Why Now is the Time to Scale Your Sales Team for Q1 2025

By James Hornsby, Director, Furza

As the evenings draw in and autumn is upon us, forward-thinking businesses will already be drawing up plans for 2025. If you are aiming for a successful business start to the new year, now is the ideal time to start scaling your teams for Q1, particularly those focused on driving sales. The reason is simple: new hires need time to ramp up and, if you want them to generate revenue by January, the clock is ticking.

The ramp-up period: a crucial investment

Sales roles are demanding, requiring a nuanced understanding of your products, markets and customers. Even the most seasoned sales professionals need time to adapt to a new role to their company’s culture, systems and sales strategies. The ramp-up period – the time it takes for a new hire to reach full productivity—can range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the role and the industry.

In many organisations, and from my experience, the average ramp-up time for a sales professional is around 90 days. This period includes onboarding, training and the time needed for new hires to start contributing meaningfully to revenue. If you start the hiring process now, you give your new team members time to settle in, learn the ropes and begin generating sales by the time Q1 rolls around.

The competitive advantage of early hiring

Starting your hiring process now gives you a strategic edge over your competitors, who may wait until later in the year. By the time they begin searching for talent, your new hires will already be deep into their training, familiarising themselves with your offerings and even making their first sales. This head start can translate into a significant competitive advantage when Q1 arrives.

Aligning with Q1 goals and targets

Q1 is typically a critical period for businesses. It sets the tone for the entire year, and often comes with ambitious targets. To hit these targets, your team needs to be firing on all cylinders from day one. This is only possible if they’ve had sufficient time to onboard and ramp up beforehand.

When you scale your team in October, you align their ramp-up period with your business’s Q1 goals. By January, your new hires will have a clear understanding of their role, the sales process and the expectations placed upon them. They’ll be ready to contribute to the team’s success and help achieve the aggressive targets often set for Q1 and the new business year.

Leveraging the end-of-year slowdown 

Another reason why this is the perfect time to scale your team is the typical end-of-year slowdown. While some industries remain busy through the end of the year, many others experience a lull as the holiday season approaches. This slowdown can be leveraged as an opportunity to focus on training and development.

By bringing new hires on board in October, you can use November and December to invest in their growth. This period is ideal for deep-dives into product knowledge, honing sales techniques and building relationships within the team. Come January, these well-prepared sales professionals will be ready to hit the ground running.

Getting the new year off to a strong start

Great sales leaders are able to balance looking at the here and now while also keeping an eye on where they need to be three, six and twelve months ahead. Right now, many leaders will be looking at their existing pipeline and making estimations and forecasts for what will close in the remainder of 2024, which is exactly what they should be doing. However, what they also need to think about is where they want to be this time next year, and making provisions to enable them to achieve that.

Those looking for a 2025 impact know that through hiring, ramping, training and onboarding in the closing last few months of the year, this will give them a business-ready and quota-achieving team ready to impact from January 2025. There are lots of excuses and reasons why this ‘needs to wait’, but the reality is that the effort put into recruiting and training now will be the difference between results in January and results in April, which will ultimately affect where your business will be this time next year.

The time it takes to recruit, onboard, and train new hires means that delaying this process could cost you valuable momentum in Q1. By acting now, you ensure that your team is fully-equipped to tackle the challenges and opportunities the new year will bring, giving your business the best possible start to 2025. 

My advice is: Don’t wait until it’s too late. Begin your hiring process today and set the stage for a successful Q1. By bringing new hires on board in October, you can use November and December to invest in their growth. This period is ideal for deep-dives into product knowledge, honing sales techniques and building relationships within the team. Come January, these well-prepared sales professionals will be ready to hit the ground running.

Speak to one of our sales experts today.