How to assess sales candidates before you hire them
Assess sales candidates against the work the role requires. Combine a structured interview with a realistic task, agree the scoring criteria in advance and record what each candidate demonstrates.
Start with the role, not a generic ideal salesperson
A new-business sales role, an account-management role and a complex enterprise role require different evidence. Define the selling environment, the customers involved and the responsibilities that matter. Turn those requirements into a short set of assessable competencies.
Examples may include discovery, commercial reasoning, communication, objection handling and follow-through. Describe what each competency looks like in action so assessors can distinguish a confident answer from a relevant one.
Use the same core questions
Ask each candidate the same core questions and allow appropriate follow-up questions to clarify the evidence. A question about a difficult sale should uncover the situation, the candidate’s own actions, the reasoning behind them and the outcome.
Record specific observations. “Asked how the customer would measure success” is more useful than “good rapport”. A persuasive delivery style should not substitute for evidence of the skill being assessed.
Add a realistic work sample
Choose a short exercise that reflects the job: a discovery conversation, an account plan or a response to a customer brief. Give candidates consistent instructions and preparation time. The exercise should help you assess the role, rather than reward familiarity with an unexpected test format.
Before the assessment, decide which behaviours support each scoring level. For a discovery task, you might look for questions about the business problem, decision process, priorities and next steps. Keep the example separate from a fixed universal scoring standard.
Score independently, then compare the evidence
Ask assessors to record their observations and initial scores before the group discussion. Where scores differ, return to the behaviour or response that each assessor recorded. This makes the disagreement easier to examine than a debate over whether someone “felt right”.
Review gaps as well as strengths. A high overall score can conceal a weakness in a competency that is essential to the role. Agree how that should affect the decision before seeing the candidates.
Keep a record that supports the decision
Bring the task, competency scores and observations together. Record the reasons for progressing or rejecting a candidate and identify any questions that remain unresolved.
Phoenix51’s assessment workflow connects frameworks, tasks, candidates and scores. Use a demonstration to test how it would handle one of your sales roles and the evidence your managers need.