Daily Dose: Recruiting & Interviewing for Sales Roles at Series A Startups

By Scott Sambucci | May 17, 2021

Hiring is a two-sided market – the hiring company and the candidates. 

After closing a Series A, a founder needs to get serious about building their sales team. That first sales team will either galvanize growth from “start up” to “scale up,” or drag the company into startup purgatory.

Founders have to sell candidates on their company, market, and product. Any good salesperson will need relative assurance, that while they’re taking a risk at a startup, the upside potential outweighs the career risk.

Here’s a 5-factor rubric designed for BOTH founders and top talent to assess and validate a startup’s readiness and attractiveness to hiring top sales talent. 

(Notice I said TOP sales talent…)

1/ People – A new hire isn’t joining a company – they’re joining a tribe.  Who’s in the tribe now and how will the candidate fit?

2/ Problem – What’s the mission and vision of the startup? Is the problem interesting? Will solving it make an impact?

3/ Product – Is the product sellable? What’s the roadmap and what other options are available to the market?

4/ Process – Is there a sales process beyond founder magic?

5/ Professional Development – How can the candidate grow as the company grows?

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