[jdileo]

True thanks for the time and care needed to script above. All points clear and logical.

The vast majority of engineers will always view sales as a necessary evil, and thus the percentage whom achieve even base level competency is staggeringly low. In contrast, elite sales people are both driven and financially rewarded to master the nuances and myriad client incentives you outline above. Further, they are high IQ and will work tirelessly from outset to acquire deep knowledge of all required to serve the engineering team, close customers and contribute to P&L.

With rare exceptions a startup is ill-advised to not hire a sales lead from very early days. Involving this high achiever intimately with totality of inaugural customer acquisition is best practice, not doing so is akin to asking an offensive lineman to run a crossing route in the red zone.