I have met hundreds of sales managers over the years, and without doubt the biggest problem they have is trying to find good quality salespeople. Now, it’s true that finding top-notch sales people isn’t easy. But I’m always amazed by the lack of planning that goes into some companies’ selection processes.

Often they’ll hire new sales people and invest a lot of time and money training them on the products they’re going to sell. Then when they actually start selling they’re shocked and disappointed by their new recruits’ lack of sales expertise. Even more time and money then has to be spent improving their new recruits’ sales skills, on top of all the training they’ve already received!

So how can you avoid this costly trap?

This costly scenario could be avoided if only their new recruits’ sales skills had been tested before they were hired. A good football manager won’t sign a new player without seeing him actually play football, so why on earth should any self-respecting sales manager hire a new salesperson without first seeing them in action?

Everyone you interview for a sales role should be put through their paces, even if your candidate shortlist includes people who’ve never worked in a sales role before. Let’s face it, if someone doesn’t have the confidence to show you what they’re capable of in an interview, then it doesn’t bode well for their ability to work in a high-pressured sales environment.

Here are the simple steps you can take to save thousands by finding the right salespeople every time:

• Always conduct a short telephone interview with those applicants who appear to have the necessary experience. This will instantly tell you whether they have the communication skills necessary to build rapport with prospects and be a great representative for your firm.
   
• When you advertise your sales vacancies then include a couple of lines in your job advert saying that candidates will be asked to make some calls during their interview process. Be prepared for a lower number of applications than you’re used to, as this approach will reduce the number of people who want to come for an interview.
  
  Now this will be a valuable time-saving device for you, as it means you’ll only receive applications from those people who are willing to have their skills put to the test when they come for an interview. Obviously this won’t mean they’ll automatically have all of the necessary skills you want, but it will dramatically reduce the number of applications from people who don’t have the confidence to be in the spotlight.
  
  
• Then, when you bring in your candidates for their face-to-face interviews, get them to make some sales calls. If you prefer, you can arrange for them to make some internal calls to your colleagues rather than ring real-life prospects. This will still prove just as demanding for your candidates. Give them a script to work from and see how they get on.
  
  Obviously you can’t always expect them to be as polished or as knowledgeable as your existing sales staff, but nonetheless good quality salespeople should be able to rise to the challenge and show what they’re made of. So taking these simple steps will dramatically cut down the number of nasty surprises you get from finding out newly-recruited salespeople can’t cut the mustard. Unless you can afford to spend weeks giving your new recruits lengthy sales training on top of the detailed training on your firm’s products or service, get them to prove they have the basic sales skills in place before you make any decisions about hiring them.

Wouldn’t you rather learn whether sales people have got what it takes before you start paying their salaries? I know I would!