If it’s expensive, it must be good. That’s a common bias we don’t want to admit we have, but we often fall for it. There’s also a saying in large organizations that someone never got fired for hiring the most expensive solution if it bombs. Not true if you went with the cheap approach and failed. This brings us to … Read More
Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is a celebration in Mexico held on November 1 and 2. It is a day when friends and family gather to remember and pay their respects to those that have passed. The celebration was brought into the global pop culture consciousness through the Pixar film Coco. In the same way, the tradition … Read More
How do you know a person you are about to hire is who they say they are? You call in the modern Dr. Frankenstein. These are Ph.Ds in lab coats that peel back the outer layers of ego and self-defense and peer deep inside the nooks and crannies of your gray matter to get to the truth, the unvarnished essence, … Read More
We like recruiters. We hate recruiters. It’s one of those relationships. As founders of B2B tech startups, we tend to turn to recruiters to find our first stales hire because they have the capacity and the networks to bring you what you need when you need it. Except, of course, when they don’t. Especially when it comes to a first … Read More
Kicking off the dust of stupid corporate politics and incompetent bosses. Early retirement. Expensive cocktails. Fabulous vacations. Having to worry about inheritance taxes and not raising entitled children. Ah, the daydreams of startup life. We get it. We’ve been down that road more than once. (And believe me, getting a reliable crew for both the yacht and the private jet … Read More
We want magicians. Our hope when we hire our first salesperson is that they will work magic. It’s not a realistic hope, it’s not even spoken out loud, and we might not even be conscious of it, but we want them to work their sales magic and make it rain money. It’s no wonder we are so often disappointed. Through … Read More
Money Makes the World Go Round, as the song goes. But what makes your first sales hire get out of bed? Are they just motivated by the almighty buck or is something else helping drive their ambition? We all have dreams of being the next startup that gets the unicorn valuation of US$1 billion. To begin any business journey, you … Read More
Relationships and reputation are the keys to your startup brand. Outside of the founder and the performance of your product, the biggest impact on both is your first Sales hire. Outside of the founder, the first Sales hire is the biggest brand evangelist and brand ambassador. They are the first individual your clients will meet and likely be the person … Read More
We all want the person with the biggest bat. It’s normal. But that instinct—which is a huge bias—can hurt your efforts in hiring your first salesperson. We understand the tendency for B2B tech startup founders to look for their first sales hire to have a long resumé, a huge contact list, and swagger. From the outside, that appears to be … Read More
Talent is hard to find. Good sales talent is harder. Perhaps the hardest is the person who can be successful as the first Sales hire at your B2B tech startup—those we call Pathfinders. We have found Pathfinders are individuals who have the right combination of vocational and deep skills that will enable them to succeed as your first Sales hire. … Read More
