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How do you know if the sales candidate you — or your sales manager — fell in love with is really a superstar?

Before you pin your hopes on your managers’ ability to screen, recruit, interview and hire salespeople look for proven ways to raise your new-hire success rate.

The best way to start is to initiate pre-employment testing.

But the key to pre-employment testing is to ensure you’re testing for the right things.

For example: Do you want to hire salespeople who know how to sell? Or do you want to hire people who will sell?

Understanding the difference can make or break your company. The right test can give you an accurate, honest assessment about your sales candidates by grouping recruits into the following four categories:

1. Can Sell and Will Sell

This type of salesperson knows what to do and can consistently execute in selling situations. Hire and train these folks and you’ll never worry about making your numbers.

2. Can Sell but Won’t Sell

This is the most dangerous salesperson to have on your team. They know what do in selling situations but don’t consistently execute. You keep giving them more time because “they’re just so good.”

If you’ve got these types of salespeople on your team, find out quick if they’re fixable. If not, replace them.

3. Cannot Sell But Will Sell

This salesperson is the one that may pleasantly surprises you.

They don’t look or act like they could sell their way out of a paper bag, but they sell anyway. Hire these folks, provide the right type of ongoing training and you can almost guarantee superstar performance.

4. Cannot and Won’t Sell

Hopefully you don’t have any of these types of salespeople on your team. They’re easiest to spot and you should deal with them quickly and decisively.

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