Your first sales hire: SDR, AE, founding AE or Head of Sales?

Reading time: about 5 min

SDR vs AE

SDR stands for sales development representative. AE stands for account executive.

	SDR	AE
What they do	Open conversations and book meetings	Run the sales conversations and close deals
What already needs to exist	Someone who can close, and a message that already gets replies	A way of winning deals, or a founder who can show how deals have been won so far

For a hiring decision, the order matters. If no one is closing except you, an SDR will fill a calendar you still have to run yourself. If the message does not yet get replies, an SDR inherits that problem too.

The options for a first sales hire

These are the usual options, plus waiting:

• A founding AE fits when the main gap is closing, and that person can help write the sales process while they sell. More on this role: What is a founding AE, and when do you need one?.
• A standard AE fits when a way of winning deals already works, and you need someone to run it.
• An SDR fits when someone is already closing, and the message already gets replies.
• A Head of Sales or VP of Sales fits when a sales process already works and the next job is to build a team. That is usually later than a first sales hire.
• It is too early when no customers pay yet, or when you cannot show a new hire how you have won so far.

A founding GTM lead is the wider seat: one person who owns go-to-market, including work around the sale, while the process is still being written. That role is explained in What is a founding GTM hire?.

Moving from founder-led sales

In founder-led sales, you close the deals yourself. The risk, when you hire, is that the knowledge sits only in your head: who buys, why they buy, and what you say. A new hire cannot take that over if it was never written down.

Before the person starts, write down at least:

• Who buys today, and who does not.
• Why they buy, in their words if you have them.
• What you say that gets a reply, and what you say on a call that helps a deal move.
• Who closed the deals so far, and how those deals were won.
• What this hire must own in the first six months.

If you cannot fill this in, keep selling for a while longer and write it down as you go, because the new hire will start from this list.

When the first hire should not be a seller

Sometimes the first go-to-market hire should be a marketer rather than a seller. That fits when demand is already there, and the gap is positioning, pipeline or a channel, not closing. In that situation the brief is a founding marketer or a first marketing hire, not an AE.

A founding GTM engineer is a different seat. This person builds the data, tools and often the outbound setup around early go-to-market. Some companies consider this person first when the product is technical and the first problem is that system. Many teams do not need this person as the first GTM hire.

Common mistakes on the first sales hire

Hiring an SDR when no closer is in place, except the founder. The SDR can book meetings, but every meeting still comes back to you. The calendar gets fuller, and selling still depends on you.

Hiring a Head of Sales or VP of Sales to invent the way you sell. That person usually expects a process that already works, and a mandate to build a team around it. If the process does not exist yet, the brief and the person are a poor match.

Hiring before you can show how you have won so far. The new person then inherits a guess: who to call, what to say, and why anyone would buy. Finish enough founder-led sales to hand something over, then hire.

If you already know which of these seats you need, we run this search: founding GTM recruiting. Marcin Cieszyński or Renata Chmiel leads the work from the first call. Talent Partners do part of the research, outreach and first screening. We approach people who are not looking, and recommend only people we are prepared to stand behind.

We specialise in founding GTM and founding sales search and work directly with founders. We have the contacts and the know-how for this kind of hire. We have run founding GTM searches, including for Alokai. That work has also included founding AE and founding sales roles. Fee and guarantee are agreed individually for each project.

FAQ

Should my first sales hire be an SDR or an AE?

For most teams after founder-led sales, an AE or a founding AE. An SDR needs a closer already in place, and a message that already gets replies.

What is the difference between an SDR and an AE?

An SDR opens conversations and books meetings. An AE runs the sales conversations and closes deals. The SDR role needs a closer already in place.

When should a startup hire its first salesperson?

When some customers already pay, and you can show how those deals were won. If nobody pays yet, or you cannot describe who buys and what has worked, it is often too early.

Should the first sales hire be a VP of Sales?

Usually not. A VP of Sales or Head of Sales fits when a sales process already works and the next job is to build a team. That is later than a first sales hire for most teams.