01
Real cross-border depth
We run senior sales searches in Dutch, English, German, French, Spanish and Italian-speaking markets every week. Local salary norms, notice periods and bonus structures are baked into the brief from day one.
- Recruitment -
Sales recruitment across Europe and the UK
Hunters, account executives and revenue leaders who open new European markets and turn pipeline into predictable revenue.
- Why this practice exists -
A senior, cross-border practice for sales
Go Ahead HiRe is a European boutique focused on the senior sales hires that move the revenue needle. We recruit across the full commercial funnel, from outbound BDRs running into a new geography for the first time to seasoned CROs scaling a Series C company toward IPO.
Most of our sales mandates are cross-border. A typical brief is a French SaaS founder hiring their first Sales Director in Germany, a US scale-up landing a VP Sales EMEA in Amsterdam or London, or an established European group replacing a Country Manager for the UK or Iberia. Every search is run by a single accountable consultant, with native-speaker sourcing capacity in the relevant market.
Read more about our six-step approach or the six European markets we cover.
- What we do -
Inside the sales recruitment practice
A focused set of services delivered by a single accountable consultant, with senior calibration on every shortlist.
- Retained executive search for VP Sales, CRO and Country Manager roles across the six core European markets.
- Headhunting for Enterprise AEs, Strategic Account Managers and senior BDR/SDR leaders with verifiable quota attainment.
- Confidential replacement of underperforming senior commercial leaders, off-market and with no public job ad.
- European salary and OTE benchmarking against the local market for every shortlisted candidate.
- Calibrated longlist within two to three weeks, regardless of the country.
- Typical mandates -
Roles we recruit, week in week out
A snapshot of the sales recruitment mandates that come across our desk most often. If your role is not listed but lives at the senior end of the function, send us a one-paragraph brief.
- VP Sales EMEA
- Chief Revenue Officer
- Country Manager (NL, UK, DE, FR, ES, IT)
- Sales Director DACH or Southern Europe
- Head of Enterprise Sales
- Senior Enterprise Account Executive
- Head of Business Development
- Sales Operations and RevOps Director
Looking for a current opening? Browse our live open positions or submit your CV confidentially.
- Who we work with -
The kind of clients on this practice
A representative cross-section of the sales recruitment clients we partner with across Europe and the UK.
Series A to Series D B2B SaaS scale-ups landing their first European commercial leader.
Established European groups replacing or upgrading senior commercial leadership in a specific country.
US and UK companies hiring their first sales leader on the continent.
Private equity-backed portfolio companies preparing for the next stage of cross-border growth.
- Our approach -
A six-step search method, applied consistently
Every sales recruitment engagement runs on the same six-step search process: discovery, market mapping, sourcing and longlisting, calibrated shortlisting, client interviews and selection, and offer plus onboarding support. Most senior searches close within 6 to 10 weeks, with a calibrated longlist visible to you within 2 to 3 weeks of kickoff.
See the full six-step approach- Why choose us -
Why clients pick Go Ahead HiRe for sales
02
Off-market reach
Around one in three of our active sales searches is fully confidential. We map the entire competitor pool in a country, not just the candidates who answer LinkedIn messages.
03
A senior consultant on every brief
You work with one named lead consultant from kickoff to onboarding. No handoffs to junior sourcers, no AI-only outreach, no recruiter spam to your network.
Ready to start a sales search?
Brief us on the role and Darcie will personally come back within one business day with proposed next steps. Want to see how we run cross-border searches first? Read about our six-step approach or the six European markets we cover.
- Country specialisations -
Sales Recruitment by country
Country-specific landing pages for sales recruitment, with local salary benchmarks, market context and FAQs.
Sales recruitment in Netherlands
Account Executives, Sales Directors, VPs and Country Managers Benelux placed across Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven. Native Dutch sourcing, written comp benchmarks and ...
OpenSales recruitment in United Kingdom
Enterprise AE, Sales Director, VP Sales EMEA, CRO and General Manager UK placements across London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol. Honest UK comp benchmarks and a single account...
OpenSales recruitment in Germany
Senior sales leaders placed across Berlin, Munich, Hamburg. Native local sourcing, written Germany compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenSales recruitment in France
Senior sales leaders placed across Paris, Lyon, Toulouse. Native local sourcing, written France compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenSales recruitment in Spain
Senior sales leaders placed across Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia. Native local sourcing, written Spain compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenSales recruitment in Italy
Senior sales leaders placed across Milan, Rome, Turin. Native local sourcing, written Italy compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
OpenSales recruitment in Portugal
Senior sales leaders placed across Lisbon, Porto, Braga. Native local sourcing, written Portugal compensation benchmarks and a single accountable consultant on every search.
Open- Explore further -
The other five recruitment specialisations
Most clients work with us across more than one discipline. Browse the rest of the practice or return to the recruitment services hub.
Marketing Recruitment
Brand, demand and lifecycle specialists.
Open practiceEngineering Recruitment
Software, platform and engineering leaders.
Open practiceOperations Recruitment
Supply chain, customer ops and revenue ops.
Open practiceManagement & Leadership
C-suite, country leadership and board roles.
Open practiceConsultancy Recruitment
Strategy, transformation and advisory talent.
Open practice- Sales Recruitment FAQ -
Process, pricing and how we work
Five questions we are asked most often about sales recruitment at Go Ahead HiRe.
Last reviewed: · Source: goaheadhire.com
How long does a typical senior sales search take to close?
Most VP Sales, Country Manager and CRO searches close within 6 to 10 weeks from kickoff. Highly confidential or rare-language searches (for example a Polish-speaking Country Manager covering CEE from Amsterdam) can stretch to 12 weeks. We commit to a calibrated longlist within 2 to 3 weeks of kickoff regardless of the country.
Related: See our six-step approach, Brief us on a sales role
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Do you only recruit for SaaS sales, or also industrial and life sciences?
B2B SaaS and tech-enabled services make up roughly 60 percent of our sales work. The remainder is split across life sciences, industrial technology, fintech, professional services and consumer brands. The common thread is senior commercial roles in companies with cross-border ambition, not the specific vertical.
Related: See who we work with
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Can you recruit a Country Manager who is already in the country, or do you also handle relocation?
Both. For most senior commercial hires we prioritise candidates already living and working in the target market - notice periods are cleaner, ramp-up is faster and there is no relocation risk. When the candidate pool genuinely justifies it (for example a niche industrial sales leader for the Nordics), we open the search to candidates open to relocation and brief them on the local 30 percent ruling, Blue Card or other tax incentives.
Related: See the six European countries we cover
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
How do you assess sales candidates beyond the CV?
Every shortlisted sales candidate goes through a structured commercial assessment with the lead consultant: territory ownership history, verifiable quota attainment by year, deal-cycle complexity, average deal size and ICP fit. For VP Sales and CRO roles we add a written go-to-market case study and reference calls with two former direct reports and one former manager, completed before the client interview stage.
Related: See our six-step approach
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Will you also handle the offer negotiation and onboarding?
Yes. The lead consultant runs the offer conversation in both directions - benchmarking the package, managing counter-offers from the candidate's current employer and structuring the start date around notice periods and gardening leave. We stay involved through the first 90 days of onboarding to flag any early friction.
Related: Speak to a recruiter
Reviewed · Source: goaheadhire.com
Still have a question? Send us a message on the contact page or brief us on a new role.