Hiring Is Your Highest-Leverage Activity

One great sales hire can generate $500K+ in annual revenue. One bad hire costs $150K+ in wasted salary, training, and lost opportunity. This playbook helps you get it right.

The Ideal Sales Candidate Profile

Core Competencies by Role

Competency	SDR	AE	Manager
Coachability	Critical	Important	Important
Resilience	Critical	Critical	Important
Curiosity	Important	Critical
Important
Business Acumen	Nice-to-have	Critical	Critical
Leadership	Nice-to-have	Nice-to-have	Critical
Technical Skills	Important	Important	Nice-to-have

The Interview Process

Stage 1: Phone Screen (30 min)

Cultural fit assessment
Career motivation
Basic qualification

Stage 2: Skills Assessment (60 min)

Mock cold call or discovery call
Written exercise (email or proposal)
Problem-solving scenario

Stage 3: Panel Interview (60 min)

Behavioral questions (STAR method)
Role-play with hiring manager
Team fit assessment

Stage 4: Final Interview (45 min)

Executive meeting
Compensation discussion
Reference check preparation

Interview Scorecard Template

Criteria	Score (1-5)	Notes
Communication skills
Sales methodology knowledge
Industry experience
Cultural fit
Coachability
Drive and motivation
Problem-solving ability

Hire threshold: Average score of 4.0+ across all criteria.

Onboarding Checklist (First 30 Days)

Complete product training
Shadow 10 sales calls
Build first 50-account target list
Deliver practice pitch to manager
Set up CRM and tools
Meet cross-functional partners
Define 90-day goals with manager

Retention Strategies

Top performers leave for three reasons:

Compensation — pay at or above market
Growth — clear career path and development
Culture — toxic environments drive talent away

Address all three proactively, not reactively.

From the LeadFinder Sales Team — build your dream sales team with the right tools and data.

Sales Hiring Playbook: Recruit and Retain Top Performers