During my eleven years as a Sales Manager and VP of Sales, I interviewed dozens of people. I became an excellent judge of transmitting energy and answers from an interview environment into the real world. All the subjective methods used to hire sales people were useless to me. I created a process that minimized opinion and maximized data. I was using tailored personality and skill tests in 2000. I created some of the most real ways of learning about someone during the interview process without them knowing. I was patient, too. Although I often had pressure to fill an open spot, I often repeated to myself the mantra used by Boston Scientific when they created one of the greatest sales teams in the world in the 1990s: “We may lose a few winners, but we’ll never make a mistake on someone that’s not a fit.”
My extremely deliberate approach is what gives this post so much validity. No matter how good I was, I was tricked and hired poorly one time late into my sales leadership career. In this scenario, there were no-go flags from the beginning. For one, the candidate had five jobs in seven years. However, the recruiter explained his personal hardships during those years, so I took a phone interview. When he didn’t show up for the phone interview, I should’ve ended it there. However, he called me exactly one hour late … telling me that the time zones confused him (I was on business in Abu Dhabi and he was in Central US Time Zone). After he passed several steps in the selection process, and I was convinced that we had a thoroughbred, he could only give me two references … letting me know his third reference was on vacation for two weeks.
You guessed it. I hired him. He failed. He lied. He didn’t work. No, seriously, I don’t think he worked. Why’d I hire him? He was a member of the “greatest interviewees in the industry” tribe. He could interview his way out of any situation. Who are members of this tribe? Who interviews better than anyone else?
Bad sales people. Yep, the people that interview better than anyone else are bad sales people. Why? For more reasons than you have time to read. However, there are three reasons that usually stimulate a smile from clients.
For one, they’re naturally clever and likable, and they’ve been manipulating people since grade school. When they first got permission to turn in homework late because the teacher believed their story, they realized their talents. Then, coaches let them skip practice because of how crafty they were. They cheated their way through high school. Then, after six years of college, and graduating with a degree that meant nothing to them, they asked “What should I do for a living?” You know the answer… “Sales”.
The second reason these folks are so good at interviewing is because they’re always interviewing. They’re two steps ahead of their bosses and find their next job because their current employer “doesn’t let them fulfill their potential”. After about twenty years and fifteen jobs, they must get really good at interviewing to overcome the obvious objections. Man, they’re good.
The third reason: we don’t know how to interview sales people and typically fall back on “I like her”, or “I’d buy from him”. They know this, and they know that you’ll like them.
So, the lesson in this post is quite simple: Watch out. Build objective and methodical processes into your interviewing and selection process. Don’t count on your judgment – you’re no match to these people. Trust me on this one!
