Fiona Simpson, CAPM’s Post

The perfect job doesn’t exist. But the right job does. The right job challenges you. The right job values you. The right job excites you. The right job supports you. The right job grows with you. Don’t waste time searching for perfection. Focus on finding what fits and fuels your ambition. The results will follow. What’s your definition of the right job? LP ✌️ Pack GTM | SaaS Sales Recruitment in Germany #sales #hiring #careers #startups #recruitment 

Nailing your sales talent in 1-5M journey is critical Doing this in blue tech🌊 is even harder The three most common pitfalls to avoid: ❌ Armchair generals 👩🏼✈They're key for 5M+ ventures to enhance rev ops, yet hiring overly senior staff stifles early growth ❌ Focus on rolodex only 🤝 Relationships are vital in blue tech🌊 but do not scale. It disqualifies young talent by undervaluing the startup, scrappy, grit mindset ❌ Superstars from another galaxy 🥷 SMB, mid-market, and enterprise sales are driven by different characters and incentives. A SMB sales rockstar can be a complete dud in Enterprise. What pitfalls do you avoid?

How to Scale Your Sales Team: Hiring Strategies for Startups Learn valuable advice on hiring for your sales team, including the ideal level and seniority of your first two hires. Discover the importance of having two sales reps hitting quota before hiring a manager, and how to find the right candidates to drive your startup's growth. #SalesTeamScaling #StartupHiring #SalesRepHiring #SalesManager #SalesGrowth #StartupAdvice #HiringStrategies #SalesRepQuota #SalesTeamManagement #StartupGrowth

Hiring a VP of Sales first? Think again. 🤔 But, do you truly have product-market fit? How to really know in 3 steps: ➡️ Dive Deep with Customers: Before you even think of selling, talk to 50-100 customers. Real validation comes when they're eager to buy, not just willing to listen. ➡️ Focus on Product First: A sales VP thrives on a product that's ready. Without product-market fit, their skills are underutilized, leading to frustration and wasted resources. ➡️ Hire a Product-Savvy Individual: Opt for someone who understands the product and can gather technical feedback from potential customers. This approach not only saves time but also ensures you're building something customers actually want. The journey to product-market fit is critical. It's not just about having a good product, it's about having a product that's essential. Aim for that 85% fit before scaling your sales efforts. #Startup #Growth #ProductMarketFit #StrategicHiring

🚀 Attention Startup Founders! 🚀 Thinking about hiring a VP of Sales and having them double as a sales rep? Think again! Here's why you shouldn't: 1. **Different Skill Sets**: A VP of Sales is a strategic leader, focused on building and scaling the sales team, setting long-term goals, and driving growth. A sales rep is on the front lines, closing deals and directly interacting with customers. Combining these roles dilutes their effectiveness. 2. **Time Management**: A VP needs to invest time in high-level strategy, coaching, and scaling operations. Expecting them to handle day-to-day sales tasks distracts from their core responsibilities. 3. **Team Morale**: Mixing roles can confuse and demotivate your team. Clear, defined roles ensure everyone knows their responsibilities and can perform at their best. 4. **Growth Potential**: A VP focused on strategy and leadership can drive exponential growth. Asking them to also be a sales rep limits their potential to innovate and expand your sales strategy. The solution is hire Fractional for your first VP of Sales. This will provide cost savings while allowing them to develop your first sales reps and providing the right plan for growth 💼💪 #Fractional #GoFractional #StartupTips #SalesLeadership #GrowthStrategy

