Shake them up; before you say "I do"

Hiring the right sales person with acumen is critically important to a startup. There's a lot at stake and you need to be prepared to handle them when they come onboard.. For more on the significance and the preparation, read my other blog article on the subject of making your first sales hire.

It's important to have a frame of reference when technical founders interview sales reps. Here are my top-10 in no particular order..

1. Prod their past Ask them about their childhood.. bumps in their career; how they recovered, where they grew up, how did they handle adversities and failure in the early defining stages of life. You want your sales rep to be a true hustler.
2. Rile them up; challenge them, throw something new at them, like a puzzle. See how well they take to unchartered waters, rejection.
3. Reject them: Tell them in the interview you don't think they'd make a good fit for what ever reason. See how they handle that; a good sales rep should roll with the punches and recover quickly.
4. Observe their inter personal skills. Do they take interest in your life? would you want to meet this person over a drink? 
5. How entertaining, well read is the rep? You don't want a comedian, but an aggressive shark without a funny streak or a well read perspective is of little use.
6. Is he a closer: Did the rep ask direct questions on your thoughts on their prospects; did it sound offending, how well did they handle objections, did they manage to keep the door open to come back in.. see how balanced they stood on aggression and compassion.
7. What kind of sports does he play? Does he/she sharpen his competitive edge each day.. Being physically very fit is a very important part of the job so as to pounce on the sale opportunity as and when it presents itself.
8. Change the environment: Take the rep for a walk. See how they react to a new environment. 
9. Test their extempore skills. Ask them to present an idea using a white board. 
10. Make them wait before you start the interview.. observe what they do when left alone.