Venture targets Ireland’s overlooked SME sales gap

Sales Geek Ireland founder Jonathan Barker aims to help SMEs build stronger sales functions through fractional leadership, mentoring and training.

Many business owners know their product inside out. They have built relationships, secured early customers and generated referrals through their own energy and expertise.

Growth brings fresh demands. A company hires its first salesperson or business development manager and expects that person to deliver, sometimes without a defined sales process, structured onboarding or clear expectations.

“The problem tends to appear as the business grows,” says Jonathan Barker, who has brought Sales Geek to the Republic of Ireland through Wired Commercial Limited.

“They hire their first salesperson or Business Development Manager, but there is often very little structure around that person. They may receive product training, but very little actual sales training. There is no proper onboarding, no defined sales process, no consistent sales rhythm and sometimes no clear expectations beyond ‘go and sell’.”

Barker says these weaknesses become more serious as teams expand and inconsistencies begin to develop across the sales function. Owner-managed companies can also remain heavily dependent on the founder to generate revenue and maintain customer relationships, making the business more difficult to scale.

Building a repeatable sales operation

Sales Geek Ireland works with companies to introduce greater commercial structure. Its support can begin before a business has generated revenue, helping a founder develop a sales strategy, understand the numbers and set realistic targets. It can also work with established sales teams experiencing inconsistent performance or looking to reach their next stage of growth. 

“We help businesses build better sales functions,” Barker says.

The company’s best-known service, Your Sales Director, provides fractional sales leadership, typically for between one and four days each month. It is designed for companies that require senior commercial expertise before they are ready to appoint a full-time sales director.

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The work can include creating a sales strategy, formalising processes, strengthening pipeline management and forecasting, developing key performance indicators and coaching employees.

Your Sales Mentor focuses on individual development, including business owners seeking to improve their commercial skills, newly promoted sales managers and salespeople who would benefit from structured guidance. Your Sales Trainer delivers practical training to individuals, teams and groups.

“Across all three, our role is not to sell on behalf of the business. We are there to make the sales operation better,” Barker says.

“Ultimately, we are trying to help businesses move towards a more structured, repeatable and predictable sales operation, rather than relying on individual heroics, informal processes or the business owner carrying the sales function themselves.”

Two decades of commercial experience

Barker has spent more than 20 years working in commercial roles, progressing from sales representative to sales manager, head of sales, commercial director, deputy chief executive and chief executive.

A move into a national governing body prompted him to reassess the direction of his career. He reflected on the work he had found most rewarding, including solving commercial problems, strengthening sales teams and building systems that supported revenue growth.

“I took some time to look back at what I had enjoyed most throughout my career. It was solving commercial problems, building stronger sales teams and systems, and seeing those changes translate into growth,” he says.

“I wanted the variety of working with different businesses, different sectors and different commercial challenges. That reflection is what led me to start my own business with Sales Geek Ireland.”

Seeking experienced sales leaders

Sales Geek Ireland is looking for experienced sales and commercial leaders to establish local franchise businesses around the country. Barker is seeking people who have led teams, developed employees or helped companies grow and now want to apply that experience within their own business communities.

“For me, experience matters, but so does attitude. I want people who enjoy helping others improve, listen well and are prepared to roll up their sleeves. They also need the drive to build their own business, supported by the Sales Geek training, tools and wider network,” he says.

Barker wants to have five Sales Geeks, in addition to himself, operating around Ireland during the first year. His three-year ambition is to have another 20 working across the country.

“A successful first year would mean having five Sales Geeks, in addition to me, operating around the country, working with local SMEs and building a solid customer base,” he says.

“I want to see that work making a difference through stronger sales teams, better processes and growing revenue, giving those businesses more scope to invest and create jobs.”

Making sales education more accessible

Barker describes Ireland’s start-up ecosystem as strong, pointing to the spread of digital hubs, accelerators, incubators, events and founder communities across the country. He sees an opportunity to increase the level of sales education and commercial development available within that ecosystem.

“There are a lot of very talented founders building excellent products, but sometimes there is an assumption that there is a quick route to sales: implement the latest tool, automate some outreach, generate a list and start contacting people,” he says.

“Technology can absolutely make salespeople and founders more effective, but it does not replace the fundamentals. You still need to understand your customer, build trust, ask good questions, listen properly, solve a genuine problem and have a structured sales process behind it.”

Sales Geek Ireland plans to introduce free Sales Clubs where founders, business owners and salespeople can network and discuss practical sales topics. The first session is planned for October, with the date and venue still to be confirmed.

“There is not always an obvious place to go to learn about sales, so we want to create somewhere people can have honest conversations about it, learn from each other and become more confident commercially,” Barker says.

Privately funded growth

Sales Geek Ireland is privately funded and is not currently raising outside investment. Its immediate priorities are attracting customers, building the brand and proving the model in Ireland.

“I’m open to external investment, but I think there needs to be a clear reason for it. Raising money should help you solve a specific problem or pursue an opportunity,” Barker says.

“If additional capital could help us develop the Irish network more quickly at some stage, we would consider it. Right now, my focus is on building the customer base and getting the commercial foundations right.”

Learning directly from customers

Conversations with business owners, sales managers and leadership teams have shown Barker how widespread sales challenges are. These can involve pipeline management, onboarding, training, forecasting, conversion rates or supporting a new sales manager.

“I have yet to meet a business that does not have some form of sales challenge,” he says.

He has also learned the value of bringing an idea to customers once it has reached a strong professional standard, rather than pursuing perfection before seeking market feedback.

“There will always be another improvement you can make to a website, a deck, a process or a piece of content. At some point you have to put it in front of real customers, listen to what they tell you and improve from there.”

His advice to other founders begins with customer conversations.

“Get close to customers as quickly as possible,” he says.

“Customers will very quickly tell you which problems they genuinely care about, and which ones only sounded important when you were sitting in front of a laptop.”

Barker also encourages founders to understand their numbers and establish clear goals for the next 12, 24 and 36 months. That means considering revenue targets, customer numbers, average customer value, acquisition and service costs, and the point at which additional employees will be required.

“Ultimately, a great product is important, but sustainable growth usually comes from combining that with good people, good processes, good systems and good training,” he says.

“That gives you something you can build on rather than something that depends on momentum or luck.”