How to Hire a Salesperson

Salespeople typically fall into three categories: telemarketers, inside sales reps and outside sales reps. While there can be specialties beyond this, you first need to assess your needs. Do your customers come to you? Do they call you? Do you need to call them? Do you need someone to visit them in their home or office? If you said yes to all of these questions you will need to hire several people to effectively manage these different needs or one dynamic individual.

Now that you’ve assessed your needs you can set out to find qualified candidates. Contrary to popular misconceptions, it takes more than a ready smile and a sense of hospitality to make a good salesperson. In fact, having the “gift of gab” can be detrimental if a salesperson doesn’t know when to shut up. Tenacity, persistence, organization, charm, follow through and the ability to listen are more important qualities.

Since these qualities aren’t readily apparent, here are a few questions to answer when interviewing candidates for this key role:

1. Does This Salesperson Have Strong Listening Skills?

Too often candidates come through the door mouths running with a laundry list of their accomplishments. Beware the fast talker. They’ve forgotten the key principle to sales: humans have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Pay careful attention to the way the candidate handles this sales call. Do they talk or ask questions? Are their questions relevant to the position? Do they ask about your needs before droning on about their capabilities? If a person doesn’t make the effort to find out what you need, chances are they won’t do a very good job at assessing the needs of your customers.

2. Can Your Salesperson Close The Sale?

Do they ask to schedule an in-person interview during the initial call? When they are in your office do they ask for the job? A good salesperson closes naturally and frequently. If they talk a good game but never ask for the sale, you could be hiring someone who can’t get your customers to commit.

3. Does Your Salesperson Answer Questions Well?

How do they respond to questions when they know the answer? How do they respond when they don’t know the answer? A salesperson that makes up answers on the spot to avoid looking like they don’t know is a liability, plain and simple. You want someone who’s willing to find out the answers to questions for your customers while not placing your business in jeopardy of a lawsuit for fraudulent misrepresentation of facts.

4. What is Their Work History and How Will It Impact Your Business?

How did they get along with co-workers in the past? What was their relationship with the sales manager? What type of product or service have they sold in the past? What is their sales philosophy? Have they taken any additional sales training or personal development courses? And of course, what were their numbers? Did they hit their goals? If not, why. These questions can reveal a lot about the character and professionalism of the person you are interviewing.

5. What Is Their Selling Style?

How does the applicant’s personality mesh with your target market? Are they too abrasive or demure? Do they seem antagonistic, pessimistic or altruistic? Do they have a good phone voice? Is their appearance neat and tidy? Your customers will form an opinion about your business based on the way your representatives come across.

6. Are They a Closer or a Sales Consultant?

You can tell the difference relatively quickly. Closers get to the bottom line quickly while consultants get to know you before they move to close. Both are important qualities but in order to hire the right person you’ve got to know in advance which style best suits your sales cycle.

7. Do They Understand the Concept of WIIFM?

What’s In It For Me? It's the question every prospect thinks while your salesperson is talking. What’s in it for me? A good salesperson asks questions, listens then relates the pitch to the needs of the prospect and answers the questions of what’s in it for them.

While interviewing candidates for a sales role is not easy, applying these tips can help you to make a better decision.

Finding the Right Salesperson

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds