The CV looks perfect. "Top performer." Big brand. Great references. You hire them, and 90 days later you're still closing the deals yourself 🐯

The CV told you what they did somewhere else. It didn't tell you if they can sell your offer, to your buyer, on your calls.

The last two chapters of my book Strategy Sprints are about hiring. Here's the part I'd hand to any founder hiring their first salesperson this quarter.

The CV line vs the 3-minute video

Chapter 13 has the test we give sales candidates. We share a short video about our 90-Day Programme. Then we introduce a prospective client called Andy. Andy "makes $15K/month now, and that number is sporadic and volatile. He wants to increase to $25K/month in a reliable way."

The task: record a three-minute video of what you'd say to Andy about the programme.

Why, in the book's words:

"Job seekers can tell you that they were the best salesperson at Coca-Cola Asia Pacific. Yes, maybe, but you will see if they can sell your offer when they do a three-minute video."

Three minutes. You see how they carry themselves. How they prepare. Whether they ask Andy about his problem or pitch him features. Whether they make the price feel small or apologise for it.

"This test tells you more than the CV line that they were the best salesperson anywhere." 🐬

We also watch for something quieter: "how fast they send the video and how many excuses happen along the way."

Test real work, not riddles

The video isn't the only test. Chapter 13 describes a sequence, and every step is real work for the real job.

The demo test, sent within three hours of applying. For a sales role, we ask candidates to "review a video of me doing a sales call and then create a video giving me feedback on the call." Four questions:

• What do you think Simon did well?
• What could he improve?
• Which question do you like?
• What could he have done differently?

A candidate who can critique a real sales call can usually run one. And one who answers with excuses instead of a video has already told you something.

The book is direct about the alternative: generic puzzles "that aren't related to the role waste everyone's time". Give "a salesperson a sales task".

Then a context-specific behaviour test, a 20-minute interview, the Andy video, and a longer interview. Each stage lets the strongest people rise to the top.

Then a 60-day trial. In the book: "We have found that 60 days is plenty of time to work with someone and encounter stressful events with them to see how they react under pressure."

Before the job ad: the Job Scorecard

Chapter 12 starts one step earlier, and it's the step hiring usually skips. Before you write the ad, you write a Job Scorecard. It opens with the one number this person owns, where it is now, where it should go, and by when.

The book's own example:

"This salesperson will be responsible for raising current conversion rates from 25 to 45 per cent in 90 days."

That one line changes the hire. The candidate knows what winning looks like. You know what to measure in the 60-day trial. Nobody argues about "fit" in month four.

Why A-Players leave after three months

I learned this the painful way. A great coach on our team, Giorgio, sent me a video after three months. It began: "Simon, this isn't working..." He was leaving "because we didn't have processes in place".

He was right. That's where this line in Chapter 12 comes from:

"A-Players expect good processes and will leave if they don't find them because they have the luxury of choice."

For a salesperson, the most important process is the sales script. A strong seller's first questions are "Show me the script. Show me the conversion rate on your sales calls. Show me the recordings of good calls." (That's Chapter 8.) Have those ready before day one, and your A-Player stays to beat the number instead of building your process from scratch 🌴

Run this with your team this week

Block one hour. The founder, whoever will manage the new hire, and one person who sells today. One laptop, one recording.

1. Write the one-number scorecard line (chew on the number until everyone agrees). "This salesperson will be responsible for raising [the number] from [now] to [target] in 90 days." Use your real conversion rate.
2. Pick your demo call. Choose a recording of one of your own sales calls (with the buyer's consent to use it internally). That's your demo test.
3. Write your "Andy". One prospective client in 3 sentences: where they are, what's volatile, what they want. Make it sound like your best buyer.
4. Set the timer. Each of you records the 3-minute Andy video yourselves, today. If your own team can't do it well, the script isn't ready, and that's the first fix.
5. Automate the send. Set up an auto-reply so every applicant gets the demo test within three hours.

You'll feel it in the first round of applications. The air clears. The candidates sort themselves 🐯

Where this comes from

These are Chapters 12 and 13, "Hiring System Overview" and "Hiring Simplified", of my book Strategy Sprints: 12 Ways to Accelerate Growth for an Agile Business (Kogan Page). They also cover the hiring landing page, SOPs, and the interview templates. Teams read it together, one chapter a week.

Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Strategy+Sprints+Simon+Severino&i=stripbooks

Do it together

Hiring sales is one of the most expensive bets a founder makes. It goes better with founders who've made it before. Sprint Club is where founders do this work together, with the tools and AI skills we use ourselves. 7 days free: https://www.strategysprints.com

Ready to accelerate now? Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/strategysprint/discovery-call

Happy hunting.

Simon & The Sprinters 🐬⚡️🐆