How to Hire a Salesperson: Five Proven Strategies for Hiring a World-Class Sales Team

Hiring great sales reps can make or break your company. 

Over 30+ years, I've developed a tested and proven process for identifying and hiring the Top 1% of all sales talent. The result? Billions of dollars in sales worldwide. So, without further adieu, here are my...

Five Proven Strategies for Hiring a World-Class Salesperson

1. Create Massive Brand Equity for your Company

The best way to find top sales talent? Let them come to YOU. 

When you build a successful brand, salespeople are drawn to your organization. I get at least a dozen inquiries per day from salespeople around the world wanting to work with us at Straight Line Hiring. 

Now, of course, you can’t go out and acquire 30+ years of sales experience overnight, right? 

But what you can do right now...is optimize your sales process, create winning, sharable content to connect with your audience (which is packed with salespeople) and spark growth, while continuing to ramp up awareness and loyalty for your business. 

2. Nail Your Hiring Profile

What kind of salespeople do you want? Why do you want them? What need will they fill? What must they excel at? What is an absolute deal-breaker?

By asking and answering these tough questions ahead of time, you’ll increase the likelihood of finding a salesperson who is going to close MAJOR, SIX-FIGURE deals for you and blow your quotas out of the water. 

3. Show Them the Money

Top producers and world-class closers deserve to be PAID. Plain and simple. Am I right? 

4. Test Each Candidate Rigorously

You need to test candidates on their sales aptitude. That's a given. But in order to identify the top 1% of talent, you need to go the extra mile. 

With SLH, we use my proprietary JBSCI (Jordan Belfort Sales Competency Index) with behavioral and psychometric analysis to measure 37 sales competencies and 19 unique personality traits to make sure each rep is a perfect fit for the unique culture of an organization. 

5. Train Them BEFORE You Hire Them

Now, this one may sound crazy. But with Straight Line Hiring, we send every sales rep to a SALES BOOTCAMP before they start their first day.

Here, they learn to master the Straight Line Sales System and the Art of the Close, and also how to sell your specific product. 

This ensures:

  • Strong first-year performance 
  • Minimal attrition
  • Your weakest candidates are weeded out and sent home
  • Your company achieves the growth and scale you deserve

At the end of the day, if you identify top talent, test them and train them to a razor's edge, provide them with ongoing coaching, and empower them to hit (and exceed) their quotas, you'll be rewarded every time.