Assembled initially replaced a manual spreadsheet process. Their success came from understanding the spreadsheet was a symptom of deeper pains like headcount planning, real-time dashboards, and agent utilization. The real value was in solving these complex operational problems, not just digitizing a spreadsheet.

In crowded markets, founders mistakenly focus on other startups as primary competition. In reality, most customers are unaware of these players. The real battle is against the customer's status quo: their current tools like spreadsheets, hiring a person, or using an old system. Your job is to beat those options.

Implementing a signal-based GTM motion doesn't require immediate investment in technology. You can validate the approach manually by tracking signals—like people commenting on competitor posts on LinkedIn—in a spreadsheet. Prove the hypothesis at a small scale before investing in tools to automate and scale the process.

Don't wait for perfect data systems to understand your business. You can estimate critical metrics like average customer transactions with simple 'back of the napkin' math. For example, export your customer data to a spreadsheet, sort by transactions, and average the column.

Over-investing in sales tech creates an environment where reps are drowning in logins, reporting, and process. This 'paucity of time' stifles creativity and prevents them from focusing on the essential human element of building rapport and trust, which is often what actually closes deals.

The most effective use of AI in sales is not to replace core selling activities but to handle low-value 'grunt work' like research, list building, and follow-ups. This strategy frees up a salesperson's time to focus on irreplaceable human skills like listening, building trust, and navigating complex emotions.

Small companies often overload their first salesperson with both new logo acquisition and existing account management. This is a trap. Prospecting will always lose out to servicing known customers. Plan for account continuity early to protect your growth engine, even before you can afford a second hire.

A proliferation of disconnected sales tools creates significant administrative burden, with reps spending up to 8 hours a week on updates. Knowing the data is often outdated, managers bypass the tools and call reps directly, negating the technology's value and wasting everyone's time.

While AI can efficiently auto-populate CRMs, this creates a risk of salespeople becoming detached from their own data. If reps don't manually review and analyze the AI-generated entries, they lose critical understanding of their pipeline. Automation should not replace engagement.