When you hire a salesperson, it is easy to be impressed by someone who talks confidently about selling. I want to see what happens when a customer gives them an awkward answer, a deal stalls or they get some feedback.

Those moments tell you something useful about how they will work. They also give you a responsibility: be equally clear about the job they are considering, especially how difficult the start might be.

Decide what you are hiring them to do

A new-business hunter building a territory from scratch has a different job from an account manager growing established customers. Complex enterprise selling brings longer cycles, several decision-makers and more work inside the customer’s organisation.

Before writing your ideal candidate profile, define the customer, sales cycle, starting pipeline and expected outcomes. Decide what they need on day one and what you can teach.

Charisma, an accent you recognise or being the loudest person in the room should not earn points. Look for evidence against the actual work.

Turn the traits into a scorecard

I would assess these six areas, with a specific question or exercise for each:

Curiosity and listening. Run a short discovery conversation. Does the candidate explore the customer’s answer, check their understanding and uncover a commercial problem? Racing through prepared questions before launching a pitch is weaker evidence.

Preparation. Give everyone the same short fictional customer brief. Ask: “What would you want to understand before recommending anything?” Look for relevant priorities and sensible gaps. Repeating the website or inventing facts tells you less.

Coachability. After the role-play, give one specific improvement: “You heard the problem, but did not explore what it costs them.” Ask them to repeat that part. Notice whether they apply the feedback and why. Agreeing enthusiastically with you is easy; changing the conversation takes more.

Commercial judgement. Ask: “Which of these three opportunities would you prioritise, and what would you need to check?” Provide simple information on fit, value, timing and decision-making. A strong answer weighs trade-offs and uncertainty. Choosing the biggest headline deal without qualification needs probing.

Integrity. Ask: “Tell me about a sale you chose not to pursue, or a promise you could not make.” Listen for what they told the customer and how they handled it. If every objection can supposedly be overcome by promising more, investigate.

Persistence and follow-through. Ask: “Tell me about a target you missed. What did you do next?” Look for ownership, a diagnosis, changes to their approach and specific follow-up. Repeating the same activity indefinitely or blaming everyone else gives you less confidence.

For experienced candidates, also unpack one deal: “Where did it come from? What did you personally do? Who else contributed? What nearly stopped it?” Give newer candidates room to demonstrate the same behaviours through other relevant work.

Keep the test close to the job

A practical assessment could use ten minutes of preparation, a ten-minute discovery role-play, feedback and a short repeat. Finish with a brief follow-up email to the fictional customer. Does it accurately capture the problem, commitments and next step?

For account management, use a renewal or expansion discussion. For enterprise sales, add competing stakeholders. Keep the exercise proportionate, explain it in advance and make the process accessible. Use fictional material; candidates should not be building your live pipeline for free. If you need substantial work, pay for it.

Agree scoring before meeting anyone. A simple scale could be 1 for little relevant evidence, 3 for meeting the role’s standard and 5 for strong, specific evidence. Define what those levels mean for each area. Record examples and score independently before comparing views. Leave “not yet assessed” separate from a low score.

CIPD’s selection guidance supports structured questions, consistent scoring and tasks that resemble the job. That is a useful discipline when an engaging interview risks carrying too much weight.

Tell them the truth about the start

How honest should you be? Very, and early enough for the candidate to make a proper decision.

Explain how much cold prospecting there is, how often conversations go nowhere and whether they inherit any genuine pipeline. Describe the ramp period, how targets were set and what evidence supports them. If the territory is new and the forecast uncertain, say so.

Be clear about base pay, commission conditions and when commission is earned and paid. A headline earnings figure tells someone little about their first few months.

Then explain the support: product training, practice, field accompaniment, buddy calls and actual manager availability. At OYO, I built and managed teams and used field accompaniment and buddy calls in coaching. Show candidates what that support will look like in your business.

For a hypothetical first month, you might explain that week one covers customers, product and practice; week two introduces supported prospecting; and weeks three and four build independent activity with regular call reviews. Define the progress you expect before revenue arrives. Adapt the plan to your sales cycle.

Let candidates ask a current team member about an ordinary week. A realistic preview should help them decide whether the role suits them. “Only the strong survive” explains very little about either the work or your management.

Hire against evidence, explain the challenge and deliver the support you promised. You are assessing a future colleague. They are assessing you too.

If you are building a sales team, let’s talk about hiring, coaching and getting the first few months right. Book a conversation with Grant Tinney.