We’re working through some sales candidate sourcing activities this week for some new customers and uncovering some strong salespeople. There are many reasons why we incorporate a screening step in our recruiting process, but one of the most important reasons is the questions posed by the candidates.
A crucial component of selling is asking the right questions. I laugh as I write this because a saying my father uses came to my mind – “If you want a better answer, ask a better question.” The question content, the question pattern and the follow-up questions are all highly revealing of the quality of sales candidate.
A real-life example from one candidate this week:
What markets do they pursue and where are they positioned in those markets?
Why this company vs. the other competitors in their market?
What niches/verticals are they looking to expand into?
Why is this position open?
What abilities are needed to be successful in this position?
What are the benchmarks for success in this position (including timeframe)?
Some of these questions were offered up by him during an initial email dialogue and the rest on a subsequent phone screen. You can see that he is qualifying the position, the market and the company. Remember the context – we are questioning him on specific topics and his experience in a somewhat stressful situation (for him). There are few moments for him to ask his questions while we are controlling the discussion topics. This type of questioning ability is usually indicative of sales skills that will be every bit as strong.
(We assessed him later and indeed his sales skills were extremely strong)