SaaS Hiring

Before You Hire Your First Sales Rep, Read This First

Most founders don't hire the wrong salesperson. They hire at the wrong time or into the wrong environment. Most hiring mistakes don't happen during the interview. They happen weeks before anyone ever posts the job. When founders come to us completely exhausted from running demos, managing operations, and updating the CRM at 10 PM, their first instinct is always the same: "I need to hire a salesperson to take this off my plate." I see this over and over. A founder hires an AE because they're burnt out. Ninety days and $25,000 later, they tell me, "The rep just wasn't very good." Maybe. But most of the time, we find out the setup wasn't ready in the first place. It wasn't the rep, it was the environment. Before you write a job post or run another interview, grab a pen. Seriously. Don't just read this. Let's find out where your setup actually stands.

Founder-Led GTM: Building Systems that Learn

Join GSD Coach & Designli on August 11th at 11:00 AM PST for a live workshop on scaling beyond founder-led sales. Discover practical frameworks to diagnose GTM bottlenecks, leverage AI to streamline your sales workflows, and identify the exact signals that tell you it’s time to make your first sales hire.

Why Your First Sales Hire Failed (And How to Fix It Before You Try Again)

"In the last six months I hired two people that didn't work out. It cost me time and money. Now I'm still the only one selling, and I need a salesperson in here yesterday so I can get back to working on the business." I was on the phone with an early-stage SaaS founder when he said that. I hear a variation of that sentence almost every week. When you're drowning in sales demos, customer support, and product updates, it's easy to view a sales hire as a quick escape hatch. You hire someone fast just to get relief. Then, ninety days later, you fire them. You're right back where you started, except now you're six months behind and out tens of thousands of dollars. Hiring a salesperson doesn't automatically buy back your time. If you drop a sales rep into a broken setup, it does the exact opposite: it doubles your workload because now you're managing someone who can't execute. Over the years, I've watched founders make the exact same three mistakes every single time they try to replace themselves in sales.

How We Know Someone Is Actually a Top Performer

Four moments that completely changed what I pay attention to in every interview. One of the questions I get asked almost every time I do a Lunch & Learn is, "What's your favorite interview question?" Ready for my answer? It doesn't exist. I've interviewed thousands of salespeople over the last 25 years. I've hired people I shouldn't have. I've passed on people I shouldn't have. Somewhere along the way I stopped looking for better interview questions. I started paying attention to different behaviors. These four moments completely changed how I interview.

The Math Audit: How to Verify Any Sales Candidate's Performance in Less Than Five Minutes

Most sales interviews stop the moment a candidate throws out a high quota attainment percentage. But because few hiring managers actually pressure-test those numbers, they miss a critical step in talent verification. In this article, we break down "The Math Audit"—a simple, conversational technique that takes less than five minutes and reveals exactly how deeply a sales candidate understands their own performance. Learn how to cross-reference deal sizes, sales cycles, and revenue claims to separate the smooth talkers from the true A-players.

The Ladder of Success: Is Your Hiring Leaning Against the Right Wall?

Many organizations suffer from high turnover because they mistake hiring efficiency for strategic talent leadership. As Dr. Stephen Covey noted, management is climbing the ladder efficiently, but leadership determines if it's leaning against the right wall. To build a sustainable, high-performing team, companies must stop rewarding hiring speed over long-term retention. Here is why balancing operational recruiting management with visionary talent leadership is the only way to protect your organization's future.

The First Answer Gets a Performance. The Second Gets the Truth.

Most candidates are prepared for your first question. Very few are prepared for the follow-up. In this article, Travis Janko explains why the second question reveals more than the first and how founders can use simple follow-ups to uncover ownership, coachability, and real-world performance during interviews.

Why Most Hiring Processes Fail: They Leave No Audit Trail

Most hiring decisions are made on gut feel. The problem is that gut feel leaves no evidence behind. When a hire succeeds, you cannot replicate it. When a hire fails, you cannot explain it. In this article, Travis Janko shares the simple hiring audit trail framework that helps SaaS founders replace opinions with evidence and build a repeatable hiring system.

2 Simple Recruiting Hacks to Save Hours of Wasted Interviewing

How many hours have you wasted in first-round interviews with candidates who were never going to be a fit? We’ve all been there. Fifteen minutes into a call, you realize there is a massive disconnect on salary, expectations, or the core requirements of the role. It is a drain on your energy, a frustration for your team, and a direct tax on your ARR. The solution isn’t "better" interviewing. It’s a more transparent system. At GSD Coach & Recruiting, we don't believe in the "Hide and Seek" method of hiring. We believe in radical transparency. Here are two incredibly simple hacks that will save you hours of wasted time, filter out bad fits automatically, and help you attract the A-Players who are tired of the typical corporate runaround.

