5 Questions That Disqualify You as My First Sales Hire

Founders, if you’re making your first sales hire, listen very closely to the questions candidates ask.

Because some questions may sound smart…but they scream “I’ve never sold in an early-stage environment”.

Here are 5 that raise a giant red flag for me:

1. “What’s my title”

If that’s your first question, I already know you’re not my first sales hire.

Early-stage sales is about traction, not titles.

2. “How many leads will I get per week?"

If you need leads handed to you, you're not a first-hire seller. You're an SDR with entitlement issues.

3. “What CRM do you use?”

Wrong focus. You should be asking about competitive differentiators and ideal customer profiles, not what buttons you’ll be clicking.

4. “What’s your marketing team doing for demand gen?"

Newsflash: YOU are demand gen! At this stage, marketing is probably me and a Canva account.

5. “Who handles proposals and contracts?”

If you’re not comfortable owning the entire sales cycle…start to finish…you’re not ready for the first seat at the table.

The first sales hire in a SaaS company isn’t just “taking over sales.”

They’re rolling up their sleeves and helping figure it out so we can get ready for scale.

If you’re looking for structure, certainty, and a steady pipeline…join a later-stage company.

But if you thrive on ambiguity, iteration, and building from scratch…ask better questions that reflect this.

Founders: if you're having trouble finding the right first sales hire to take your business to the next level...I can help. Let's chat.