Hiring a salesperson: 5 questions that will unmask a poser

Why the 'born salesperson' is often a trap

In 2023, Polish companies from the SME sector lost an average of 43,200 PLN on every failed salesperson recruitment. This amount includes ad costs, managers' time spent on training, and lost sales opportunities that will never return. Posers do great in small talk because their only product they can sell is themselves. They often have impeccable suits and smiles, but they lack a technical approach to the sales funnel.

We work on hard numbers, so don't look for someone who simply 'likes contact with people'. Look for someone who knows exactly how many calls they made last Tuesday at 10:00 AM. Since the beginning of Baltic Growth Partners' activity in Gdansk, we noticed that the most effective salespeople are not stage stars, but craftsmen who watch over their process day after day. If a candidate cannot provide their conversion from cold call to meeting, they probably aren't measuring it.

Look for someone who knows exactly how many calls they made last Tuesday at 10:00 AM.

Question 1: Exactly how much did you earn for your previous company in Q4 2023?

Ask the candidate about their result for a specific period, for example, the fourth quarter of 2023. Don't allow answers like 'I met the plan' or 'I was among the top'. A real salesperson who lives off commission knows their numbers by heart even after waking up in the middle of the night. They must provide a precise amount of revenue, margin, and the number of new customers they acquired at that time.

If the candidate answers 'around a million', it's a warning signal that they weren't controlling their funnel. A solid salesperson will say: 'I did 1,142,500 PLN in turnover at an average margin of 18.4%, acquiring 14 new contracts from the logistics industry'. The Baltic region has no secrets from us and we know that without such data, it's impossible to manage sales or predict growth. Hard facts matter, not a general sense of success.

A real salesperson knows their numbers by heart even after waking up in the middle of the night.

Question 2: Tell us about a contract you lost in May 2024

Ask to describe the biggest lost transaction of the last six months. A poser will start blaming external factors: that the customer was difficult, the budget was cut, or competition gave an unrealistic price. Such answers show a lack of self-reflection and lack of control over the negotiation process. At Baltic Growth Partners we teach that every failure has its technical cause in the process.

A good candidate will admit honestly: 'In May 2024 I lost a contract for 87,000 PLN because I identified the decision-maker in the finance department too late'. Such an answer proves that the person understands where they made a mistake and can draw conclusions. We organize sales from scratch, and the foundation of this process is honesty towards one's own mistakes. If someone has never lost a transaction through their own oversight, it means they are either lying or sell very little.

Question 3: What do you do at work at 9:15 AM?

Ask about a precise daily schedule. If you hear about 'reacting to customer needs' or 'checking emails', you can end the conversation immediately. We're looking for someone who has a rigorous plan of action. An effective salesperson will say: 'From 8:30 to 10:00 I make 25 calls to new leads, and at 11:15 I enter all statuses into the CRM system'. Discipline is the only way to repeatable results.

Average response time to an inquiry among our trained clients dropped to 47 minutes. A salesperson who doesn't have an organized day will never achieve such efficiency. At Baltic Growth Partners we believe that sales is statistics and systematicity. By asking about the morning routine, you check whether the candidate controls their time, or if time controls them. Posers always 'put out fires'; professionals implement the plan.

Question 4: What arguments did you use to close a sale in March?

Don't ask about sales theory, ask about specific words. Let the candidate quote themselves from a conversation in March 2024 when they were closing an important contract. A poser will start talking about building relationships and trust. An operational salesperson will say specifically: 'The customer hesitated due to the deadline, so I applied the limited availability method, showing that our processing capacity for April ends on March 12'.

These are specific techniques that realistically build the order portfolio. We are interested in hard arguments that worked on a living business organism. In 2023, we conducted workshops for 46 sales teams and noticed that those who can quote their effective arguments have a 37% higher lead-closing efficiency. If a candidate doesn't remember how they convinced a customer, it means their successes were a matter of chance.

We are interested in hard arguments that worked on a living business organism.

Question 5: Show me your reporting system in CRM

Even if you don't have insight into the previous company's system, ask to describe how the candidate tagged leads and set reminders. If they say CRM is unnecessary bureaucracy or that 'it's all in their head', then you are guaranteed a mess in your company. Without reliable data, it's impossible to scale sales. In 2023, we implemented processes in 31 manufacturing companies and each of them increased efficiency by a minimum of 22% thanks to better reporting.

A salesperson who doesn't respect data is dangerous for your company because after they leave, you will be left with an empty database. A true professional appreciates CRM because it's their main work tool that allows them to earn more. We organize sales from scratch based on analytics, so we look for people who feel comfortable working with the system. If a candidate cannot explain how they measured their sales cycle, they won't know how to shorten it.