It's no secret that the cost of hiring the wrong sales people is significant. Besides the sunk costs (salary, benefits, manager bandwidth, etc), unproductive sales people have an immediate negative impact on revenue and EBITDA.

Why do most sales organizations continue to make hiring mistakes? There are many reasons for this such as inadequate hiring process, inexperienced interviewers, not defining the "success profile", etc. Becoming proficient at hiring sales people requires effort and investment - a topic we will explore at a future date.

I have personally been involved in the interviewing / hiring process of hundreds of sales people. Once you do this for a while, a person develops an acute "BS detector" that frequently goes off when interacting with a candidate for hire.

What "red flags" should you look for when evaluating a sales person for hire? I have compiled a list (by no means complete) derived from my own personal experience and contributions from colleagues:

• Shoddy appearance (especially shoes)
• Poor manners / social skills
• Several sales jobs with less than 2 years tenure
• Bad mouthing past employers and managers
• Not taking ownership of mistakes, poor performance
• References that do not include previous managers or co-workers
• Coming unprepared for interviews
• Not asking compelling questions during interviews
• Messy private life (I know...not politically correct but it is the truth)
• Poor written / verbal communication
• Unable to build rapport
• Vague about past earnings / performance

Ways to ferret out red flags in the hiring process include:

• Multiple interviews with multiple interviewers
• Include a dining or social experience in the process
• Ask for W2's to verify income, past sales performance
• Have the person spend a day in the field with a rep or manager

Learn to trust your instincts - as soon as they tell you, "there is something not right about this candidate", it's time to raise the red flag. Dive deeper into what is causing you anxiety - chances are you will find a reason to eliminate the candidate from consideration.