Startup & SMB Sales Ops
First sales hire, the right tech stack, and a 90-day sales-ops setup for Indian founders.
Quick answer
Most Indian founders set up sales ops too late or too heavy. Too late means tribal knowledge and leads lost in WhatsApp; too heavy means a Salesforce instance no one updates. The right path is staged: in the first 30 days track only what matters (every lead, its source, and what happened next) and a spreadsheet is fine; by day 60 add scoring and a priority queue so your first reps work the right lead first; by day 90 add ₹-first metrics so you can see what's at risk and coach on it. Buy the smallest tool that fixes the current pain, not the most famous one.
3 articles, written for Indian B2B teams.
Sales Operations Setup for Indian Startups: A 90-Day Plan
A founder's pragmatic sales operations setup for India — what to track from day one, when a spreadsheet is fine, and ₹-first metrics, in 90 days.
SMB Sales Software in India: What to Buy and When
A stage-by-stage buying guide to SMB sales software in India — spreadsheet to behaviour OS — matched to your pain and your ₹ per rep/month budget.
Your First Sales Hire in India: The Tools They Actually Need
Hiring your first sales rep in India? Here's the short list of tools they need on day one — and the heavy CRM you should skip until you grow.
Already on a CRM? See exactly where Leadkaun fits — and where it doesn't.
Leadkaun is a Sales Behaviour OS, not a like-for-like CRM. These honest side-by-sides show when to switch, when to run it alongside, and when to stay put.
Startup & SMB Sales Ops — the questions buyers actually ask.
When should a startup set up sales operations?
The moment a second person sells or lead volume outgrows your memory — usually well before founders think. Start light: capture every lead, its source, and its next step. You don't need a CRM on day one; you need a single source of truth and a follow-up habit.
What should I track from day one?
Three things: every lead and where it came from, what happened on each (call, WhatsApp, outcome), and which leads are hot. That's enough to stop leaks. Add scoring and a priority queue once reps can't hold the pipeline in their heads.
When does a startup outgrow the spreadsheet?
When multiple reps edit it, nobody knows who to call next, follow-ups slip without reminders, and you can't answer 'what's ₹ at risk this week'. At that point graduate to a tool that scores and queues leads — Leadkaun imports your sheet (CSV) and is set up the same day.
What's the right sales stack for an Indian SMB?
Lean: a lead source or two, a way to log WhatsApp and calls in seconds, scoring + a priority queue so reps know what to do next, and ₹-first reporting. Avoid enterprise CRMs until you genuinely need their complexity — they lower adoption at this stage.
This is the product behind the page.
Every lead graded A–F, a live Priority Queue per rep, and the ₹ at risk surfaced in real rupees — set up the same day.
Your reps open their queue tomorrow.
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