
Ask HN: How do you hire Sales people? - nirajs
For the last several we&#x27;ve hired only devs and PMs. We need to hire sales people and need some suggestion on where to begin. We&#x27;ve tried LNKD, CL but response was so so. Would love to hear more on how you built your sales team.
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davismwfl
For engineers it is tough to hire a position that is not something you can
easily ask quantitative questions. Instead with sales you need to mix a few
things together to hire the right person.

1\. Figure out who the primary person or type of person they will be selling
to. e.g. are they selling to C level execs or engineers?

2\. Are you selling enterprise software that requires a lot of hand holding?
Or are you selling simple deals?

3\. What is your deal flow like, do you have solid leads but need closers, or
do you need lead generators?

I mention these because I would recruit different types of people depending on
the answers to at least these. In general too, if someone makes you feel
uncomfortable when you are talking to them rather on the phone or in person,
your customers will also feel uncomfortable. I don't care how good their
resume is, if you have any feeling of uneasy or being uncomfortable then you
don't hire. You are hiring a people person who's job it is to make people feel
at ease and open their wallets, they should be able to make you comfortable
and interact with you.

I always make them sell me their last software or product. And then I make
them flip the script and sell me the competitor to their prior product. This
helps me see if they see all sides of the products they are selling and how
well researched they are. Then I will give them my product/software pitch and
then tell them to sell me on it. They should be able to put a good effort to
sell you your software without having a huge background in it, even if it is
complex. I also ask them to tell me the holes they see where competitors could
attack my product offering.

If you want more ideas, you can shoot me an email or respond here with more
details and I'll give you at least my experience and some more specific ideas.

Also lead generating sales staff is different then closers. You can of course
get someone that can do both, but it is a hard job to do both efficiently for
a growing business.

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dwgetjwehg
So with salespeople, it's important to meet in person?

Would you say that a 5 min convo in person trumps looking at a resume?

~~~
davismwfl
In my opinion in person for a sales person is crucial. But I wouldn't rule out
someone immediately just because they were remote to me. Phone conversations,
Skype calls etc all can work wonders and also let you see how their phone
communication skills are. But in the end I always want to meet sales people in
person as they are the face of your company to clients and impressions are
hard to do over.

Sales in the end is all about people, so it has everything to do with
communication, empathy, inquisitiveness and humility. The best sales people I
have met are not the slick assholes we all hate, instead they are the people
that can show humility, empathize with clients and communicate effectively
across different groups of people.

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zhte415
Externally: Is there any vendor you've worked with that gives nice, satisfying
answers, and ensures these are delivered? Poach them.

Internally: Is there anyone that's been in tech long enough to get the feeling
they want to do 'business' more than development? Get them coached by the
above.

Two people is enough to be a great sales team, for a company anywhere from
20-2000 people, as long as they understand each other and the product.

Be worried about a sales person who brings quick deals, especially if in
locations or fields you're unfamiliar with. Could be very likely they have a
'friend on the inside' of deals they've brokered, but these deals are mainly
contracts of understanding and are yet to have revenue attached.

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mswen
No great answers for you. Have worked with enterprise sales people in several
different contexts. The most successful ones have each been unique. I have
seen a start-up burn through its VC funded runway much faster than necessary
by investing IMHO too heavily in sales people who still didn't close enough
deals. Now in truth it might just be that the product to market fit just
wasn't compelling enough.

In other settings it was apparent to me that 1/3 to 1/2 the sales force was a
net negative for the company. The problem is getting those people cycled out
to make way to try another person. And, here is another thing it often takes 6
months to even a year to figure out who is good and who needs to be let go.

Good luck!

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JSeymourATL
> need some suggestion on where to begin.

Go back to LinkedIn and start using the advanced search feature. Keyword in on
individuals you see with promising sales profiles.

Build a list of 10-30 people, in your space. Reach out to these people 1:1,
you must have a live conversation with them (in-person preferably) network
with them, make a friend, seek their advice, share what you are working on and
ask for a referral!

That is where you will find your sales people. You won't find them with a job
board post. They must be hunted & wooed. Done right this process will take
several weeks and require dozens of conversations.

It's exhausting, and deeply satisfying once you've pulsed the market and know
you've found the right people.

~~~
dwgetjwehg
This may be hard to answer, but how far into the conversation do you usually
know whether he/she's a match for the job or not?

~~~
JSeymourATL
Your decision quality and ability to make a quick analysis improves greatly
over time and you become a seasoned interviewer.

You can speed things up by knowing what to look for ahead of time-- (skills,
experience, motivation, cultural fit) and having a formalized candidate
scorecard.

Use a stepped process where you either move an individual forward or eliminate
them. First conversation via phone/Skype. 2nd conversation in-person at the
office, meet the team. 3rd conversation-- meet for lunch/dinner. By this point
you should know. Make a decision, don't drag it out.

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HenryTheHorse
Obligatory facetious answer: "with a great deal of trepidation"

Your best options are:

* Hire sales reps who come with a personal reference from someone whose opinion you value.

* Find a recruiter who specializes in hiring sales reps and be prepared to pay up to 25% of the sales rep's total compensation as recruiting fee.

But for the love of God, do not hire sales reps without having an experienced
sales manager on your recruiting team. Most people cannot judge a good sales
rep from an interview. But a good sales manager can ask the difficult
questions and help you make the right choice. As anyone will tell you,
building sales teams is neither easy nor cheap.

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Taylor_OD
I'm a tech recruiter and I partnered early on with a small company and placed
their entire development team. They desperately needed sales guy and
eventually found a recruiter that has placed their entire sales team. Most
small companies (who can afford it) partner with a good recruiter.

I could you refer you his way if you are interested.

~~~
dwgetjwehg
Can I ask you a couple quick questions about recruiting?

okolobeta@gmail.com

~~~
Taylor_OD
Emailed.

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rgbrgb
These guys are working on this problem:
[https://interviewed.com/](https://interviewed.com/)

Haven't tried it personally but the founders are very clever.

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gesman
What do you sell?

~~~
what2Do2016
Sar, I selling $50 wordpress websites. very good website, bootiful website.
Plez buy sar

