The $250,000 Hiring Mistake

Are you a founder stuck in founder-led sales? Many businesses between $1M and $10M ARR struggle to scale because the founder is the only one closing deals. You might think hiring a VP of Sales is the answer, but hiring too early is a $250,000 gamble. Most VPs are not builders; they are scalers. If you don't have a sales playbook, a clean CRM, and a proven sales process, a VP will likely fail. This video explains why you should hire a Fractional Sales Leader instead. We cover the three phases of transitioning out of sales: The Build: Auditing your ICP, cleaning the pipeline, and setting sales metrics. The Proof: Managing your first sales team to ensure the system works without the founder. The Handoff: Hiring a full-time VP to run a turnkey operation. Stop fixing chaos with expensive hires. Build the foundation first. Learn how fractional sales management and sales systems can help you scale your business and get your time back. Key Takeaways ✅ The Real Cost of Hiring a VP of Sales Too Early - Base Salary: $150,000-$200,000 - Commission/Bonus: $50,000-$100,000 - Benefits (health, 401k): $30,000-$40,000 - Recruiting Fees (20-30%): $30,000-$40,000 - Total Year 1: $260,000-$380,000 ✅ The Failure Rate Nobody Talks About - 73% of VP of Sales hires fail within 18 months - If your VP fails at month 18, you've burned $400,000+ with nothing to show ✅ The 4 Signs You're Not Ready for a VP Hire 1. You don't have a documented sales playbook 2. Your sales process lives in your head 3. You have fewer than 8-10 salespeople to manage 4. You're under $10M ARR ✅ The Smarter Alternative - Fractional Sales Leader: $10,000-$12,000/month = $120,000-$144,000 Year 1 - Savings: $116,000-$236,000 in Year 1 - Month-to-month commitment = minimal risk - Immediate expertise (no 6-9 month ramp time) ✅ What to Build First - Sales playbook with documented processes - Hiring system and scorecard - Pipeline management framework - Training program for your first 2-4 reps - Then consider a full-time VP to scale what's working FAQ's Q: At what revenue should I hire a VP of Sales? A: The revenue number matters less than your infrastructure. If you're $5M ARR with a documented sales playbook, 8+ salespeople, and proven processes, you might be ready. If you're $8M ARR but your sales process is still in your head, you're not. Infrastructure first, VP second. Most companies aren't ready until $10M+ ARR. Q: What's the biggest mistake founders make when hiring a VP of Sales? A: Hiring too early—before they have documented processes. The VP arrives expecting to scale an existing system, but there is no system. They spend 6-9 months building from scratch (which a fractional leader could do for 50% less cost),and often fail because they're building in a different style than the founder. Build the foundation first. Q: How much does a fractional sales leader cost compared to a VP? A: Fractional: $10K-$12K/month = $120K-$144K Year 1. Full-time VP: $260K-$380K Year 1. You save $116K-$236K in the first year alone. Plus, fractional is month-to-month with no long-term risk. If it's not working, you can stop. A bad VP hire costs you 18 months and $400K. Q: Can a fractional sales leader do everything a VP of Sales can do? A: No, and that's the point. You don't need 40 hours/week of sales leadership at $1M-$7M ARR. You need 15-20 hours/week to build infrastructure: document processes, hire your first reps, set up pipeline management, run training. Once that's working and you're at $10M+ with 10+ reps, then you hire the full-time VP to scale it. Q: What if I hire a VP and they fail? A: This happens to 73% of companies. You've lost 18 months of growth and $400K+. Worse, you still don't have a working sales system—you have to start over. This is why building infrastructure first (via fractional) de-risks the entire process. When you eventually hire a full-time VP, they inherit a proven system instead of starting from scratch. Q: Should I promote my top salesperson to VP of Sales instead? A: Usually no. Being a great seller and being a great manager are completely different skills. Your top seller got there by being exceptional at closing deals—not by building systems, coaching others, or managing pipelines. Most promoted top sellers fail as managers within 12 months, and then you've lost both a great seller and a manager. Better to hire/bring in someone with actual leadership experience. TRANSCRIPT When you're trying to transition out of founder led sales, don't hire a sales VP. Rent a builder first. Stop trying to hire a VP of sales to fix your chaos. It's typically a quarter million dollar gamble you probably can't afford. Instead, hedge your bet with a fractional sales leader. Here's how it works Phase One is the build a good fractional sales leader with years of experience will audit your ICP, review the pipeline for reality, define your metrics and start writing the sales playbook and more before you hire an expensive sales VP. Phase 2 is the proof we'll hire or work with your first sales team. Manage them weakly. We prove the system works without you closing all the deals and Phase 3 is the handoff. Once the machine is running, then we hire your full time VP. We'll hand them a turnkey operation and not a mess. Don't pay a VP to build the foundation, pay them to scale it. Build the machine first.