A good sales recruitment process has six stages: agree the brief, source candidates, screen on results, interview, make the offer and onboard. What sets sales hiring apart is the evidence. Salespeople leave a record in numbers, so a strong process checks quota and attainment early and builds every later stage around proof rather than impressions.
1. Agree the brief
Bring together everyone who will decide on the hire and agree:
- The quota, deal size, sales cycle and buyer.
- The sales motion: new business or accounts, inbound or outbound, field or inside.
- Three to five must-haves, and what’s only nice to have.
- The pay plan: base, commission and on-target earnings.
- Who interviews, and how quickly decisions will be made.
2. Source candidates
Advertise the role, but don’t stop there. The people most likely to succeed are usually employed and hitting quota. Find them by:
- Mapping companies that sell to your buyers and approaching their reps directly.
- Asking your team, customers and partners for referrals.
- Using a specialist sales recruiter with an existing network.
A clear sales job description makes outreach far more effective.
3. Screen on results
Before interviews, ask every candidate for quota, attainment, rank, deal size and sales cycle over two or three years, and how their market compares with yours. Most mismatches show up here, in a 20-minute call.
4. Interview
Keep it to about three structured conversations: past results in detail, the hiring manager’s deep dive, and a role play or presentation. Use the same questions for every candidate so you can compare fairly. See our sales interview questions, and use a sales assessment where it adds evidence.
5. Make the offer
Check references on specific numbers, then move quickly. Present the offer in person or by phone, explain the commission plan clearly and confirm the start date. Expect counter-offers for strong candidates, and talk about them openly before you offer.
6. Onboard
A sales hire’s first 90 days decide their first year. Give them a written ramp plan, introductions to key customers and colleagues, and a weekly check-in on pipeline. Agree what success looks like at 30, 60 and 90 days.
How do you measure the process?
Track time to fill, how many candidates reach each stage, offer acceptance, and, most importantly, how many hires reach their first-year quota. That last number tells you whether the process is working.
How Sales Talent Group runs the process
We follow the same stages, with a guarantee behind them:
- Define your needs. You meet your VP of Talent to review the role and agree the ideal candidate profile.
- Source top talent. Targeted outreach through our proprietary sales database and 12-step sourcing strategy.
- Select the best fit. Detailed profiles of pre-screened candidates within five days. You interview the top three to five.
- Hire with a guarantee. Your hire is in place within 45 days, guaranteed to reach their first-year quota and backed by a 12-month replacement.
See how we recruit or tell us about the role.
Questions about the sales recruitment process
How many steps are in the sales recruitment process?
Six core steps: brief, sourcing, screening on results, interviews, offer and onboarding. Many companies add a sales assessment or role play within the interview stage.
What is the most important step in recruiting salespeople?
Screening on results. Checking a candidate’s quota and attainment in a comparable role removes most of the risk before anyone spends time interviewing.
Should HR or sales run the sales recruitment process?
Both. HR usually owns the process and compliance; the sales leader owns the brief and the final decision. See the HR guide to sales recruitment.
