SaaStr

MARCH 17, 2021

The other day, I met with a great founder who talked with me about how he was about to top his VP of Sales. in ARR in pretty short order, recruiting a great small team of reps under her, and had really nailed the formula. As founders, we often get obsessed with “right timing” hires. More on that here. A lot faster.

Sales Hiring 310

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale SMB 310

SaaStr

JULY 11, 2023

How do you win with a high-velocity sales strategy in a fast-moving, competitive market? In a special session of Workshop Wednesday, Gorgias Founder & CEO Romain Lapeyre and Gorgias VP of Sales & Partnerships Aasif Osmany share their learnings, advice, and hacks for optimizing your sales process. Sign up for free.

Sales Hiring 202

Sales Hiring SMB Sales Recruiting Payment Methods 202

SaaStr

MARCH 19, 2021

I see this all the time in marketing hires that come out of non-demand gen roles. A head of sales that doesn’t recruit at least one strong rep in the first 90 days. A VP of Sales that has never done outbound, if they don’t take it on fairly early — they never really will. “9 months.”

Sales Recruiting 349

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring SMB Engineering 349

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 16, 2021

You’ll need to hire aggressively to get to the next level and continue that rapid growth. But what roles should you hire for, and what will your org chart look like at each stage? In 2008, he founded Yammer, an enterprise software company that David grew to 500 employees and $60 million in sales. Head of Sales.

CTO Hire 287

CTO Hire Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting CTO 287

SaaStr

MARCH 7, 2021

I thought it would be worth drilling down deeper into each of them, and sharing the learnings and mistakes: 1/ Spending less time fixing things, more time recruiting senior folks to own them. No one spends enough time recruiting as it is, after $1m ARR or so. Yes, you can manage the sales team yourself. You can do this.

Part-Time VPE 296

Part-Time VPE Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale 296

SaaStr

DECEMBER 1, 2023

Hiring a VP of Sales isn’t new, but the conversations have evolved as the world has. SaaStr’s own Jason Lemkin shares the top 10 mistakes he sees during the hiring process during Workshop Wednesday, held every Wednesday at 10 a.m. The last 18 months have seen the biggest changes in the VP of Sales in his SaaS career.

Sales Hiring 159

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Sales Interviewing 159

SaaStr

AUGUST 26, 2022

As SaaStr Europa 2022 drew to a close, attendees took one more opportunity to ask Jason questions about topics like how to navigate the current market, the future of work, playing in a crowded space, and hiring your first VP of Sales. It was funny for Henry to say he segmented his sales team at 80 million in ARR. Transcript.

Sales Hiring 246

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Scaling 246

SaaStr

OCTOBER 26, 2023

Co-founder and CEO at Greenhouse, Daniel Chait, sits down with SaaStr CEO and Founder Jason Lemkin to share what’s new at Greenhouse, a successful recruiting software company at $200M in ARR today. Getting off the ground is one thing — an easy pitch of being an HR tech startup focused on improving hiring.

Sales Hiring 284

Sales Hiring AI SMB Scale 284

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

They are all avoidable : #1: Stepping Out of Sales Ok really this is mistake #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5. I see way too many founders, in the transition from founder-led sales to their first (or second) VP of Sales, look to get that time back. Instead, how they spend time in sales changes. You start hiring faster.

Sales Hiring 315

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Scaling 315

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

In this Ask Me Anything Part 1, Lemkin answers the questions: Many VCs talk about funding, yet you’re so focused on sales. Question #1: Why Are You So Focused On Sales When Other VCs Are Focused On Funding? That VP of Sales came out of Salesforce. Lemkin’s Hail Mary was hiring Brendon Cassidy when that first VP of Sales quit.

Outsourcing Services 289

Outsourcing Services Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting 289

Sales Hacker

OCTOBER 17, 2023

This week we have a special 2 guest episode, with the best hiring guru’s in the game, Chuck Brotman & David Teichner. Chuck is the co-founder of Blueprint Expansion , a GTM roles recruiting firm that has helped over 50 VC-backed companies make amazing Sales, Marketing, & Customer Success hires.

Sales Hiring 126

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Interviewing SMB 126

SaaStr

JULY 13, 2023

Startups come in all shapes and sizes on various stages of a timeline, yet it’s not surprising how many have the same questions and concerns about how to scale from x to y to z, the right time to hire and fire, and how to keep a team motivated during hard times. Q: Where Should SDRs Report — Marketing or Sales?

CTO Hire 242

CTO Hire Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale 242

SaaStr

JANUARY 24, 2024

She was hired because they saw a bit of softening in new business growth, and she came to help diagnose what was going on and help scale the business. Lattice had a product-led growth flow on the website while the sales team was still trying to sell the PLG companies The good news is Lattice had a lot of activity and initiatives at play.

