Profinder’s strategic sales hire – TalentBee helped fill a key Sales Manager role to support continued growth

Profinder is a Finnish SaaS company offering one of the most comprehensive B2B and B2C target group services on the market. With deep CRM integrations and  a rapidly scaling business, the company entered a new phase of growth in late 2024 following a strategic investment from Ilkka Group and integration into Summa Collective.

To support this momentum, Profinder needed to hire a Sales Manager who could take ownership of outbound sales, strengthen team structure, and maintain high performance as the team scaled.

Having previously experienced TalentBee’s Linda Nguyen’s approach from the candidate's side, Chief Sales Officer Timo Kättö trusted TalentBee’s professionalism in SaaS sales hiring. When inbound applications fell short, TalentBee’s outbound-focused, high-signal process delivered: a focused search that resulted in a strong hire, someone ready to perform and thrive in Profinder’s sales team.

Scaling sales with the right hire: Why inbound wasn’t enough anymore

Profinder helps businesses identify and reach their ideal customers: its target group service uncovers new prospects, while decision‑making data enriches their customer database. In 2024, the company joined Ilkka Group’s Summa Collective through a strategic investment, allowing it to scale its sales operations more aggressively.

Until then, Profinder had grown its sales team successfully through inbound recruitment. But as hiring needs scaled quickly, inbound candidate quality began to fall short. For this critical role, the team needed a partner with expertise in modern headhunting, a partner who could credibly represent the brand, convey the culture, and actively engage top-tier sales talent.

Profinder’s goals:

• Hire a motivated Sales Manager to support structure and performance
• Maintain sales momentum heading into 2025
• Ensure a strong cultural and professional fit in a fast-paced, results-driven team

Challenges included:

• Inbound candidates not meeting the required quality
• Need for a specific sales profile: outbound B2B sales experience and culture fit
• Limited time to make the hire without slowing growth

The hidden risks of inbound-only hiring

Profinder first opened the role through their own channels, but the applications they received didn’t fully match what they were looking for. Many candidates lacked sufficient B2B sales experience or had a profile that didn’t align with the team’s fast-paced and proactive sales culture.

Key challenges included:

• Quality over quantity: While the company received many applicants, few had hands-on experience with active outbound sales across the full sales cycle, especially in a growth-stage environment or SaaS.
• Tight timeline: To stay on track for 2025 goals, they needed to make the hire early in Q1.
• Cultural expectations: The team values ownership, a fast-paced and results-driven mindset, and strong collaboration, qualities that can be difficult to assess from a CV alone.

Profinder needed a recruitment partner who understands modern sales profiles

Recognizing that inbound alone wouldn’t deliver, Chief Sales Officer Timo Kättö reached out to TalentBee. Having previously experienced the process as a candidate himself, Timo trusted TalentBee’s Linda Nguyen to run a high-quality search and represent Profinder in a way that would resonate with top talent.

What Profinder needed was a recruitment partner who:

• Understood modern outbound sales profiles.
• Could act fast without compromising quality.
• Would actively “sell” the opportunity to candidates in a credible, authentic way.

“We were getting a lot of applications, but not the right kind of candidates we really wanted. I knew we needed someone who could tell our story the right way and get the attention of top sales performers,” said Timo Kättö, CSO.

From the start, the collaboration was low-friction and straightforward. Communication ran through Slack, feedback loops were fast, and candidates were assessed against clear criteria: solid B2B sales experience, ownership mindset, and a consistent track record. TalentBee responded quickly to feedback and adjusted the search direction as needed.

“We were always kept in the loop. Feedback was taken seriously, and the candidates we met matched exactly what we were looking for,” Timo shared.

The decision to collaborate with TalentBee

Several factors led Profinder to choose TalentBee over other recruitment partners:

• Past experience and trust: Timo had experienced Linda Nguyen’s candidate-side approach first-hand and appreciated her proactive and human communication style.
• Alignment in ways of working: Both teams value speed, clarity, and ownership, the collaboration felt like a natural extension of Profinder’s own way of operating.
• End-to-end accountability: Having the same person manage both the client relationship and candidate search made communication faster and more effective.
• Track record: A successful hire made through TalentBee had already proven to be a great success within the team in his first month.

Timo, who has worked with multiple recruitment agencies — including top-tier firms with high fees, emphasized that what sets TalentBee apart isn’t just cost-efficiency, but consistency and quality of fit:

“We’ve worked with a lot of recruitment agencies, but with TalentBee it’s simple: what’s promised is delivered. They listen, move fast, and introduce us to the kind of sales talent we actually want to meet.” — Timo Kättö, CSO

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The project in action

We kicked off the project by aligning closely with Profinder’s hiring team on what kind of Sales Manager would actually drive impact, not just in terms of experience on paper, but in mindset, sales motion fit, and day-to-day team dynamics. Just as importantly, we clarified why a top-performing outbound sales talent would choose Profinder,and used that to guide both messaging and outreach strategy.

Before reaching out to candidates, Linda made sure she had a deep understanding of Profinder’s sales motion, targets, tools, and team culture, so she could credibly represent the opportunity and speak the same language as the outbound sales talent we wanted to engage.

We ran a structured outbound process from day one:

• Built a curated longlist of relevant profiles
• Shared and aligned direction with the hiring team
  Sent personalized video outreach to every candidate: crafted to stand out and spark interest for the right reasons

This approach built trust from the first touchpoint and surfaced candidates who matched not just the hard skills, but the mindset, motivation, and cultural fit needed to thrive in Profinder’s sales environment.

“Linda knew how to speak to the kind of sales talent we wanted to hire. It wasn’t just sourcing, she represented us in a way that felt real.” — Timo Kättö, CSO

High-impact hire, zero time wasted: A perfect Sales Manager match delivered fast

The collaboration led to exactly what Profinder needed: a high-performing Sales Manager with the right skills, mindset, and cultural fit, hired within the desired timeline, without draining the team’s time or momentum.

What we delivered:

• 22 candidates headhunted with personalized video outreach: carefully selected for the desired experience and profile fit
• 90.1% response rate: well above industry average (20–50% typical for sales roles
• 45% positive engagement
• 10 initial discussions held by TalentBee
• 4 suitable candidates moved forward to interviews with Profinder
• 1 successful hire
• 2 interesting candidates saved in pipeline for future hiring needs

“We’ve worked with recruitment partners across the Nordics and Europe,  some with high fees but inconsistent results. With TalentBee, everything clicked: the process was fast, communication was active, and the candidates were exactly what we needed. What we agreed on was delivered,  and that’s rare.” — Timo Kättö, Chief Sales Officer, Profinder