Big Hiring Mistake

Bad sales hires are expensive. In this video I show founders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs how to avoid mis-hires in sales with two simple systems: a hiring scorecard and an hour-by-hour onboarding plan. You’ll learn how to create a role-specific scorecard that tests real sales skills, coachability, grit, and proof of results, so you stop relying on gut feel. I also walk through a structured onboarding plan that covers access, tools, CRM, scripts, shadowing, practice, and weekly targets to speed ramp and protect revenue. This approach fits fractional sales management, sales management, and founder-led selling teams that need consistent results without huge headcount. If you’re still leading sales and want a repeatable way to hire account executives and get them productive fast, this is for you. Topics include: sales hiring process, interview scorecards, AE evaluation, structured onboarding, sales playbook basics, pipeline KPIs, and reducing turnover. Use this to build a scalable sales process, shorten time-to-productivity, and improve forecast accuracy. Subscribe for practical sales leadership tips, fractional sales VP insights, and templates you can use today to build your team and grow. Founders: stop guesswork, install process, and hire closers. The 3 Biggest Takeaways The Interview is a Two-Way Street We often think the employer holds all the power, but top-tier sales talent knows their worth. If you are interviewing a candidate who doesn't ask you hard questions about your process, they probably aren't a top performer. Be prepared for the tables to turn; if you stumble on their questions, you lose the candidate. The "Playbook" Question is the Litmus Test When a candidate asks, "Do you have an active Sales Playbook?" They are really asking: "Is this a professional operation or a chaotic free-for-all?" If your answer is "no" or "we're working on it," a veteran salesperson hears "you will have no support and you'll have to figure everything out yourself." That is a massive red flag for them. Data Transparency Builds Trust You must know your numbers cold. If a candidate asks how many reps hit quota last quarter or what the year-over-year growth is, and you hesitate or guess, you look incompetent. High performers want to join a winning team, or at least a team that knows the score. Vague answers about metrics suggest you are hiding a sinking ship. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q1: What if my sales numbers from last year were terrible? Should I lie to the candidate? A: Never lie. Top salespeople have a radar for BS. If your numbers were bad, own it, but pivot immediately to the solution. Say, "Last year was rough because we lacked a process. That is why we built a new Playbook and why we are hiring you." Some reps love a turnaround story, but nobody likes being sold a fake bill of goods. Q2: Why is the "onboarding" question so critical for a candidate? A: Because it tells them how quickly they can make money. If you have no onboarding process, it means they will spend their first three months flailing around trying to learn the product instead of closing deals. A detailed onboarding plan signals that you respect their time and their income potential. Q3: I’m a Founder, not a VP of Sales. Do I really need to know all these KPIs off the top of my head? A: Yes. If you are the one hiring, you are the sales leader by default. You need to know your churn rate, your average deal size, and your quota attainment. If you don't know the health of your revenue engine, why should a candidate trust you with their career? Q4: What if I don't have a Sales Playbook yet? A: Then you probably shouldn't be hiring a salesperson yet. You are likely looking for a savior to come in and build it for you, but you're paying them a commission-based salary to do an operations job. Build the bridge (the process) first, then hire the driver. Q5: A candidate asked me "What does success look like in 6 months?" and I didn't have an answer. Is that bad? A: It’s fatal. If you can't define the target, how can they hit it? It implies you are hiring based on a "feeling" rather than a strategy. You need to have clear, quantifiable goals (e.g., "$500k in pipeline, $100k closed-won") ready before you ever post the job description.