How to Recruit Reps Who Can Actually Sell

Most hiring managers fall for energy. Top leaders test for pressure.

🔥 Hook:

Hiring in sales is a trap.
Someone interviews well — energetic, confident, smooth — and you think: “they’ve got it.”

Wrong.
They’ve got a performance. Not a closing engine.

If you want to grow revenue, stop hiring talkers.
Start hiring closers.

🤡 Why Most Reps Fail After Hiring

• They’ve never handled real objections

• They collapse under quota pressure

• They confuse storytelling with selling

• They’re addicted to “pipeline building” — but allergic to follow-up

These reps don’t lack motivation.
They lack muscle memory under fire.

✅ What Great Hiring Looks Like

Top sales leaders don’t hire potential.
They hire proof.

They look for:

• Evidence of past performance

• Reaction under real-time pressure

• Coachability without ego

• The ability to hunt — not wait

🎯 Jack’s Hiring Filter

“If I wouldn’t take them on a closing call tomorrow, I don’t hire them.”

Jack’s 3 non-negotiables:

1. Can they navigate a tough objection on the spot?

2. Can they walk through their past pipeline and deal flow?

3. Do they ask sharp questions in the interview?

Jack doesn’t care about charisma. He wants grit.

🧠 Alicia’s Culture Test

“You can teach technique. You can’t teach mindset.”

Alicia screens for:

• Growth attitude (how do they respond to feedback?)

• Customer lens (do they think about buyer needs or product features?)

• Integrity under pressure (do they overpromise or own it?)

Sales is hard. She hires people who can feel the pressure and stay calm.

⚙ Monica’s Hiring Process

“If your hiring isn’t structured, your team won’t scale.”

Monica sets up:

• Scorecards with defined criteria

• Shadow pitch sessions

• Trial tasks (e.g. write a follow-up mail after a simulated call)

She removes gut feel. Adds repeatability.

🧠 FredCo’s Closing Insight

“You don’t need more candidates. You need more filters.”

FredCo teaches teams to:

• Add a live objection handling test

• Include a prospecting roleplay

• Ask: “How do you structure your sales day?”

• Watch how they respond to silence

It’s not about tricking the candidate.
It’s about creating game-speed conditions.

📣 CTA:

Stop hiring “maybe” reps.
Start recruiting for results.

🧲 Want the FredCo Interview Playbook?

Get the scorecards, prompts, tests and filters we use to build closing machines.

👉 Download it now and hire like a closer.