Building a B2B sales team is one of the most consequential things a founder does — and one of the most commonly botched. The wrong hire at the wrong time costs you runway, market opportunity, and 6–12 months you will never get back.
Here is the playbook based on what actually works at the $1M–$10M stage.
Who to Hire First: AE or SDR?
The most common mistake founders make: hiring SDRs before AEs. The logic seems sound — you need pipeline, SDRs generate pipeline. But SDRs without a great AE to hand off to are expensive lead generators for deals that do not close.
The right hiring order:
- First hire: AE who can also prospect (a "full-cycle" rep). This person does everything — outbound, inbound, demos, close. They are expensive and harder to find, but they validate your sales motion before you specialize.
- Second hire: another AE, once you have proven the first one can hit quota consistently.
- Third hire: SDR, once you have enough AE capacity to absorb the meetings and a proven talk track to hand to a junior rep.
The SDR trap
Companies that hire SDRs before AEs spend 3–6 months generating meetings that go nowhere because the closing infrastructure is not ready yet. Build the closer before the generator.
The Comp Plan: Keep It Simple
At the early stage, overcomplicating comp plans is one of the fastest ways to lose reps. A clean SaaS AE comp plan:
- OTE: $80K–$130K depending on market and deal size
- Base/Variable split: 50/50 for most roles
- Commission rate: 8–12% of ACV at 100% quota attainment
- Accelerators: 15–18% for above 100%, 20%+ for above 120%
- Quota: 4–6x OTE is typical (so a $120K OTE AE carries $480K–$720K ARR quota)
Avoid: caps on earnings, complex multi-product commission structures, clawbacks that go more than 90 days. These signal distrust and drive good reps away.
Onboarding: The 90-Day Ramp Plan
Most companies have no onboarding plan. They hand new reps a laptop, a Salesforce login, and wish them luck. Then at day 60 they wonder why performance is not where they expected.
A proper 90-day ramp:
- Days 1–30: Product mastery, ICP definition, competitive landscape, value proposition. No calls yet — build the foundation. Quota expectation: 0–25%.
- Days 31–60: Shadowing senior reps, first solo calls with manager present, pipeline building. Quota expectation: 25–50%.
- Days 61–90: Full selling, weekly coaching on call recordings, pipeline review participation. Quota expectation: 50–75%.
- Day 91+: Full quota. Manager coaching transitions from tactical to strategic.
Coaching Cadence: What Good Management Looks Like
A sales manager who is not coaching is just a glorified admin. Real sales leadership means a consistent coaching structure every week:
- Weekly 1:1 (30 min per rep): Pipeline review, blockers, one skill to work on this week.
- Weekly team call (30 min): One deal review as a team — everyone learns from each other.
- Call recording review (1–2 per rep per week): Listen to real calls, give specific feedback. Not "you did great" — specific moments and specific alternatives.
- Monthly 1:1 (60 min): Performance review, career development, trajectory conversation.
KPIs: What to Measure and When
Early stage (pre-$5M ARR), focus on leading indicators:
- Qualified meetings per rep per week (target: 8–12)
- Meeting-to-opportunity conversion rate (target: 40–60%)
- Average deal cycle
- Pipeline coverage vs. quota (target: 3–4x)
Add lagging indicators once you have enough data:
- Win rate by segment, deal size, rep
- Average ACV
- Time-to-close by stage
If you want help building this hiring and management infrastructure before your next sales hire, that is exactly what we do at GSD Associates. Book a free call below.