How long does it actually take to hire a salesperson?

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“I need someone in this role yesterday.”

Just find someone who’s a top performer, hire them, and they’ll immediately start bringing in revenue, right?

And technically? Maybe this can work for some companies.

But there's a big difference between filling a role and hiring someone who’s right for the role.

If you're looking for someone who can actually come in, produce, and make an impact on revenue, the timeline is usually longer than just hiring the next top performer you see.

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So... how long does it really take?

In the first half of this year, our average time to fill a role was 46 days.

But this isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer; there are several factors we’ve seen that play a part in how long it’ll take you to hire a top performer.

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1. Define what "great" actually looks like

Before anyone starts looking at resumes, you need to think through things like:

• What exactly will this person be selling and to whom?
• What's the average deal size?
• Do they need industry knowledge?
• What's the sales cycle?
• Is this a hunter, farmer, or both?
• What's the quota?
• What does success look like in the first 6–12 months?

This is the step that we see skipped most often. Companies are in a hurry to hire, so it feels too slow to get all the decision-makers in a room and create a job profile. But if you wait until you already have candidates in the game to figure this part out, you’re going to have the wrong candidates in the game. While it might take longer upfront, you’ll save yourself time re-running the search.

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2. Find the right people

What if you hired a hunter and just told them to wait around on inbound leads to call? That’s basically what you’re doing if you’re just filtering through applicants instead of taking an outbound approach to hiring.

Here’s the thing a lot of companies tend to overlook:

Your best candidate may never apply.

Top-performing salespeople are often already employed, already paid well, and not actively searching for their next job.

So the process isn't just filtering through inbound resumes; it’s thinking, “Who would actually be the best fit for this role?” and then going to find them.

That's a completely different recruiting strategy, but when you’re under pressure to hire quickly, teams default to whoever’s already in the inbox.

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3. Qualify their skills in the interview(s)

A great resume doesn't necessarily mean a great salesperson.

We want to know things like:

• What was their quota?
• What did they actually achieve?
• Avg deal size?
• How much was net new vs expansion?
• Length of the sales cycle?

Because their resume doesn’t tell you what their soft skills are actually like.

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4. Sell them on the role

Sometimes hiring managers forget that the interview isn’t just the company evaluating the candidate.

The candidate is evaluating the company, too, especially when you're recruiting someone who is successful where they’re at.

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They're asking:

• Is the company growing?
• Is the product competitive?
• Is the territory good?
• Is the quota realistic?
• Will I have enough pipeline?
• Do I trust this leader?
• Can I actually make more money here?
• If not comp, is this role still a step up in some way?
• Why should I leave my current situation?

You don't just have to find the right person; you have to give them a reason to move. Your top candidate is someone else’s top candidate, too.

Each week a revenue role stays open, you’re losing ground on pipeline you can’t get back. But rushing the hiring process won’t win that revenue back. It just means the odds are good that you’ll be back to square one in a few weeks.

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If you know you’ll need three AEs or SDRs next quarter, waiting until the quarter starts to open the roles means you're already behind.

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The goal isn't to hire a salesperson as quickly as possible. It's to properly vet and hire the right salesperson.

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If you need help finding the right salesperson to hire, reach out to our team.

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