth of our startups and events like today’s allow us to accelerate key competencies for innovative companies”.
