When should we hire a VP of Sales? π€
Ghulam Abbas
22 replies
Hey Product Hunt Community! π
π We're at a crossroads and need your insights.
When is the right time for a growing company to bring on a VP of Sales?
π΅ Is it based on revenue milestones?
π« Number of customers or clients?
π A specific team size or market expansion goals?
π Share your experiences and advice!
π‘ Looking forward to your thoughts and stories.
Replies
Umair Ahmed@beeptech
you definitely need a sale team
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You should think about hiring a Sales Leader, like a Head of Sales or VP of Sales, once you have a few salespeople who are already making sales.
Hiring a Sales Leader too early can be tricky. Early on, itβs usually up to the co-founders and sales reps to figure out how to sell the product.
A VP of Sales wonβt shine if thereβs nothing to build or scale yet. And founders can get frustrated when the VP of Sales is still figuring out how to sell the product and not bringing in cash regularly.
Paillor
VP of Sales is always the most important and painful one. But good shot can make you king.
@doganakbulut I am curious why this is a painful step in your view. Hiring a VP of sales is the foundational step to building and executing a sales strategy and execution plan. hiring the
Overlap
@jabrueckner Hey Josh, great to hear from you! It's been way too long! Hope things are well and I'll definitely show some love for your upcoming launch.
@abbas143official Thanks! Truthfully, I had been doing founder led sales myself for awhile and we needed to expand our reach.
It worked out well because my co-founder was already familiar with the candidate and it was a smooth onboarding.
CuratedLetters
Launching soon!
When you feel it is necessary. Where can I applyπ
I think the best answer for this is when your product achieves Product-Market fit. This means you can kick things up a notch on sales.
Also, I'll be launching my FIRST product here on Product Hunt next week. It would be amazing if you could follow my launch π
https://www.producthunt.com/prod...
Paillor
Customer base size can be a deciding factor too. If you're rapidly acquiring new clients, a VP of Sales can help manage and streamline this growth. At what customer count do you think a VP becomes essential? π«π
Paillor
Timing the hire right can be tricky. Bringing on a VP of Sales too early might strain resources, while waiting too long could slow growth. How do you balance these considerations in your company?
Paillor
Market expansion goals can also drive this decision. If you're looking to enter new markets, a VP of Sales with experience in expansion can be invaluable. Have you hired for this role when planning a major market push? ππ
For many, the right moment to hire a VP of Sales comes when the current sales team needs strong leadership to scale further. Have you found that bringing in a VP accelerates growth, or are there other factors to consider first? π±π₯
Paillor
Paillor is an employee support and automation platform that integrates knowledge bases, SaaS automation, and help desk functionalities with AI to handle all types of employee queries or support requests across Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chrome in one place.
As a general rule of thumb, it's often good to hire a VP of Sales once you have around 10 sales reps and are doing at least $10M in ARR. But it really depends on your specific business model, target market, and growth goals. π― If you're in a complex enterprise sales cycle, you may need that senior sales leadership earlier. If you're targeting SMBs with a more transactional sales model, you might be able to scale further before bringing in a VP. The key is to hire ahead of your needs so the VP has time to build the right sales playbook, hire and train reps, and put the right process and tools in place to hit your revenue targets. π Don't wait until growth has stalled to make the hire. Get that sales leader in early enough to stay ahead of the curve! πͺ That's my $0.02 based on what I've seen work (and not work) across a variety of startups. Curious to hear others' experiences!
It depends on the complexity of your sales process and the size of your deals. π° Generally, once you're doing over $1-2M in ARR and have a repeatable sales motion, it's a good time to bring in a VP of Sales to scale things up. π But if you have a really complex enterprise sales cycle, you might need one sooner. π€ Curious to hear others' thoughts and experiences! π€
IMO, hard to say in general. When your managers need guidance that you cannot give or do not have the time to give, that'd be a good time to think about hiring a VP. Or if you're making a big directional change and you have the perfect VP candidate who can lead the change management. It really depends.
Paillor
Absolutely, hiring a VP of Sales is a big step for any company! Some say it's all about reaching a certain revenue threshold, while others believe it hinges on team size or market reach. What's been your experience? Do you think there's a specific metric that signals it's time? ππ
Simply put-the founders of any start up have to know and accept what they are best at and deliver that expertise exponentially for the business to launch and gain market acceptance. With that said, hiring a VP of sales should come at the point of realization that βwe need an expert who can perform at our level, at our pace, and as an extension of us-the foundersβ. Why? Because itβs not your skillset and your organization is primed for scaling. Go get your person.
Company culture fit is crucial for any leadership role. How important do you think cultural alignment is when hiring a VP of Sales? Can a strong cultural fit outweigh experience? π€πΌ