Hiring Salespeople: The 5-Step Process

The (not simple) 5-step process for hiring salespeople

We’re going to level with you here—hiring salespeople is not easy. It takes time to find high-quality B2B sales professionals. And the fact that you are adding people to your team, whether because someone left or you’re growing, means you’re likely already short on time.

So, as much as I’d love to be able to write “5 Easy Steps to Hiring B2B Salespeople,” I can’t. What I can tell you is that what follows is the best way to hire top sales professionals who will succeed and thrive on your team. It’s the best way to not find yourself in the same position six months to a year from now. It’s part of our secret sauce for building sales teams that exceed quota and continually better themselves and their organizations.

Follow These 5 Grueling Steps to Hire Rock-Star B2B Salespeople! Maybe not the best title, but at least you know we’re honest.

HIRING SALESPEOPLE STEP 1: RESUME AND SKILLS/KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATOR (KPI) INTERVIEW

When hiring salespeople, dig into their resumes to make sure they have the skills they say they do.

Your first interaction with a potential hire is assessing whether they have the skills, experience, and traits needed to excel in the sales role and contribute to company growth. It’s an opportunity to dig into their sales process, track record, performance, motivation, problem-solving skills, communication abilities, industry knowledge, customer focus, coachability, and integrity.

During the Interview

Ask questions early on about the candidate’s quota in their last job and what percentage of the quota they attained. Later in the interview, come back to the topic of quota. What was their variable compensation the previous year? How did their previous compensation structure work? What was the commission structure, and how did they get paid? Do the answers for this second round of compensation questions match the first? When hiring salespeople, you’ll find that candidates often inflate their quota attainment, which is a red flag. This approach will help you suss out who is being honest.
Be sure to provide candidates with feedback at some point in the interview process, ideally during this interview or the next. Then, make note of whether they have incorporated this feedback when you see them again. When hiring salespeople, you want a highly coachable individual, and how they accept and act on feedback is a great indication of coachability.
Ask questions that uncover what research they did in preparation for this interview. Did they just look at your company homepage, or did they go deeper? How well do they know your products? Are they familiar with your blog or specific team members? You should be hiring salespeople who are thorough researchers.

HIRING SALESPEOPLE STEP 2: 30-60-90 INTERVIEW

When hiring salespeople, have them show you their 30-60-90-day plan for ramping up

The 30-60-90 interview gives your prospective hire a chance to tell you their plan for the first three months of the job, should they be hired. How do they intend to ramp up their knowledge and productivity during the first several months in their new role? Their 30-60-90 plan will give you insight into how they think and prepare.

Before and During the Interview

When you introduce the 30-60-90 interview and tell them about the plan, don’t give them a due date. Instead, ask when they’ll be ready to present. This gives you insight into their sense of urgency in completing tasks. Leave the description of the 30-60-90 plan brief to see whether they are comfortable asking questions to get the information they feel they need.
Pose follow-up questions during the 30-60-90 interview to get a feel for the depth of their knowledge and preparation. You can ask them why they chose certain goals, why they chose a specific presentation format, or even why they left something out of their plan.
Introduce some objections to the specifics of their plan. How do they handle those? When hiring salespeople, this is a great way to judge whether they’ll maintain composure when facing real sales objections.

HIRING SALESPEOPLE STEP 3: WRITING TEST

When hiring salespeople, written communication skills are critical

The writing test is your opportunity to assess the candidate’s written communication skills. Beyond that, it gives you insight into their reading comprehension, attention to detail, value proposition articulation, problem-solving capabilities, and time-management skills (as it begins in the final 15 minutes of the 30-60-90 interview).

During the Writing Test

Give candidates feedback on their writing sample and give them an opportunity to make edits based on your recommendations. It’s another opportunity to assess response speed and coachability.
Use the writing test as a way for the candidate to prove their knowledge of your product or service.
Have a kind yet nerdy and critical individual on your team edit the writing test for grammar and punctuation. You know the type. They’re annoying, but they also make you look good? (I’m available for consultation if you need me.)

HIRING SALESPEOPLE STEP 4: ROLE PLAY OR PRACTICUM

Hiring salespeople the right way means you won’t have to do it again in 6 months or a year.

The role play or practicum lets you evaluate how the candidate performs in the kind of sales scenarios they will encounter. You should be assessing their preparedness, use of sales best practices, questioning skills, active listening, objection handling, and closing techniques.

During the Role play

Make note of whether they start the meeting with the sales non-negotiables—time check, tech check, framed introductions, and an agenda.
No matter which of the sales qualification frameworks they are using, make sure they are uncovering the impact that the product or service they are selling will have on the prospective buyer. They should explore not only why you’re potentially making this purchase, but also what happens if you don’t.
What kinds of questions are they asking you as you play the role of the prospect? They should be nearly all open-ended questions, as those are best for getting accurate and in-depth answers.

HIRING SALESPEOPLE STEP 5: CULTURAL INTERVIEW

Empathy is an important trait to look for when hiring salespeople (or any other people)

A cultural interview is your chance to get to know the candidate better as a person. Every company is different, and you want to hire someone who meshes well with others on your team.

During the Interview

Look for candidates whose values align with your company’s mission and values. You can give an example of how your own values align with the company’s and invite them to give examples of how their own values have or have not fit in previous work experiences.
Think about your organization’s team dynamics and ask candidates about their ideal work environments. Find out how they prefer to collaborate with colleagues.
Empathy and conflict resolution skills are valuable in any work environment, not just when hiring salespeople. Ask the prospective hire about an example of how they’ve resolved a conflict with a co-worker in the past.

What’s the result when you (or a consultant) put in the work up front, conducting thorough interviews that identify the characteristics important in sales professionals? You’ll see higher sales-team success and lower sales-team turnover. In other words, it’s not easy, but it’s worth it.

There’s no shame in letting someone else do the hiring—it’s a lot of work to do it well. Reach out at mastery@maestrogroup.co to learn more about our recruiting and hiring services.