How to Hire Salespeople: A Step-by-Step Guide for Founders

Knowing how to hire salespeople starts before the vacancy goes live. Define the sales motion, set a competitive pay plan, then test candidates on real selling instead of CV polish. For founders making a first or second commercial hire, the six steps below keep the search short and the risk low. They follow the process Katapult runs with SaaS start-ups and scale-ups across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with Dutch salary data to budget against.

Key Takeaways

  • Write down the sales motion and target customer before you write the job ad.

  • Publish a salary range, because most experienced salespeople skip ads without one.

  • Include a role play in every process, since a strong interview says little about selling.

  • Plan onboarding before the offer goes out, as the first two months can double as the Dutch trial period.

How to Hire Salespeople in Six Steps

Here is how to hire salespeople without losing months on the wrong profiles. The same hiring process for sales roles works for one Account Executive or a full team.

1. Define the Role Around Your Sales Motion

Decide what the person will sell, to whom and how. A founding AE at an early-stage company builds pipeline alone and shapes the playbook, while an AE joining an established team closes deals from a working motion. If the role is greenfield, say so in the brief and in the ad. Our analysis of why Account Executives churn found that 75% of departing sellers cited poor product-market fit.

2. Set Pay Before You Search

Salespeople compare offers on base, variable pay and on-target earnings (OTE). Katapult's 2026 benchmark puts a Dutch SMB Account Executive with up to two years of experience at a median of €55k base and €85k OTE, and a mid-market AE at €70k base and €130k OTE. Over 90% of AE candidates in that data reported a 50/50 split between base and commission, so a heavily variable plan will look weak.

3. Write a Vacancy That Sells the Job

Treat the job ad as a sales asset. List the salary range, cut requirements that do not matter in the first six months and keep entry-level ads short. We estimate that roughly 70% of relevant candidates do not apply when pay is missing, as covered in the most common mistakes in sales vacancies.

4. Source Beyond Inbound Applications

The strongest salespeople tend to be busy hitting their numbers and rarely browse job boards. Combine inbound with short, direct outreach on LinkedIn. Our own recruitment campaigns reached a 62% reply rate in 2025 with short, permission-based messages. Why recruitment campaigns get no responses shows what those messages look like.

5. Test How Candidates Sell

Use the same questions and scorecard for every candidate. A study by Brandon Hall Group and Glassdoor found that organisations without a standardised interview process are five times more likely to make a bad hire (1). Add a role play that mirrors the job, such as a cold call for a BDR or a discovery call for an AE, and check past quota attainment with former managers.

6. Close Fast and Onboard Properly

Keep the interview stages within two weeks and make the offer within days of the final round. In the Netherlands, you can agree a trial period of up to two months on a permanent contract, provided it is in writing (2). Use that window for a 30-60-90-day plan with clear pipeline targets, so both sides know early whether the hire works. Miss that window and a failed hire gets far more expensive, which we calculate in the true cost of a bad SaaS sales hire.

When Should Founders Bring in a Recruitment Partner?

Bring in a specialist when the role is business-critical, the market is thin, or you have no one in-house who can judge sales skill. Tenpu, an AI procurement start-up, worked with Katapult to define the profile and compensation package for its founding Account Executive before making its first sales hire. Our guide to recruitment agency fees explained shows what a search costs and what the guarantee should cover.

Hiring your first salespeople? See how Katapult works with companies and get up to four vetted candidates for your role, each with a written recommendation.

FAQ - Frequently asked questions about hiring salespeople

Should my first sales hire be an AE or an SDR?

In most cases, an Account Executive. An SDR needs a proven pitch and someone to hand meetings to, while an experienced AE can close deals and turn founder knowledge into a repeatable process. When you do need pipeline support, SDR vs BDR explains which role to pick.

How long does it take to hire a salesperson?

Katapult's average time to placement is under 30 days. An employee leaving a permanent Dutch contract usually gives one month's notice, so plan for roughly two months between the first briefing and the new hire's first working day.

Do I need sales experience to hire salespeople?

It helps, because you need to judge selling skill rather than confidence. If you have never carried a target yourself, bring a sales leader or advisor into the role play, or work with consultants who have worked in the roles they recruit for.

Sources

  1. SHRM, "The Cost of a Bad Hire Can Be Astronomical", 9 May 2017, citing Brandon Hall Group and Glassdoor (2015)

  2. Business.gov.nl (Netherlands Enterprise Agency), "Trial period"