What is the key to a successful start-up? There are probably hundreds of great articles on this topic, all with great tips. My two cents? People. To me, it is ALL about the people you hire. Obviously this always matters in an organization, but this is never more critical than in the beginning. And to add another layer into this, if you are a B2B business (businesses that sell to other businesses), then no hire is more critical than your early sales hire(s).

Now, I don’t say that just because I am in sales and was an early sales hire. This has just proven to be true, time and time again, in hundreds of thousands of companies across the globe. It’s just a tough hire to pin. The founders are hanging their hat on the success of this rep, and the rep is carrying an unbelievable amount of pressure to make this business successful for the founder. It is absolutely crucial that you find the right person, yet it is ridiculously hard to find them.

After we left Snagajob in 2014 (I will have to share that story one day), Shawn and I took a year off and traveled and just spent time as a family. But more than anything, we took our head out of the sand. For 14 years we didn’t think of much else other than Snagajob, which is how it goes when you birth a company. But after that year, we both got super antsy. Shawn of course had multiple company ideas and was craving building, growing and leading. And me? Well, I missed those same 3 things, but as they relate to sales. So I started consulting. I started meeting with early stage companies and found that I might actually be able to take my experience from Snagajob and help someone else. Ultimately, 24/7 Consulting was born. (The name basically references the fact that sales is a 24/7 gig…at least it better be for the sales people in your start up!) And if there is one thing I have seen in the consulting world, it has been confirmation of how critical those hires are.

Nothing is more fun and exciting to me than selling. You are literally creating something out of nothing and it is incredibly rewarding. Particularly when you work in a small company because you can physically see the impact you are making, both to the company you work for and the company that your product is helping. I just can’t describe how awesome the feeling is (probably only a salesperson can relate!).  If you are competitive (which honestly, if you have a sales rep in your company that is not competitive, fire them), then the challenge of selling is a high in and of itself. I literally get just as excited about someone emailing me back to set up a demo as I do when the signed 6 figure contract comes in.

So why is it SO hard for companies to get this hire right? What should you REALLY be looking for in an early stage sales person? In my opinion, which is clearly the only one you are going to get on this blog :), is this. This person needs to be confident (yet humble), a self-starter who takes initiative, competitive, extroverted, driven, flexible, smart (book smarts not required), scrappy, genuine, ideally with previous sales success…and above all, they need to be a cultural fit. They could be the 10 things I mentioned, but if they aren’t a cultural fit, forget it. You simply cannot have a cultural clash in the early years because it can destroy your team, or even the whole company.

Look for specific examples in their background that show that they take initiative and that they have a strong work ethic. Look for examples that they can adapt…someone who can’t handle change just can’t be there. And just make sure they are genuine. I would put that right behind cultural fit. If you don’t like something about them or don’t feel like they are super authentic, then your future customers will feel that too. And that just can’t happen. Being genuine is a big fat must. People want to buy from people they like. And good writers. For the love of all things holy, if there is one typo in any communication before you hire them, toss them out of the process. (Actually, I did have one tiny typo in my cover letter to Shawn and it haunts me to this day!)

So in re-reading this, I have no idea how helpful this was. I literally just listed a million things you need to look for in that critical sales hire. But at the very least, I hope it gives you food for thought if you are a small B2B business.

And what do you do if you have a person or persons, who aren’t the right fit and well, you just know it in your gut? Well, you have to get rid of them. I know that sounds harsh, but there is no time to be wasted worrying about hurting someone’s feelings. At one critical stage in the early years at Snagajob, we had a team of 4 reps (aside from me), that we let go in one sitting. It sucked. We liked them all so much as people. But they weren’t the right fit, and we didn’t have the time or money to make them the right fit.

We both feel a heck of a lot more confident now in sniffing out a good start up hire, but that’s because it took us forever to get it right at Snagajob, and we were lucky we made it that long to find the right profile, because when we did, incredible magic started to happen and the ride was insanely fun. It can be the most fun thing you ever do. You just have to get it right.