🌟 The Importance of Your First Go-To-Market Hire 🌟 I've seen first-hand the importance of getting your founding team right. This pivotal role sets the foundation for your sales, marketing, and customer success strategies, ultimately driving your company’s growth and success. Here’s why your first GTM hire is so crucial: 1. Strategic Vision and Execution: Your first GTM hire will help shape and execute the go-to-market strategy. They will identify key market opportunities, develop effective sales and marketing tactics, and ensure your product reaches the right audience. 2. Building the Right Team: This hire will play a key role in building out the GTM team, ensuring you have the right talent in place to drive growth. Their leadership and vision will attract top-tier talent and foster a high-performing, cohesive team. 3. Driving Early Revenue: An experienced GTM professional knows how to generate early revenue, which is critical for a startup’s sustainability and growth. They will implement effective sales processes, nurture leads, and close deals efficiently. 4. Establishing Customer Relationships: Your first GTM hire will prioritize building strong, lasting relationships with customers. They will ensure customer success and satisfaction, leading to retention, referrals, and a solid reputation in the market. 5. Adapting and Scaling: In the dynamic startup environment, adaptability is key. Your first GTM hire will be able to pivot strategies as needed and scale operations to meet growing demands. Their experience will guide your startup through various stages of growth. There's probably a lot more but that's all for now! Anything you would add to the list? #GTM #GoToMarket #Startup #Hiring #Leadership #Growth #Sales #Marketing #CustomerSuccess

Founders, when you are ready to build your first sales team, your initial hires are crucial to the team’s success. It's a common thought that hiring a top-performing rep from a well-known established company is the best hire. I mean, that would make sense right? They would check all the boxes: ✔ Multiple years of experience ✔ Proven track record of exceeding quota, President’s Club preferred ✔ Demonstrated ability to close deals ✔ Outstanding customer support and account management skills ✔ Data-driven decision-maker ✔ Experience with CRM ✔ Knowledge of multiple sales methodologies Probably not. These reps would struggle in an ambiguous environment with limited tools, resources, and support. Instead, hire a sales rep with experience as a founding member of a sales team at a startup. These individuals possess the agility, resilience, and innovative mindset required to succeed without many tools, solid frameworks, or extensive support. Their hands-on experience navigating a startup environment makes them a pivotal hire for your founding sales team. Who has been a founding member of a sales team? I would love to hear -your insights or war stories! #Sales #Startups #Hiring #SalesTeam #Leadership #BusinessGrowth

Gold Standard Global Expansion - Hiring your First on-Ground Revenue Leader Which one do you choose? A) To enter a new market and dominate? 💪 B) To burn through cash and investor confidence? 🔥 Who you hire as your first-on-ground revenue leader will either make your valuation grow or your stress grow. I’m gonna get straight to the point here on what TO do, and what NOT to do. NOT TO DO: ❌ Hiring an overqualified and very-expensive Revenue Leader ❌ Hiring for GTM experience, but then not letting them do their own GTM TO DO: ✅ Hiring for Startup experience ✅ Hiring some at Senior AE/Regional Director level ✅ Someone who can do more with less ✅ Someone who knows the target customers AND partners ✅ Can articulate the formula for how to scale a startup ✅ Someone joining for the equity potential NOT for the highest base Choose valuation over stress and nail your GTM hiring! #scalerr #gtmstrategy #recruitmentstrategy

First sales hires are critical for any startup. Depending on how well you hire, you’ll either get ahead by 6 months or fall behind by 6 months. I see two common mistakes founders make when making their first sales hire: (1) Hiring a VP-level executive too early. You need someone who can fly at 30,000 feet AND get their hands dirty. Hiring someone who is too senior will only get you the ladder, a great strategy with poor execution. (2) Hiring someone who is too junior when you need help with sales strategy. It’s tempting to hire an AE or BDR because of the cost. But if you don't have a background in revenue (and plan to write the strategy yourself), this will be a mistake because they'll only focus on execution. Hiring a Senior Manager or Director level leader or a founding AE (with early stage experience) should get you what you need. They’ll have enough strategy chops to get things moving, and they’ll be willing to roll up their sleeves.

Founders: don't make the common mistake of hiring a dedicated marketer or sales person as your first non-engineering hire. 👉 If you need to get in front of potential users but you don't have a sales motion yet, then you actually need a GTM generalist! This role is called many different things (GTM lead/generalist/specialist, business dev manager, market development, founding account exec, etc). But the core competencies are always the same. The right person for this hire needs to be... - action-oriented - data-driven - great on demos - a quick learner - iterating constantly - someone who thrives in ambiguity - a fiend for making processes but happy to build the bike as they ride The right person for this hire will likely NOT have a typical marketer or sales resume. If they do, it's a red flag that you're hiring the wrong person! Have you experienced the pain of hiring the wrong person for this role? 😓 #earlystage #founder #startup #GTM