How to hire a sales rep.
Salespeople interview well — it is literally the job. That makes CV claims like "consistently exceeded quota" both common and unverifiable at face value: you cannot see how the quota was set, what was self-sourced, or what the team around them did.
The fix is specificity. Real closers remember their numbers, their deals, and their losses in uncomfortable detail. Ask for the mechanics of one deal and the story either holds together or it does not.
What to test — and what proof looks like
Decide these before you read a single application. Each requirement below pairs with the evidence that would actually convince you — screening becomes checking claims against a list instead of comparing vibes.
- Has sold at your price point and cycle length. Closing $2k self-serve deals and $200k enterprise contracts are different jobs. Verify deal sizes, cycle lengths, and who the buyer was.
- Can source, not just close. For a first sales hire there is no SDR team. Look for evidence of self-generated pipeline: outbound they wrote, lists they built, referral loops they created.
- Quota context, not just attainment. What the quota was, how many reps hit it, and how it was set. "120% of quota" on a target nobody missed means little.
- Survives ambiguity. Early-stage selling means no playbook, changing pricing, and rough edges. Claims should show they built process, not just followed one.
Interview questions that test claims
Generic questions get rehearsed answers. These are anchored in the claims candidates in this role typically make — easy to answer if the claim is true, awkward if it isn't. (The method is covered in our interview questions guide.)
- Walk me through your largest closed deal — how did it enter pipeline, and what nearly killed it?
- What was your quota, how was it set, and how many people on your team hit it?
- How much of your pipeline was self-sourced versus handed to you?
- Tell me about a deal you lost that you should have won. What changed in how you sell?
Red flags
- Attainment percentages with no quota, team, or deal-size context.
- Vague on specific deals — real reps remember names, numbers, and dates.
- Only ever worked with SDR-fed pipeline when you need them to hunt.
Running this at 200-applicant scale
This process works manually for a dozen applicants. At real posting volume, the testing is the bottleneck — which is the part BestHire automates. Publish your role through a JD built as a filter, and every fit applicant takes a 5-minute AI interview probing the claims on their own CV. You get a ranked shortlist where every verdict cites the CV line and the interview quote — you read the evidence and decide. See how it works.
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