5 Tips to Avoid a Bad Hire for Your eCommerce Brand

If you search for the cost of a bad hire you’ll see the stat about 30% of their salary - about $17,000 for a $60K role. 

But that's corporate thinking. In eCommerce, the math hits different.

Here's what actually happens:

Let's say you hire a Facebook ads manager who underperforms for 3 months. 

With a monthly ad spend of $30,000:

• A good ads manager should hit 3x ROAS = $90,000 revenue/month
• Your underperforming hire hits 1.7x ROAS = $51,000 revenue/month
• At 60% gross margins:
  
  • Good performance = $54,000 gross profit/month
  • Poor performance = $30,600 gross profit/month

Over 3 months, that's a $70,200 difference in gross profit ($162,000 vs $91,800)

So while you're worried about that $17,000 in sunk hiring costs, you've actually lost:

• $70,200 in missed gross profit
• Momentum in your growth trajectory
• Market share to competitors
• Time spent managing and training instead of scaling

In eCommerce, the true cost of a bad hire isn't just what you pay them - it's the difference between good and poor performance multiplied by your gross margins.

I've been on both sides of this table - doing the hiring in my own companies and even helping a billion-dollar brand vet candidates for their senior marketing position. 

So let's cut through the noise and talk about five things that actually matter when you're trying to build a team that can help scale your eCommerce brand.

1. Hire for Complementary Strengths (Not Just Extra Hands)

Here's a trap most founders fall into: hiring someone just to take stuff off their plate. Sure, having another pair of hands sounds great when you're drowning in work, but that's thinking small.

Instead, look for people who bring skills you don't have.

Here's what I mean:

• If you're a product genius, get someone who crushes marketing
• If you're already great at marketing, maybe you need an operations wizard
• If you're handling operations well, consider bringing in someone who can scale your customer experience

Don't hire a mini-me. Hire someone who's better than you at something you suck at.

And here's another thing - forget about generalists in the early days. I know it's tempting to hire someone who can "do a bit of everything," but here's the reality:

A Facebook ads specialist who can get you a 3x ROAS is worth way more than someone who knows "a little bit" about Facebook, Google, SEO, and email but can't drive real results on any of them.

Think about it:

• A generalist might get you 1.8x ROAS across multiple channels
• A specialist could hit 3x+ on your main channel
• The difference? Tens of thousands in monthly profit

Your early hires need to be able to run their domain independently. 

You're not looking for someone to train - you need someone who can come in and own their area from day one.

Not sure which areas need the most help? Start by understanding where your money's actually coming from.

Check out our guide on eCommerce Attribution - it'll help you identify which channels deserve your first dedicated hires.

2. Write Job Descriptions That Actually Work (And Plan for Growth)

Let's be real - most e-commerce job descriptions suck. 

They're either a wall of boring bullet points or some fluffy "ninja/rockstar" BS that tells you nothing about the actual job.

Think of your job description like a product page:

• Your ideal candidate is your customer
• The role is your product
• The description is your sales copy

Here's what actually matters:

What to Include:

• Specific numbers they'll be responsible for ("Scale our Facebook ads from $30K to $100K monthly spend while maintaining 2.5x+ ROAS")
• Real challenges they'll face ("Our current email sequences need a complete overhaul")
• Growth trajectory ("As we scale past $5M, you'll build and lead a team of channel specialists")

What to Skip:

• Generic requirements ("Must be a team player")
• Buzzwords ("Growth hacker ninja")
• Vague responsibilities ("Manage social media presence")

The best candidates aren't looking for a job - they're looking for their next challenge. Show them exactly what that challenge is.

But here's the really important part - think about where this role is going. Are you hiring someone who can:

• Grow with the company for the next 2-3 years?
• Build and lead a team eventually?
• Take on more responsibility as you scale?

If not, you might be better off with a contractor or freelancer. 

Because replacing a key hire in 6 months because you've outgrown them? That's just expensive churn.

3. Culture Fit Isn't Just a Buzzword (But It's Not Everything)

When your team is small, every personality has a massive impact. 

One toxic hire can poison the well for everyone - especially in those crucial early stages.

But let's get something straight: culture fit doesn't mean "someone I want to grab beers with."

