How to Conduct an Interview – Two Sales Interview Goals You Are Looking to Achieve

If you are reading this after having selected applicants by reading resumes and want to know how to interview them — sorry, you need to go back to square one. Using resumes as a strategy for picking sales applicants in the words of Richard Milhous Nixon is “as useful as a pot of warm spit.”

Resumes are “BS” squared — they are too inaccurate to use as a selection tool. Look here for a better strategy for selecting applicants to interview.

Warning aside, once you have at least three applicants who have passed a scientifically validated profile, interviewing them right is the key to making great hires.

The purpose of the interview is two-fold:

1. You are looking to determine if you applicant has applied their natural talents. What have they accomplished in life? Where have they shown follow-through?. What adversities have they successfully overcome? Have they demonstrated an entrepreneurial style?

You’ve determined from the profile they have a natural talent toward sales.. Yet, sadly, most people never do anything with their natural talents. (Or maybe among “sales types” they sell themselves on not doing the work.)

2. You want to find out if the applicant will fit in your “corporate culture.” Each of our companies has a “culture” based on what we produce, the type of people who work in our company and the kind of people who buy our product. Determining whether the applicant will fit is key.

You want this decision to be a good permanent solution, not some quick fix — get more sales in here thing. Good salespeople become more valuable to you over time. Ask yourself whether they belong in your type of organization.

To ascertain what sales hiring method is right for you so you don’t waste time and money on profiling tools that don’t work, Take our FREE Survey here to get your sales hiring scorecard.