Sales Talent Agency

"We need to hire a Head of Sales to help us find Product Market Fit." It's SHOCKING how often Seed round companies make this mistake. This is no longer a grey area. Various approaches have been tried over the last 20+ years, and the ideal approach has been identified. This is what it looks like: - Finding Product Market Fit is the hardest part of building a company. The majority of folks who try, fail. Those who succeed, usually have a founder leading the sales process in the early days. They find it because of Founder Led Sales, not in spite of it. - Founder Led Sales is critical because they need to own the feedback loop, and use it to make adjustments to the idea, till they land on something that has initial Product Market Fit. It's an extremely iterative process, and the founder owning it helps minimize friction and increase the speed of iteration. - Once they have some early signals of success, they should hire 2 AEs and see if they can gain some momentum. If they can, now they have the signal to go and hire a Head of Sales. Why? Because a Head of Sales can come in and increase the productivity per rep, create a playbook and scale the team up. That's what they do. They amplify Product Market Fit. They don't find it. ------ Other important lessons about this problem: 1. While a company searches for initial PMF, or when they are hiring and ramping up the 2 AEs, they might need strategic guidance. Most Founders are not sales experts so they need help. This is where fractional sales leaders come into play. 2. Once the 2 AEs are productive, they can hire a full time Head of Sales, but not a CRO or VP of Revenue. They need functional leaders, who are ready to roll up their sleeves and create a playbook that drives repeatability, predictability and scalability. That's a very hands on job, which is why they need a Head of Sales, not a Head of Revenue/VP of Revenue/CRO. 3. Don't comp the AEs on revenue initially. Pay them a high base salary + equity OR a base salary + quarterly bonuses based on Management Based Objectives (MBOs). During this period we are gathering data to figure out a realistic and fair quota to pay commissions on. Till we have that data, setting a quota is like shooting in the dark. ------ Anyone telling a Founder to hire a Head of Sales before they have initial signals of PMF and 2 AEs hitting quota don't know what they are talking about OR are trying to make some $$. Don't fall for it. ------ We talk about this and other fun topics for Founders & Operators on Topline 🎙️ You can 🎧 to the latest episode by clicking 'view my website.' ------

The sales industry is always evolving, and competition for top positions is fierce 🔥 Do you have an upcoming conversation with a Recruiter or Talent Acquisition professional? Unsure how to prepare? Be sure to do the following FIVE things: 📚 Do Your Homework: Dive deep into the company’s purpose, market position, financial trends, and innovations. Come prepared with insightful questions and show that you understand their products and market. 🗣️ Communicate Clearly: Practice your communication skills to ensure your responses are clear and relevant. Practice beforehand with an an interview partner (or even Chat-GPT!) to refine your answers. 📈 Show Your Results: Be ready to share specific, quantifiable examples of how you’ve impacted past bottom lines. Can you quantify your impact with % to quota or % growth you’ve accomplished? Highlight your adaptability and knowledge of sales methodologies like SPIN Selling or Challenger Sales. 🌟Fit the Culture: Research the company’s culture through their social media and blog posts. Maintain a professional online presence and align your personal brand with the company’s values. 🔎 Pay Attention to Details: Be punctual and presentable. Respect the interviewer’s time, be courteous, and showcase professionalism. And don’t forget to send a follow-up thank you email! By following these tips, you’ll position yourself as a top candidate and a valuable asset to any company. Good luck! 🍀

