Top 10 Things - The First Minute of a Sales Candidate Interview

Guest post by: Dave Kurlan
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Salespeople Must Stop Snorkeling and Start Scuba Diving - By Dave Kurlan

In just the first minute of your interview with a sales candidate you should know whether you don't want that candidate working for you. Think about it. If you decide in minute one that this candidate is NOT for you, there are options. You can end the interview and find yourself an hour that you didn't expect to have. You can complete the interview for practice or you can do it to see if the candidate succeeds at winning you over during the remainder of the interview. If you can be won over after you have written a candidate off, that is exactly what you want in a salesperson.

What should you look for in the first minute that would suggest you don't want this candidate?

It depends on what you want in a candidate. Most clients provide me with wish lists. in addition to a candidate's sales ability, clients want the candidates to possess certain traits that appeal to the clients. Most of those traits are unnecessary. Many of those traits only serve to make the clients happy. Most of those traits don't help the salespeople sell more effectively. So they aren't necessarily the things you should look for in the first minute.

I have problems with candidates who exhibit any of the following 10 behaviors:

aren't prepared to begin the conversation
don't attempt to overcome my resistance
can't look me in the eye
don't answer my questions with direct answers
dress like s**t
fidget
get so nervous they break out in a rash
make excuses for their track record or jumping around from job to job
talk too loud
can't handle being challenged

I'm very impressed with candidates who are capable of these 10 things:

push back and challenge me without starting an argument
ask intelligent questions that aren't about benefits
talk concisely versus ramble
explain rather than claim
express rather than state
be memorable instead of forgetable
demonstrate their ability to succeed
distract me from my interview strategy
connect with me
[please provide us with the one thing you look for in an interview]

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Salespeople Must Stop Snorkeling and Start Scuba Diving - By Dave Kurlan

About the Author: Dave Kurlan

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Dave Kurlan is a best-selling author, top-rated speaker and thought leader on sales development. He is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling (Dan Seidman), Stepping Stones (Deepak Chopra and Brian Tracey) and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2 (David Riklan).
Click here to visit Dave's website.

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