Building a Packaging Sales Team From Scratch: A Founder's Guide

When You Need to Build From Zero

There are several scenarios where a packaging company needs to build a sales team from scratch. You might be a startup that has developed a new packaging technology and needs commercial talent to take it to market. You might be an established manufacturer opening a new division or entering a new geographic market. Or you might be a private equity-backed business that has acquired a packaging company and needs to professionalize the sales function.

Whatever the scenario, the challenge is the same: you need to hire the right people, in the right sequence, with the right structure — and you need to do it without the luxury of an existing team to lean on.

The Hiring Sequence Matters

The most common mistake packaging companies make when building a sales team is hiring too many people too quickly, or hiring at the wrong level. Here is the sequence that works:

First hire: A player-coach. Your first sales hire should be someone who can both sell and eventually lead. This is typically a Senior Sales Manager or Sales Director with 10-15 years of packaging industry experience. They need to be comfortable doing the selling themselves initially, while also having the leadership capability to build and manage a team as the business grows.

Second and third hires: Territory specialists. Once your player-coach has established the commercial strategy, validated the target market, and started generating revenue, bring in territory-focused sales professionals. These should be experienced packaging salespeople who can hit the ground running in specific geographic regions or customer segments.

Fourth hire onwards: Scale based on revenue. Only add headcount when the existing team is at capacity and the revenue trajectory supports it. A common rule of thumb in packaging: each salesperson should be generating 3-5x their total compensation in gross margin before you add the next hire.

Compensation Structures for New Teams

When building a new sales team, compensation structure is critical. You are asking people to take a risk by joining an unproven team, and your compensation needs to reflect that risk.

Higher base, lower variable initially. In the first 12-18 months, weight compensation toward base salary (75-80% base, 20-25% variable). This gives new hires financial security while they build their pipeline in a new environment.

Transition to performance-weighted comp. As the team matures and pipelines develop, gradually shift toward a more performance-weighted structure (65-70% base, 30-35% variable). This aligns incentives with growth.

Equity or profit-sharing for early hires. If you are a startup or early-stage business, consider offering equity or profit-sharing to your first 2-3 sales hires. These people are taking the biggest risk, and aligning their financial interests with the success of the business drives exceptional performance.

Defining Territory and Account Structures

Before you hire, define your go-to-market structure. In packaging, this typically means deciding between:

Geographic territories — Each salesperson owns a defined region (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West Coast, etc.). This works well for businesses selling to a broad range of customers across multiple industries.

Vertical/segment focus — Each salesperson focuses on a specific end market (food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, industrial). This works well for businesses with technically complex products that require deep segment knowledge.

Named accounts — Each salesperson owns a defined list of target accounts. This works well for businesses focused on large enterprise customers where relationships are paramount.

The right structure depends on your product, market, and growth strategy. Get this wrong and you will create confusion, territory conflicts, and missed opportunities.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Hiring too senior too early. A VP Sales with no team to manage and no established infrastructure will become frustrated quickly. Hire the player-coach first, then bring in senior leadership once the foundation is built.

Hiring too junior to save money. Junior salespeople need coaching, structure, and mentoring. If you do not have experienced sales leadership in place, junior hires will struggle and churn.

Ignoring cultural fit. Your first few sales hires will define the culture of your commercial team for years to come. Hire people who embody the values and work ethic you want to see replicated as the team grows.

Not investing in tools and infrastructure. A sales team needs CRM, marketing support, sales collateral, and operational backing. Hiring salespeople without these foundations is setting them up to fail.

The Role of a Specialist Recruiter

Building a packaging sales team from scratch is high-stakes. Every hire matters, and a bad early hire can set your commercial growth back by 12-18 months. A specialist packaging sales recruiter can help by:

The investment in specialist recruitment support pays for itself many times over when you get your foundational hires right.