When to hire your first salesperson
Hire your first salesperson after the founders have closed the first customers themselves and can describe who buys, why, and what the sales conversation looks like.
The role in one sentence
Before writing a job post, say the role in one sentence. If you cannot, the role is not clear enough to hire for.
"We need a founding account executive: B2B SaaS, full sales cycle, deals of $10–50k, who has sold at a company before it had a playbook."
Change the details to yours. In Evander this sentence is enough to create the job post, interview stages and scorecards as drafts; see how it works.
Job description template
[Company] sells [product] to [customer]. The founders have closed the first [N] customers. You would be the first sales hire: you take over the full cycle from first call to signed contract, and you write down what works so the next hires can repeat it.
What you will do
- Run the full sales cycle: outreach, discovery, demo, proposal, close.
- Build pipeline yourself; there is no SDR team yet.
- Bring what you hear from buyers back to product every week.
- Turn what works into a written playbook.
- Keep the CRM accurate enough to forecast from.
What we look for
- You have carried and hit a quota selling B2B software with similar deal sizes.
- You have built your own pipeline, not only worked inbound leads.
- You have sold a product that was new or unknown.
- You write clearly and follow up without being asked.
Add the location, the pay range and equity, and how the interview process runs. Several US states require a pay range in the post, and EU rules require telling candidates the range before the first interview.
Screening brief
A screening brief says who should get an interview. Use it yourself or give it to AI screening.
Must-haves
- Has closed B2B deals of a similar size and cycle as an individual seller, because that is the whole job in year one.
- Has generated own pipeline, because nobody will hand over leads.
- Has sold at an early-stage company or a new product line, because there is no brand or playbook to lean on.
Either of these profiles works
- Account executive at a startup from early stage through growth.
- Top seller at a larger company who launched a new product or territory.
Bonuses
- Has sold to your buyer persona.
- Has written a sales playbook.
- Is technical enough to demo alone.
Interview plan
| Stage | What it tests |
|---|---|
| Intro call (30 min, founder) | Their numbers, deal sizes and why they want an early stage. |
| Deal review (45 min) | Two real deals in detail, one won and one lost. Tests whether they understand why deals close. |
| Mock discovery call (45 min) | They run discovery with a founder playing a buyer, after a short brief on your product. Tests questions and listening, not product knowledge. |
| Plan and references (60 min) | Their plan for the first 90 days. References from a former manager and a customer if possible. |
Scorecard
Rate each criterion from 1 to 4 with a written example, before the debrief and without seeing other ratings. More in interview scorecards.
| Criterion | What strong looks like |
|---|---|
| Discovery | Asks about the buyer's problem and process before pitching. |
| Pipeline generation | Can describe exactly how they found and opened their last deals. |
| Closing discipline | Knows the next step, the decision maker and the risk in every deal. |
| Learning speed | Picked up your product from a short brief and used it sensibly. |
| Honesty about numbers | Explains quota, attainment and misses without spin. |
Interview questions
- Take me through the last deal you closed from the first touch. What nearly killed it?
- Tell me about a deal you lost that you should have won.
- Where did your pipeline come from last quarter, in percentages?
- How would you find our first twenty prospects next week?
- What did you learn about the product from customers that your company acted on?
Common mistakes
- Hiring a VP of Sales when you need someone who sells.
- Hiring before the founders have closed deals themselves.
- Being impressed by a big-company logo where leads arrived on their own.
This kit is also available as Markdown, free to copy and adapt, in the hiring-templates repository on GitHub.
Questions
When should a startup hire your first salesperson?
Hire your first salesperson after the founders have closed the first customers themselves and can describe who buys, why, and what the sales conversation looks like.
What should a job description for your first salesperson include?
A short summary of the company and the role, four or five things the person will do, three or four requirements that can be checked, the location, the pay range and equity, and the interview process. Start from one sentence, for example: "We need a founding account executive: B2B SaaS, full sales cycle, deals of $10–50k, who has sold at a company before it had a playbook."
What interview questions should I ask your first salesperson?
Take me through the last deal you closed from the first touch. What nearly killed it? Tell me about a deal you lost that you should have won. Where did your pipeline come from last quarter, in percentages?
What are common mistakes when hiring your first salesperson?
Hiring a VP of Sales when you need someone who sells. Hiring before the founders have closed deals themselves. Being impressed by a big-company logo where leads arrived on their own.