Sales Leadership Recruiting for Software and Technology Companies

Howard Lee & Associates is an executive search firm that recruits sales leaders, including CROs, VPs of Sales, sales directors and founding sales leaders, for software and technology companies in SaaS, AI and machine learning, cybersecurity and cloud. The firm was founded in 2002 and is based in Los Angeles, serving clients across Southern California and the United States. Founder and CEO Steve LePatner has been recruiting for technology companies since 1997 and leads each search personally.

Your sales leader sets the pace for the whole company. The right hire builds a team, hits plan and gives the board confidence. The wrong one costs a year. Howard Lee & Associates recruits sales leaders for software and technology companies, so you can make this hire with care.

Roles we hire

• •Chief Revenue Officer (CRO)
• •VP of Sales and SVP of Sales
• •Regional and area vice presidents
• •Directors and managers of sales
• •First sales hire and founding sales leader
• •Sales development leaders
• •Channel and partner sales leaders

Industries we serve

• •SaaS
• •AI and machine learning
• •Cybersecurity
• •Cloud

Markets we cover

We focus on SaaS, AI and machine learning, cybersecurity and cloud. We work with companies selling to mid-market and enterprise buyers, and with startups building their first sales team.

What we look for in a sales leader

A good resume is not enough. We look for proof. Before we put a candidate in front of you, we ask about:

• •Quota history. What plan did they carry, and how did they do against it, year by year?
• •Team building. How many people did they hire? How many stayed? Who got promoted?
• •Sales motion. Have they sold at your deal size, to your buyer, in your sales cycle?
• •Stage fit. Building from zero is a different job than scaling a team of fifty. We match the leader to your stage.
• •Operating style. How do they forecast, coach and run a pipeline review?

We also talk with candidates about why they want to move. A leader who is running toward something tends to stay longer than one who is running away.

What a sales leader does at each stage

At a seed or early stage AI or SaaS company, the first sales leader is often still a player coach. They close deals themselves, write the first playbook, pick the first tools and hire the first few reps. They need to be comfortable with ambiguity and with selling a product that is still changing.

At a growth stage company, the job shifts to scale. The leader builds managers under them, sets territories and quotas, tightens forecasting and works closely with marketing on pipeline. At an enterprise company, a CRO or SVP runs a large, multi region organization, owns the number with the board and manages a long, complex sales cycle with procurement and security reviews. We match candidates to the stage you are in, not the one on their title.

Common sales leadership hiring mistakes

The most common mistake is promoting or hiring the best individual seller and hoping they can lead. Another is hiring an enterprise leader from a large company into a startup that has no brand, no process and no support staff. A focused search slows down the right parts: it tests stage fit, checks the numbers with references and gives you a real comparison across several qualified people.

How sales leader compensation is usually structured

Most sales leaders are paid a base salary plus variable pay tied to company or team bookings, often split close to evenly between the two. At venture backed companies, equity is a large part of the package, and senior leaders often negotiate acceleration or refresh grants. Some also expect a sign on bonus to cover commission they leave behind. We help you understand what candidates expect before an offer goes out.

When to use a dedicated search instead of hiring internally

If your talent team has a strong network in your space and time to run it, an internal search can work. A dedicated search makes sense when the role is senior, confidential or urgent, when your network is thin in your market, or when you need someone to approach leaders who are happy where they are. We work with companies in Los Angeles, across Southern California and nationwide.

How a sales leadership search works

1. 1Discovery. We meet with you and your leadership team to define the role, the targets and what success looks like in the first 12 months.
2. 2Target list. We map companies that have the kind of leader you need.
3. 3Direct outreach. We contact qualified leaders directly. Most of the best are not looking.
4. 4Screening. We interview each candidate in depth and check their numbers.
5. 5Short list. You get a focused slate with clear notes on each person.
6. 6Interviews and offer. We coordinate interviews, collect feedback and help close the offer.
7. 7Follow up. We check in after the start date.

Confidential searches

Sometimes you need to replace a sales leader quietly, or you are building a new team you are not ready to announce. We can run the search without naming your company until a candidate is qualified and interested.

Why work with us

Every search is run personally by Steve LePatner, founder of Howard Lee and Associates.

• •We recruit only for software and technology companies.
• •You work directly with Steve LePatner on your search.
• •We know the difference between a strong individual seller and a strong leader of sellers.
• •You get honest feedback on the market, including pay and what candidates expect.

How long does a search take?

It depends on the role and the market. Many searches produce a first slate of candidates within a few weeks. The timeline depends on how specialized the role is and how quickly interviews move.

Related searches we run

Companies that need a sales leader often need to build out the team at the same time. We run account executive recruiting searches alongside sales leadership searches so the leader and the team come together.

We also recruit solutions engineers and pre-sales leaders for companies that sell complex products and need technical sellers who can support an enterprise sales motion.

We also work with AI and machine learning companies that need sales leaders who can build a go to market motion around a technical product with a longer proof of concept cycle.

Frequently asked questions