Lessons from Sam Blond

Sam Blond is a prominent figure in the SaaS sales and startup world, known for his leadership roles at companies like Brex and Zenefits.

On Recruiting and Hiring

"Recruiting is the only thing that matters." Blond emphasizes that the success of a sales organization is all about the people. [1]
- Source: The Playbook to Recruiting Your Sales Team with Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond (Video + Transcript) | SaaStr
"Don't outsource recruiting." He advises against using external recruiters, arguing that the best candidates often come from internal networks and referrals. [2][3]
- Source: Deep Dive: Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond - YouTube, 9 Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond, Former CRO Brex (Pod + Video) | SaaStr
"Make recruiting part of everyone's job." Recruiting shouldn't be siloed; it's a collective responsibility. At Brex, referral bonuses are not paid because it's considered part of the job. [1][4]
- Source: The Playbook to Recruiting Your Sales Team with Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond (Video + Transcript) | SaaStr, Recruiting Your Sales Team with Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond | Notion
When you make your first sales rep hire, hire two. This allows you to better gauge product-market fit and individual performance. If both succeed, you have a strong signal to scale. If both fail, it's likely a systemic issue with your product or market fit. [1]
- Source: The Playbook to Recruiting Your Sales Team with Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond (Video + Transcript) | SaaStr
"The population of candidates that join companies as a referral are going to be higher performers than the population of candidates that join companies from a third party recruiter." Referred candidates often feel a greater sense of responsibility to succeed. [2]
- Source: Deep Dive: Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond - YouTube
"You need people who set the tone for positivity and hard work." These are essential qualities for future leaders to emulate. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
"I bias heavily toward promoting from within." At Zenefits, the first line of management was entirely promoted from within, which builds credibility and maintains a high bar for effort and attitude. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
Promote internally, but only when it's a 'heck yes'. Avoid promoting out of urgency. Wait for the candidate who is genuinely prepared for the leadership role. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
"Trading off quality for urgency actually costs you far more time." A poor senior hire can set the organization back significantly. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
"Hire people that were both more senior than me and also much better than me at their respective functions." To scale beyond the initial stages, leaders must be willing to hire specialists who are more skilled in their domains than they are. [6]
- Source: GTM 105: Scaling to $100M ARR with Creative Demand Gen and Hiring Discipline with Sam Blond - YouTube
Don't over-index on domain experience when hiring sales reps. It's more important to find exceptional sales talent, as they can typically learn a new domain quickly. [7]
- Source: 20VC Newsletter - Apr 14th 2024
"It's better to hire a good candidate now than wait for a perfect one in the future." Founders should determine essential versus flexible qualities and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
"Early-stage startup experience is essential for first-time account executives (AEs)." They need to be comfortable in a less structured environment. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
In founder-led sales, you'll likely know within 14 days if a hire will work out. This is because you can only hire people who operate on your wavelength. [9]
- Source: Advice Every SaaS Founder Needs to Know in 2024 with Sam Blond and Jason Lemkin

