Our sourcing, screening and interviewing activities for our customers leads us into some comical discussions. Sales candidates are entertaining, coy and often cocky. Some times their responses are downright baffling. This news is not groundbreaking to anyone who has hired salespeople in the past.

We’ve added a category for “Anecdotes” that will encompass some of the funnier moments from our experiences. Hopefully these posts will add a little levity to The Hire Sense.

My question: Why are you looking for a new position at this time?

Candidate’s response: My driver’s license is suspended at this time which was required of my previous position. Do I need to drive for this position?

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In this article from the Minneapolis StarTribune.com, the author discusses the growing demand for salespeople in the medical industry. One quote in particular jumps out:

Medical salespeople often tell me it is rewarding to sell things that help people.

I bring this topic up because it is of interest in that we have measured this reward in the medical and health insurance industries. There is a statistical significance among these salespeople to be rewarded by a higher Sense of Mission (purpose).

The article continues:

Medical salespeople are experienced, persistent and smart, do their homework and have an understanding of the audience they are selling to.

I would agree with all these statements, depending on the position, except the experience statement. Hiring based solely on experience is a slippery slope. If experience was the single most common trait of a successful salesperson, companies would adjust their hiring approach to land the oldest, most experienced salespeople from their industry.

So why isn’t this the most common approach? Because the chances of this approach being reliably predictable for hiring sales superstars is only slightly better than winning the PowerBall. Hyperbole perhaps, but you get my point.

We always state hire first on sales ability (skills, aptitudes, motivations, rewards, style) before experience. If you properly profile your sale, you can find salespeople who have been successful selling in a similar sales cycle/process. At that point, you can teach them your “STUFF.” The technical information about your product or service can be learned. Remember, at some point every member of the team had to learn about your stuff. A good salesperson can do the same. It is far more difficult to teach a person how to sell your wares than it is to teach them the technical aspects of it.

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This article from ABC News’ career correspondent is an interesting read. She visited a women’s prison to talk to the inmates about finding a job once they are released. I must admit, I was debating whether or not to read the article, but it does provide a different perspective.

I choked on my coffee when I read this sentence:

I’ve hired people because I got the immediate sense that they were kind, good, decent souls. And I’ve rejected others with awesome resumes because their demeanors were too harsh.

Please, don’t do that. Your gut is a valuable tool in hiring, but it is not objective. A better approach is to use a process that delays the introduction of gut-level decision making as long as possible. Phone screens and online assessments are the best first-pass options when hiring external candidates.

I am not certain of the author’s approach in the aforementioned hires – perhaps she did use a process and was simply making a quick point for her article. However, the vast majority of customers that we work initially contacted us because they used a form of gut-level hiring that led to poor candidates getting on their payroll. Hence our sensitivity to that ill-advised approach.

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