Lesson: "True or False?": Two simple questions to ask a sales candidate

What if I told you that one of the best indicators of a sales candidate's success came from how he/she answers two simple True/False questions?

Early in my career, I sat in on an interview that a more seasoned and very accomplished manager was having for a sales professional position. I was there because I had recently been given responsibility for an underperforming department and I knew I would need to turn over some staff, so this was an opportunity for me to see what this manager looked for and the questions she asked, to help me get better at finding great salespeople.

All day long, through about 10 interviews, she started the same way. Without looking at the resume and with very little "small talk", she asked the same two questions.

1. "True or False? A customer walks into our store knowing if he/she will purchase or not."

2. "True of False? A customer walks in knowing exactly how much he or she is willing to spend."

She spent the first 10-15 minutes allowing the candidate to answer the questions and explain his or her answers.

After about 5 of the interviews, I noticed a very clear pattern.

If the candidate answered "True" to both questions, his or her interview was brought to a polite close very quickly. If "False" was the response, the manager proceeded to ask for examples from the candidates past to support their responses. By the end of the day, only 3 of 10 answered "False" and, of those three, two of them supported their answers with specific examples from their previous experience. No candidate answered True to one and False to the other.

As we straightened up the room, I asked the manager why she asked those questions and why she felt that only two were candidates she's move forward with.

She explained that she believed in the power of the salesperson. Not to strong arm a client or sell something the client needs, but to influence a client's propensity to buy and believing in their own power. She believed that a client willing to walk into a store could be influenced to buy, and that a client- even with a predetermined budget- could be influenced to buy more. She felt that a salesperson who thought both statements were "False" believed in their personal power, and that self-confidence in personal power made sales people into superstars.

She explained that a candidate who believed the statements to be "True" did not share that philosophy. If candidates like that are selected, they are transactional, robotic, and will do little to drive a business. She explained that the three that answered "False" were acknowledging their personal power and influence on a buyer. While one answered with general philosophies about how he would do it, the other two had specific, well- reasoned and detail rich examples of how they had previously demonstrated their power to influence sales. She moved forward with only those two.

And they were Superstars.

Yes, there are certainly other factors that need to be considered, but to this day, I ask these same questions early on in any interview for a sales role.

Why? Because exceptional, high producing sales people ARE exceptional because they share this philosophy- that they CAN and DO influence a client's buying decision.

Try it when you conduct your next interview for a sale role, and tell us what you discover.