      SaaStr · 2021-02-25
      · 1924d
    

Hiring the Right VP of Sales: A Guide to 48 Types Matched to Company Stage

Jason Lemkin's guide breaks down VP of Sales hiring across four ARR growth stages, identifying distinct archetypes and their fit at different company maturity levels. The article emphasizes that stage-mismatched hires are the #1 mistake in VP Sales recruitment, and that the right 'Make-it-Repeatable' VP can produce revenue improvements in a single sales cycle.

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Metrics in this report

ARR Stage 1: Evangelist Phase

$0-$1M

initial

VP Sales hiring stage with founder-led selling

ARR Stage 2: Make-it-Repeatable Phase

$1-$10M

range

Critical scaling phase requiring process-building VP

ARR Stage 3: Go Big Phase

$10-$20M

minimum

Decently funded SaaS company with established processes

ARR Stage 4: Go Big Scaled

$20+M

and above

Large-scale SaaS operation requiring dashboard/management focus

Time to Assess VP Sales Fit

30days

maximum

Period to determine if VP Sales hire will succeed at $1-10M ARR stage

VP Sales Failure Rate from Big SaaS

95%

approximately

Candidates from $1B+ revenue SaaS companies failing at early-stage startups