How to Hire a Good Salesperson

For many startups, hiring their first salesperson can be stressful, as there are many risks when hiring a salesperson for the first time. So, how and where do you start to find a good salesperson that suits your needs, without putting your reputation and investment at risk?

When recruiting sales talent there are two recommended options: search within your immediate network or search outside of it. However, it is important not only to consider the source of the candidates but also to make sure it is the right time to hire someone.

Look inside and outside your network

Is there anyone within your network who has what you are looking for? Identify the people in your network with an entrepreneurial spirit and talk to them about joining your company. If you cannot find anyone in your immediate network, ask for referrals. Explain what you are looking for in a salesperson and ask your contacts to introduce you to potential candidates.

Instead of focusing on looking for sales experience, focus on finding people with sales talent. Here are some of the key characteristics of a good salesperson:

• Charisma and charm

• Excellent communication skills

• Compassionate and competitive nature

• High rejection tolerance

• Shameless

And the best place to find these characteristics is right under your nose, in your immediate network. If this does not work, start looking outside your network.

It may be tempting to take a look at job listings like Craigslist or to find a qualified salesperson with over 10 years of experience, but no, our goal is still sales talent, not experience.

If you did not find anyone in your immediate network, find a business in your market that is only a couple of years ahead of you and has an established and successful sales team, contact one of its junior sales representatives, and propose a phone conversation. Most representatives will feel flattered and take the call. Take that opportunity to explore whether or not they would fit in. If the person matches the profile you are looking for and is interested, keep the momentum going by arranging a formal interview. If they are not interested, thank them for their time and ask them one last question.

However, it is also not impossible for the person on the other end of the phone to reject your proposal. If this happens, turn their rejection into a referral; some of the best hires start as referrals. If the person declines the interview offer, that is fine. Thank them for their time and, just before hanging up the phone, ask for a referral, ask about an extremely talented acquaintance who might have a good profile for the job.

But... is this really the right time to hire a salesperson?

Hiring your first full-time salesperson is a big step. Are you sure it is the right time? If it is too soon, you risk losing contact with your market. There are two questions you should ask yourself to know if your company is ready to hire a salesperson:

Does the sales process present complexities for you when it comes to your largest sales? Hiring a salesperson probably will not make much difference in a frictionless sales process.

Is my customer lifetime value (CLV) enough to hire someone? You must have a substantial CLV before hiring a full-time salesperson.

In case you have answered yes to both questions, and you do need to hire a salesperson, here are some tips that will be useful during the selection process:

1. The best place to find the ideal candidate is everywhere. Use more than one recruitment tool. There are many potential salespeople and they all use different means to find opportunities, be it in the newspaper, at job fairs, referrals, etc. Exhaust your sources.

2. During the interview, do not waste time asking the candidate how their personality would fit into your company; that is something you can probably find out in the first few seconds without asking. However, there are thousands of potential questions to ask a salesperson that you should take into account; here are a few questions you might consider adding to your interview:

   • What has been your biggest sales success? Why?

   • How would you feel if a purchasing manager said he would give you a very large sale in exchange for a small commission?

   • What do you like to do the most? Sell or manage?

   • Do you like our product?

   • Would you be able to sell a product that you are not passionate about?

3. Phone interaction with a candidate is important; have a phone conversation with the candidate. What is their voice like? Is it strong? Authoritative? Is it the impression you want for your company? After the phone conversation, arrange an in-person interview where you will meet face to face, become an expert in body language and study whether the salesperson is confident, makes eye contact, etc.

4. You can use specific tests for recruiting sales profiles. In this regard, Evalart is an online personnel selection testing platform that you can try for free to evaluate salespeople or other profiles for your company.

5. If you decide not to do it yourself, but to hire a recruiter, find recruiters who specialize in your industry; knowing more about the field and the profile of candidates who tend to apply makes a big difference in finding new talent for your company.

6. Take the probationary period into consideration. Salespeople can also be good at selling themselves. This can result in salespeople overselling themselves during the interview and then not delivering enough once hired.