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SALES LEADER — INDIA
Software & IT Services · 12th Wonder · Pune
12th Wonder has 70 engineers, 100+ customers, and 12 years of delivery capability across Indian enterprises. We have no sales function — zero pipeline, zero SDRs, zero outbound motion.
We're hiring a player-coach to own India sales end-to-end: hunt deals, build the team, and create a repeatable engine that outlasts any single person.
THE ROLE
You'll build the India sales function from scratch. No inherited pipeline, no inbound engine, no SDR team. You bring the commercial capability; we bring the delivery machine behind it.
Year one splits roughly 70/30. 70% is CXO selling — prospecting strategic accounts, running discovery, shaping solutions with pre-sales, presenting proposals, negotiating contracts, and closing. 30% is building the SDR motion — hiring the first SDR around month two, defining outreach strategy, setting targets, and coaching. When the two collide, closing wins.
You own the number and the playbook. You define the ICP, choose the target industries, design the outbound motion, pick the CRM, and build the team around it. Strategy is not handed down. You're the first commercial hire in the seat, with a titled path to Head of Sales — India within 18 months on plan, and a seat in the weekly leadership meeting from week one.
Your buyer: India-domiciled enterprises in three segments — automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, testing and certification (TIC) labs, and enterprise engineering R&D centres. Rupee-denominated, relationship-led, CXO-level deals averaging ₹20 lakh.
WHAT YOU'LL HAVE BEHIND YOU
This isn't a startup asking you to sell vapourware. You're selling a proven delivery capability to new buyers.
— 70-person engineering team across full-stack development, managed teams, and R&D services
— 100+ existing customers — referenceable proof that the delivery model works
— Pune delivery centre operational since 2019, with the Chakan–Talegaon automotive belt inside a morning's drive
— Budget for the CRM you choose in month one, plus data, tooling, and events
— Direct reporting line to the COO, with leadership access from day one
RESPONSIBILITIES
Close business personally. Prospect, discover, propose, negotiate, win, then grow accounts through cross-sell and upsell.
Build the pipeline machine. Define target segments. Build account lists. Run outbound across LinkedIn, email, cold calls, referrals, events, and partnerships. Maintain CRM discipline. Forecast accurately. Keep pipeline coverage at 3x forward target.
Build the SDR motion. Hire the first SDR around month two. Set targets, define outreach, allocate accounts, coach on messaging and objection handling. As the team grows past five, we hire a dedicated SDR manager so you stay in front of customers.
Shape the GTM strategy. Identify high-potential industries and partnerships. Develop buyer personas and industry propositions. Study competitors. Build a repeatable, measurable sales process the company can scale beyond you.
MILESTONES
Exhibit 1: Year-one delivery cadence
Timeframe Expected Outcome
First 30 days
ICP defined and signed off. Target account list built. CRM configured with a pipeline you'd defend in a board meeting.
First 60 days
First SDR hired, with activity targets and an outreach playbook they can run.
First 90 days
Outbound motion live across at least two channels. First qualified opportunities in stage.
First 180 days
First closed-won deals on the board. Pipeline coverage at 3x forward target. A written sales playbook someone else could run.
End of year one
₹1 crore in closed revenue — roughly five deals at our average size — and a repeatable motion that doesn't depend on you personally.
REQUIREMENTS
— 5–8 years in B2B sales of software development and IT services to Indian enterprises
— Built pipeline from scratch — not just worked what marketing generated
— Comfortable selling to CXOs, CTOs, CIOs, engineering heads, and procurement
— Can defend a rate card and a delivery model, not just a relationship
— Thinks in conversion rates, pipeline coverage ratios, and forecast accuracy
— Has managed or coached SDRs and knows the difference between activity and output
— Wants a role where hitting target is the floor, not the ceiling
Nice to have: An existing network in the Pune–Chakan–Talegaon automotive belt or TIC/testing sector; experience closing deals in the ₹15–30 lakh range; exposure to offshore and onsite delivery models.
COMPENSATION
Cash role — fixed plus variable, no ESOP attached. We'd rather tell you that now than dangle paper you can't price.
Exhibit 2: Compensation structure
FIXED
TARGET
VARIABLE AT PLAN
OTE AT PLAN
Base Salary₹18–20L
Target ₹1 crore
Variable Pay ₹7.5L
On Target Earnings₹25–28L
Variable is a flat 7.5% of closed revenue, uncapped. The rate doesn't taper past target — close ₹1.5 crore and the plan pays ₹11.25L, no renegotiation. Variable pays pro-rata from 70% of target, on revenue closed at or above floor margin.
DETAILS
Exhibit 3: Role parameters
Location
Pune. Remote (India) considered for exceptional candidates, with monthly onsite weeks.
Buyer geography India-domiciled enterprises
Reports to Chief Operating Officer
Year-one target ₹1 crore in closed revenue
Typical deal size ₹20 lakh
Travel 30%, primarily metro India
Start Immediate
HOW HIRING WORKS
Three conversations over about two weeks:
1. Screening call (30 min) — your track record, and whether the buyer and motion match what you've done.
2. Working session (90 min) — you walk us through your first 90 days in market; we send context in advance.
3. Leadership conversation (60 min) — with the COO: ownership, the number, and the terms.
Decision within 5 working days of the last conversation, either way.
INTERESTED
Send your CV and a short note to [Confidential Information] — three lines on the hardest pipeline you ever built from nothing is worth more to us than a cover letter.
If you've read this far and your reaction is finally, a role with real ownership — let's talk.
Job ID: 153798291
