[Author's note: This article is Part 4 of 4 in a series on hiring salespeople. In Part 1 and Part 2, we discussed why hiring salespeople is so difficult, and what to look for when reviewing a sales resume. In Part 3, we covered the proper approach to interviewing salespeople.]
You’ve finally identified a sales candidate that you’d like to hire, and now it’s time to make an offer. Make sure you’ve completed the following checklist prior to sealing the deal:
[ ] You’ve seen their W2′s for the past three years. When you’re hiring salespeople, the W2 is the ultimate reference check. Why? Because the candidate’s past employers can’t lie to the tax man. If they’ve earned the money, it’ll show up in the W2. If it’s not in the W2, they didn’t earn it during that year. Period. End of story. If the candidate told you that they had a $150,000 year last year, here’s where you find out beyond any shred of doubt. If you don’t check W2′s, then caveat emptor, my friend.
[ ] You’ve talked to every sales manager / boss they’ve had at each job going back at least 10 years. Do the reference checks. Do the reference checks yourself. Don’t pawn them off on an HR generalist or some 3rd party automatic reference-checking service. You’ll get a worthless confirmation of dates of employment, and that tells you squat about whether or not they’re the superstar you think they are. Instead, say this to your candidate: “I’d like for you to set me up with a call with your boss at Software Inc, sometime this week after 5pm. Will you be able to do that?” Any answer other than “sure” is a huge red flag. You now also avoid the meaningless dates verification conversation with that company’s HR department.
[ ] You’ve given them the 30-60-90 Day Homework Assignment. I’m a huge proponent of asking final candidates to complete an abbreviated 30-60-90 Day Plan and present it to me. Ask them to “put a plan together to show me how you’ll spend your first 90 days” This process will give you a real look into the mind of your candidate, revealing how they think, how they approach a new sales job, and how they set expectations for themselves. You’ll also get to see their presentation skills when they explain the plan to you and answer questions that you have. It’s a critical step in the process, and you need to add it to your sales hiring process immediately.
