How to Hire the right Tech Sales Talent

Hi!

Welcome to Sparksense's Newsletter! Every month, I personally bring you insights to fuel your sales strategies, drive business growth, and succeed on your entrepreneurial journey. My focus is clear: to equip you with actionable takeaways. Anticipate valuable advice on prospecting, smart selling, and sealing deals that matter for Deep Tech Entrepreneurs!

This month, we’re focusing on a key challenge: how to hire the right sales talent for your tech startup. 

If you're in deep tech, you know that many founders come from an engineering or scientific background, so sales hiring needs to happen early in the development cycle. In this edition, we’ll dig into how to hire the right sales talent, what you need to look for, and where to find those people.

Mind the sales Talent Gap 

The European deep tech startup scene is full of opportunities—but let’s be real: the challenges are just as big. At industry events founders and investors repeatedly point to one of the most pressing issues: the talent gap. Despite growing VC interest in deep tech, it is a serious struggle to find the right people.

Sales talent with deep tech scaling experience is rare. Most have either never worked with complex technologies or haven’t faced the international go-to-market challenges these startups deal with. The result? A bottleneck that slows your growth right when it should be accelerating.

What about just outsourcing your sales?

This looks like the easy way out to some entrepreneurs. But here's the catch: Business education is not enough. To sell tech, you need tech sales professionals who truly understand and communicate your product's value to the right audience. Also you need to ensure you stay in touch with customers, gather market intelligence.

The talent you hire should combine engineering and business development skills. There has to be a balance between technical expertise and salesmanship—something that generic sales teams often struggle to deliver. 

Should you hire a “Farmer” or a “Hunter”? 

Farmers are great at working with existing accounts. They’re relationship managers. They grow what’s already there—but they don’t go out and hunt new business. To build a deep tech startup, you need quite a different profile!

You need Hunters. Hunters are different. They’re proactive, sharp, and fearless. They build relationships from scratch, handle rejection, and stay focused on results. At Sparksense, we’re Hunters. That’s the mindset you need to bring your technology to market.

Additionally, there’s the Grey Wolf. These were once often great Hunters. They have tons of contacts, built strong networks, and know the industry inside out. But now? Many of them are slowing down, enjoy being Farmers. They rely too heavily on their old connections. They’ve lost the edge—the hunger to chase new business. They still talk, but they don’t move with the market anymore.

If you want to grow fast, you can’t afford to hire tired Farmers or fading Grey Wolves. You need hungry, skilled Hunters who are ready to build, not just maintain.

Hire for Skills not Function 

Too often, founders look for someone with a fixed job title—like “Sales Manager” or “BD Lead”—rather than the real traits that make someone great at sales. But in deep tech, sales isn’t just a function—it’s a skill, and most often, an acquired one. What you really need is someone with the right mindset: curious, adaptable, and persistent. Attitude beats experience every time. 

Where do you find them? Sometimes it’s your competitor’s best sales rep, sometimes it’s the distributor who always closes deals at trade shows. And sometimes, it’s someone without “sales” in their title at all—but who just knows how to explain, connect, and convince. Look out for such people at industry events. Also remember—if you're a founder, the best investment you can make is to learn sales yourself. No one can explain your product vision better than you.

If you're not sure where to start, Sparksense can help. We specialize in deep tech business development and our advisors learn how to sell deep tech during our Sales Challenge.

Unlock LinkedIn’s power to hire talent

Sales is about connecting with People, attending events is just the first step. The real value comes when you use LinkedIn to stay connected and build relationships. After meeting potential clients, partners, or talent, simply connect with them on LinkedIn.

• Find decision-makers and key contacts you met at events

• Access direct emails or phone numbers (many people don’t realize this feature!)

• Smoothly move from an event conversation to active outreach

• Head-hunt top talent and salespeople for your next hire

With LinkedIn, you can turn event encounters into real opportunities, just connect directly, reach out with the right personal details, follow up if needed. 

Tap into hidden market opportunities in … High Tech Manufacturing

Are you struggling to gain traction or compete with industry giants? We help startups find hidden market opportunities by connecting them with second-tier players that hold untapped potential.

Do you want to have access to more decision makers? Let’s work together  to identify the Hidden Champions that need YOUR STARTUP’s solution.

Are you a Torino / Milano based deep tech enthusiast? 

Tech & Sales Espresso | April 17, 2025 – 4:00PM | OGR Snodo, Torino

Join us for this casual but focused meetup that will feature practical lessons from the Sparksense team, who will share firsthand challenges and strategies on how to build deep tech companies. Designed for startup founders, early-stage ventures, and global-minded scale-ups, it’s a space for high-value conversations and new ideas. The first 30 drinks are on us—see you there!

Are you a Founder who wants to scale your business internationally? 

Deep Tech Solutions Go Global | April 22, 2025 – 5:00PM | LinkedIn Live

Join us for a Sales Talk with Thierry Bouchet, CEO of Wise Integration—one of our clients who has successfully built a global sales presence. This session will explore how Wise Integration expanded across Asia, North America and Europe. What it takes to hire the right sales talent across multiple markets?

You’ll gain practical insights on selling both hardware and software internationally, structuring a sales team for scale, and navigating complex B2B deals in deep tech. Perfect for founders, sales leaders, and decision-makers ready to grow globally. Join the conversation!

Want to know more about Sparksense? Discover our services and packages here. Additionally, we offer free valuable insights and strategies to boost your Sales. Download our comprehensive Business Development Guide ebook. Let’s talk to find out how we can help take your sales to the next level. Book a call with me today!

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions please feel free to email me directly.

Sincerely,

Hervé Flutto,

Managing Director and Founder of Sparksense

About Sparksense

With 150 global clients supported over the last 6 years, Sparksense is the trusted Sales Team for B2B Tech Startups. With a smarter outreach, Sparksense’s team of over 30+ advisors has ignited sales for hardware and software solutions across Europe, North America and Asia – thanks to its robust, proven business development skills and relevant market access to decision makers across key industries.

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