Hiring: How to Make the Right Hires Early On

In today’s market, every hire matters, especially in sales. Budgets are tight, competition is fierce, and this job requires grit. Here’s how to approach building a resilient and effective team:

1. Seek Out Resilience & Hustle: Sales can be brutal. It’s not about how you handle the “yes” moments but how you react to a hard “no.” To assess resilience, I like to ask about their earliest jobs or moments of failure. Have they faced setbacks? How did they overcome them? If they can’t pinpoint specific challenges, they may not be ready for the demands of this role.
2. Prioritize Early Outcomes: Within two weeks, I expect new hires to pitch the product confidently to someone internally. By month-end, they should be delivering solid demos. Activities drive everything in the first 60 days. Demos booked, outreach numbers, and LinkedIn activity all matter. If they’re under baseline, we address it early. By month three, a lack of activity or pipeline-building signals it might not be the right fit.
3. Hire Slow, Fire Fast: In this market, “hire slow, fire fast” is critical. Red flags are clear in sales – low outreach, lack of energy in demos, or an inability to build pipeline quickly. If someone’s activities fall below par, they’re warned and coached. But if there’s no improvement by month three, it’s time to make a tough call.

Curious, resilient team members who put in the activity and stay hungry make all the difference.

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