Independence Day brings an assortment of things to mind—patriotism, picnics, time off, sunshine, and of course, fireworks. Nothing inspires awe like the sight of a miniature rocket spurting upward in the night sky to explode in a spectacle of brilliant blooms of fire. Unless there’s a dud in the bunch—that can make the exhibition feel a little disappointing. And a misfire? That could be disastrous.

That’s what a dud or a mishire (note the rhyme?) will do for a sales team. If you hire salespeople who don’t fit the salesperson profile, the effect on your company can range from disappointment, as opportunities are lost—to catastrophe, as customers bail on you and your profits start to fizzle out like a dud firecracker.

That’s what can happen when you’re building a sales team and you’re not getting the A players. Sales recruiting is all about knowing what makes a good salesperson and being able to identify good salesmen with a specific salesperson profile.

One essential characteristic in a salesperson profile is an element of fearlessness. There are a lot of things to be afraid of in sales—fear of rejection or alienation, fear of not achieving your goals, fear of new situations, fear of conflict, fear of hard work . . . the list goes on and on. Good salesmen actually thrive on these types of challenges—their adrenaline starts pumping and they go into overdrive.

Take a situation where there’s some serious price objection.  Often there is a higher-level decision maker who could be persuaded of the value of a product, or the return on investment. There is research that shows that 90% of salesmen—the duds—find  the prospect of reaching for these loftier opportunities too daunting, so they never even attempt to take their presentation any higher. In contrast, anyone who fits the salesperson profile will make an effort to access that person and make their case.

Anyone who doesn’t meet new challenges with enthusiasm is not likely to fit the salesperson profile. Good salesmen recognize their weaknesses and work to correct them. They know that their career depends on overcoming discomfort they might have with different aspects of their job, and they do whatever is necessary to overcome their deficiencies. They may not have even been aware of their existence, but a sales personality test reveals both strengths and weaknesses so that managers and salespeople can work together to  create the strongest salesperson profile possible.

On the other hand, there is a limit to fearlessness, even in the salesperson profile. Good salesmen have assertiveness, but they also have sensitivity. When salesmen cross the line from persuasion to aggression, they’re “misfiring,” and customers will likely run for cover.

The Advanced Hiring System method of sales hiring has all the tools for uncovering the salesperson profile in job seekers. From recruiting applicants to sealing the deal, this process has been proven to be effective when followed precisely. Why would anyone want to waste time on a system that results in more duds and mishires, when what your company really needs is a true firecracker?

When looking to fill sales positions it will take more than looking through sparkling resumes or even strong recommendations from your existing staff. Once all of the applications and resumes have been sorted, with some filed for later consideration, it’s time for the face-to-face interview process. Some company owners and hiring managers see this process as a necessary evil, almost complaining about the time it takes, but it should be an exciting time when you are hiring salespeople.

To begin with, you are going to have more than one person to interview for the position. If one is all you have you will have nothing to compare them to and even with the right sales personality will likely end up with the wrong person in the position. There should be a minimum of three candidates interviewed for each open position.

One interview is not going to be enough for you, even knowing how to conduct an interview to get an honest picture of the candidate. They have probably done their homework they know what the company does and have probably put together some stock answers in an attempt to impress you with their knowledge. That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t provide a complete picture. Like selling in the field some clients will throw them a curve ball during a sales call and how they can handle the pitch will determine if they strike out or hit a home run.

You will want to put them in the hot seat at least three more time. You should never hire someone on less than three interviews and four will give you a better picture of the job candidate. It is also helpful to have different people that know how to conduct an interview. You are going to ask the same questions in the same order and if you do it all yourself they may question if you were paying attention during the previous interview. Having different people conduct the interviews also keeps emotions out of the process and then comparing the answers will give you the best indication of whether they are suited for the position or not.

Always take notes about the answers because you won’t remember what they said or who said it. You can also grade their answers A to F for example, or on a number scale and at the end of all interviews grade each of the candidates to determine which one scored the highest and is the most qualified for the sales position you are trying to fill.

Now that the economy finally seems to be improving, many companies are looking to improve sales again by hiring the right people to build their sales teams.  After a long, dry spell, they’re picking themselves up, dusting themselves off, and asking themselves,  “Where will I find the greatest salespeople?”

Following a recession, the sales climate becomes an entirely different animal. Families don’t have the net worth that they enjoyed in better days, so they are more careful about making buying decisions.  Evidence of this new cautious attitude can be seen in the improved credit scores—consumers want to be assured of getting value before they pull out the plastic, the checkbook, or the cash.

Building sales in this climate is a challenge, and you want to be just as cautious in your sales hiring as the consumers are in committing to a purchase. You can’t depend on your product to speak for itself, because too many potential customers just aren’t listening. When you hire salespeople, you want to be sure they will be committed to relating to customers  and communicating a passion for your product that will be contagious. But where do you begin to find the candidate that fits the ideal salesperson profile?

Some companies turn to recruiters to find the perfect candidate. The problem with that is that many recruiters may lack integrity, coaching candidates about what to say and what to hide during an interview. Of course, not all recruiters are underhanded, but you won’t usually recognize the bad ones  until you’ve made a bad hire based on their recommendations. Instead of getting the better sales that you were counting on, you have a new problem to deal with.

No, hiring salespeople involves a process—just like selling does. You expect your salesmen to follow every step of the selling process, so why would you want to skip any important steps when you hire sales people for your own company? Starting with your targeted advertising to attract the candidates most likely to fit your criteria, you move on to the DiSC assessment or some type of sales personality test, and eventually work up to the interview process. Satisfied customers of the Advanced Hiring System have reported that these steps have  delivered their highest level of hiring success.

 It does take some time to go through all the steps, but the process enables you to weed out the  prospective bad apples.  Depending on your sales cycle, it could take as much as a year of paying a salary, training expenses, and the other incidental costs of employee management before you realize that  your new salesmen can’t cut the muster. To avoid risking a year’s worth of lackluster performance and lost opportunities, there shouldn’t be any margin for error in your hiring process.

You can’t afford it.