Hiring a VP of Sales is tough.
You need that scrappy VP who has either done it before or managed a small sales team.
Here are some tips when hiring your 1st VP of Sales:
1. Don’t overpay
A big mistake you can make is by paying an exorbitant salary. You should pay competitively but keep it to the minimum required. Share more equity and make an aggressive bonus structure.
2. Be upfront
Tell the candidates that the job will be hard. Will require 60-80 hour weeks and they will have to figure many things out. Anybody who has worked in a 20-100 person tech startup will already know this.
3. Expect results within 2-3 months
If the VP does not deliver meaningful sales results within the first 60 days, then he never will. You should give him time … but not too much time. Because too many candidates will take up your time but never deliver.
In summary: try to hire candidates from smaller startups (less than 500 people), be upfront about the job, and expect results within 90 days.