- How many times has this happened to you?
You hire a rep you think will be
a great addition to your sales team,
but their actual performance leaves much to be desired.
Now what if I tell you
that there's one simple interview trick
that will always tell you whether a candidate
is able to think quickly, manage pressure and rejection,
accurately read a room, and overcome objections?
And with this trick, you also get a chance
to see their sales skills in action
on what should be a relatively easy product
for any sales rep to sell: themselves.
Here's the trick.
Closer to the end of the interview,
I just look them in the eye
and say you're really nice and have relevant experience,
but you're probably not a high performer,
and I only want high performers on my team.
The reason it's so powerful
is because it's impossible to fake an answer,
but the best candidate will maintain their composure
and immediately switch into objection handling mode.
A great rep will calmly say something
like what makes you think so?
They'll start to walk through overcoming the objection.
Great reps will empathize with me
and show me how it's reasonable
that I could have gotten such an impression,
and then they'll show me why I misunderstood
and make sure I agree with them
before they close me at the end of the interview,
and that's when you know you have
a sales superstar in front of you.
In general, the secret to hiring great sales reps
lies in asking smart interview questions
that catch the interviewee off guard
to reveal their true strengths and weaknesses.
Another key aspect of selling is knowing your audience,
and great salespeople always do their homework
before any meeting, especially a job interview.
So to check if your candidate
will do their homework before a sales call,
you can ask what do you know about me and this company?
The answer will shed light on the quality of their research,
what kind of information they think is important,
and how they think.
Another question you should never forget to ask candidates
is what steps do you take
to build trust with your prospects?
Asking this will help you identify reps
who can break through and establish a long-term connection
with their customers.
Another key question,
how do you maximize your time in the field?
The best applicants are those who leverage technology
to stay productive during their work hours.
For example, many successful field sales reps
use apps like Badger Maps to optimize time spent
on planning and driving.
Reps also might do things like prep what calls they'll make
while they're driving before they hit the road.
As a final step in the interview, do a role play.
You can play the prospect,
while the reps can play themselves.
Tell them you've heard bad news about their product,
then see how they react.
Can they put themselves in their customers' shoes?
Do they respond quickly with the right talk paths?
Or do they fumble around?
Always remember that every sales role is unique.
Think about the most important skills for your sales team,
then in your interview process,
make sure that the questions you ask
identify if the rep has what it takes
to succeed on your unique team.