The 3 Types of Hires You Just Can’t Make Today

There are 3 types of hires you may be tempted to make now, but you just can’t: The Jaded, The Broken, and The Done

They’ve always existed, it’s just there are so many more folks with great LinkedIns and experiences in these categories in SaaS. We’re 20+ years into SaaS, and especially the past 4 years have taken their toll on many of us. And changed almost all of us.

The Jaded

You can hear it, see it, almost even smell it from the first Zoom. They blame the last CEO. They blame the VCs. Worse, one way or another, they blame The System. It’s all rigged against employees and in favor of others. There’s some truth in all of this. Just don’t hire them. They will be even more jaded when they join you. Don’t hire anyone, especially any VPs, who blame others. A tiny bit is probably OK. You want your execs to have a bit of a chip on their shoulder. But they should mostly keep it to themselves. They can’t let it cross them over into jaded.

The Broken

This one is tough. They just can’t sell themselves anymore. They can’t get back on the road. They can’t run campaigns anymore. They don’t want to code anymore.  They don’t want to save customers themselves anymore.  They’ve been in the game a while, and it’s taken its toll. You can see the signs in their body language. You can see the reluctance to work from the office. You can see a general approach that … it just a bit too slow. Hints of it. And they often want to be managers, but not do much of the actual work or function themselves. You can’t hire them. No matter how well they can talk to talk. Everything slows down when you do.

The Done

These ones are often nice. They’re often “fractional”. They’re always focused on strategy and coaching. They’ve done it, at least in part. They get it. They often have great slides and charts to share with you on how it’s done.  They’re just done. And a few hours of them are great. Just don’t hire them. Top tells: they’ve been consulting for years. They spend a ton of time on LinkedIn. They speak everywhere. They are focused on “process”. They think sales is all about being a “people person”. Because that’s so much easier.

I really didn’t meet too many of the Jaded, the Broken, and the Done when I started in SaaS. But that was a long time ago. Most of us can’t go forever in this. So I get it, and have empathy.

You just can’t hire these folks. Have your spider sense out, and don’t lower the bar here when you get a bit tired, even a bit desperate, in hiring.

What are the top 10 mistakes founders are still making today when hiring their VP of Sales? SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin, has done numerous surveys now that confirm that a startling 70% of first hires don’t make it.

In this post, we’ll delve into the common pitfalls founders encounter when hiring a VP of Sales.

Reflecting on twelve years of SaaStr’s hiring lessons, we’ll take a deep dive into Jason’s critical insights into why sales leaders fail and how founders can avoid these mistakes. The discussion will cover the importance of due diligence, understanding the product, embracing sales involvement post-hire, and recognizing the signs of jaded or broken candidates. Use this practical advice to ensure your next critical hire drives success.

So you may have noticed there are now a ton of events in September. This year SaaStr Annual was the week before both Dreamforce and HubSpot’s Inbound, as well as Oracle’s big event. As well as many other super cool events, from The All In Conference to Acquired podcast’s cool SF event.

There are a lot of reasons to do an event in September. The #1 reason is it’s the best reason to help influence and close pipeline  So most B2B vendor events will stay around that time.

But for us it was more a historical accident — we did the only event in the Bay Area in 2021, when the world was just reopening. And September 2021 was the only option for a 100% outdoor event in 2021.

It was great for 3 years, but we’re going back to out roots, and Annual 2024 will again be earlier in the year, now May 13-15 again at our 40 acre campus in the SF Bay Area.

More to come, but early attendance already looks to be setting a record and we’re proud to already welcome new Diamond sponsors like Rippling and so much more.

Tickets now are the cheapest they will ever be and are fully refundable outside a ~30 day window before Annual. As low as $549 (!) No complaints on pricing if you buy last minute!

So grab tickets NOW to save the most. And bring your whole team!!

This edition of the SaaStr Daily is sponsored in part by Sage

Register for an exclusive expert Webinar on Building Scalable Controls for SaaS companies.

Many do. Why?

Even if you are very early stage,

It’s really one of the best ways to learn.

To learn what in the founders’ heads:

• How long do they want the cash to last?
• How are they thinking about hiring?
• What do they think the key drivers of the business will be?
• How are they thinking about unit economics?
• Does the model even make sense?
• Do they really understand their business model?
• Do they really understand how marketing works, and/or sales works?

Of course any early-stage (or even late-stage) model is “wrong”.

That does not mean it is not directionally correct, and at a minimum, informed by a lot of careful thought.

When it is, you can learn a lot.

No matter what cell D78 is.

This edition of the SaaStr Daily is sponsored in part by Front

It’s a pivotal moment for the customer service industry. Join 1,000+ CX professionals at Frontlines on October 8th to learn how to foster a customer-first company culture and leverage AI to grow your business.

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