On Sales Strategy and Execution

"Focus on demand until you have too much." Many businesses misdiagnose their growth bottleneck as conversion rates when it's actually a lack of demand. [2][3]
- Source: Deep Dive: Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond - YouTube, 9 Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond, Former CRO Brex (Pod + Video) | SaaStr
"Startups often misdiagnose the bottleneck to growth as conversion rates when it's usually around demand generation and opportunity creation." Focusing on generating new demand is more effective than solely optimizing conversion rates. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
"The highest ROI thing sales people can be doing is closing Revenue. I think the second highest ROI sales thing sales people can be doing is sourcing revenue." [10]
- Source: How to Build Out Your SaaS Sales Development Function with Sam Blond, ex-CRO at Brex
"Don't hire SDRs before you first have a successful outbound process with AEs." If your AEs can't do outbound successfully, an SDR won't be set up for success. [10]
- Source: How to Build Out Your SaaS Sales Development Function with Sam Blond, ex-CRO at Brex
Be prescriptive on how to buy your product. Customers want to be educated on the purchasing process. If you don't know how they should buy, they certainly won't. [3]
- Source: 9 Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond, Former CRO Brex (Pod + Video) | SaaStr
Meet prospective customers in person. In-person sales can generate significantly higher conversion rates. It signals a willingness to go above and beyond. [3][11]
- Source: 9 Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond, Former CRO Brex (Pod + Video) | SaaStr, Sam Blond + Jason Lemkin “GTM in 2025: How It's Changed, How It's Changing, and What Hasn't Changed (Yet)” | SaaStr
"Obsess over implementation." You only get one chance to make a first impression with a new customer. A smooth onboarding is critical. [2][12]
- Source: Deep Dive: Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond - YouTube, GTM 105 with Sam Blond | Former Partner at Founders Fund - YouTube
Do things that stand out. Creative and contrarian demand generation campaigns, like Brex's "champagne campaign," can be highly impactful and inexpensive. [2][13]
- Source: Deep Dive: Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond - YouTube, From Zero to Hero: How to Dominate Outbound SaaS Sales with Rippling and Founders Fund on CRO Confidential - The Secrets To Scaling in The Age of AI
"Start with the closest concentric circle to your business: Your personal network. Investor networks. Employee networks." Before going for cold outbound, exhaust your warmer connections. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
Leverage happy customers to generate new ones. This is an often underutilized and powerful acquisition channel. [14][15]
- Source: GTM 105: Scaling to $100M ARR with Creative Demand Gen and Hiring Discipline with Sam Blond - GTMnow, The Biggest Sales Lessons Scaling Brex to $400M ARR, Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It & Why Demand Gen is the Bottleneck for all Startups and How to Solve it with Sam Blond, Former CRO @ Brex - 20VC
"Distribution is as important as the announcement." A great launch or announcement needs a thoughtful distribution strategy to have a real impact. [2]
- Source: Deep Dive: Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond - YouTube
The Presumptive Close. Act as if the prospect is going to become a customer and guide them through the next steps. [2]
- Source: Deep Dive: Easy Sales Concepts So Many Get Wrong with Sam Blond - YouTube
"If you have a six-month-long sales cycle, it will be hard from a purely revenue standpoint to determine whether a sales rep is successful." Set clear expectations for the first 30 and 60 days that are as objective as possible. [9]
- Source: Advice Every SaaS Founder Needs to Know in 2024 with Sam Blond and Jason Lemkin
"You can't expect extraordinary career outcomes without extraordinary effort." [16]
- Source: E8: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders & Teams - YouTube

On Leadership and Culture

Success starts with "talent density." Stack top-tier talent together to create a hyper-competitive system where they push each other to excel. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
A great leader is someone who can hire people "better than them" in specific roles. This is crucial as a company expands and needs specialized talent. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
"Never be satisfied. The moment you feel like you've made it is when your growth plateaus." The best leaders maintain a mindset of continuous improvement. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
Leaders need to be the ones that are early in the office, last ones out, and setting the tone. This is especially true for those who want to be leaders on the team. [16]
- Source: E8: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders & Teams - YouTube
"What is not acceptable for me as a leader is somebody who is not performing and then either not putting in the effort or not bringing their best selves to work." Effort and attitude are non-negotiable, especially for underperformers. [10]
- Source: How to Build Out Your SaaS Sales Development Function with Sam Blond, ex-CRO at Brex
Create a flywheel effect of motivation. When reps hit their quota and make money, they are motivated to generate more demand, which leads to more money and continued motivation. [9]
- Source: Advice Every SaaS Founder Needs to Know in 2024 with Sam Blond and Jason Lemkin
Pay top of market. To attract and retain the best talent, build a reputation for paying your sales reps very well. [1]
- Source: The Playbook to Recruiting Your Sales Team with Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond (Video + Transcript) | SaaStr
Aim for 70%+ of the team to be over quota. If only a small percentage of your team is hitting their On-Target Earnings (OTE), then the OTE itself is not a meaningful number. [1]
- Source: The Playbook to Recruiting Your Sales Team with Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond (Video + Transcript) | SaaStr
Provide a non-recoverable draw for new, more junior sales reps. This reduces financial stress in their first few months and allows them to focus on performance. [1]
- Source: The Playbook to Recruiting Your Sales Team with Brex Chief Sales Officer Sam Blond (Video + Transcript) | SaaStr

