How to Hire Great Salespeople for Your Startup (Without Losing Your Mind)
People love to say: “There are no good salespeople out there.” That’s just lazy talk. The truth? If you’re not attracting top sales talent, maybe you're not the kind of company top salespeople want to work for.
I’ve made all the classic mistakes myself. Lost great candidates. Failed to convince them we were worth the jump. Learned the hard way.
Here’s what actually works:
1. Build a company they want to sell for
Top salespeople want to win. And to win, they need a product that solves real problems. A company that’s going somewhere. A team they can believe in. You don’t need to be perfect — just real, ambitious, and focused.
Good people attract good people. It’s that simple. But not easy.
2. Drop the sugarcoating
Experienced salespeople can smell B.S. a mile away. Don’t pretend everything is smooth — if you're a startup, there’s chaos. Fires will happen. Be honest about what’s broken and where you need help.
Better to scare someone off than disappoint them later.
3. Talk about the money
When a great salesperson joins you, they leave behind a pipeline, commissions, and warm leads. That’s real money lost. Don’t ignore it. You can offer a short-term bonus or “lost commission” buffer to ease the transition.
It doesn’t have to last forever — just long enough to not feel like a sucker.
4. Give them real leads
This is the #1 rule. Do not expect your salespeople to generate their own leads, do cold outreach, and run marketing campaigns.
That’s your job (or your marketing team’s). A great closer needs qualified leads. Full stop.
5. Make the comp plan simple and fair
I’ve messed this one up multiple times — super high commissions, aggressive quotas, complex structures. Guess what? We had to renegotiate everything later.
Be transparent. Show examples. Build trust from day one.
6. Peer references go both ways
If you already have salespeople on the team, let candidates talk to them — even privately. Sales is about trust, and this builds it on both sides. If you're just getting started, even letting them talk to a co-founder or early team member helps.
Bonus question to all sales pros out there:
What would you need to hear to leave your current company and join a startup?
