You Keep Hiring the Wrong Salespeople (Here’s How to Stop)
You’re not bad at hiring salespeople because you lack experience.
You’re bad at hiring salespeople because you’re optimizing for the wrong things.
You hire for industry knowledge when you should hire for sales DNA. You hire for relationships when you should hire for the ability to have uncomfortable conversations. You hire people who interview well when you should hire people who can execute under pressure.
The market is full of polished professionals who can’t close a deal to save their life. Meanwhile, the person who makes you slightly uncomfortable in the interview might be exactly what your revenue needs.
Here’s the truth: 77% of the time, the wrong salespeople are hired.
No one wants to admit that, but after working with over 150 sales organizations in the past 20 years, I see it repeatedly. High failure rates, expensive turnover and teams that can’t hit their numbers despite having “experienced” people.
The problem isn’t that good salespeople don’t exist. The problem is that you’re looking for the wrong signals.
You’re Hiring Based on Comfort, Not Capability
Most hiring decisions come down to one question: “Do I like this person?”
They interviewed well. They sent great follow-up emails. They have a warm personality. Your current team would probably get along with them.
But here’s what you didn’t test: Can they handle rejection? Can they talk about money without flinching? Will they prospect when no one is watching?
I worked with a software company last year. Their head of sales was frustrated because they kept hiring “great people” who couldn’t perform. When we dug into their process, here’s what we found:
They were hiring based on industry experience and cultural fit. Sounds reasonable, right?
Wrong. Every person they hired had spent their career at market-leading companies where prospects already wanted to buy. They’d never had to fight as an underdog. They’d never had to justify a higher price. They’d never had to cold call because leads came to them.
When they joined this smaller company and faced real resistance, they crumbled.
Without proper sales management training on how to identify these compatibility issues upfront, companies keep making the same expensive mistakes.
The lesson: Past success in different conditions doesn’t predict future success in your conditions.
The Real Predictors Most People Ignore
After working with OMG since 2008, who have evaluated over 2.4 million salespeople, certain patterns become obvious.
The best predictors of sales success aren’t what most people screen for:
Can they talk about money comfortably? Some people grew up where discussing money was rude. Put them in front of a CFO discussing a $100,000 investment, and they’ll find every reason to avoid the conversation.
How do they buy? If someone thinks $5,000 is expensive but you’re selling $25,000 solutions, they’ll agree with every price objection. If they research everything before buying, they’ll let prospects “think it over” forever.
Do they need to be liked? About 64% of people in professional sales have a need for approval. They won’t challenge prospects or push back on bad information because they’re terrified of not being liked.
Can they stay in the moment under pressure? When they hear an objection they weren’t prepared for, do they panic and start talking to themselves, or do they listen and respond thoughtfully?
These aren’t skills you can train. These are psychological traits that either exist or don’t.
Here’s a simple test: Ask your current team what they think is “a lot of money.” If their answer is lower than your average deal size, you’ve found part of your problem.
What Great Sales DNA Actually Looks Like
The salespeople who consistently outperform their peers share specific characteristics:
They make quick decisions. They don’t understand why people need to “shop around” or “think it over.” They see a need, evaluate the solution, and move forward.
They can talk about large amounts of money without emotion. A $50,000 conversation feels the same as a $5,000 conversation to them.
They have a low need for approval. They’re comfortable with prospects not liking them if it means getting to the truth faster.
They take responsibility for their results. When deals don’t close, they ask what they could have done differently instead of blaming the market, pricing, or competition.
I’ve seen technically brilliant people fail in sales because they lack these traits. I’ve also seen people with no industry experience become top performers within six months because they had the right psychological makeup.
Skills can be taught through effective sales manager training programs. DNA can’t be changed.
The Hiring Framework That Actually Works
Here’s how to identify the right people before you waste six months training the wrong ones:
Start with a disruptive phone screen. Don’t just chat about their background. Create some resistance. Ask them if they have the job posting they responded to. If they don’t, say “Are you always this prepared?” See how they handle it.
Give them a blow off. At the end of the phone screen, say “We’re interviewing 30 people and only bringing in three for face-to-face interviews. If you get a call back, you’re one of them.” If they don’t push back or ask any questions to extend the conversation, they probably won’t fight for your deals either.
Tear apart their resume professionally. Make them prove they can do what they claim. Most people inflate their achievements. The right person will defend their results with specific examples. The wrong person will get uncomfortable and deflect.
Use data driven assessments. We use Objective Management Group’s assessments because they predict sales success with 92% accuracy. People with the right combination of will, DNA, and capability outperform their peers within six months. People without those traits fail within six months 75% of the time.
The assessment tells us things interviews can’t: Are they motivated by money or recognition? Do they take responsibility for results? Can they sell consultatively? Will they prospect consistently?
Why This Matters More Now Than Ever
Sales cycles are getting longer. Buyers want more evidence before moving forward. Your competition is getting more sophisticated.
You can’t afford to spend 6-12 months discovering that someone can’t handle your environment. You can’t afford to keep cycling through “experienced” people who can’t execute.
The companies that are thriving right now have figured out how to identify and develop the right people quickly. They’re not hoping for the best. They’re being systematic about it.
Here’s what I tell every CEO I work with: You cannot abdicate responsibility for sales. You can hire great people and give them great tools, but without ongoing manager training to ensure you have the right people executing the right process, you’re just hoping for growth instead of engineering it.
Stop hiring people who look good on paper but can’t perform in your reality.
Start hiring people who have the psychological traits to succeed in your specific environment, then develop them through comprehensive management training programs that focus on both individual development and systematic process execution.
The difference in revenue will shock you.
Questions our sales training programs? Email me at adam@thenorthwoodgrp.com
