6 Keys To Making Your First Sales Hire

Getting your first sales hire right is incredibly important. A mistake can set you back months and be costly. 

What should you look for? What are red flags? What makes sense in the early stages? How do you know if they’ll be successful? 

Here are 6 qualities to look for in your first sales hire.

6 Must Have Qualities For Sales Rep #1

1. Previous sales experience

Did they sell Cutco knives in high school? Advertising for the school newspaper? Look for a pattern of sales skills and find out the details of how much they sold, what they learned, and what they liked about it. 

#PROTIP
Software or tech sales not required. The best sales reps I know sold copiers and Cutco knives before they started at software companies. It’s easier to train software skills than sales instincts.

2. Moved up quickly

Did they receive promotions within previous roles? Did they move up quickly? You don't get promoted from Sales Development Rep to Account Executive because you suck at sales 😉

Same is true from moving from restaurant host to server to manager. It shows leadership skills and good work ethic.

#PROTIP
This works for other roles too! Look for a fast career trajectory especially within one company. Job hopping (1 year or less at several companies) is a red flag, especially in sales!  

3. Creative problem solver

As an early stage company, there’s no playbook. The first sales rep will be figuring out who to call, what talking points are most compelling, and how to find target companies. Look for someone who likes to blaze their own trail and is comfortable with ambiguity. Avoid someone who wants training or lots of guidance. 

#PROTIP
Ask about the most challenging thing they’ve taught themselves or the most creative way they’ve gotten past a “gatekeeper.”

4. Hunter not farmer

Hunters find new companies. Farmers find new business within existing customers. It’s a totally different mindset and skill set. Look for a hunter. 

#PROTIP
Hunters like to handoff the customer relationship after closing the deal. They will usually be transparent that they like to win and make money. Farmers tend to emphasize their love of customer relationships. 

5. Makes the ask

A great salesperson is not afraid to make the ask. They will be securing a meeting with the CEO of a F500, asking for next steps, and negotiating the job offer. 

#PROTIP
Employees who make asks and push boundaries can be a challenge to manage. But it’s what makes them great at selling! Two sides of the same coin. 

6. Hungry

Hunger beats experience in early stage startups. Someone smart, scrappy, and eager to work their ass off will be more affordable, more flexible, and, in my experience, more successful overall. The experienced sales person will want a high base salary and expect lots of resources (marketing materials, warm leads, sales engineers, demo accounts). Eventually, you’ll be big enough to hire the experienced sales pro but early on, it will be expensive and high risk. 

#PROTIP
Your first sales comp packages should be low base salaries with high commissions and market rate on-target earnings (OTE). It rewards performance, aligns employee and company incentives (aka signing up paying customers), and keeps burn low. The market rate OTE attracts good candidates.

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It may take a while to find a great first sales hire. It’s worth the wait!

If you can afford it, hiring a few sales people at a time can also be a great way to expedite learnings, create friendly competition, and see who rises to the top so you can recreate that.

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What qualities do you look for in early sales hires? What skills or backgrounds lead to great first sales people?