We’ve been working with clients to hire top performing salespeople for 16 years.  In truth, from time to time, I feel like I’ve said it all.

And then, I read an article on LinkedIn and realize, once again, why more than 3 out of 4 sales hires fails.

First of all, focus on what you are looking for in an interview. In our System, we profile sales applicants before we meet them.

Because we do this, we know  the values and personality style ahead of time. We know the applicant matches the values and style of most top salespeople.

In the interview you’re looking for the applicant to give examples in their lives  of:
•    Stick-to-ive-ness
•    Follow through
•    Ability to overcome adversity
•    Entrepreneurialism

Second, structured interviews get you high quality answers. Never “wing it” in an interview. Have all your questions planned and prewritten.

Third, ask the same questions, in the same order, of each applicant. By nature we tend to like people we “bond” with. But we’re not looking for a friend here.  We are trying to determine if they applicant is tough enough to do the hard work of selling.

By asking the same questions in the same order,  you are able to compare the applicant’s answers.  This is a key point.

Finally, never ask the following questions that Afa Front in the LinkedIn article suggests. They are too open-ended. You won’t get any information that will help you pick the best applicant.

1. Tell Me About Yourself
This is a horrible question. It gives the applicant to take control of the interview. If you believe that is what selling is about, you’re bound to hire duds.

2. What’s Your Greatest Strength?
Another bad question because you won’t be able to compare the answers you get. One applicant will tell one lie, another applicant will tell another lie.

3. Why Should We Hire You?
What would be a right answer? Exactly there is no way to score this answer. Skip it.

4. Do You Have Any Questions for Us?
Can you imagine a lawyer asking that of a witness in a court room? Bad  question. Only gives up control of the interview.

Delivering a structured, scripted interview for every sales applicant puts you ahead of 3 out of 4 sales hirers – and is one of the keys to successful sales hiring.

I’ve just finished my cousin, Martin Greenfield’s book “The Measure of a Man.” It is the story of an amazing life. From surviving Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps to becoming suit maker to world leaders. American Presidents including Truman, Eisenhower,  Busch, Clinton and Obama are all dressed by Martin.  Presidential hopefuls  including Bloomberg, Collin Powell and The Donald are among his customers.

As a selling professional, “Salesmanship in Action” would be my subtitle.

Martin is a great story teller — and an amazing salesman.  Written from the most personal perspective, you won’t be able to put it down.
Growing up on Long Island in NY, my Dad would take me to Brooklyn when he had his suits made by Martin.

As a young American boy, I remember the rows of workers in the factory. Many of the workers had numbers tattooed on their arms from the concentration camps.

Martin would stop at the workstations of the hundreds of workers. He’d make small talk in Yiddush and introduce my Dad to them.

Every Passover Seder we would go to Martin and Arlene’s home.

We all knew the story of how Martin, the orphan, had arrived in the US after the Second World War.  And how he had become a master clothier for some of the world’s most successful men. Yet, we were forbidden to ask Martin about the number on his arm.

I was with Martin in Jerusalem two years ago. I saw how Martin, at 83, is still a vigorous and persuasive salesman. We went to the Great Synagogue together on Saturday morning. Within 20 minutes, Martin had met and was invited to a meal with some of Jerusalem’s most successful men. No pressure, just pure charm and warmth — and never having met any of them. Of course, he told me later, some of those men ended up wearing Martin Greenfield suits.

The common complaint is companies aren’t getting enough sales applicants these days. We teach our clients how to get more and better sales applicants.

Our client Harry reports he had gotten 750 applicants over the past 5 months. He hired 8. Four of them knocking it out of the park.

Ed got 100 in a month and hired a star. Both clients are in the Financial Services industry, which is a tough industry to recruit in.

Using our system you should get 50 applicants for every sales hire you make. But unfortunately most companies are not equiped to handle large numbers of applicants.

Using your current system, if you did get 50 applicants which would you bring in for an interview? (If your answer is previous industry sales experience, you’re odds on to hire another dud.)

If you’re not getting enough applicants click here and let’s talk.

We use an easy formula for getting a lot of applicants. Then we use a quick system to identify which applicants to bring in for an interview.

Having a sales hiring system puts you in charge. Click here and let’s talk.