Knowing how to hire employees with top sales performance skills starts with you. Are you sure you know how to conduct an interview correctly? Do you know what makes a good salesman a top performer? Do you know what it takes to entice and excite top salespeople to apply at your company? Well, you’re about to find out. Take the quiz below to see how ready you really are to be a sales recruiting powerhouse. How to hire employees with the right stuff might require changing your mindset about how to get the job done right.

1. 1.      Which job applicant is most likely the best salesperson in the bunch?
   1. The one who values knowledge above all else.
   2. The one who values money above all else.
   3. The one who values creativity above all else.
   4. The one who values social acceptance above all else.

The answer is b: The one who values money above all else. Believe it or not, that’s exactly what makes a good salesman. Top sales performers are creative and knowledgeable, but they show up for work every day to make money and make lots of it. Knowing how to hire employees with this trait is as good as gold. The more income they want to make for themselves, the more they’ll make for you.

1. 2.      What’s the best role to take with applicants during the job interviews?
   1. Educator Persona – They are the student and you are the teacher. Treat the interview like an initial training workshop, educating them about the job as you gather information.
   2. Mentor Persona – Excite and inspire the applicant during the interview process, showing lots of emotion to keep them excited and engaged with you.
   3. Engineer Persona – Stick to the questions and do a lot of listening. Stay objective and don’t show excitement. The applicant should do most of the talking.

The answer is c: Engineer Persona. This approach allows the applicant’s personality to come through naturally instead of simply as a reaction to yours. The other personas might find the applicant trying to adapt to what they think you want to hear. The more reserved Engineer Persona allows you to observe and really listen. Successful sales recruiting means sitting back and letting their authentic personalities shine through.

1. 3.      What are the great places to post sales job listings?
   1. Social media accounts
   2. Internet job boards
   3. Shopper papers
   4. Church bulletins
   5. All of the above

The answer is e: All of the above. Most of those suggestions are obvious, but church bulletins, you ask? Mega churches can have congregations of more than 2000 members. If it makes sense to the kind of business you do, tap into the church bulletin readers. They deserve great sales jobs, too.

1. 4.      Which of these applicants should you interview based strictly on the information below?
   1. The one with the best resume.
   2. The one with the best looking suit.
   3. The one with the prettiest face.
   4. The one who wants your job.
   5. None of the above.

The answer is d: The one who wants your job. Assuming you’re the business owner or sales manager, you should know how to conduct an interview that reveals an applicant who wants power, leadership and has an entrepreneurial mindset. As for the resume, it tells you nothing about a job candidate’s true ability to be a top sales performer. Only pre-employment testing and proper job interview practices can achieve that. It is best of you learn how to hire employees without using the resume as a crutch.

1. 5.      What’s the most important question to ask a job applicant’s former supervisor?
   1. What is the applicant’s age?
   2. Would you consider this applicant a horrible or wonderful person?
   3. Was the applicant an A-Player?
   4. All of the above.

The answer is c: Was the applicant an A-Player? This question requires a simple yes or no answer and simply asks if the sales applicant was a great asset to their previous employer. The other questions above aren’t legal for former employers to answer. If you guessed either a or b, brush up on these important details before calling any of your job applicant references.

For more insightful instruction about how to hire employees for a top sales team, become a member of the AHS Sales Hiring Course.