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How to Scope Your First AE, SDR, or CSM (Based on Your Stage + GTM Motion)

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Why This Matters


Hiring your first sales or customer facing rep is a pivotal moment. Hire too soon and you waste budget. Hire the wrong role and you stall growth. Most importantly, hire without clarity, and you lose trust from both customers and candidates.

This guide helps you scope the right role, AE, SDR, or CSM, based on where your startup is in its journey and how you plan to go to market.


Step 1: Know Your Traction Level


1. Pre Revenue, MVP or Beta Stage

  • Founder is leading all customer conversations.

  • Still validating ICP, messaging, and pricing.

  • Product may not be stable yet.

  • GTM strategy and acquisition channels are untested.


2. Early Revenue, $0 to $1M ARR

  • Founder led sales still dominant, but signs of repeatability are emerging.

  • A few paying customers, but not yet consistent deal flow.

  • Beginning to test outbound or inbound.

  • Starting to document sales process, pricing, objections.


3. Traction and Growth, $1 to $5M ARR

  • ICP and messaging are defined and working.

  • Inbound and or outbound channels producing consistent pipeline.

  • Sales stages and CRM data are maturing.

  • Strong enough GTM base to support multiple reps or functions.


Step 2: Map Your GTM Motion


Sales Led SaaS

  • Longer sales cycles, 30 to 90 plus days.

  • Deal sizes typically $10K plus ACV.

  • Multi threaded selling with multiple decision makers.

  • Success depends on high quality discovery, value selling, and objection handling.


Product Led, PLG, or Hybrid

  • Self serve or freemium model often in place.

  • Shorter sales cycles, 7 to 30 days.

  • Lower ACV in early deals, expansion plays post activation.

  • Often requires support to guide usage, land and expand motion.


Knowing your GTM motion is critical as it determines whether you need hunters, guides, or expanders.


Which Role Comes First?


If you are Pre Revenue or just closed your first deals

Do not hire yet, or hire extremely carefully.

  • Founders should lead the first 10 to 20 deals. It is essential learning.

  • If the bandwidth is truly maxed, consider:

    • A contractor to test outbound

    • A junior AE or BDR who shadows you to learn

    • A player coach AE who can execute but also build pipeline, collateral, and systems

  • Prioritize flexibility, curiosity, and storytelling skills over polish.


If you have validated ICP and want more pipeline

Hire an SDR or full cycle AE depending on your ACV and sales motion.

  • For under $10K ACV and fast cycle: hire an SDR to drive volume and qualify interest.

  • For $10K plus ACV or consultative deals: hire a full cycle AE who can prospect and close.

  • Look for reps who have sold to a similar ICP or who know how to work deals without a lot of RevOps or enablement.


If you are closing customers but need to retain and grow

Hire a CSM, or hybrid AM or CSM, to drive adoption and expansion.

  • Especially important in:

    • Usage based pricing models

    • Complex onboarding or integrations

    • Multi stakeholder orgs where you need to expand post sale

  • CSMs free up founders and AEs to sell new business.


Final Filters Before You Decide

  • Are deals stalling because of pipeline or close rate?

    • Pipeline equals SDR

    • Close rate equals AE

  • Are churn or onboarding issues slowing growth?

    • CSM can reduce churn, increase NRR, and build long term trust

  • Do you need someone to close deals now or build for scale later?

    • Hire a player coach AE if you need both

    • Hire a process driven CSM if retention and expansion matter most


About ClosedWon Talent

ClosedWon Talent is a specialized sales recruiting firm that helps growth focused companies hire top GTM talent. We partner with founders, revenue leaders, and investors to build high performing sales teams across SaaS and beyond.


What sets us apart is the ClosedWon Method, a proven recruiting framework built on speed, precision, and transparency. We combine deep industry expertise with a curated candidate network to deliver shortlists of qualified, motivated sales professionals...fast. Our team does not just fill roles, we act as embedded partners who understand how to assess selling style, territory experience, and growth potential based on each clients' specific needs.

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