How Sales Leaders Plan Hiring and Targets for 2026

The 2026 planning season is the perfect chance to sharpen your sales strategy and set your team up for a strong year. In this episode of the Growth Department podcast, Chelsey Reynolds sits down with seasoned Chief Revenue Officer (and now executive sales recruiter) Steve Levitt to share the playbook every sales leader needs to plan, hire, and hit ambitious growth goalsFrom comp plans and hiring filters to culture and consistency, Steve shares hard-won lessons from his career as a CRO and now as an “operator recruiter.” If you’re planning next year’s growth strategy, this conversation gives you a playbook to get ahead of hiring bottlenecks, motivate your team, and keep performance climbing without the burnout.What you’ll learn in this episode:How to design comp plans that drive the right behaviors.Why talent evaluation is as important as pipeline evaluation.The four hiring filters every sales leader should use.How to balance short-term wins with long-term growth.Why culture and consistency are the secret weapons of high-performing sales orgs.You’ll walk away knowing how to evaluate your talent bench, when to add new hires, and why now is the time to start planning for Q1 success.Connect with Steve Levitt on LinkedIn here. Share this episode with any leaders looking to get their numbers right next year.Growth Department slows the conversation down so founders and business leaders can go further, faster.If this episode helped you think differently, follow the show and share it with someone building alongside you.