The real cost isn't a firm's fees. It's the months your pipeline goes uncovered, the team that burns out, the CEO time lost in interviews, and the risk of getting it wrong.
15 Sales and Sales Leadership roles covered. Instant results, no form to fill in. Every assumption is visible.
When a CEO looks at the cost of a recruitment firm, they forget these four invisible expenses that pile up every month of vacancy. All of them can be measured.
A Sales rep is expected to sign a set amount each year. If the seat is empty for 6 months, half of that annual target never reaches the bank, weighted by a realistic closing rate.
Your other Sales reps absorb the orphaned pipeline. They work overtime on accounts they don't know, lose motivation, and the risk of them leaving grows over time.
Sourcing on LinkedIn, screening applications, interviews, follow-ups, coordinating with the team. Hiring in-house takes 8 to 15 hours a month for a CEO or Head of Sales.
Without specific Sales expertise, 20 to 35% of hires fail before 12 months. A failure costs three times over: the severance, the ramp-up time that produced nothing, and the cost of starting again.
The low end assumes a favourable context: a senior team with spare capacity, an experienced recruiter with a network, and a strong ability to absorb the orphaned pipeline.
The high end assumes a tight context: a team already at capacity, an executive without Sales expertise, a high risk of departures. The truth is almost always in the middle.
15 Sales and Sales Leadership roles, grouped in 3 categories. Sales Hunters: BDR, SDR, Mid-Market AE, Senior AE, Enterprise AE. Specialists: Founding Sales, Sales Engineer, Account Manager, Key Account Manager, Channel Manager. Sales Leadership: Sales Manager, Head of Sales, VP Sales, CSO, CRO. Each role has a preset with typical quota and base salary, drawn from the Smile Talent Sales Tech Barometer 2026.
The calculation adds up four separate components: the revenue missed on uncovered pipeline, the overload and departure risk in the existing team, the CEO or Head of Sales time spent hiring, and the average cost of a bad hire weighted by the probability of failure. Each component has its formula visible in the methodology.
Because the market's truth is a range, not a point. Quota attainment varies from 60 to 90%. The probability of a failed hire is 20 to 35%. A single figure would be falsely precise. The range lets an executive place themselves honestly.
Yes, with one nuance: for a leadership role, the quota is that of the whole team. The formula captures the underperformance of the unmanaged team during the vacancy (25 to 40% of productivity lost). You can adjust it manually if your context differs.
5 working days for the qualified shortlist across the 15 roles. The final placement is typically signed within 3 to 6 weeks. Fees: 22% of the OTE package, invoiced on placement, with a 3-month replacement guarantee.