How Not to Interview Sales People

How Not To Interview Sales People!   

We consistently have organizations coming to us for help with hiring the right talent.  Over the years, we’ve learned some pretty important lessons around interviewing sales people.   Here are three common pitfalls you should try to avoid…

Mistake 1.  Don’t interview the resume!  Fast forward to your next interview… It’s 5 minutes before the candidate will be on the phone or in front of you.  You say to yourself, who is this guy?  You then frantically print out the resume and skim it.  You then proceed to interview the resume…  “Tell me about the job you had?  What was your success there?  Why did you leave?  Blah, Blah, Blah…”   I’m sure your process isn’t as bad as this, however here’s the mistake; You need to know what you are looking for.  Not just…  I need a “go getter” “won’t take no for an answer” “trusted advisor” with “a rolodex”.  Who doesn’t need that? Define your needs beyond the resume and the clichés.  Easier said than done, but start with understanding about what the key job functions actually are and rank the importance of each one. 

Mistake 2.  Don’t emphasize the wrong selling skills during the interview process…  You only have a certain amount of time with your candidates.  Make sure you know which skills are most important for success.  For example, we sometimes hear clients say that they ask a candidate to “do a presentation” during the interview.  Often times your client deals are won or lost long before the presentation is made.  Having them do a presentation is not a bad idea, however what’s your process for understanding the candidates ability to question and qualify what the client actually needs?  In your world, is that more important than the presentation?  In the past, have you hired reps that love to present and then spend their days and nights “chasing” and “following up?”   Did your interview process actually perpetuate the wrong culture and start your reps out with bad habits that are tough to break?   What are the top 10 skills they need to execute to be successful?  We often see this list vary, however presentation skills are rarely in the top 5.

Mistake 3.  Don’t assume that just because they can do something, they actually will.  “Will Do” is the hardest thing to judge during an interview.  Attitude and motivation can sometimes be faked long enough to get a candidate through an interview.  We recommend you use hiring assessments to measure core competencies around:

•       Ambition and Drive
•       Takes Action
•       Resists Stall and Objections
•       Accepts Responsibility

Without these assessments you are playing Texas Hold ‘em” without ever seeing the flop card.  Your odds of winning will suffer.

By Pete Oliver   |    www.salefish.sandler.com     |     Sandler Training | SaleFish, LLC