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Your New Hire Playbook: From Offer to Ramp

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Why This Matters

At early-stage startups, every hire matters…especially your first few sales, success, or GTM hires. But while most founders obsess over recruiting, they often under-deliver after the offer is signed. That silence (or scramble) leads to second-guessing, misalignment, and a rocky start.


This playbook helps you guide a new hire from offer accept → preboarding → Day 1 → full ramp with confidence and clarity. No big HR teams or systems required.


Stage 1: Offer Accepted…Now What?

You’ve got verbal acceptance. Here’s what to do next.


Within 24–48 hours:

Send a "here’s what’s next" email with:

  • Start date + time○ Equipment + onboarding logistics

  • Any key calendar holds

  • A personal note from you or their manager

  • Assign a pre-start contact (even if it’s just you)

  • Share a lightweight intro deck, team Notion page, or Loom with a personal welcome


Bonus:

  • Ask a few team members to send them a connect message on LinkedIn with a personalized note

  • Offer to hop on a casual 10–15 minute pre-start chat


Stage 2: Preboarding

This stage is all about reinforcing the excitement and giving the new hire light structure.


What to share before Day 1:

  • Day 1–5 agenda

  • Company mission & recent milestones

  • Team org chart or bios

  • Ramp expectations overview (example: 30/60/90 themes)


Optional:

  • Sales collateral (decks, case studies)

  • Call recordings or demo walkthroughs

  • Articles or resources to understand your market


Keep it short. You’re not asking them to work…you’re showing them you’re ready for them.


Want more ideas? Check out our Preboarding Guide.


Stage 3: Week 1 - Make It Structured, Not Stiff

Founders often say "We’re small, so we’ll figure it out as we go." But the first week sets the tone…and unclear = uncaring.


Key elements to include:

  • Kickoff call with you or leadership

  • 1:1s with cross-functional team members

  • Intro to product, ICP, messaging, and tools

  • Shadowing live or recorded calls

  • Clear goals for the week: what should they learn, do, ask?


Tip: Start a doc called "Ramp Tracker" – include people they’ve met, concepts covered, and wins (and empower your new employees to fill it in themselves and show you updates each week).


Stage 4: 30/60/90 Ramp Plan

This is your rep’s flight path. Build it before they start…then update it collaboratively.


30-Day Focus:

  • Learn the product, personas, pitch

  • Shadow and review at least 5 sales processes from start to finish

  • Get comfortable with the CRM / tools

  • Start booking meetings or owning handoffs (depending on role)


60-Day Focus:

  • Run full calls with light support

  • Begin owning parts of pipeline or customer lifecycle

  • Submit first process or messaging improvement


90-Day Focus:

  • Own full deals or lifecycle touchpoints

  • Hit 75–100% of expected quota or core KPIs

  • Share a retrospective on what helped and what was missing


Note: These will vary based on your org structure, sales processes, and deal velocity.


Final Step: Feedback + Retro

Book a 90-day check-in (in addition to ongoing 1:1s) to:


  • Recap highlights + early wins

  • Surface any blockers or role misalignments

  • Capture feedback on the onboarding experience


Consider writing a short welcome note or making a Loom thanking them for what they’ve contributed in their first 90 days.And if you’ve noticed any yellow or red flags along the way, it’s best to bring it up in the moment, but at minimum, voice your concerns here and work collaboratively to find a solution forward.


Final Thought

You don’t need a polished onboarding program to ramp strong…but you do need a plan.


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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