Hiring an excellent salesperson can be a difficult process. There’s no single blueprint that lays everything out in a clear fashion that you must follow to have it work to your utmost advantage. It requires lots of good judgment and finely tuned salesmanship mixed with some pure luck tossed in here and there. That being said, however, there are definitely some basic steps you can follow to put yourself on the road to success. Let’s take a look at these.

Before you even begin the hiring process, sit down and make a list of the qualities you seek in a new salesperson. You should include personal traits as well as those that apply to the position you are seeking to fill. Write down everything from communication styles to being detail-oriented. These will be useful when you go through the actual hiring process and start to compare the various candidates. Here are some guidelines that will help you along the way.

First, review each candidate on paper and eliminate those that don’t fit into your ideal candidate mold. Then, use those that do fit under your ideal mold to start doing some preliminary interview preparation. Start by asking the candidates for their contact information, and conducting a short interview with them. This will give you a good feel for how the individual fits in with your team and give you some good questions to use in the hiring process.

Next, conduct phone interviews with each of the remaining candidates. This will allow you to get a more in-depth interview with each one. You can use this to learn more about their skills, their successes and failures, and how they present themselves to clients. Ask open-ended questions that show you aren’t simply interviewing them for their job. Instead, pose open-ended questions that show you have an idea of who you are as a person. For example, if you find out that a candidate has brought a significant amount of diversity to his or her sales career, you should ask how that diversity affects his or her ability to successfully represent you and how that relates to your own personal values and styles.

Finally, visit your local retail store and talk to some of your salespeople. Many retail stores employ at least one full-time employee who is specialized in sales. It is always a good idea to speak with this person because you will be able to learn a lot about their knowledge, skills, and experiences. Retailers are typically looking for candidates that come to the business with an investment in themselves, and not just a paycheck.

Now that you know some of the best ways to interview a potential candidate, it is time to make sure that you interview the best possible candidate. To do so, follow some of these guidelines. First, choose a reliable hiring manager. This person should be involved in every aspect of the hiring process, whether he or she comes in right away to conduct the interview or keeps someone on the sidelines for question answering. While you want to cultivate a working relationship with your manager, it is also vital for you to establish a rapport with the person who will be your first point of contact on the sales floor.

Next, be sure to find out what kind of salesperson work each position entails. While some positions entail hands-on work with customers, others will require background research and even training. In either case, the prospective candidate must be able to provide examples of previous performance. If the position entails training, candidates may need to demonstrate that they have taken all necessary classes and passed any examinations. Before hiring someone, employers may need to request a copy of certification, degree, or license. Learn more about sales and marketing outsourcing companies here

Finally, when it comes to hiring a salesperson, do not automatically assume that someone is perfect. Many candidates have made mistakes in their past. Rather, hire someone based upon their experience and qualifications. If you are an employer, it is up to you to determine which candidates are best for the job. While the hiring process can be difficult, hiring the best person for the job will greatly increase your chances of success.