Your first sales hire is the one founders get wrong most often.
I've been Head of Sales 5 times at early-stage startups, interviewed thousands of AEs, and hired hundreds. Now I help founders make this first hire so it sticks.
THE PREMISE IS SIMPLE:
"I am the candidate I am being hired to find."
Most founders making their first sales hire have never run sales themselves. So they buy on credentials and resumes and hope the person inside the resume is the one they need.
I have run early-stage sales 5 times. I know which resumes match the job and which look right but won't close. I coach the founder, run the search, evaluate against a stage-fit rubric, and stay involved through year one.
The 4 reasons first sales hires fail.
- 01
Stage Fit
A Series B operator dropped into a Seed-stage company is the wrong fit. Every stage needs its own profile.
- 02
Mismatched expectations about sales from the Founder
Founders are often not ready to hire their first seller, but don't know it yet.
- 03
Generalist recruiters don't understand Sales at this stage
They put name-brand sellers into 5-person startups, or PLG operators into outbound-heavy motions. The motion does not match the rep.
- 04
The recruiter disappears at offer
Day 30, day 90, year 1 pass with no check-in. The recruiter never hears whether the hire actually stuck.
A recruiter who has never closed a deal cannot tell you which of your candidates can.
Hiring your first sales leader or AE?
30-minute call. I will give you an honest read on whether now is the right time to hire, and what kind of operator your company needs.
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