How to Hire a Sales Team Through a Recruitment Agency: Costs, Timelines and Models

The short answer

A recruitment agency can usually present the first qualified sales candidates within one to two weeks and close an account executive or SDR role in four to eight weeks. Senior sales leaders such as a VP of Sales or Head of Revenue take longer. Then add the candidate's notice period: two to four weeks in the US, often one to three months in Europe.

Agency fees for sales roles are usually charged as a percentage of the hire's first-year salary. On contingency, 20–30% of base salary is common, and some agencies calculate the fee on on-target earnings (OTE), which makes the same percentage noticeably more expensive. Retained searches for sales leaders cost more and are paid in stages. Always ask whether the fee is based on base salary or on OTE.

Which sales and GTM roles companies hire through agencies

• Account executives for SMB, mid-market and enterprise deals.
• SDRs and BDRs who build pipeline through outbound.
• Sales leaders: Head of Sales, VP of Sales, Chief Revenue Officer.
• Partnership and business development managers, including affiliate managers in iGaming and channel managers in SaaS.
• GTM engineers and RevOps who build the tooling, data and automation behind the sales team.
• Account managers and customer success who keep and grow revenue after the first deal.

How much does it cost to hire an account executive through a recruiter?

The agency fee is only part of the cost. When you compare proposals, look at all of it:

• The fee and its base. 20% of base salary and 20% of OTE are very different numbers for a role where half the package is variable.
• Payment structure. Contingency (pay only on hire), a retainer deducted from the fee, staged payments for retained search, or a monthly subscription.
• Exclusivity. Exclusive searches often get a lower rate and more recruiter time than searches shared with other agencies.
• Guarantee. How long a free replacement applies if the hire leaves or does not perform. Sales hires are judged by numbers within the first quarter, so the guarantee period matters more than for most roles.
• The cost of a vacancy. Every month without a quota-carrying rep is pipeline you do not build. For a team with a full quota, a faster hire often pays for the fee.

Agency, in-house recruiter or job boards?

• Job boards and LinkedIn posts bring volume, but strong closers who are hitting quota rarely apply. You will spend time screening.
• An in-house recruiter pays off when you hire sales people continuously, roughly ten or more a year, and can wait a few months while the recruiter ramps up.
• A specialist agency makes sense for urgent hires, senior sales leaders, new markets where you have no network, and parallel hiring of several roles at once.
• A subscription or RPO model fits companies that build a whole GTM team after a funding round: a recruiter and sourcer work on all roles for a fixed monthly fee instead of a fee per hire.

Hiring a sales team for US market expansion

Companies entering the US usually start with one or two senior account executives or a Head of Sales who can sell without a local brand, then add SDRs once the playbook works. Plan for higher US compensation, OTE splits close to 50/50 for AEs, and short notice periods that make offers move fast. Hire for the time zone and the region of your first customers: a rep in New York and a rep in California sell to different networks.

Hiring sales people for expansion into Europe

Europe is not one market. Languages, labour law, notice periods and typical sales cycles differ by country. Many startups hire their first European reps in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands or Poland and cover nearby markets from there. If you have no entity in the country, an Employer of Record lets you hire on a local contract without setting one up. Expect notice periods of one to three months for experienced sales people.

What to look for in a sales recruitment agency

• Sales-specific screening: quota history, deal sizes, sales cycle length and the type of buyer the candidate has sold to, not only the CV.
• Market coverage: recruiters who know the country and the industry you are hiring for.
• Speed to the first shortlist and a clear weekly reporting rhythm.
• A guarantee that matches how quickly you can judge a sales hire.
• Proof: case studies and reviews from companies like yours.

Examples from OnHires clients

Inturai, a healthcare IT and IoT company, needed a SaaS and IoT Sales Director who could sell complex technology to specialised buyers. OnHires ran role calibration, targeted sourcing across SaaS and IoT sales talent and a structured interview process. The role was filled with a 36% faster time to hire. Read the Inturai case.

Vero Networks, a US fiber internet provider, needed to hire go-to-market and product roles in parallel while expanding across regions. OnHires closed 4 key go-to-market and product roles with 52% faster time to hire than previous hiring cycles. Read the Vero Networks case.

How OnHires hires sales and GTM teams

OnHires recruits account executives, SDRs, sales leaders, partnership managers and GTM roles for tech companies in the US, Europe and other regions. You can work with us on pay-per-hire recruitment, a monthly subscription for several roles at once, or RPO for a whole team. First vetted candidates arrive within 7–10 days, the average time to fill is about three weeks, and every placement includes a 3-month free replacement.

FAQ

How long does it take to hire an account executive through an agency?

Usually four to eight weeks from the brief to an accepted offer, plus the candidate's notice period. Senior sales leaders take longer.

Do recruitment agencies charge on base salary or on OTE?

Both models exist. Ask before you sign: a fee on OTE can cost significantly more for roles with a large variable part.

Should a startup hire its first sales person through an agency?

It helps when the founder has no time to source and screen, when the first hire must be senior, or when the company is entering a new market without a local network.

Can one agency hire both sales and product or engineering roles?

Yes, if it recruits across functions. Running GTM, product and engineering hiring with one partner keeps the process and the reporting in one place.