Mini-episode: Winning the Ground Game – Field Sales for Startups

2025-04-17

Rapid growth can feel like whiplash for founders—especially once they’ve nailed product-market fit and start scaling fast. But without a repeatable structure for the sales team, growth is often unsustainable. In this mini-episode of Extraordinary Pursuits, Bart Fanelli, founder and CEO of Skillibrium, breaks down the fundamentals of building a high-performing field force. Drawing on years of experience helping companies scale from startup to billion-dollar success stories, Bart explains why great sales strategy starts with consistent execution. He shares the importance of alig...

Drawing on years of experience helping companies scale from startup to billion-dollar success stories, Bart explains why great sales strategy starts with consistent execution. He shares the importance of aligning leadership and frontline teams, using leading indicators (not just lagging revenue), and growing from the inside—not by throwing more money at marketing.

Whether you’re just starting to scale or reevaluating your go-to-market approach, this conversation delivers tactical insight into the discipline behind smart sales growth.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Starting with Structure: What to Build First in a Scaling Company

[03:01] Repeatable Cadence as a Catalyst for Growth

[05:45] Market Dynamics, Messaging, and the Pendulum Trap

Points of Wisdom:

"Most companies don’t ever focus on the baseline. They just chase the revenue." [02:13]
"You have to grow from the inside." [05:45]

About Bart Fanelli:

Bart Fanelli is the founder and CEO of Skillibrium, a company focused on transforming the way organizations drive scalable growth. With decades of experience in sales leadership and a deep understanding of organizational strategy, Bart created Skillibrium to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in sales: aligning talent and tactics to drive predictable and repeatable success. His extensive experience spans roles as an executive advisor, entrepreneur, and co-author of The Success Cadence: Unleash Your Organization’s Rapid Growth Culture.

Resources Mentioned: The Success Cadence by Bart Fanelli