Cobrainer’s Direct Founder Sales Strategy: Why Their CEO Still Takes Every First Call
Most startup CEOs eventually step away from day-to-day sales. In a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Hanns Aderhold shared why he still takes every first customer call at Cobrainer, even as the company approaches €10 million in revenue.
The All-In CEO Approach
When you visit Cobrainer’s website, you won’t find the usual “Request a Demo” button. Instead, you’ll see “Talk to Hans” – with the CEO’s actual calendar right there. “No, that’s really me. So, yeah, that’s my calendar. You book calls exactly with me,” Hanns confirms.
This isn’t a small commitment. “I do work quite a lot. So I clock in probably like 16 to sometimes 17, 18 hours or even more. And basically, yeah, 75% of that is sales,” Hanns reveals. That’s a significant time investment for a CEO, especially of a company growing at 252% year-over-year.
Why Take Every First Call?
The strategy stems from a deep understanding of their sales process. “This initial talk, I think like this very first talk, those for us are always the most important qualification steps,” Hanns explains. “I am the best judge in is this a really urgent need and can we really address that need.”
This approach has transformed their sales funnel. As Hanns notes, “We don’t have leads in our sales or opportunities in our sales funnel anymore that are kind of exploratory. We only have very spot on fit opportunities that really fit to us.”
The Partner Dynamic
Cobrainer’s sales strategy is deeply intertwined with their partnership approach. They work closely with major HR platforms and consultancies, who help pre-qualify leads. “We’re really banking on our partners,” Hanns shares. “They help us spread word through their network… that’s for us, let’s say, very highly qualified participants.”
These partnerships provide what Hanns calls “pre selecting our marketing qualified leads.” Rather than spending resources on broad marketing campaigns, they leverage partners to identify the most promising opportunities.
Impact on Sales Efficiency
The results speak for themselves. By having the CEO qualify every lead from the first conversation, Cobrainer has:
- Eliminated time wasted on poor-fit prospects
- Ensured perfect alignment between customer needs and product capabilities
- Built deep understanding of customer pain points at the leadership level
- Created a more efficient sales process post-qualification
The Scaling Question
The obvious question is: can this approach scale? Cobrainer’s growth suggests it can, at least to a point. They maintain a lean sales team – “we have four basically enterprise sales executives” – focusing their resources on highly qualified opportunities that have already been vetted by the CEO.
This approach particularly suits their target market. As Hanns explains, they traditionally focus on companies with “5000 plus headcount.” With larger deal sizes, spending more time on initial qualification makes sense.
Future Evolution
As Cobrainer explores expansion into the SMB market, targeting companies with 50-150 employees, their sales approach may need to evolve. But for now, the direct founder involvement in sales continues to drive their growth.
For founders considering a similar approach, Cobrainer’s experience suggests several key principles:
- CEO time in sales can be leverage if focused on qualification
- Partners can help pre-qualify leads, making founder-led sales more scalable
- Direct founder involvement provides invaluable market intelligence
The traditional startup playbook suggests CEOs should step away from sales as companies grow. Cobrainer’s success challenges this assumption, showing that sometimes the most effective scale comes from keeping the founder deeply involved in customer conversations.