Read Time = 3 minutes

A Short Story:

In February 2019, I took over my first BDR team of 3 reps.

A month later, I hired 2 more. Then… fired both by July.

Straight back to the drawing board.

Terrible hires by me.

Fast-forward to February 2020 and my team is 10+ reps.

BDRs are ramping faster and quota attainment is >80%.

So then, what changed?

The interview process.

In this post I’ll share how I interview outbound reps today.

But first… a toast to the pre & post COVID tech boom.

The Interview Assignment

A challenge when hiring for most sales roles:

Even average reps are good at interviewing.

To cut through the noise, I get reps to do the job before getting the job.

Here’s an example for Biz Dev hiring:

1. Find a company that fits our ICP

2. Identify the buyer persona

3. Present your reasoning

4. Send a cold email

5. Mock cold call

(This is typically the last step in the interview process.)

If you’re a hiring manager, this an easy way to discern between reps that can actually do the job and those that are just good at interviewing.

If you’re a candidate, I’d recommend doing this even if it’s not a required step in the company’s interview process.

You de-risk the decision by showing you can do the work.

Candidate Checklist

Here are a few things I look for when interviewing:

General

• Knowledge of our ICP + buyer

• Knowledge of our company

• Prep work and storytelling

• Tone and appearance

Cold Calling

• Coachability - accept and use feedback*

• Listening vs. just asking questions

• Offer your recommendation

*typically we’ll run thru the call. Then, I provide feedback and do it again.

Cold Email

• Relevant to buyer persona

• Pain based messaging

• Clear and concise

Until next Thursday,

TSG

P.S. I reply to all emails.