Hiring Salespeople

Pete provides an end-to-end guide on hiring salespeople across company stages that covers: • Honing Your Hiring Profile • Sourcing to Match • Screening, Interviewing, Closing • After You Close

Lars covers: • Start with data: the b.s.-killer spreadsheet • Conducting a zero-bullshit interview • Start with dedicated sales recruiting to get the best sales force • Questions rock star sales reps ask • Approach hiring just like you’d approach building pipeline

Many technical founders make the mistake of applying strategies that worked for building their engineering team to the sales hiring process, but this does not work well because sales people are different from engineers. In hiring sales people, it is important to focus on personality traits, such as courage, competitiveness, hunger, and intelligence. Screening sales reps from other companies requires a different approach to Hiring Engineers, as selling a winning product requires less skill than selling a losing one. The cost of making a hiring mistake is also different between engineering and sales, with engineering organizations experiencing productivity and Technical Debt issues, while sales organizations suffer less long-term debt or fast growth issues. Ultimately, applying engineering hiring techniques to a sales organization is not effective and can lead to the opposite of the desired outcome.

Mark discusses a model for understanding sales executives in startups. He breaks them down into three types: Journeymen, Mavericks, and Superstars. • Journeymen are process-driven, take directions well, and have an organized approach to their work. They are great at running a well-defined process but lack the ability to do "evangelical sales" which is needed in early stage companies. They do not have a "spark" or "je ne sais quoi" that makes them stand out. • Mavericks, on the other hand, are the opposite of Journeymen. They are chaotic by nature, unmanageable, and bad at following rules and processes. They are great at navigating sales campaigns, getting access to senior executives, and putting big wins on the board. However, they do not make good sales leaders or managers. • Superstars have both the process-oriented approach of Journeymen and the ability to navigate sales campaigns like Mavericks. They are a rare breed and are the ones who become sales leaders and managers. Mark stresses that running a great sales program is mostly about running great sales processes. Therefore, while Mavericks may be a good addition to an organization, Superstars, who understand and can execute a process-driven approach are the ones that are most valuable in the long run.

Justin lays out a process for hiring early stage salespeople. He argues the key is to require a set of 8 criteria: Soft skills - work ethic, curiosity, positivity, coachability, and gets stuff done Sales competencies - prior experience as a top performer, ability to explain their current sales process with numbers, ability to design a repeatable sales methodology

Laurabeth discusses the challenges of building a sales function in a start-up and how to do it successfully. She recommends discussing the company's non-negotiables, such as Company Culture and values, when bringing in the sales team. She also recommends traits to look for in product-led salespeople, including respect for the product, resilience, and a customer-centric mindset. She also emphasizes the importance of creating a sales organization that is culture-additive and that complements the company's existing culture.

Bardia explains that when it’s time to hire your second AE, you can de-risk the process by focusing on the following 4 categories: • Previous startup experience ensures that the candidate will be resourceful and capable of navigating ambiguity • Similar ACV and sales cycle to avoid hiring reps who are more experienced with higher ACVs and longer sales cycles • Inbound vs. outbound considerations for reps who are comfortable with outbound and those who have only worked with inbound leads • Domain expertise can accelerate ramp times and help reps understand the space and buyers better