Library/Leadership, Coaching & People Management/Hiring & Interviewing/Hire Your First Salesperson — Role, Profile, and Process
TestedLeadership, Coaching & People ManagementQuick Win (under 10 min)

Hire Your First Salesperson — Role, Profile, and Process

Get guidance on role type, candidate profile, interview questions, comp structure, and a 30-60-90 ramp plan.

About this prompt

This prompt helps founder-led sellers and sales managers navigate the first sales hire, covering whether to hire an SDR, AE, or hybrid, what profile to look for, interview questions that surface real ability, a role-play scenario to test skills, comp structure recommendations, and a 30-60-90 day ramp plan. Use it when you've been selling yourself and need to scale the motion without breaking it. It requires input on your deal size, sales cycle, and what you've learned selling.The first sales hire is the highest-stakes decision most founders make after product-market fit — and the most common failure mode is hiring based on resume rather than what your specific motion requires. This prompt walks through the hire decision systematically: whether to start with an SDR, a full-cycle AE, or a hybrid based on your deal size and sales cycle, what traits and experience signals to screen for, interview questions that reveal how candidates actually behave rather than how they present themselves, a role-play scenario to test live selling skills before the offer, a comp structure calibrated to your ACV and stage, and a 30-60-90 day plan that sets the new hire up to ramp without constant hand-holding. Input your product, average deal size, sales cycle length, how involved you'll stay, budget, and what you've learned works in your own selling. For best output, be specific about what actually works in your motion — the generic advice is already in their LinkedIn feed; this prompt is only valuable if it's calibrated to your actual situation.

The prompt

Help me hire my first salesperson. Context: ● My product: [WHAT YOU SELL] ● Deal size: [AVERAGE ACV] ● Sales cycle: [LENGTH] ● My involvement: [HOW MUCH I'LL STAY INVOLVED] ● Budget: $[BASE + OTE] ● W
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Variables to replace

WHAT YOU SELL|AVERAGE ACV|LENGTH|HOW MUCH I'LL STAY INVOLVED|BASE + OTE|WHAT WORKS

How to run it

  1. Copy the prompt and paste it into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot — it's tuned to run in any of them.
  2. Replace the variables — swap each bracketed token for your deal's specifics. The variables list above explains every field.
  3. Make it yours — run it, keep what's strong, and tighten your inputs on the next pass. The prompt improves with your context.

What good output looks like

Make it yours

StagePre-Prospecting
SeatFounder-Led Seller, Sales Manager
DifficultyIntermediate
Time to valueQuick Win (under 10 min)
Works withAI-Agnostic
CategoryLeadership, Coaching & People Management
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