The Challenge
This company wasn't looking for a generic sales hire. The role needed someone who could sell in the India-to-US corridor, ideally with hospitality-industry exposure, and who could function as an individual contributor first — building and proving the motion solo before any team-management responsibilities came into play. That combination is narrow: strong B2B sales experience is common, but sales experience specifically in hospitality or the India-to-US corridor is not, and most sales-manager candidates are looking to manage from day one, not prove out a process on their own first.
What Changed
The first shortlist Scooter put in front of the hiring lead didn't land — both candidates were solid sales profiles, but neither had the specific domain exposure the role actually needed. Rather than keep running the original brief, the hiring lead gave direct, specific feedback on what was missing, and Scooter recalibrated the search criteria in response — narrowing in on the 4-to-8-year experience band and the hospitality-or-India-to-US-corridor requirement precisely. The role definition sharpened as the search went on, not before it started.
The Results
The candidate ultimately hired cleared every one of the role's non-negotiable requirements and rated as a high overall fit — with direct experience in hospitality, the India-to-US corridor, and B2B sales all together. The company hired above its originally stated budget band for the right profile rather than settling for a cheaper, less specific match.
Hiring for a highly specific sales profile? Talk to Scooter.