There are many challenges faced by Series A and early-stage software companies, whether they’re trying to secure funding, prove scalability or break into untapped markets. Not only is the industry crowded and competitive, but it also evolves quickly, so if you’re a founder or CEO, you have to be ready to tackle new obstacles at lightning speed.

There is also intense pressure on tech startups to deliver quick wins to secure investor confidence, so you’ll need to learn to pivot quickly without making costly mistakes.

Getting the right technology onboard early on can help you prove scalability to attract future funding rounds and secure your place in the market. But due to limited resources and funding, many early-stage software companies under-invest in this area, which can end up setting them back.

In this article, we’ll introduce the full-sales cycle team structure as a solution to the challenges faced by all the top firms for software sales before they scale. We’ll also look at how AI can facilitate and streamline this model.

Finally, we’ll explore the difference between a BDR and SDR and AE and compare the full-cycle model to the traditional approach of segmenting these roles.

Early-Stage Challenges Faced by Top Firms for Software Sales

Limited Funding and Resources

With limited resources, it can be difficult to keep your early-stage company running until it breaks even. Connecting with investors and securing funding can also be a challenge, especially when the market is so competitive.

Recruiting the top talent to help your business scale is also a financial burden, with the average SDR costing $100K+. Many teams will then combine roles like SDRs and BDRs out of necessity, which can stall productivity.

High Employee Turnover

Your sales reps will help your company grow and attract new clients, but sales have the highest turnover rate of any industry, with the typical tenure of an SDR being around 1.5 years.

This means you could be losing valuable and trained members of your team just at the point where you’re starting to scale. High employee church can really slow down your growth in the early stages of a company, and it’s a factor you only have so much control over.

Scaling Issues

Early market testing is crucial when you’re trying to find your PMF, but young companies find it difficult to test out new markets and different approaches without significant upfront investment. This can be a double-bind, as startups can’t grow without that early experimentation phase.

Balancing Growth with Productivity

As your team expands, it can be hard to balance your rate of growth with your output. Sometimes companies scale too quickly and then fold due to the high costs of employing a large team. Others wait too long to start making new hires and then find they cannot meet the demands of their product or service. This is a tricky balancing act that requires constant analysis and some degree of risk.

What is the Full-Cycle Sales Model?

The full-cycle sales model is a team structure used by the top firms for software sales. With this structure, individual sales representatives manage the entire sales process from prospecting to closing deals.

Full-cycle sales models contrast with the traditional approaches of larger companies, in which sales reps, business reps and account executives fulfill different but interconnected roles.

Many salespeople argue about the difference between a BDR and SDR and AE, and the roles can mean different things in different companies.

The full-cycle sales method offers numerous benefits of combining these responsibilites:

• Encourages employee accountability and end-to-end experience

• Is cost-effective in the early stages, when you may not be able to pay multiple salaries

• Keeps teams lean and agile, encouraging efficiency and fast response times

• Allows you to pivot quickly to find and target new ICPs

• Eliminates the need for rigid hierarchies, encouraging creativity

To set the scene with a real-life example, this approach was recently used by a Series A SaaS company who wanted a fluid team structure. It helped them to significantly reduce their costs in the early stages, allowing them to scale at a steady but efficient rate.

Solving Common Pain Points of Top Firms for Software Sales

The full-cycle sales model solves many of the common pain points of companies with less than 200 employees, helping them overcome cost barriers, maintain team morale and set clear paths for future advancement. It also helps to provide a long ramp-up period for new hires, stalling growth until the best possible moment.

Employing the full-cycle sales model also reduces the need for role handoffs, therefore minimizing mistakes and wasted time.

From a founder or CEO perspective, this model also simplifies recruitment, so you can focus on versatile candidates who can handle different tasks within the sales cycle – you’ll end up with a more well-rounded, multi-talented team as a result.

Actionable Steps for Top Firms for Software Sales

Adopt the Full-Cycle Sales Model

When adopting this model, it’s important to evaluate your team’s current strengths and weaknesses and make sure everyone is in the right role. You can then identify areas where roles such as SDRs and AEs can overlap or be streamlined.

You should also track efficiency metrics to monitor the performance of reps who are handling the sales cycle, so you can identify bottlenecks or areas where you need to change your tools or processes.

Use AI Tools to Streamline Processes and Boost Efficiency

One of the best ways to maximize efficiency in a full-cycle sales approach is to automate as many tasks as you can without sacrificing the quality of your outreach.

Top firms for software sales should start by identifying the high-volume, low-value tasks (such as data entry) they can delegate to AI, freeing up employees to work on revenue-driving activities.

Teams can also leverage AI SDRs for lead research, scoring and initial outreach. Using a tool like Topo, an AI SDR is 10 times cheaper than hiring a human sales rep and can be customized to your business, industry and ICPs.

You can then train and tweak your AI agents to maintain precision in market targeting. They will grow with you over time, using predictive analysis to improve your outreach success.

Scale with Minimal Risk

By using an AI tool like Topo to test out new markets and verticals, you can experiment with market expansion and new sales approaches without investing huge amounts of money upfront.

Topo starts at $750 per month and covers the entire sales funnel, automating all of those time-sinking manual tasks but maintaining a layer of human oversight for quality control. Dynamic feedback from our AI platform will also help you refine and improve your team strategies over time.

Topo: Tailored Solutions for Series A Companies

In 2025, the full-cycle sales model will be used by all the top firms for software sales. While many argue over the difference between a BDR and SDR and AE, more agile teams combine these roles for a more efficient and scalable framework.

Topo is a sophisticated AI sales tool that complements agile sales models by eliminating the high costs and risks of traditional scaling methods. You’ll also be able to ensure consistency in outreach and engagement using our virtual sales representatives, regardless of staff turnover.

Our custom-trained SDRs are designed to meet your company’s ICP and market needs, handling tasks like lead generation, scoring, enrichment and email outreach.

Explore our full-cycle AI sales model and see how you could streamline your sales operations to prove scalability and accelerate growth.