Recruiting and hiring top-performing salespeople is crucial for the success of any SaaS start-up.

Companies that hire reactively can have smaller windows of opportunity to hire the best people. They aren't always "available", so if you're due to hire, they might not be open to it. This approach can impact your revenue and growth because you'll have to compromise on the quality of hire/time to hire.

How long before you can expect new hires to start making revenue?

• Average time to hire in the tech industry = 44 days (LinkedIn Economic).
   
• Average ramp time for sales reps = 3.2 months (HubSpot).
   
• Average time to hire + average ramp time = 5-6 months before a new hire starts making revenue.
   

Work this timeline into your forecasting, and you can see how delays in finding the right sales hire can hold your company back.

Don't make the million-dollar mistake - hire the A-players!

Making the wrong hire can be worse than making none at all. It can be a million-dollar mistake - $1,352,500 + up to 18 months of time. 

Utilising ongoing hiring and a network of A-players means:
 

• You’re consistently raising the bar.
   
• Your chances of having a bad rep losing you money will be virtually non-existent.
   

Even in a candidate-rich market, (not sure what we mean, read our blog), the best talent will be working at their own timescales for a move, which often won't align with your hiring window. 

So, how do you ensure that the ideal talent you’re after is on your radar as soon as they become available?

The first way is to be proactive: work with recruitment partners who will always be seeking out/engaging the type of candidates that you would want to hire. Once you have found someone you trust to take your brand to market, make sure that your relationship with them is one where they are:

• Keeping you in mind for the right candidate.
   
• Completely aligned on your ideal candidate profile.
   

Pros of this approach = You'll only be sent high-quality candidates, rather than those who aren't your ICP. You’ll have access to candidates that your competitors won’t. You will attract candidates who won’t know of your company/brand.
 

Cons = There are lots of different recruitment partners around, so it can become difficult finding the one that will fit your requirements. 

Alternatively, you can take a more reactive approach, using social media/job boards to direct candidates to you as soon as they become “available”. 

Pros of this approach = You are building your brand by being visible on social platforms, promoting your growth and the company's opportunity etc.
 

Cons =  Without an internal TA team, the time to hire and the cost of your time are higher. The larger volume of applicants, who aren't your ICP, will mean it'll become increasingly difficult to maintain a positive candidate experience. 

Taking advantage of an ongoing hiring approach to secure the best salespeople for your SaaS start-up is going to make all the difference between you and your competitors. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, then build out your network of top talent, and work with recruitment partners who can secure you the A* candidates.

Teem builds long-term networks with the top 5% of candidates in the SaaS sales industry. Check out how we helped Snowlake and other disruptive SaaS start-ups scale here.