Here’s an uncomfortable truth about SaaS companies: the majority of first-time VPs of Sales don’t make it past 12 months.
As someone who has both succeeded and failed at making this critical hire, I can tell you that when it works, it’s transformative. When it doesn’t, it’s potentially catastrophic.
A failed VP of Sales hire doesn’t just cost you immediate revenue—it creates a devastating ripple effect:
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- You lose the second-order revenue (up to 6x the initial lost revenue)
- You end up with a subpar sales team
- Your company loses direction and momentum
- You waste an entire year trying to recover
But here’s the good news: you don’t need to wait a year to know if you’ve made the right choice. You can tell in just 30 days.
The 30-Day Evaluation Framework
Test #1: Did They Bring in 1-2 Great Sales Reps in the First Month?
Great VPs of Sales understand that recruiting is their primary responsibility. They know they’ll need an ever-expanding team to hit compound revenue targets—2 reps, then 4, then 8, then 16, and eventually 64 or more.
The best VPs of Sales are always cultivating relationships with top performers. Many will arrive with excellent reps already committed to joining them. If they don’t bring anyone with them (which is already a minor red flag), they’ll make hiring their top priority from day one.
If your new VP hasn’t brought in at least one or two stellar reps in their first 30 days, this is a serious warning sign.
Test #2: Did They Remove Your Weakest Rep(s) in the First Month?
Great VPs of Sales understand that in the early stages, every lead is precious. They won’t waste valuable opportunities on underperforming reps.
Watch out for this red flag: mediocre VPs will insist they need “every warm body” and can’t afford to let anyone go. They’ll try to keep underperforming reps around, claiming they need the headcount.
Top VPs take the opposite approach—they quickly remove underperformers to protect your pipeline and maintain high standards.
The 90-Day Revenue Test
While 30 days is enough to evaluate their hiring decisions, you should see clear revenue improvements within 90 days (or one full sales cycle). Here’s what to look for:
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- Faster growth in pipeline metrics by the halfway point of your sales cycle
- More demos being conducted
- More contracts being drafted
- A quantifiable increase in closed deals by the end of one full sales cycle
Even with an inherited pipeline and existing processes, a great VP of Sales will find ways to optimize and improve results quickly. While you shouldn’t expect miracles, you should see meaningful progress.
When to Cut Your Losses
Be wary of these warning signs:
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- Constant requests for “more time”
- Endless talk about pipeline building with no corresponding revenue growth
- No meaningful improvements after one full sales cycle
Don’t let well-meaning board members or advisors convince you to “give it more time” if they haven’t personally hired and managed successful VPs of Sales. While it feels risky to make a change quickly, waiting 6-9 months to see if things improve will cost you an entire year of growth.
The Bottom Line
Making the wrong VP of Sales hire is painful, but recognizing it quickly can save your company from a year of stagnation. The best VPs of Sales demonstrate their value immediately through decisive hiring, smart team management, and rapid revenue optimization.
If you’re not seeing these signs within the first 30-90 days, it’s better to move on quickly and find the truly exceptional VP of Sales your company needs. When you find the right person, you’ll know it—because they’ll start delivering results from day one.
A related post here:
The 1 Simple Test to Know if You’ve Actually Hired a Real VP of Product or Customer Success … Or Not
(note: an updated SaaStr Classic post)
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- Source: https://www.saastr.com/the-30-day-test-how-to-know-if-your-vp-of-sales-will-succeed/