Where do US startups find remote sales and account management talent?

Yes to both. Because it is a lucrative business, there is a lot of competition. There are very few barriers to entry in the staffing/recruiting space (cash flow being one if you are focused on contract placements as you'll need free cash to support payroll). You need to be prepared to stick it out for the long term. Time is your friend here, because most recruiters and sales reps (those building and cultivating relationships with clients) come and go. The relationships you can scrape together in your first year will serve you well if you are still in business in years 2, 3 and beyond - because you'll still be around, where many of your competitors will have moved on (not necessarily the agencies they worked for, but as owners of the relationship, they take that asset with them when they leave). Good to hear you are focused on technical staffing - stay in your lane, figure out what the core in-demand skills are in your market (likely software engineering like everywhere else), and focus on direct hire placement initially to get some early traction and cash in the bank. Then, when the time is right, hire a business development/sales professional and get them out in the field meeting with hiring managers from growing companies in your market. Track their activity and incentivize them to generate contract business, so you can start building up a book of business. Good luck!

The first place to start is to get out there and meet people especially at local business association group meetings. Any place where people are networking is a great way to find someone for the team. Use the resources you already have like checking your college or university alumni association. Of course you could put out an ad on one of the online job boards, but your best opportunity will be to find someone who knows someone so that you can get a strong recommendation. There's always the obvious resources such as LinkedIn, but you'd be better off networking with people that you know to find the exact person that you need.

As the owner of your business, you should never feel threatened by the loss of an employee. Have a straightforward conversation with the employees to let them know that you are willing to take action if necessary. Work on assertive communication techniques that will help you hold the space. In my experience, some of the most challenging staff I have managed, have thrived after I have reset the expectations. As far as the threat of losing his, keep your feelers out for a possible replacement and start building the systems and processes you will need in place to train the replacement in the shortest amount of time. I work with entrepreneurs to build their businesses, address risk and strategy and work on leadership. I'd love to discuss this more with you and answer any questions you may have. Feel free to set up a call with me.

Having an online portfolio is important but even more important is that you have reviews. You can put them directly on your portfolio site and they will act as 'social proof' enabling you to convert more jobs. Since you say that you've worked with computer graphic for years I assume you've done some work for clients. I bet in your e-mail you have these reviews just sitting there hiding from past clients or even associates or friends who have complimented your work. Publish them out there for prospect to see. My portfolio is pretty weak relatively I think but more than anything when I link people to my reviews on codeable or my linkedin profile they instantly trust me and pull out their wallet :) Outside of that another tip would be to specialize. There are lots of Graphic Artists out there you need to specialize and differentiate yourself. There are many really talents Graphic Artists out there who are successful without having a degree so don't let that hold you back. Hope that helps. Cheers - Raleigh

That varies wildly based on sales cycle and product complexity. An easy rule: sales staff should be as much as you can hire and keep costs under revenue. Support should be enough that customer response times are never over 24 hours. If it's taking longer, hire more support if you can afford to. If you can't afford to, you probably need to simplify your product or else improve your sales processes. 😊