20 Red Flags to Spot Bad Fits Early in Sales Hiring

Hiring is a tough nut to crack. The amount of dilly-dalliers that hide behind good looks and quick wit is impressive.

So, how do you weed out bad candidates?

It’s not easy to uncover who will be the right sales hire for your company, and the criteria that make someone good or bad will differ for everyone. But I want to share what’s worked well—consistently and historically—for us here at Close.

Here are 20 red flags to look out for in your sales hiring process.

1. They Can’t Get the Basics Right

Spelling errors, inappropriate photos on LinkedIn, and tardiness. If your candidate can’t get the basics right, how well will they do regarding their job responsibilities?

2. They Haven’t Done Their Homework

If a potential sales hire doesn’t spend any time researching to determine if they’re the right fit for you, and if you’re the right fit for them, they’ll most likely do the same thing on the job. That means they won’t do a great job prospecting or qualifying leads, which means no closed deals.

3. They Can’t Pitch

If a person can’t sell themselves, do you think they can pitch your product or business? Probably not.

A good elevator pitch goes a long way. It’s not more complicated than answering these questions:

• Where are you coming from?
• Where are you right now?
• Where are you going?

If a candidate can provide a broader context of who they are, you can assess if they’re a good fit for your company and your culture.

4. They’ve Been Switching Jobs

It raises questions if someone hasn’t stayed with a company for more than 12 months. Are they bad at choosing a company that fits them well? Are they difficult to work with? Could they not get the job done?

It might not necessarily be a bad thing, but pay attention to how they answer the questions about why they left their previous positions after a short time.

5. They’ve Held the Same Position for Years

On the opposite end of the spectrum, if someone’s held the same position at the same company for several years, it could mean they have no ambition. Is someone who’s just happy to sit there and watch the days go by a person you want to be a part of your team? Unlikely.

6. They’re Bad-Mouthing Ex-Employers

This leads to instant disqualification. This person most likely feels insecure about their experience or performance at their last job, which might also indicate poor integrity.

If you’ve had an issue with someone in the company, there’s a respectful way of saying that. “It wasn’t a good cultural fit, so I decided to move on” would be the appropriate way to say, “My boss was an asshole.”

Let’s leave it at that.

7. They Share Sensitive Information from Past Employers

If a potential sales hire starts sharing data and company secrets—they’re out. This means they’ll be doing it at your company, too.

8. They Don’t Have Any Questions

Someone who’s too talkative during an interview will likely treat your prospects and customers the same way. Talking is not how selling works.

If a potential sales hire has no questions during the interview process, they won’t be good at sales. Selling is about asking questions and determining if your product is the right solution for someone. Similarly, the interviewee should determine if you, as an employer, are a good fit for them.

9. They Don’t Have a Reason for Applying for the Job

Dear Sir/Madam, a sales candidate that shows up to an interview without a customized pitch, isn’t looking for a job at your company, they’re looking for any job—anywhere.

Some people just send off applications left and right. If a sales candidate has no real purpose behind their application, they likely won't feel like they have any purpose in their role either.

That’s why boilerplate candidates are often a waste of your time.

10. They Have Weak References

This red flag comes in three parts:

• Their references are from the same company. If a potential sales hire has worked at five different companies over the years but only provides references from one of them, it’s likely that they didn’t do that good of a job at the other ones.
• They didn’t think about what makes for a good reference. If the office manager says someone can make a mean pasta carbonara, it won’t mean much. It doesn’t matter if the person makes for a great lunch partner if they can’t close a deal.
• They didn’t prepare their references. When you call up a reference, they should expect your call and be prepared for it. If someone picks up the phone and has no idea who you are or why you’re calling, that’s just sloppy work.

11. They Don’t Seem Trustworthy

We all have a built-in BS meter. Especially people who work in sales. This meter helps us decide whether someone is

• a) credible and
• b) trustworthy. 

There might be conflicting information, statements that don’t add up, and so on, but more than anything—it’s a feeling.

If you don’t trust someone, you can’t work with them. Period.

12. They are too Aggressive

Being confident is good; being overly aggressive is bad. Some people are more aggressive by nature, but there’s a way to navigate that quality and use it to your benefit. We all appreciate when someone walks into a room with a presence and a bit of bravado, but there’s a difference between that and constantly being in someone’s face.

Think about how these people would come across when they talk to a prospect. No one enjoys plowing down by an ignorant alpha, especially when looking for help.

At worst, this type of person could create a toxic culture in your sales team.

13. They are too Nice

People who are too nice can potentially be pushovers. These people are often very likable, but they lack confidence. There’s a strong likelihood that this will not translate well in their ability to influence prospects and turn them into customers.

14. They Lack Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is contagious. While this isn’t a deal breaker, if someone lacks enthusiasm or energy, why should you get excited about them if they don't get excited?

One of the things sales managers love about our inside sales CRM is the ability to record all the calls their reps are making automatically.

This allows them to listen to their reps' sales conversations when they’re not in the room. As a sales manager, if you randomly listen to archived call recordings, you can very quickly get a sense of how consistent your reps are.

15. They Lack Self-Awareness

I often test people’s level of self-awareness. If a person is far removed from the reality of a situation, that will likely be an issue. People need to be able to assess themselves to make progress and improve.

Often, I weigh this importance based on the seniority level. If a sales candidate is junior, it’s not as big of an issue. But if someone is senior and doesn’t have the level of self-awareness that one would expect at that stage, I’d be concerned.

16. They Don’t Seem Coachable

This relates to the previous point. If a person isn’t self-aware, they’re not very likely to be coachable.

A good test is giving someone negative yet constructive feedback and seeing how quickly they apply it. If someone can’t take feedback on board, they won’t be able to learn and improve in their role either.

17. They’re Defensive

Excuses, excuses, excuses. If a person responds to critique or negative feedback with excuses, they don’t know how to take responsibility for their actions.

18. They Don’t Have Any Drive

What motivates you as a salesperson? Is it the money? The thrill of the close? The idea of bringing value to someone else’s life? Changing the world?

Whatever it may be, there’s a reason why we all get out of bed in the morning. Having drive and motivation is key to doing anything well, let alone selling.

19. They’ve Always Been Successful

If a potential sales hire shows up at an interview with a spotless track record and has never experienced failure, it’s likely that they’ve been very cautious in their decisions.

Perhaps they’ve only done things they know they’d be successful at.

Most of us have experienced failure and misfortune in one way or another. If a person hasn’t, they likely haven’t taken risks or truly challenged themselves.

20. They’ve Only Seen Failure

On the other hand, if a person can only point to failure in their previous companies, that reveals that they’re not learning fast enough. Because if you’re learning, you wouldn’t keep failing.

How to Avoid Bad Sales Hires: Key Red Flags to Watch Out For

These red flags don’t apply to every company and sales team. Choose the red flags that fit your culture and utilize them in your sales hiring process.

My rule? You're out if I collect more than three red flags during an interview.

Are you guaranteed to make the right hiring decisions based on this? Of course not. But I hope they’ll help you in the process of weeding out bad sales candidates.

Have you assembled your team? Set them up with the best inside sales CRM on the market. Try Close for free for 14 days—no credit card required.