Ben Watkins

SaaS Recruiter / Helping SaaS firms hire senior talent from a network of 30k+ SaaS Execs

Are you struggling to hire great SaaS talent in Europe? Let’s change that.
► UK - Germany - Nordics - Benelux - France.
► A-Players from £90k to £250k base salaries.   
► CEO, CRO, COO, VP Sales, Director, Senior Sales, Marketing, Customer Success.
► Retained Executive Search.

FOR JOB SEEKERS:

► Receive CV feedback and a high-quality CV and LinkedIn Profile.  
► Check out my offers >>> bit.ly/executivesupport

SaaS Executive Recruiter

SaaS Sales Executive Recruitment business.

We help SaaS firms attract and hire the Best Senior Commercial Talent into their businesses!  

UKI, DACH, NORDICS, BENELUX, FRANCE, USA

Intrinsic is a leading Global Boutique Enterprise Software Headhunting company which helps scale emerging High Growth Software / SaaS firms.

We cover Software areas such as Customer Experience, Voice of the Customer, Business Analytics, Big Data, Retail / CPG Software, Market Research, Surveys, Procurement, Open source, Fraud/AML, Integration, Trade & Risk Management, Content Management, Business Process Management and eCommerce market places

“We hired a German Sales guy, and he didn’t sell a thing.”  SaaS CEO

I asked: “How much did that cost you?”

“Well…
 A small fortune.
 Lost revenue opportunities.
 And time we’ll never get back.” -  CEO

So I started to break it down.

I asked a few simple questions:

• Was he your first hire in Germany?
 → Yes

• Did he have Pre-sales support?
 → No

• Did you have German customer references?
 → No

• Did you have a German legal entity?
 → No

And yet…
 The conclusion was: “The salesperson failed.”

Here’s the reality:

🇩🇪 Hiring in Germany is very unique.

 It is not the UK.

 It is not the US.

German buyers expect:

 • deep product expertise

 • customer references

 • legal and contractual confidence

 • credibility before conversation


Without that, even the best sales people struggle.

So no, this wasn’t a bad hire.

❌ Not a sales problem

❌ Not a motivation issue

👉 It was a market-entry and enablement failure.

Your first hire into Germany shouldn’t be expected to:

 • create a market
 • educate buyers
 • build credibility
 • and do it alone

That’s not leadership.

That’s setting someone up to fail.

Hiring in Germany requires a different playbook. 

 Investment matters.
 Support matters.
 Preparation matters.

🔥 If you want sales hires to succeed, set them up for success, not failure.

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SaaS Recruiter / Helping SaaS firms fill tough commercial roles across Europe from a network of 40k+

“He must be good, he worked at Salesforce for 2 years.” - CRO

“But he hasn’t worked in a startup.” - Me
 
This is how some hiring managers match candidates to roles.

By the LOGOS on their CV.


But, for sales leadership, the real questions are deeper:

Did they work in a startup…

seed…
scale-up…
corporate?

What did they actually build?

$0 → $10m
$10m → $50m
$50m → $100m+

Which countries did they scale?

UKI
DACH
EMEA
APAC

What markets did they crack?

How complex was the sale?

How big were their teams?

Did they build them, or inherit them?

Did they manage managers?

Have they worked for PE-backed vendor?

Did they lead through ambiguity… or optimise inside structure?


Logos are surface-level.

Evidence lives underneath.

So here’s the real question:

when was the last time you hired a logo…

and later realised you needed a builder?

Vadim G.

I had this very call yesterday with a senior guy.

“I saw a VP Sales role advertised on LinkedIn.  I need to apply online”

Me: “Why not just pick up the phone and speak to the hiring manager?”

Them: 

“I can’t.
I’ll upset them.
I’d be breaking the rules.”


Here’s the truth 👇

A job advert is just one of many channels.


Companies recruit through:

 • Referrals
 • Recommendations
 • Headhunters
 • Direct approaches
 • Existing networks
 • Thought leadership & writing

Advertising is often just one of many channels, not the only one.

If 300 people apply online…
Guess where your CV sits?

At the bottom of a very big pile.

The candidates who win?

-  They don’t wait to be processed.
- They create conversations.
- They show intent.
- They show confidence.

Picking up the phone isn’t breaking the rules.

Nor is getting referred in.

It’s showing initiative.

And initiative is exactly what that VP Sales role is hiring for. 

👉 If you’re always applying online, you don't stand out
👉 If you’re calling and being referred in, you're elevated

Which one are you doing today?

“I’m struggling to find a job… am I just too old?”

That’s what a senior executive just asked me.

The honest answer?

It’s not always about age.

It’s about RELEVANCE.


What do I mean by relevance?

👉 Are your skills in demand by companies hiring right now?

Let's break it down:

1️⃣ How to stay relevant:

↳ Many Execs are learning all about AI 

↳ Sales leaders are sharpening up on MEDDIC, forecasting deal inspection

↳ Marketing leaders are mastering lead-gen techniques that actually work 

↳ RevOps leaders are deep in the modern tech stack, CRM, attribution

↳ Customer Success leaders are focused on churn, and expansion


The market isn’t just rejecting experience.

It’s rejecting outdated relevance.

Experience plus current skills = value.

So if you’re a senior leader feeling stuck, the real question isn’t:

“Am I too old?”

It’s:

👉 “What am I doing to stay commercially relevant?”

That’s where the leverage is.

Pick the battles you can win.

Job hunting is exhausting.

Distracting.

Mentally draining.

It can drag on for weeks.

Sometimes months.

And then you finish 2nd or 3rd.

- No prizes
- No medals
- No job
- Feeling drained

When I look at senior leadership hires
and senior sales hires,
most follow the same pattern.

The person who got the role usually:

– Came from a direct competitor

– Worked in a very similar SaaS space

– or has done the same journey before
 (startup, scale-up, turnaround)

– Knows the customers, buyers, and problems already

Particularly in a tight market like now.

They look lower risk on paper.
Because they are.
Harsh, but true.

So be selective.

Apply where your background lines up closely.

Where the story makes sense in 30 seconds.

Because in hiring…

There are no prizes for coming 2nd or 3rd.

Only for winning.

Your toughest hiring challenge in the last 12 months?

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