The E.G.O. Test™: How to Spot a C-Player in 15 Minutes

Stop being "Glengarry-ed" by professional actors. Use this surgical 3-part framework to audit sales candidates for ownership, math, and self-awareness.

The 2 Interview Questions That Reveal Everything

The Scoreboard & The Playbook: 2 Questions That Reveal A-Players

Most sales interviews are a waste of time. They test for theory, not reality. You walk away knowing a candidate can tell a good story, but you have no real evidence of how they actually perform.

GSD on The Valuable Mind Podcast: Fixing a Broken Hiring Process

I recently had the pleasure of joining Brandon Poni on The Valuable Mind podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about the real, in-the-trenches work of building elite sales teams.

The GIVE™ Framework for Hiring A+ Sales Talent

Hiring elite sales talent is one of the hardest things a leader can do.

Beyond the "Yes": Mastering Your Offer & Keep Warm Strategy

That moment a top sales candidate says "yes" to your offer? It’s a huge win. You’re ready to celebrate and move on to the next fire. But hold on. The period between that verbal acceptance and their first day is absolutel...

The STAR Method: Your Antidote to Bad Sales Hires

You want to believe you just found your next sales star. But deep down, you know better.

Build, Do, Prove, Scale: The Right Way to Build Your Sales Org

Want to build a scalable sales organization that actually delivers results? Then don’t skip the order of operations. Many try to cut corners here, and it often backfires, costing them time and money.

Sales Director: Own the First 90 Days

So, you’re the new Sales Director. Or maybe you’re the founder who just hired one. Listen up.

The GSD Sales Interview Scorecard: A Founder's Guide

Hiring the right salesperson can transform your business. Hiring the wrong one? That's a costly mistake. Studies show a bad sales hire can cost, on average, 200% of their annual salary in recruitment, hiring, training, a...

Founder Sales to Sales Engine

SaaS founder, in the early days, you are the sales department.

AI Candidate Profiles: Define & Score A-Players

So, you've crafted a compelling, AI-assisted job description and the applications are starting to roll in. Fantastic! But how do you consistently identify the true A-Players from the pile? The key lies in having a crysta...

AI-Powered Job Descriptions: Founder's Guide to A-Players

AI-Powered Job Descriptions: Founder's Guide to A-Players

Uncoachable Reps: Spot Sooner, Act Faster

As a sales leader, your most valuable lever for building a high-performing SaaS sales team is coaching.

The One Question That Took Over the Entire Podcast Episode

I joined Tony Moore from Timpl on his podcast to talk about how founders should hire sales leaders.

The Sales Director Quota Trap

If your Sales Director carries a full quota, you don’t have a coach.

Most Job Descriptions Suck. Fix Yours and Attract A+ Talent.

Let’s be honest—most job descriptions are a waste of time. Crafting a compelling job description is the crucial first step in attracting top-tier candidates. Once you've captured their attention, a thorough interview pro...

The 5 Interview Angles™ Every SaaS Founder Should Master

Let’s face it: hiring the wrong salesperson can be a costly mistake, especially when you’re scaling a fast-growing company. You’ve probably sat through countless sales interviews, dutifully noting past quotas and impress...

The Strategic PMO: Key Questions, Real Insights

When hiring for a PMO leader, ensure you are asking questions or considering these ideas to help you uncover strengths in the following skill sets:

Stop Wasting Time: Hire SDRs in 3 Steps

Hiring a Sales Development Representative might seem like a straightforward task. On paper, it's often viewed as an entry-level role. But the reality? Getting this crucial first sales hire wrong can be one of the most da...

The SaaS Founder's 4-Step Blueprint to Hiring A-Players

Finding the right salesperson for your SaaS startup can feel like a daunting quest. You need someone who is an intellectual, financial, and cultural fit – someone who will be in the top 5% and drive results, FAST. But ho...

Scaling SaaS Sales: Founder's Guide to Key Hires

For SaaS founders, the journey from leading the sales charge yourself to building a high-performing sales team is one of the most critical inflection points for growth. Knowing when to make your next sales hire and who t...

The Transparency Filter: 2 Hacks to Stop Wasting Time on Interviews

How many hours have you wasted in first-round interviews with candidates who were never going to be a fit? We’ve all been there. Ten minutes into the call, you realize there’s a massive disconnect on salary, expectations, or the actual nature of the work. Now you’re stuck in a "polite" 30-minute conversation while your real work sits untouched. It’s a drain on your energy. It’s a drain on your team. And it’s completely avoidable. The solution isn't "better" interview questions—it’s a more transparent process. At GSD, we use two simple hacks with every search. They act as an automated filter: they push the "Passengers" away and pull the "A-Players" in.