On Startups and Growth

The founder should be the one to create the sales playbook. Before hiring a salesperson, the founder must be able to close customers and generate revenue themselves. [8][15]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall, The Biggest Sales Lessons Scaling Brex to $400M ARR, Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It & Why Demand Gen is the Bottleneck for all Startups and How to Solve it with Sam Blond, Former CRO @ Brex - 20VC
"The success of a startup is highly dependent on the founders' ambitions and aptitude for building a big business." Recognizing exceptional founders is key to picking a winning company to join. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
"You can't take a stalled sales motion and solve it with PLG (Product-Led Growth)." If growth has stalled, it likely means you've fallen out of product-market fit. [9]
- Source: Advice Every SaaS Founder Needs to Know in 2024 with Sam Blond and Jason Lemkin
Don't hire more salespeople in a demand-poor environment. This spreads the limited demand across more reps, often leading to decreased overall productivity. [9]
- Source: Advice Every SaaS Founder Needs to Know in 2024 with Sam Blond and Jason Lemkin
Make sure the constraint to growing faster is that you don't have enough salespeople to work the existing demand. Only then should you hire more salespeople. [9]
- Source: Advice Every SaaS Founder Needs to Know in 2024 with Sam Blond and Jason Lemkin
"You are going to need to figure out how to drive more revenue per sales rep if you are a lower-margin business." In an environment focused on efficiency, gross profit becomes more important than just top-line revenue. [17]
- Source: CRO Confidential: The Ultimate Guide to Sales Compensation, Quotas and Recruiting with Sam Blond, Partner at Founders Fund and SaaStr CEO and Founder, Jason Lemkin (Pod 603 + Video)
Investing early in sales ops and rev ops is critical for scaling revenue. This was a key mistake made at Zenefits—investing in these functions too late. [14][18]
- Source: GTM 105: Scaling to $100M ARR with Creative Demand Gen and Hiring Discipline with Sam Blond - GTMnow, GTM 105: Scaling to $100M ARR with Creative Demand Gen and Hiring Discipline with Sam Blond - Apple Podcasts
Deprioritizing the customer experience during hypergrowth is a major mistake. Zenefits' focus on customer acquisition at the expense of implementation led to a negative first impression for many customers. [6]
- Source: GTM 105: Scaling to $100M ARR with Creative Demand Gen and Hiring Discipline with Sam Blond - YouTube
To achieve personal success, sales representatives need to strive to be the best, regardless of the company's performance. Being at a successful company doesn't guarantee individual success. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
"You can't expect extraordinary career outcomes without extraordinary effort." This is a simple but powerful principle for anyone in a startup environment. [19]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - YouTube
When joining a company, look for objective signals of its trajectory. For companies with 100-500 employees, these signals include hiring trends, fundraising activity, and revenue growth. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
At the earliest stages, a company's success is more subjective and dependent on the founders' qualities. [8]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - Recall
"At Brex, we hired many first-time sales reps and managers. We looked for raw talent and the ability to learn quickly rather than just experience." This approach helps build talent density by hiring high-potential individuals on the ascent of their careers. [5]
- Source: Sam Blond's Blueprint for Building Exceptional Leaders and Teams - Pavilion
The tactics it takes to scale from $10M to $100M are different from those needed to scale from $1M to $10M. Leaders must be able to evolve as the business needs change. [6]
- Source: GTM 105: Scaling to $100M ARR with Creative Demand Gen and Hiring Discipline with Sam Blond - YouTube
When you have a handful of non-friends and family revenue-generating customers and a repeatable process, you are ready to hire your first salesperson. The exact number of customers will vary depending on the business model. [20]
- Source: Sam Blond: Why Startups are Doing Outbound Wrong and How to Fix It | E1139 - YouTube

Learn more:

Lessons from Sam Blond

On Recruiting and Hiring

On Sales Strategy and Execution

On Leadership and Culture

On Startups and Growth

Written by Antoine Buteau

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