Many Sales Leaders haven’t found a good job for 12+ months. Major reason: Leader Market Fit. Simply: “Can this VP of Sales achieve results in a high interest rate environment?” THIS IS HOW TO TACKLE IT: ------- WHAT IS LEADER MARKET FIT: The market is dynamic. If interest rates are low, capital is cheap, and that drives investment and spending. If interest rates are high, the opposite happens. As we all know, driving momentum is easier when interest rates are low. Leaders are hired to drive momentum. For Sales Leaders, that means revenue. They have revenue targets that need to be hit. So much depends on these targets being hit, and hiring the wrong Sales Leader can be a critical, and sometimes fatal, error. The belief is that more Sales Leaders can hit revenue targets when interest rates are low than when they are high. Makes sense! If interest rates are low, then capital is cheap and that makes people want to invest and spend. Hence, selling things is easier. More can do it well when it's easy than when it's hard. So, when hiring Sales Leaders, companies need to assess if they feel confident that the person they are hiring can hit revenue targets in the market they find themselves in. The thing is that when interest rates are low, and everything is easier, companies don’t worry about this all that much. From 2009-2022, tech companies didn’t really care about this. So Sales Leaders are not used to being evaluated against this. But, when things get hard, companies immediately start asking more questions. “Can Jack Doe attract the type of salespeople who can sell in this environment?” “Can Jane Doe coach sellers to open doors, get deals prioritized, etc, when no one wants to spend money?” These are the right questions for them to be asking. ------- HOW TO TACKLE IT: You need to show... ↳ Awareness: Show awareness of two things: a) how interest rates impact sales, b) where the interest rates are, and where they are most likely going to be in the medium term. ↳ Experience: If you have been successful in a high interest rate environment, you have an advantage you should play. If you haven’t, you need to show that you have invested time and energy learning how to adjust to this environment. You will also need to show that overcoming difficult things, being resilient and adaptability are core strengths of yours. ↳ Strategies: You need to clearly articulate strategic adjustments that need to be considered to drive momentum in this environment. Pricing, packaging, messaging, hiring, incentives, etc. ↳ Tactics: When interest rates are high, the premium companies and investors put on growth over FCF Margin drops. It used to be 11X in favour of growth in 2021. It's now 2.9X. So, you need to be more efficient with spend. Show that you can handle it by having a list of 5+ tactics that can be used to drive momentum efficiently in this environment. Lastly, don't wait to be asked about these topics - the best lead this conversation.

After last weekend, we all need some positive news. Here is some: In 2022, 31.9% of US workers made less than $15/hour. Now, that’s dropped down to just 13%. That's a 40.75% decrease in 2 years. Remarkable! Yes, because of inflation, the purchasing power of $15/hour has changed. But, not that much. $15/hour in 2024 has the same buying power as $14/hour in 2022. So, this shift is meaningful. Very meaningful. And should be celebrated. Especially when everyone needs something to celebrate, like today.

🌟 Ready for something new? Check out some of the exciting roles we’re working on! Here are our top five roles of the week: 1️⃣ Head of Growth (#Remote) with a provider of privacy and security software, dedicated to delivering high-quality network security tools to both B2C and B2B markets. As bootstrapped companies with a significant following and loyal customer base, they prioritize ethical marketing practices and innovative growth strategies to achieve their goals without relying on traditional paid advertising methods. 2️⃣ Enterprise Account Executive (#Remote) with a comprehensive payment platform provider and leader in toll management solutions for commercial fleets of all sizes. They help save fleets time and money by consolidating payments and providing insight into cost per vehicle. Founded in 2001, they cover 100% of major toll roads across the U.S., supporting more than 30,000 customers, and process over $1.5 billion in toll transactions annually. They offer a range of toll coverage options for owner-operators, regional fleets, and national fleets, as well as customized solutions for specific needs. 3️⃣ Social Media Manager (#Manchester) with a true leader in the events industry, our client, is a premier supplier of exquisite tableware and stylish furniture based in south Manchester. With a dedication to excellence, they ensure that every event they touch is extraordinary, setting it apart from the rest. 4️⃣ Territory Sales Representative (#Chicago) with an innovative medical company that offers a non-surgical alternative for chronic knee pain using gel injections with hyaluronic acid to restore cartilage and mobility. With over 2,500 5-star reviews and more than 18,500 patients treated, the company's FDA-approved, precise injection method ensures effective results. Their certified medical staff provides fast and easy pain relief, preventing surgeries and drug dependence. With four Midwest locations, they are dedicated to patient well-being and aim to expand across the US! 5️⃣ Sales Coordinator (#Toronto) with a leading player in the tea-as-a-commodity sector. They specialize in sourcing raw tea for major brands like Twinings, Lipton, Red Rose, Monster Energy, and many others across the globe. Their business model revolves around strategic global partnerships with tea growers, serving as trusted buying agents for clients who rely on their expertise in sourcing and product development. As the popularity of tea and its derivative products has grown, so has demand for our client's products and expertise, and they must grow their team to keep up! The full job descriptions are linked in the comments. Please apply directly to any that interest you, and browse our job board for even more openings! 👇 #Hiring #Sales #CanadaJobs #USJobs #STAtoday 

