Hiring Top Performing Sales Professionals
Hiring great sales talent isn’t easy, and the cost of a mis-hire is huge. Here are some guidelines you may want to follow, and a scorecard to help in objectively evaluating a group of candidates:
Top 5 Hiring Checklist: How to Identify Top Sales Professionals
- Define Success Clearly
- Identify the top 3–5 measurable outcomes that define success in your organization (e.g., revenue growth, new account acquisition, margin improvement).
- Benchmark these against your current top performers.
- Assess Their Sales Process Techniques and Expertise
- Evaluate the candidate’s approach to prospecting, pipeline management, and closing.
- Ask for specific examples of how they’ve moved a stalled deal forward, recovered a lost account or secured a new deal.
- Look for Resilience and Attitude
- Top sales pros rebound quickly from rejection and thrive under pressure.
- Ask behavioral questions about how they’ve handled failure, pressure to achieve quota, or a competitive market.
- Evaluate Relationship Building & Influence
- Look for authenticity, credibility, and emotional intelligence in how they discuss customers and teams. Ask for specific examples and results.
- Ask about long-term client relationships and how they maintain trust.
- Cultural & Team Fit
- Top performers are aligned with your company’s values and sales culture. Ask them for theirs before sharing yours.
- Observe how they communicate, collaborate, and adapt to feedback during the process.
🧾 Sales Candidate Interview Scorecard
Scoring Key:
1 = Poor · 2 = Fair · 3 = Good · 4 = Very Good · 5 = Excellent
Wolf Gugler is a well-known and respected talent advisor, having assisted hundreds of harware, housewares and home improvement organizations identify top talent to add to their North American teams. He can be reached at (888)848-3006 or via email at wolf@wolfgugler.com.
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