How to hire the best salesperson?

Hiring a salesperson who isn’t going to succeed is a waste of your time and theirs. Every manager will make a hiring mistake sooner or later, but by paying close attention during each stage of the process you can minimize these mistakes.

Selling face-to-face is different from selling over the telephone, which is in turn different from selling using webinars or web conferencing.

In other words, “great salespeople can sell anything to anyone” is a myth. The truth is that “great salespeople are well-adapted to the environment in which they’re selling.” The recruiter and hiring manager must find specific individuals with specific skills rather generic “people who can sell.”

Here are Inlea’s top three secrets.

1.Have a solid Human Resources vetting process.
You must know what to look for to spot the difference between a good candidate and a great one. Examples:

• The right kind of sales experience
• Consistency in performance
• Passion that is driven beyond compensation
• Prioritization skills
• Ability to build relationships

You must also know how to let the candidates do the talking and how to ask a lot of question, this tactic uncovers their communication skills and overall experience and gives a better idea of whether the person is a good fit and is knowledgeable in their field.

2.Choose people who have a passion for your industry.

How many times a day does someone try to sell you something? We are bombarded with companies trying to sell us stuff. This is something cannot be taught, and only stems from a passion for the industry and the product or service offered.

3.Ask effective interview questions

Structured interviews can be more valid and reliable than unstructured interviews. You can ask and score interview questions that correspond with important qualities you’re looking for. Salespeople should be able to communicate well and be pleasant and enthusiastic. Experienced professionals are likely to have interesting answers to behavioral questions. If you’re hiring for sales managers or directors, it might be a good idea to ask them who would be the first person they’d hire for their team. Professionals who have developed their teams effectively in the past will have a couple of names ready.

You could also include a sales simulation in your interviews. Give candidates a product or object and ask them to sell it to you. This approach might be useful if you want to assess potential. If candidates show they can think on their feet and come up with the right questions to ask, then they’ll probably be successful on your team.

4.Have them interview with multiple departments.

A great salesperson has the ability to connect with a wide range of personalities. What better way to test this skill than by having a potential candidate interview with multiple people in your company and getting their honest feedback?

This process is also of huge benefit to the candidate, as they’re given a much truer and clearer understanding of our business and what to expect.