How to hire your first salesperson (Indian SMB checklist)

Your first salesperson hire determines the next 18 months of revenue. Get this wrong and you waste ₹5-10 lakh. Get it right and you 3x revenue.

Step 1: Found product-market fit first

If you don't have 10+ happy paying customers, don't hire a salesperson. They need a working sales motion to repeat. Without PMF you'll fire them in 4 months and blame them.

Step 2: Pick the right profile: hunter or farmer

Hunter: new business, cold calls, outbound. Farmer: existing accounts, upsell, retention. Most early SMBs need a hunter. Hunters: 1-3 years experience in a similar B2B SMB sale. Indian SMBs often hire over-qualified — don't.

Step 3: Compensation structure

Base + variable. Hunter typical: ₹3-5L base + ₹3-5L variable at quota. Variable kicks in at 70% of quota, accelerates above 100%. No commission on month 1 deals; first month is ramp.

Step 4: 30-60-90 day plan

Day 30: complete onboarding, shadow 10 customer calls, run 10 themselves with you observing. Day 60: hit 50% of monthly quota. Day 90: hit 100% of quota or be on a performance improvement plan.

Step 5: Set the right pipeline:quota ratio

Quota × 3-4x = required pipeline. If monthly quota is ₹5 lakh, the rep needs ₹15-20 lakh of weighted pipeline at start of month. Below this, they will miss.

Step 6: Weekly 1:1 ritual

30 min every Monday. Review: pipeline movement, biggest deals, blockers. Coach on one specific call or email per week. Without this ritual, performance drifts within 6 weeks.

Step 7: Measure inputs, not just output

Output (closed deals) is a lagging metric. Inputs (calls/week, demos/week, proposals/week) are leading. If inputs drop, output WILL drop in 4-6 weeks. Catch it early.

Frequently asked questions