Scale 276

Scale Sales Hiring Scaling Revenue 276

SaaStr

AUGUST 8, 2019

The first step in success with SMB clients is to recognize that it’s not a one size fits all scenario. Companies need a specialized approach for SMB accounts, different than the tactics used for Enterprise. We knew from the beginning that we had to be excellent in SMB sales because basically there is no other way around it.

Sales Recruiting 126

Sales Recruiting SMB Scale Sales Hiring 126

Intercom, Inc.

JUNE 21, 2018

Whether you’re at an early-stage startup that’s just made its first sales hires, or part of a fast-moving sales team in a large organization, the key to success often comes down to efficiency. Then, the sales team went to work. In his opinion, the hiring process is a preview of their sales technique.

Sales Hiring 183

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Technical Advisors 183

Tom Tunguz

AUGUST 4, 2015

The prevailing wisdom for hiring the first VP of Sales is roughly $1M in ARR, or whenever the company has figured out some repeatable sales process. I catalogued the first VPS hire for about 20 fast growth SaaS companies founded in the past five or so years, and compared it to the date they were founded.

Sales Hiring 100

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale Startup 100

SaaStr

APRIL 13, 2022

For 2 days, more than 50+ sessions and 75 expert speakers will be sharing their best practices in Barcelona on scaling, revenue, recruiting, expansion and so much more. 7 Tips for Nailing Your SMB Go-To-Market Strategy with PayFit’s CEO and Co-founder Firmin Zocchetto and. Check out the full detailed agenda here.

Sales Recruiting 211

Sales Recruiting Cloud Sales Hiring Scale 211

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

Hiring a VP that doesn’t work out is tough. You hire a bunch of folks that don’t perform. So if you do make a mis-hire — and everyone does — at least course correct quickly. Some crystal-clear signs you made a senior mis-hire: Too defensive re: their poor performers. But never in a manager. .

Sales Hiring 194

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale SMB 194

SaaStr

AUGUST 8, 2019

The first step in success with SMB clients is to recognize that it’s not a one size fits all scenario. Companies need a specialized approach for SMB accounts, different than the tactics used for Enterprise. We knew from the beginning that we had to be excellent in SMB sales because basically there is no other way around it.

Sales Recruiting 112

Sales Recruiting SMB Scale Sales Hiring 112

SaaStr

JULY 10, 2021

As a founder/CEO, building your first management team is something that you often lose sleep over. Which role should you hire for first? For starters, your first hire should be someone who can complement your skills, someone who is strong in areas where you’re weak, but it goes much deeper than that. And for good reason.

Sales Hiring 263

Sales Hiring Underperforming Technical Team Development Team Review CTO Hire 263

Sales Hacker

AUGUST 7, 2020

Fortunately, more organizers than ever before are consciously seeking out female sales experts for panels, presentations, and podcasts. At Sales Hacker, we’re serious about diversity, and for that reason, we’ve compiled a list of 530+ female sales experts to consider for your next event. Sales Development. Sales Growth.

VP of Engineering 131

VP of Engineering Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Payment Services 131

SaaStr

JANUARY 28, 2020

And so, she can, and Anthony just finished up basically going from the first sales hire at Gainsight at almost 100 million in revenue and has just retired. Maria : It’s like saying, “Hey, you want a sales rep to carry 10 times the quota they do today. You can’t, you have to invest in that sales infrastructure.”

Sales Hiring 245

Sales Hiring Scale Underperforming Technical Team Sales Recruiting 245

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Building a sales team that can go from $0-$50M (Video + Transcript). Gaetan Gachet | SVP of Sales @Algolia. It’s an honor to be here with this mythical creature, this sales leader that goes from zero to 50 million in the same job. He has a whole French sales team and office that only speaks English in Paris.

Scale 148

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Technical Advisors 148

Intercom, Inc.

JULY 29, 2021

Ever since he was hired as the Director of EMEA Sales at BrowserStack , a web and mobile testing platform that lets developers test their websites and mobile applications across browsers, operating systems, and mobile devices, he had to completely rethink how to successfully onboard hundreds of salespeople just as everyone was going remote.

Sales Hiring 223

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Underperforming Technical Team 223

Sales Hacker

OCTOBER 30, 2018

Welcome to Sales Hacker’s first-ever Influential Women in Sales list! In this exclusive list, we wanted to honor not just female leaders that promote their own sales platform (no shame in that!) They say “You can’t be what you can’t see,” and the sales floor is no exception.

Sales Recruiting 111

Sales Recruiting VP of Engineering Scale Sales Hiring 111

Sales Hacker

JUNE 27, 2019

Hiring salespeople is an exciting time… it often means you’re ready to (or in the process of) scaling your business! However, it can also be quite a daunting task — one that I see trip up many businesses and resulting in painful mis-hires and blown opportunities. So how do you know which salesperson is the right hire for your business?

Sales Hiring 72

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale SMB 72

Sales Hacker

APRIL 21, 2020

Can you ever be sure you’re hiring the right salesperson? When I first wrote this article, we were in a very different place, with unemployment at an all-time low and sales hiring a top priority. That secret weapon is a hiring scorecard. Fortunately, my client used their hiring scorecard to sidestep a costly mis-hire.

Sales Hiring 124

Sales Hiring Interviewing Sales Recruiting Underperforming Technical Team 124

Sales Hacker

JANUARY 29, 2018

In this blueprint, we provide insights on how to structure your sales organization. The changes in SaaS require that we no longer look at salespeople as individual contributors, but rather a team that crosses disciplines, not just within sales but also across other parts of the organization such as marketing and product.

Sales Recruiting 91

Sales Recruiting Scale Sales Hiring Sales 91

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 13, 2020

Everyone knows Shopify for what it is today, but in the earlier days, it really was the best SaaS platform for SMB eCommerce providers. They started in the point of sale market, and then as the company scaled, they rolled out new value props and modules for payroll, or Toast capital, or ways to manage your employee base.

Sales Hiring 233

Sales Hiring Scale Payments Cloud 233

Sales Hacker

SEPTEMBER 16, 2019

One of the biggest decisions you can make when setting up your sales team is whether to focus primarily on inside or outside sales. They seem to be completely at odds, with one focused on clients with a high acquisition cost and high ACV (annual account value), the other focused on a high sales velocity. Hiring guide.

Sales Hiring 100

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Payment Methods 100

Sales Hacker

DECEMBER 1, 2017

Ever since the 4-Hour Workweek where Tim Ferriss wrote about using virtual assistants (VAs) as a way to outsource your inbox – hiring virtual sales assistants has hit the mainstream. What is a Virtual Sales Assistant? A virtual sales assistant can also refer to a contractor located overseas. Think long term.

Sales Hiring 110

Sales Hiring Outsourcing Services Sales Recruiting Sales 110

Sales Hacker

DECEMBER 17, 2024

Thats why HG Insights created The Next Generation of Sales AI report to calm the FOMO and help you bring AI to your GTM teams. It includes a breakdown of the Sales AI landscape, adoption of GenAI and Sales software across buyer groups. Plus, an analysis of the top 75 trending sales AI tools. Youre not alone.

Scale 102

Scale Engineering Acquisition Scaling 102

Intercom, Inc.

SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

When it comes to launching sales teams in hyper-growth startups, few people have walked the walk as much as Maggie Hott. She “stumbled” into it, as she told us, first as one of the earliest sales hires of Eventbrite, where she stayed for four years, and then into Slack in early 2015 as the first sales rep in the Bay Area.

Scale 118

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Underperforming Technical Team 118

Sales Hacker

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Women in sales often have a polarizing experience. In the Sales Hacker video series Aha Moments , I asked 10 women: “What is one ‘aha moment’ you’ve had in your sales career?”. The conversations that followed were so authentic and encouraging that we decided to expand this conversation to other badass women in the sales world.

Scale 137

Scale Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring VP of Engineering 137

Intercom, Inc.

MAY 13, 2021

Although Linda started her career in sales, she has spent the past twelve years scaling post-sales teams and moving hyper-growth companies like Zendesk, Slack, and now Gong upmarket into the enterprise realm. Your first SaaS customer success hire. Of course, we always excelled in SMB at Slack as well.

Scale 177

Scale Customer Success Sales Hiring Strategy 177

SaaStr

AUGUST 13, 2019

You may actually need to build a sales team that can serve up market. Salesforce started at SMB and they moved up market and they have really done a fantastic job. How do you actually go from selling to consumers to then to SMB customers and then going up market. The sales cycles were very lumpy. The first one.

Scale 175

Scale Sales Hiring SaaS Sales Recruiting 175

Unbounce

JUNE 16, 2020

especially for SMB SaaS startups. For example, ActiveCampaign’s reseller program offers beefier discounts to partners as they grow, letting them set their own pricing and pocket the difference: ActiveCampaign’s reseller program offers deeper discounts on pricing as more sales are made, creating an incentive to go big.

Outsourcing Services 131

Outsourcing Services Sales Recruiting Scale SaaS 131