The Series B sales motion at a glance
| Dimension | Series B norm |
|---|---|
| Team size | VP Sales + 5-10 AEs + 5-10 SDRs + 2-3 sales ops |
| ACV | $50k-$200k |
| Sales cycle | 60-180 days |
| Primary pipeline source | Warm intros (formalized programs, 40-50%) |
| Secondary | Inbound (20-30%) |
| Tertiary | Cold outbound (20-30%) |
| Marketing-sourced | 10-20% |
The Series B hire that unlocks pipeline
The most important Series B hire is NOT the VP of Sales — it's the Demand Gen Manager who runs warm-intro programs. This person catalogs the warm graph, designs activation rituals for advisors and board, runs customer referral programs, and measures warm-vs-cold pipeline contribution. Without this hire, the VP of Sales defaults to cold outbound because it's the only motion they know how to scale.
VP of Sales hiring at Series B
What to look for: someone who has built and managed pipeline at Series B-C scale before. Avoid the common mistake of hiring a Series D VP who's used to enterprise budgets and named-account coverage — they'll burn through your runway. Best fit: VP who's been a head of sales at a $20M-$50M ARR company.
The warm-intro plays for Series B deals
- Investor network expansion. Your Series B lead has a 2-3x larger network than your Series A lead. Same playbook, bigger surface.
- Formalized advisor activation. Monthly structured asks beat annual hopeful nudges. Build a process.
- Customer referral programs (passive). At Series B you have enough customer base for CSM-driven passive referrals. Yields 5-15% of pipeline if consistent.
- Alumni warm at scale. Your team's prior employer networks now span 500-1,000 people.
Common Series B sales mistakes
- Hiring a senior enterprise VP whose playbook is sized for Series D.
- Building a 20-SDR cold outbound machine in months 6-9 before warm-intro programs are in place.
- No defined customer referral program — leaving 5-10% of pipeline on the table.
- Skipping the Demand Gen Manager hire — means warm-intro programs are never formalized.
How Boomerang fits Series B
At Series B, Boomerang is the system the Demand Gen Manager uses to formalize the warm graph, surface warm paths daily, draft forwardable intro emails, and measure warm-vs-cold contribution. The output: warm-intro pipeline becomes a measurable, budgeted channel — not heroic ad-hoc effort.
For the strategy pair, see GTM Strategy for Series B.