Work style is where the rubber meets the road. Here's what matters:

• How they communicate and solve problems
• Their ability to work autonomously while staying aligned
• Their approach to failure and learning
• How they handle pressure and tight deadlines

Your early hires need to be able to operate in chaos while helping create order - not everyone can do both.

Think about your brand values too. 

If you're building a premium brand focused on customer experience, someone who's all about blasting discount codes and aggressive upsells is going to clash with everything you're trying to build.

But here's the trap I see founders fall into all the time: getting charmed by great interviewers.

Some people are professional interview crushers. 

They tell amazing stories, have perfect answers, and make you feel like they're the one. Then they join, and suddenly:

• Those stories don't translate to results
• Those perfect answers become perfect excuses
• That chemistry turns into constant neediness

That's why you need to test their actual skills. 

Give them a real problem to solve. Check their references (and read between the lines). 

Trust your gut, but verify their capabilities.

Remember: You're not hiring a friend - you're hiring someone who can help build your business. 

The best cultural fits aren't about personality matching; they're about aligned approaches to work and shared values about what matters in business.

4. Get Creative with Compensation (Because You Can't Always Compete on Salary)

Let's face it - as a growing e-commerce brand, you probably can't match the fat salaries bigger companies are throwing around. 

But here's the thing: you don't have to.

The people who can truly move the needle for your brand aren't just looking for a paycheck - they're looking for opportunity and impact.

Here's how to structure deals that attract top talent without bleeding your cash flow dry:

Performance-Based Compensation That Actually Makes Sense:

• Base salary + performance bonus tied to specific metrics
• For ads: Bonus kicks in at 2.5x ROAS, scales up at 3x, 3.5x
• For email: % of revenue generated above baseline
• For operations: Savings on shipping costs or improved margins

Why this works better than equity for early hires:

• Immediate gratification (they can see results monthly)
• Clear connection between effort and reward
• Easier to measure and adjust than stock options
• No complicated legal stuff to figure out

But here's the catch - don't set impossible targets. 

Nothing kills motivation faster than a bonus structure that looks good on paper but is impossible to hit in reality. 

Your bonus targets should be:

• Achievable with solid performance
• Based on metrics they can actually control
• Meaningful enough to matter ($200/month won't cut it)

Remember: The goal isn't just to save money - it's to align incentives. 

When they win, you win, and everyone knows exactly what winning looks like.

5. Nail Your Onboarding (Even Without a Formal Process)

Most founders drop the ball here. They hire someone, have a quick intro call, and basically say "good luck!" 

That might work with a few rare unicorns, but for most people? It's a recipe for wasted time and frustration.

Even the most talented people need context and clear expectations to succeed. Throwing them in the deep end isn't a test of skill - it's just bad business.

The thing is, you don't need some fancy corporate onboarding process. You just need to be intentionally present in those first few weeks.

Don't just tell them "let me know if you need anything" - most people won't. They don't want to look incompetent in a new job. 

Instead, check in frequently and proactively. Set clear expectations about what success looks like at 30, 60, and 90 days.

If you hired them for skills you don't have (which is the whole point), make sure they have resources to keep growing:

• Access to relevant industry communities
• Budget for key tools and training
• Connections to others in similar roles

Remember: Very few people can come in and be completely self-sufficient from day one. Minimize your risk by over-communicating early on. 

It's way cheaper to spend time onboarding properly than to start the hiring process all over again.

The Bottom Line

These five tips aren't just theory - they're what actually works when you're trying to scale an e-commerce brand. 

Your early hires will either multiply your effectiveness or become expensive lessons in what not to do.

Remember that $70,200 in missed profit we talked about earlier? That's the real cost of rushing these decisions. Take the time to:

1. Hire for the skills you actually need
2. Write job descriptions that attract the right people
3. Make sure they'll vibe with your culture
4. Structure compensation that drives results
5. Give them a real shot at success with proper onboarding

Your early team members aren't just employees - they're the architects of your brand's future. Choose wisely.

If you've got questions about hiring for your eCommerce brand, drop them in the comments below. 

And if you found this helpful, check out our video on ranking the best and worst eCommerce marketing channels - it'll help you figure out which roles to hire for first.