🌟 Recruiter Highlight: Meet Haris Zeljkovic! 🌟 This week we’re celebrating Haris Zeljkovic, who has been at STA for 6 years! 🎉 As a Key Account Manager at STA, Haris has successfully placed 203 (& counting) candidates with the 86 very happy clients he has worked with since 2018. Haris’ favourite part of his job is building relationships with clients and candidates. On the client side, he enjoys solving complex hiring problems to help sales leaders achieve their professional goals. On the candidate's side, he takes pleasure in helping sales professionals advance in their careers, whether that means better compensation, improved work-life balance, or a better environment for their growth. Before joining STA, Haris was a referee with the Ontario Soccer Association and a sales associate at Best Buy Mobile, which helped him learn to communicate effectively, understand the needs of his clients, and develop strong decision-making skills under pressure. Haris is looking forward to a summer filled with golf ⛳ pickleball 🎾 and briskets 🥩 Join us in celebrating Haris - we are lucky to have you on our team! 🙌🏼 #SalesTalent #RecruitmentExpert #SalesRecruitment #STAToday

Topline E65: Bob Moore (CEO-Crossbeam) & Peter Walker (Head of Insights-Carta) joined us to break down the Crossbeam & Reveal merger, and the overall M&A market. Give it a 👂 if you are interested in: ↳ The real reason why Crossbeam merged with Reveal. ↳ Why network effect based businesses - like Crossbeam and Reveal - needed ZIRP, and why consolidating the category makes a lot of sense because of the network effect in play. ↳ How raising at a high valuation in ZIRP can be an advantage, even when the market turns, as long as you use the capital to build up a war chest. ↳ The overall state of M&A and why 2024 hasn't seen the M&A bonanza that everyone was expecting. Hint: it has a lot to do with competition and saturation within tech. ↳ Should all of us care about competitors, or listen to the legends who say we shouldn't? AJ and I disagreed heavily on this topic, so you'll get both sides of this argument. Click 'view my website' to grab the episode on Spotify or search for Topline wherever you like to 🎧.

🚀 On the lookout for a new opportunity? Check out some of the exciting roles we’re working on! Here are our top five roles of the week: 1️⃣ Account Executive (#Toronto) at a Canadian multi-national, publicly traded company that has been in business for almost 50 years. They specialize in selling packaging, commercial printing, in-store marketing, flyers, and consulting services. The company has recently established a new content division, which focuses on capturing a larger share of the digital market. 2️⃣ Outside Sales Representative (#Windsor) with a Fortune 500 company serving over 900,000 companies from all industries! They offer products and services in the facility and apparel space to get their clients ready for their workday. 3️⃣ National Account Manager (#Toronto #Remote) with a leading manufacturer and supplier who has doubled revenue in less than 3 years and grew topline revenue by 23% in 2023. They have a global reach and supply comprehensive products used in retrofit and new build projects for the industrial, commercial, municipal, and education sectors. Their exceptional lead times, product availability, and 15-minute response time for any customer service-related issues have made them a preferred partner against other legacy players. 4️⃣ Territory Sales Representative (#Mississauga) with an industry-leading hardware and software provider for the food and beverage manufacturing industry - providing innovative/state-of-the-art equipment and software centralized around weighing, labelling, and slicing. With over 150 proven years in the industry and 4000+ employees globally, they continue to grow in the Canadian market. 5️⃣ Sales Engineer (#Toronto) with a company whose platform empowers users to create custom forms, generate documents, and collect eSignatures seamlessly, without requiring coding expertise. The company's platform helps users quickly and easily build custom forms, create documents, and collect eSignature, all without code, enabling marketers to build smart online forms. The full job descriptions are linked in the comments. Please apply directly to any that interest you, and browse our job board for even more openings! 👇 #Hiring #Sales #CanadaJobs #USJobs #STAtoday

