How to Interview Salespeople

The challenge with hiring salespeople is that even mediocre salespeople sound good on an interview. So instead of thinking “interview,” think “audition.”

After you post a Help-Wanted ad and receive an application and resume, you should immediately have every applicant take an assessment. If the resume seems appropriate and the assessment comes back with a positive recommendation, you can begin the “audition.”

Phone Call

Schedule a 5 minute phone call. You are checking to see…

• How warm the applicant is, see if they try to ask good questions and engage you
• Listen for tonality…a good salesperson should have excellent phone skills
• Finally, listen for the salesperson to try to close for a next step

Face-to-Face

If the phone conversation goes well, move to a one-on-one meeting (online is fine). Treat this as an audition and see how the prospective salesperson reacts. You’ll see what they are like when they are in front of a difficult prospect (and they are all difficult prospects)…

• Drill down on the resume. Question everything.
• Be cold. Make them warm up to you
• Challenge everything they say
• Tell them you’re not sure they are a fit, and see if they fight for the job or just give up

Second Face-to-Face

You should have a good idea by now, so only invite people this far that you intend to hire. The second face-to-face meeting is where you close them on working for you…

• Tell them you expect a yes or no at the end of the meeting
• Set expectations for everything. Daily activity, sales numbers to hit, etc.
• Make sure they are 100% committed to be the best salesperson you have every hired
• Make sure they ask for the job

Now you shift to training and holding them accountable. In today’s job market, you can afford to be picky, so hold out until you get just the right person for you. There are a lot of mediocre salespeople looking for jobs today. BTW, if you need a Sales-Specific assessment, check out the OMG webinar announcement below. I like to use their product.

Call for coaching, go make some money!