Your first sales hire: the day one handover what to hand over and why
A first sales hire is only as fast as the list and history they get on day one. What to hand over, what to leave out and how to keep it shared.
- No credits, no data tax
- Your data stays yours
- Email only, on purpose
- Unlimited users
Most of what they need is already in your head
When a founder or owner makes a first sales hire, the new person often gets a laptop, a login and a vague list of "people we should call". The rest of the knowledge, who was already contacted, who said no and why, sits in an inbox and in the founder's head.
A good handover puts that knowledge where the new hire can see it: one list of companies, each with a status, notes and the emails that already went out. Then day one is about reading and deciding, not about guessing whom you already mailed.
For sales teams: own your pipeline data and see who was contacted when. Users are unlimited, so adding a first hire does not change the bill. And if that person ever leaves, the companies they found should stay with the team.
What to hand over to a first sales hire
Leave out what they cannot act on yet, such as old deals with no notes or lists with no source. Add those later.
| Hand over | Where it lives | What they do with it |
|---|---|---|
| The list of companies | One shared lead database | Know which market they work on |
| Status per company | New, Contacted, Replied, Customer | See at once who is still open |
| Notes and email history | On each company record | Never mail a company twice by accident |
| Segments you already use | Saved filters | Start from groups that worked before |
| Opt-outs | The opt-out register | Respect every earlier no |
| Your reasons to write | A custom field per company | Write the first email in your words |
Mistakes in the first week
A private spreadsheet for the new hire
It feels quick, but now there are two lists. Give them the shared database from day one.
No status history
Without statuses the new hire has to ask about every company. Set them before day one, even roughly.
Handing over everything at once
Start with one segment they can work this week. The rest of the list will still be there.
Nobody owns the routine
Agree when the new hire imports, sends and updates statuses. One shared routine instead of eight private ones.
Before day one
- Put every company you worked on in one database.
- Give each one a status, even a rough one.
- Write a short note on the ten most important ones.
- Save the segment they will start with.
- Add them as a user with their own login.
Frequently asked questions
What should you hand over to a first sales hire?
A shared list of companies with a status, notes and email history per company, the segments you already use, the opt-outs and your reasons to write. That lets them start working on day one instead of asking around.
Does adding a sales hire cost an extra seat?
Not in Riftjaw. Users are unlimited per account, so adding a first hire, or a second, does not change the bill. See unlimited users.
How does a new hire know who was already contacted?
Every company record shows its status and every email that already went to that company. More in outreach tracking per company.
What happens to the leads if the sales hire leaves?
They stay in the shared database with their status and notes. The companies your team finds should stay with the team, not in a private file.
Should a first sales hire build their own list?
Let them add to the shared list rather than start a new one. They decide which companies fit; the list stays in one place for everyone.
What is Riftjaw?
Riftjaw is a B2B lead database you own: import the companies you collect, keep every record with its source, sort them into segments and reach them by email in small batches. Each account runs on its own private server with its own database.
Give your first sales hire one shared list
Put every company, status and note in one database and add your new hire as a user without a bigger bill. See Riftjaw for sales teams or start free.
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