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CASE STUDY

Hiring Your First Sales Leader in a New Market

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One challenge that many growing startups face is knowing when to expand their leadership team. In particular, how do you recognize when it’s time to bring on your first sales leader: CRO, VP Sales, Director, Manager?

 

The Leadership Agency's unique sourcing strategies were recently put to the test when a fast-growing tech startup needed to hire their first ever sales leader in a brand new market.  

Timeline:

YEAR

1

Placed:

30

CANDIDATES 

Worked With:

10

HIRING MANAGERS

The Company: Vena Solutions

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Afterpay is a technology-driven payments startup based in Australia that facilitates commerce between retail merchants and their end customers. They are headquartered in the heart of San Francisco and have transformed the way people pay by allowing shoppers to receive products immediately and pay in 4 simple installments. The service is completely free for customers who pay on time. Afterpay has over 10M active customers globally and works with over 50,000 of the world’s leading retailers. Afterpay is on a mission to disrupt the way customers shop and become the most loved way to pay.

The Challenge: Finding a Leader

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Since being founded in 2015, the company has experienced enormous growth. Afterpay is available in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and with the company expanding to the Canadian market, they needed a dedicated sales leader to hit the ground running in this new territory. 

Afterpay's Commitment to Diversity & Doing Good

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The Leadership Agency is committed to working with companies that uphold the same values of inclusivity, transparency, and commitment to diversity.  Afterpay "values and is proud of its strong and diverse workforce and is committed to supporting and further developing this diversity through attracting, recruiting, engaging and retaining diverse talent and aligning the Company's culture and management systems with this commitment". The company thoroughly outlines their key principles, initiatives, and programs such as mentorship programs, professional development, work-life balance policies, and networking opportunities. 

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"Thank you for being a partner and ally!"

- Tia Phillips, Human Resources Leader, Afterpay  

The Solution

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The team at Afterpay engaged The Leadership Agency to find them a Director of Sales, Canada. The Leadership Agency’s first step in its unique sourcing process began with a debrief call with Afterpay to fully understand their requirements and gain in-depth knowledge of the company, the culture, and the brand. 

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With a solid understanding of the company and role, The Leadership Agency team launched te role within one hour and went to market. In just five business days, The Leadership Agency presented the first round of candidates to the Afterpay talent and executive team. 

First Round Presented in:

5

DAYS

Discovery With The Team

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  • Meeting with the Team: Our team sat down with Afterpay's CPO, CRO, Head of Talent, Director of Sales, Senior Recruiter, and People Operations to discuss the scope of the role.

 

  • Company culture analysis: The Leadership Agency begins every search by learning the company culture, and understanding the core values of the team and leadership. 

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  • Revenue model analysis: To truly align with the goals of a business – and identify and attract the best candidates for the role – requires an understanding of the financials. The Leadership Agency acquires comprehensive knowledge of a company's revenue model by asking the right questions: Are they looking to grow current contract revenue, acquire net new business, lower their churn rate, increase monthly recurring revenue, expand into new markets, or go up-market and get to enterprise?

Project And Timelines Set In Advance

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The Leadership Agency set up transparent and aggressive timelines in advance so that Afterpay would know what results to expect and when. Afterpay understood and approved the precise dimensions of the search including: 

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  • The date of when candidates and a talent market analysis will be presented 

  • A fully managed interview process 

  • Candidate profiles and analysis tools 

  • Strategic offer guidance 

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The Results

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Within an hour of its initial consultation, The Leadership Agency launched the search. Key deliverables included:

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  • Search launched in an hour 

  • Within five business days, Afterpay was presented with vetted, qualified candidates and a talent market analysis. 

  • The Leadership Agency team held detailed conversations with hundreds of potential sales leaders to find just the few who would be great fits for the Afterpay brand. 

  • Within 3 months Afterpay had their first Sales Director in Canada hired and onboarded.

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