USP Sales

What USP Sales does

USP Sales, operating under the legal entity USP Resources & Projects B.V., is a Dutch sales-specialist recruitment, staffing, and consultancy firm headquartered in Rotterdam. Founded in 2001 by Rick Houtenbrink after 11 years of commercial experience at Canon and prior military-instructor service, the firm targets SMB (MKB) organizations in the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders) seeking to improve sales effectiveness. Core offerings span Sales Consultancy, Sales Recruitment (Werving & Selectie), Sales In-/Outsourcing, Sales Development (training and coaching), and a free Sales Scan/Audit benchmarking over 55 sales-organization success characteristics. The company has spawned sub-brands including USP Sales Professionals, SaleSPositionS, USP Medical Sales, USP Farma Sales, and an upcoming USP Financial Sales.

The firm's technology base rests on a proprietary database of approximately 60,000 sales professionals used for candidate matching, an internally developed "Eigen Verkoop Informatie Systeem" (own sales information system) for tracking conversations, visits, and conversion in real time, and the JoBPositionS anonymous vacancy-posting platform that lets employers post commercial roles free of charge. Distribution is direct-sales-led via phone, email, the corporate website, a newsletter, and Twitter, with a self-serve funnel for job posts through JoBPositionS.

Commercially, USP Sales monetizes through a standard recruitment placement fee of 20% of the candidate's gross annual salary, an alternative 3x8% risk-sharing arrangement (8% at start, 8% after probation, 8% after 90-210 days), plus detachering/staffing margins, project-based outsourcing fees, and professional services fees for consultancy and training. The company is privately held and founder-controlled with no external investors, operates with approximately 7 employees, and discloses no revenue figures.

Name

USP Sales

Legal name

USP Resources & Projects B.V.

Website

https://uspsales.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

USP Sales is a Dutch sales-specialist recruitment, staffing, and consultancy firm serving SMB organizations in the Netherlands and Belgium, offering placement, detachment, outsourcing, training, and sales-audit services from a candidate database of about 60,000 sales professionals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sales Recruitment Services

akta.pro primary industry

Sales, Marketing & Customer Success Direct Hire (BPACAFAD)

Keywords

• Sales recruitment
• Sales consultancy
• Sales outsourcing
• Sales training
• Sales staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Werving & Selectie (Recruitment) Fees: Standard placement fee of 20% of the candidate's gross annual salary. Includes all monetary benefits such as gross annual salary including market value allowance, fixed advances, holiday allowance, and fixed 13th month.
2. 3x8% Risk-Sharing Arrangement: Alternative payment structure where client pays 8% at start, 8% after probation period expires, and final 8% after 90 days (or 210 days in some cases). No candidate, no invoice.
3. Detachering (Detachment/Staffing): Temporary placement of Sales Professionals at client organizations. Revenue generated through hourly or project-based fees for detached personnel.
4. In-/Outsourcing Services: Outsourcing of sales activities and sales professionals to client organizations with measurable results. Revenue based on project agreements with pre-agreed client objectives.
5. Sales Consultancy: Strategic and operational consulting services for sales organizations. Includes Sales Audit/Scan (offered free initially) and subsequent paid advisory engagements.
6. Training & Coaching: Sales training and coaching programs including 'Learning-by-Doing' methodology combining training, coaching, and education for sales professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

USP Sales is a Dutch sales-specialized recruitment, consultancy, and outsourcing firm targeting SMB organizations in the Netherlands and Belgium. It delivers integrated services including sales recruitment (Werving & Selectie), temporary sales staffing (Detachering), sales in-/outsourcing, training and coaching, and a free Sales Audit that benchmarks client sales organizations against 55+ success characteristics. The firm leverages a proprietary database of approximately 60,000 sales professionals and offers risk-shared commercial terms including a standard 20% placement fee or a 3x8% staged payment arrangement.

Product overview

USP Sales is a full-service Dutch recruitment and consultancy firm specializing exclusively in sales. The company operates as a unified portfolio of related services rather than a single product, with the core offerings including Sales Consultancy (advisory and effectiveness assessment), Sales Recruitment/Werving & Selectie (headhunting and placement on No Cure-No Pay basis), Sales Development (training and coaching), Sales In-/Outsourcing (temporary staffing and project-based sales), and Sales Freelance (Z.Z.P. professionals). Supporting sub-brands include JoBPositionS (anonymous vacancy platform) and USP Sales Professionals (candidate-focused brand). The company maintains a database of approximately 60,000 sales professionals and offers proprietary tools including a Sales Information System for activity tracking. The 3x8% pricing model provides risk-sharing between the company and clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Sales Audit benchmarks against 55+ success characteristics of effective sales organizations
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Toptal: Global freelance talent platform with strong sales/business-development freelancer network and remote-first model. Comparable to USP Sales' freelance sales (Z.Z.P.) offering but as an emerging tech-enabled platform competing for cross-border freelance sales talent.
• Outvise: European on-demand sales talent marketplace connecting companies with freelance sales professionals. Directly comparable to USP Sales' freelance sales / detachering services, but differentiated by a digital marketplace model and broader European reach.

Broad incumbents

• Brunel International: Dutch-headquartered global staffing and project services firm with specialized sales, marketing, and commercial recruitment practices. Comparable in the Dutch market context where USP Sales operates, but as a much larger multi-specialist incumbent.
• Randstad: Largest Dutch staffing firm with comprehensive permanent, temporary, and outsourcing services across all functions including sales. Comparable as a competitor for Dutch SMB sales-recruitment mandates, though operating as a generalist incumbent at scale.
• ManpowerGroup: Global workforce solutions company offering recruitment, staffing, and outsourcing across functions. Overlaps with USP Sales on SMB sales staffing/outsourcing but at global scale and with broader service portfolio.
• Adecco Group: Global staffing leader offering permanent placement, temporary staffing, and career transition services. Competes with USP Sales for Dutch sales roles but as a broad incumbent rather than a sales-specialized firm.

Direct peers

• Michael Page: Global recruitment firm with a strong permanent placement focus on sales, marketing, and commercial roles. Directly comparable to USP Sales' Werving & Selectie offering for sales professionals, though operating at far greater scale and geographic reach.
• YoungCapital: Dutch digital-native staffing and recruitment platform focused on entry-level and SMB hiring, including sales roles. Comparable to USP Sales' Dutch SMB sales-recruitment focus, but differentiates through a tech-enabled, high-volume model.
• Hays: UK-headquartered specialist recruiter with dedicated sales & marketing practice covering permanent and temporary placements. Comparable to USP Sales' specialized sales-recruitment model and integrated consultancy/staffing approach, though at significantly larger scale.
• Robert Half International: Specialized staffing firm with a dedicated placement practice in sales, marketing, and accounting/finance roles. Closely comparable to USP Sales' combination of permanent placement, temporary staffing, and consulting-style advisory for sales organizations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/USPSales
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/usp-sales

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 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 USP Sales