What Hammer Consulting, Inc does

Hammer Consulting & Search, Inc. is a Minneapolis-based, privately held executive recruiting firm founded by Kent Hammer approximately 23 years ago, with a sole focus on placing technology sales talent — account executives, sales engineers, and sales leaders — into high-growth software companies across North America. The firm positions itself as a domain specialist rather than a generalist recruiter, leveraging a self-reported network of 5,000+ software sales professionals and leadership pedigree from Zoom (where Kent Hammer served as Director of Talent Acquisition and Brian Groff helped drive the IPO) as its primary competitive differentiator. Core offerings include Engaged Search (contingency-based A-level placement with a money-back guarantee), Executive Retained Search for confidential senior hires, Talent as a Service (a subscription model supporting up to 10 hires per month), Fractional Leadership / Fractional CRO engagements, and a fixed-fee Candidate Coaching Program priced at $995. The business runs on a proprietary scorecard-based vetting methodology and a small, senior team of five named professionals, with no disclosed technology platform, AI tooling, or external funding.

The firm's go-to-market is direct, consultative, and primarily North American, with distribution driven by the company website, an internal job board, direct email outreach, and referral flow from the candidate network. Revenue is generated through a mix of transactional placement fees, retained search retainers, managed-services subscriptions (TaaS, fractional leadership), and a small B2C coaching stream, with no publicly disclosed pricing on search mandates. Customer segments span enterprise software companies, growth-stage startups and SMEs, companies hiring their first AE, and individual job-seeking sales professionals, giving the firm a diversified book across multiple use cases within a single tech-sales vertical. The firm has no disclosed institutional investors, no parent company, and operates as a bootstrapped boutique whose growth depends on individual recruiter productivity and service-line expansion rather than capital deployment.

Name

Hammer Consulting, Inc

Legal name

Hammer Consulting and Search, Inc.

Website

https://hammerconsulting.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hammer Consulting & Search is a Minneapolis-based executive recruiting firm specializing exclusively in technology sales talent, placing account executives, sales engineers, and sales leaders into North American software companies via engaged search, retained search, TaaS subscriptions, and fractional leadership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Engaged Search (Contingency Recruitment): Contingency-based recruitment fee for placing A-level sales talent. Clients pay upon successful placement. The company guarantees results or refunds the fee.
2. Executive Retained Search: Retained search service for critical executive hires with a highly customized, confidential process. Typically involves an upfront retainer followed by success fees.
3. Talent as a Service (TaaS): Affordable monthly subscription service supporting up to 10 hires per month, providing cost-effective access to recruitment expertise without maintaining a full-time hiring team.
4. Fractional Leadership Services: Providing fractional CRO and sales leadership on short- or long-term contract basis, giving companies access to executive-level leadership without full-time cost.
5. Fractional CRO Service: Strategic revenue leadership services from seasoned sales and marketing executives, available on contractual basis for startups and SMEs.
6. Candidate Coaching Program: One-time coaching program priced at $995, including two one-hour coaching sessions and the exclusive Job Search Playbook.
7. Sales Consulting Services: Consulting engagements covering hiring guidance, turnover solutions, and sales training for account executives. Billed as professional services engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hammer Consulting, Inc. is an executive search and recruiting firm founded in 1991 in Minneapolis, focused on placing sales talent into B2B technology organizations. The firm delivers engaged search, retained executive search, Talent-as-a-Service (TaaS), and fractional sales leadership engagements, supported by a proprietary scorecard evaluation methodology and a 100% money-back guarantee on retained searches. It also operates the Hammer Careers Job Board for client job postings and a Candidate Coaching Program ($995) for individual sales job seekers.

Product overview

Hammer Consulting and Search is a recruitment and consulting firm offering a unified portfolio of talent acquisition and coaching services. The core offerings include Engaged Search, Executive Retained Search, and Talent as a Service (TaaS) for clients seeking to hire top-tier tech sales talent. The company also provides Fractional Leadership services (including a dedicated Fractional CRO Service) for organizations needing strategic sales leadership without full-time commitment. On the candidate side, they offer a comprehensive Candidate Coaching Program with mock interviews and a Job Search Playbook. Additionally, their Consulting Services address hiring guidance, turnover solutions, and sales training. These services are interconnected: the company leverages its 5,000+ professional network to source candidates for clients while coaching candidates to improve their interview skills and land roles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Engaged Search A contingent-style executive search engagement for B2B technology companies looking to fill sales roles; fees are tied to successful placement.
• Executive Retained Search A retained executive search service for senior sales leadership placements (Director, VP, CRO), backed by a 100% money-back guarantee.
• Talent as a Service (TaaS) A subscription-based recruiting service providing ongoing sales-talent sourcing and pipeline support for B2B technology clients.
• Fractional CRO Service / Fractional Leadership Interim or fractional sales leadership placements for technology companies needing a CRO or senior sales leader on a part-time or transitional basis.
• Candidate Coaching Program A paid coaching program for individual sales job seekers priced at $995, providing interview preparation and sales-pitch support.
• Consulting Services Sales consulting engagements for technology companies, including go-to-market strategy, channel development, and sales-team build-out advisory.
• Hammer Careers Job Board An online job board where B2B technology clients can post sales roles and candidates can apply; operated by Hammer Consulting.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Betts Recruiting: Specialized sales, marketing, and operations recruiter for high-growth tech companies; closely comparable go-to-market motion and candidate coaching offerings.
• Sales Talent Agency: Dedicated tech and SaaS sales recruiting firm, the most direct competitor to Hammer on account executive, SDR, and sales leadership placements with similar contingency-based fee models.
• Peak Performers Group (Sales Talent Inc.): Recruiting firm exclusively focused on SaaS and software sales talent with retained and contingency searches, directly comparable specialization.
• Riviera Partners: Tech-focused executive search firm placing sales, product, and engineering leaders at venture-backed software companies; directly comparable candidate pool and GTM motion.
• Avenue Talent Partners: Specialized sales, marketing, and customer success recruiting firm for SaaS companies; comparable vertical focus and similar money-back guarantee positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search firm with a dedicated technology officers practice; competes for the same senior tech sales and CRO mandates but at the enterprise retained-search tier.
• Korn Ferry: Large global organizational consulting and executive search firm with dedicated technology and CEO/CXO practices; overlaps with Hammer on senior sales leadership retained searches.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search firm with a significant technology officer practice that competes for the highest-end CRO and sales leadership searches against Hammer's retained offering.
• Robert Half: Large generalist staffing and search firm with dedicated technology and sales practices; overlaps with Hammer on contract and direct-hire sales placements at the mid-market.

Emerging players

• SV Academy: B2B tech sales training and job placement program; addresses an adjacent talent pipeline problem (entry-level SDRs) and overlaps with Hammer's 'first AE hire' consulting use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kenthammer
• Facebookfacebook.com/525425614217087
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hammer-consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hammer Consulting, Inc