High-performing sales representatives know that utilizing a sales strategy can help them to stand out and achieve consistent results even within highly competitive markets 🥇 Below is a refresher on five of the most popular sales methodologies–for good reason! Remember, mastering these strategies, remaining flexible, and knowing when to use them are key. 🌀 Use SPIN Selling for high-stakes deals where understanding and developing needs are critical. 💥 Apply The Challenger Sale in tech and startup environments where disrupting the norm can lead to big wins. ❤️🩹 Solution Selling is versatile, fitting industries where a direct answer to a problem is needed. 📚 Conceptual Selling works well in creative sectors where selling a story or vision is key. 🤝🏽 The Sandler Selling System suits businesses that value genuine connections and mutual respect. Understanding and combining these approaches can enhance your effectiveness across different industries and situations, ensuring you’re always ready to meet the unique demands of your clients! #SalesMethodologies #SandlerSales #SpinSelling #ChallengerSales #SolutionSelling #ConceptualSelling #B2BSales

👀 Ready for a new challenge? Here are our top five roles of the week: 1️⃣ Canadian Business Manager(#GTA) Our Client is a CPG company dedicated to funding communities through fundraising, and has helped local organizations raise billions of dollars for schools, sports teams, churches, and more. Don't miss this chance to be part of a team that brings profit to our local communities and makes a real difference in our neighbour's lives. 2️⃣ Business Development Representative (#Kansas) For over 100 years, our client has been manufacturing and supplying high-quality, complex-engineered castings for the mining, transport, general industrial and contract manufacturing markets.They are looking to add a Business Development Representative to their supportive and collaborative team. If you are a driven, results-oriented individual looking to make an impact in the heavy industrial sector, this role is for you! 3️⃣ Sales Executive, EMEA(#London) Our client is a global SaaS provider with corporate headquarters in Toronto, and an EMEA office centrally located in London. The company’s service is the world’s most trusted virtual data room, having been used by over 140,000 companies worldwide to share confidential documents for due diligence, litigation and compliance.To meet the demand and continued success in the EMEA market, they are looking for a curious, clever, and passionate Sales Executive to join the team in London. 4️⃣ Business Development Representative(#Toronto). Our client is a leading force in AI-powered, data-driven eCommerce funding. Their cutting-edge Invoice Funding solution provides entrepreneurs with the means to finance crucial expenditures without jeopardizing cash flow, allowing for strategic planning and future-oriented decisions.They are actively seeking individuals in sales who are enthusiastic about supporting Founders in achieving their objectives and contributing to the development of a highly profitable enterprise. 5️⃣ Account Executive, Geospatial intelligence software (#West US). Our client is a world leader in Geospatial Data Solutions, helping their customers at the state and county level solve some of the most complex geospatial challenges. The work they do empowers their clients to safeguard the very foundations of the US: resilient infrastructure, democratic processes, swift emergency response, reliable access to utilities, and efficient transportation systems.They are experiencing strong growth and are looking for their first Account Executive for the Northeast US territory. The full job descriptions are linked in the comments. Please apply directly to any that interest you, and browse our job board for even more openings! 👇 #Hiring #Sales #CanadaJobs #USJobs #UKJobs #EuropeJobs #STAtoday