Hiring Your First Sales Reps: A 10-Point Checklist
Your first sales hires are critical for your startup's success. They need to be more than just salespeople; they need to be product experts, passionate advocates, and trusted partners. Use this 10-point checklist to find the perfect early-stage sales team.
"That early sales team — they have to be product gurus. They have to be product experts" @lennysan + @jasonlk pic.twitter.com/kWdOBxtnjz
— Jason 💡SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15💡 Lemkin (@jasonlk) May 23, 2024
Key Qualities to Look For:
- Would you buy from them? This is the ultimate test. If you wouldn't, don't hire them.
- Experience at your price point: Selling a $100/month product differs vastly from a $100,000/year solution. Ensure relevant experience.
- Startup sales experience: Avoid reps who've only sold with the backing of a big brand. Startup selling requires more grit and creativity.
- Thrive in chaos: Early-stage environments are unstructured. Look for scrappy, self-sufficient individuals.
- Product knowledge: They must understand your product inside and out and be able to demo it effectively before they start.
- Resilience: Look for a track record of hustle and experience selling difficult products.
- Trustworthiness: Would you trust them with your top customers? Early customer success is paramount.
- Early-stage experience: Ideally, they've been an early rep at another startup.
- Adaptability: Can they handle both close management and independent work when reporting to the CEO?
- Interview thoroughly: Interview at least 30 candidates to find the few who truly fit your stage.
Above all, hire reps you would genuinely buy from. Don't compromise on this crucial aspect. Using this checklist will help you avoid costly hiring mistakes and build a strong sales foundation for your startup.
Every successful start-up had a Magical Sales Rep in the early days:
* often from a non-traditional background
* >really< got the product, + every use case
* knew how use the product to >truly< solve prospects' problems
* clever enough to work around big gaps
* part evangelist— Jason 💡SaaStr 2025 is May 13-15💡 Lemkin (@jasonlk) March 16, 2025
For a deeper dive into building a successful SaaS sales team:
