OpenView Labs

APRIL 29, 2021

Recruiting top talent is the common denominator across all scaling startups. Nine out of 10 founders and CEOs I connect with are involved in recruiting on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Many of them are learning on the fly and trying to juggle being CEO and Chief People Officer/Lead Recruiter/Brand Evangelist all at once.

Sales Recruiting 81

Sales Recruiting Outsourcing Services Sales Hiring Scale 81

SaaStr

JULY 18, 2023

Some engineers by training, others in sales or product originally. But a few uniting characteristics of the very best: Relentless Recruiters. You have to be constantly recruiting the best. The best founders usually spend at least 20% of their time recruiting. Some extroverts, some introverts. No Excuses.

Sales Recruiting 198

Sales Recruiting Scale Scaling Engineering 198

Tom Tunguz

DECEMBER 2, 2015

Specifically, she champions a metrics-based approach for developing world class recruiting teams. Because of her position, Maia has observed recruiting patterns in hundreds of companies, and has developed best practices for startups. Maia reports these five strategic recruiting metrics to the executive team each quarter.

Sales Recruiting 108

Sales Recruiting Startup Sales Hiring Data Analysis 108

SaaStr

DECEMBER 16, 2020

We’ve talked a lot on SaaStr about how to make that critical hire: the VP Sales. You’ll end up with a crummy sales team under a mis-hire. We’ve posted a script to use when interviewing a VP Sales. And lessons learned on what a VP Sales really does. Job #1 is Recruiting. It all clicks.

Sales Recruiting 288

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Sales Engineering 288

SaaStr

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

From $1m in ARR, and Then Forever After: Recruiting Great VPs. You need to learn to become great at recruiting. Why do I need 50 engineers to do what 3 engineers use to do? Why is my sales team less efficient at $20m ARR than at $2m in ARR? This challenge never ends. It never ends. And tenacious at it.

Sales Recruiting 238

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Startup Scale 238

SaaStr

JUNE 22, 2021

The other day I saw a VP of Sales flame out and resign with no notice from a SaaS company doing $10m ARR growing quickly. So I thought it might be helpful to brush off the topic of alignment between Sales and Marketing by updating a classic post on the topic. The original version here on Lattice Engines’ Sales and Marketing Hub.

Sales Recruiting 296

Sales Recruiting Scale Sales Hiring Revenue 296

Sales Hacker

JULY 25, 2022

In order for your car to run efficiently, you need every part of your engine firing on all cylinders. Everyone on your team must meet their specific goals in order for your engine to operate efficiently. Here’s the thing about driving a car — and about running a sales org: Bumps in the road are inevitable.

Sales Recruiting 99

Sales Recruiting Engineering Revenue Sales Enablement 99

SaaStr

AUGUST 15, 2021

Someone has to be the #1 engineer. But one of you has to lead on Customers/Sales/Marketing and the other likely on Product/Engineering for it really to work. Better recruiter than you. Better recruiter than you. If your co-founder is a better recruiter than you, this is an immediate upgrade.

Sales Recruiting 269

Sales Recruiting Engineering Product Marketing Marketing 269

SaaStr

OCTOBER 20, 2023

20Dear SaaStr: My Top Sales Rep Made $600,000 a Year — And Just Quit! Why would a sales rep quit a job where they are making top 1%-5% money, respected, treated well, and have it dialed it? It may not be 100% logical, but looking back, here’s where I see it happen: A new VP of Sales comes in. The VP of Sales leaves.

Sales Recruiting 185

Sales Recruiting Sales Startup Engineering 185

OPEXEngine

APRIL 12, 2022

Emboldened by this seeming endorsement, I dashed off what turned into a lengthy email on interviewing and recruiting, a topic about which I am passionate not because I think I am good at it but because I think I am not. Thoughts on The Recruiting Process. Remember it’s a mutual sales process. Know what you’re looking for.

Sales Recruiting 40

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Interviewing Finance 40

SaaStr

JANUARY 24, 2021

2021 will be the year SaaS sales evolves the most since the Appexchange ecosystem started to take off ~15 years ago, which spawned the entire notion of a true sales app stack. The permanent move to distributed sales teams. Almost every SaaS VP of Sales and CRO I’ve talked to in the past few months isn’t going back.

Sales Recruiting 342

Sales Recruiting Scale Technical Review Sales 342

SaaStr

AUGUST 30, 2022

This happens with some regularity in SaaS, I’ve learned (and to be clear: I’m not talking about any company I’ve invested in, am an advisor to, board member of, etc – Because when it’s still a very small team, with no true management team … co-founders can kind of hack it to $1m-$2m in ARR together.

Sales Recruiting 215

Sales Recruiting Technical Cofounder Scale Investment 215

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

Brendon Cassidy, my VP of Sales wrote a version of this piece a while back. I though an updated version of this would be good for founders thinking about hiring a VP of Sales … VPs of Sales themselves … and VPs-to-be to read — Jason, ed. … 10 Rules to Being a VP of Sales in a Startup.

Sales Hiring 283

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Startup Sales 283

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 12, 2023

SaaStr 632: CRO Confidential: How To Adapt Your Sales Strategy To The Current Sales Environment with Sam Blond and Hannah Willson, SVP of Sales at Modern Health  2. SaaStr 630: Sales-led vs. Product-led? From Burn-Out to $100M in ARR with Jason Cohen, Founder of WP Engine 5. Top Podcasts This Week: 1.

Sales Recruiting 130

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Venture Capital Sales 130

SaaStr

OCTOBER 27, 2022

You need engineering, product in all start-ups — but in SaaS, even in the very early days, you also need sales, client success, true support, demand gen marketing, etc. Routine Sales. You gotta hire 2 great sales reps as soon as you can. This didn’t work well until I had a Great VP of Sales.

Sales Hiring 275

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale Scaling 275

SaaStr

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Ah the VP of Sales. The first post is What a Great VP of Sales Actually Does. The second post is a script for you to use (and modify as you see fit) – 10 Great Questions to Ask a VP Sales Candidate. Just so you know, there are 48 Different Types of VP Sales. The toughest hire. Such a high failure rate.

Sales Hiring 362

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Sales 362

SaaStr

JANUARY 23, 2024

Efficiency goes down in other places (sales efficiency usually, marketing efficiency often). Account expansion starts to work. The best mid-market and enterprise SaaS companies grow their accounts 120%-160% as a cohort, inclusive of churn. You can lose a top salesperson or engineer, and it’s still tough. This helps a lot.

Scale 185

Scale Sales Recruiting Scaling Branding 185

SaaStr

JULY 9, 2022

The role of a VP is to own everything required to hit the goals for a functional area – Sales, Marketing, Product, Engineering, Finance, or Customer Success. This includes: Recruiting the team. While the answer may sound obvious, I’m not sure it always is in early-ish stage start-ups. This can be hard.

Sales Recruiting 244

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Finance Engineering 244

SaaStr

MARCH 25, 2023

So one recent survey we did really brought out a healthy debate: does your VP of Sales really need to be a product expert? Many of the comments said it was more important a VP of Sales understand process and leadership more than the product itself. They often melt. I say, you just gotta know the product. Not just with buzzwords.

Scale 210

Scale Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Sales 210

SaaStr

MAY 31, 2021

Still, an overall deep-dive on lessons learned the second and third time around: Not Easier : Recruiting – Not Easier. You might think after (goodness) the best part of 20 years of working in tech, 18 as an executive or CEO, and 13 as a founder … I’d be pretty good at recruiting at this point. I’m not.

Sales Recruiting 305

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Branding 305

SaaStr

JUNE 23, 2020

In SaaS, it is recruiting your VPs and management team : SaaS products mostly don’t sell themselves. You can hack managing and finding 1–3 reps yourself, but after that, you really need a VP of Sales. You’ll need more than 5–6 core engineers to go big. Q: What’s the number one challenge for scale-up founders?

Part-Time VPE 227

Part-Time VPE CTO Hire Fractional VPE Sales Recruiting 227

SaaStr

AUGUST 7, 2021

Some investors bet on the best engineering teams. If I wouldn’t work for you … then I can’t help you recruit folks that will. You’re in sales. Recruit the VPs? CEO Doesn’t like Sales — and The Hunt. Apologies for the title of this post, and perhaps the post entirely.

Sales Recruiting 334

Sales Recruiting Scale AWS Investment 334

Tom Tunguz

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

Whether you manage a team of engineers, a team of regional sales managers, or the company, your first responsibility is to hire and successfully manage the seven people who will form your leadership team. First, as a company grows, the most important thing is recruiting.

Sales Hiring 217

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Management Leadership 217

SaaStr

MAY 3, 2021

A new edition, new services, an outbound sales team, an account management / upsell team. From $1m to $10m ARR or so, as you build your first management team: You shouldn’t be the VP of Sales Anymore As You Scale. You still need to spend 15-20% of your time in sales. Add a layer. the prospects).

Part-Time VPE 270

Part-Time VPE Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Outsourcing Services 270

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 249

Part-Time VPE Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale 249

SaaStr

AUGUST 23, 2022

My general learnings: By 20-30 employees, you should have 1-2 good managers in place such that at least 50% of the company can run based only on weekly staff meetings, 1-on-1s, and “grab me when you need me-s” E.g., a great first VP of Sales that can just handle sales. management team by 50 employees or so.

Part-Time VPE 179

Part-Time VPE Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Startup 179

SaaStr

JUNE 24, 2022

Your best sales reps can close so much more than your average rep. Move the bottom 10% out and give the best leads to your top performer, and watch sales go up 20%. The best VPs of Sales design comp plans so the team never wants to leave. You should be striving for zero voluntary attrition on your sales team.

Sales Recruiting 197

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Customer Success 197

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 151

Sales Hiring SMB Sales Recruiting Payment Methods 151

SaaStr

JULY 29, 2021

Someone great at something core you aren’t: Sales, Engineering, Marketing. Great at sales. Great at engineering. If you hire someone to do the first sales, you’ll never understand it yourself. When you go to hire your first sales rep, hire 2. 50% of the job for a VP is recruiting. A bit more here.

Sales Hiring 296

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Interviewing Engineering 296

SaaStr

JULY 10, 2022

Or drives the engineering team to ship more features per quarter. A great VP of Customer Success in just a quarter or so decreases churn and increases account revenue growth. Sales growth slowly declines as she struggles to bring in enough reps. More here: Should You Fire an OK-but-Not-Great VP of Sales? This is hard.

Sales Recruiting 175

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Churn 175

Intercom, Inc.

APRIL 4, 2022

One of the joys of an engineering career is how varied it can be – the size, industry and above all culture of any company entirely determines what an engineering job actually looks like on a day to day basis. I’ve been a Product Engineer at Intercom for just over two years. Joining Intercom.

Engineering 118

Engineering Scale Sales Hiring Company Culture 118

SaaStr

JUNE 15, 2023

One of the best sales people. One of the best engineers. And realize you are going to have to spend a lot more time recruiting that you’d planned. First, be honest about what you do and don’t know about the company today. The best product guy or marketing person. acquired for $100m, was VP at Twitter, etc.

Sales Recruiting 193

Sales Recruiting Marketing Sales Hiring Market Segmentation 193

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. Our top Director of Engineering was just an A+ from Day 1. This VP had gotten him from $0 to $1.5m

Sales Hiring 281

Sales Hiring Sales Recruiting Scale SMB 281

Buffer Resources

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023

I’ve never created LinkedIn content with the “goal” of lead generation or immediate-term sales. Another cool example I really like is Tito Bohrt — he stands out with the pseudo, “ Sales Mad Scientist ” — which demonstrates confidence and a unique identity online.

Sales Recruiting 130

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Scale Social Media 130

Tom Tunguz

AUGUST 18, 2018

Startups are business machines engineered to grow quickly. Every lead hired today, whether marketing , sales, engineering or product, will have a very different job nine months from now, much less two years from now. You hire a head of engineering. The engineering team is 17 people. And ship code on time.

Sales Recruiting 262

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring Startup Headcount 262

SaaStr

NOVEMBER 21, 2020

We’ve written a lot on SaaStr on how to increase the odds your first management team is a success. How to hire a great VP of Sales (tons on that here ). What a great VP of sales really does. How to manage customer success. About recruiting and helping you scale. When to hire her (more here ).

Sales Hiring 349

Sales Hiring Scale Sales Recruiting Engineering 349

SaaStr

MARCH 19, 2021

A head of sales that doesn’t recruit at least one strong rep in the first 90 days. A head of product that doesn’t take over the roadmap, and redirect the engineering team to do something better, faster and bigger. But the top VPs of Sales know you have to get it going soon. Never will. Never will.

Sales Recruiting 304

Sales Recruiting Sales Hiring SMB Engineering 304