Since sales people are trained in the art of persuasion, hiring the right representatives for your sales team can be difficult. In order to find an appropriate person to join a sales team, it is imperative to develop a screening program that clearly defines the candidate search process from beginning to end.

This can be a lengthy process, but ultimately, having a formal plan will help you hire an individual who will immediately fit into your team, and not someone who you will pay to train and then not work out. Having an interview plan also shows candidates that the company is a quality employer.

CareerSource Central Florida (CSCF) offers these solutions to hiring the right sales people:

Define the Organization’s Sales Profile. Many companies define the job description but leave out the traits that are necessary to be successful in the position. Determine what experience and personality characteristics are crucial.

First, analyze how the sales team works in your business. Does the sales department target a broad market with cold calling? Is the market narrow with all relationship building? Do you target prospects who often switch from one vendor to another? Are you looking for someone to develop new business or a person to maintain customer relationships?

Consider giving your successful team members a sales assessment and use the results to pinpoint which behavioral profiles are necessary to thrive on your team. Analyze the following behaviors: confidence conducting follow-through, energy level, optimism, assertiveness, resilience and social skills.

Once you establish the necessary qualities, discuss with the current sales staff what performance requirements and type of personality they think best match the position. This will help you to validate if the traits and behaviors you identified are correct.

Ask Candidates to Complete a Sales Assessment. An assessment can identify behavioral skills and help eliminate candidates who are not a match. Personality profiles often look at whether the job seeker is a self manager; a good prospector and closer; a people person; money- or challenge-focused, service- or security- motivated; and independent.

Conduct a Structured Interview. Create a standard set of interview questions, so you can easily compare all candidates. One method that works well for sales candidates is having candidates explain their first job as they entered the workforce and continue with each position up to the present. Probe each candidate for his or her responsibilities, starting/ending salaries and why he or she left. Pay attention to how the candidate reacts and compare the responses from each position to analyze trends.

Continue the interview with questions about possible sales scenarios common in your workplace, such as, what do you do if a client cringes at the cost of our product? It may also be helpful to ask the candidate to conduct a mock sales call. Create the scenario and give the applicant a heads up the day before the interview so he or she can prepare. Provide the same amount of information that you would give to a current member of your team before a cold call.

After testing scenarios, ask additional questions about the candidate’s weaknesses displayed during the interview.

Hire for Behavior Over Experience. Candidates who have lots of experience may not necessarily possess the behavioral traits needed for the job; therefore, it’s more important to hire for the behaviors that you identified in your sales profile over experience.

Measure Success. After you hire an individual, assess your interview plan. If you find you have not increased sales or reduced employee turnover, revise the plan.

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