How to Recruit Top Salespeople: 6 Traits I Look For and 4 Ways I Find Them

The first time I saw my boss, he looked at me with steely eyes and told me to find the best talent for my clients or pack up my desk and go home.

I had 30 days to figure out the business and put up numbers. Plenty of recruiters had walked in and out of that bullpen in a matter of months, and a line of contenders a mile long wanted into the cubicle kingdom. If I couldn’t do it, the desk went to the next person willing to make more calls, endure endless criticism, and review resumes until their eyes bled.

I made it. My first placement was with a law firm that paid our top fee, mostly because nobody told me law firms are cheap, so I went at the search full force. The candidate turned out to be one of their best hires and helped that team for five years. They got their money’s worth, and my ferret of a boss got his numbers.

That first month taught me something I’ve confirmed over 12,000 interviews since: knowing what to look for, and going after it without hesitation, is the whole job. Here’s both halves.

The 6 Traits I Look For in Top Sales Candidates

1. Insatiable, never complacent. The more money they make, the more they want to make. I call them “the more, the more” types. Satisfied people don’t chase, and sales is chasing.

2. Shameless. They’ll call, email, and find the mutual connection. They keep at it. They just keep going. That is sales, and the people who find rejection embarrassing don’t survive it.

3. State school graduates and people who struggled early. People who had to work for what they got know how to work for what they want. CEOs laugh at me for this one sometimes. Then they make a few bad hires, and they stop laughing.

4. Not afraid of looking bad. They’ll practice the skills, fail in public, and try again, because they enjoy the challenge. Failing many times before winning doesn’t scare them.

5. Likable and polite. Always. These are the people who build baseline relationships fast, and they relate to the buyers. 

6. Smart and adaptable. They learn quickly, and in software sales, where the market changes overnight, that matters as much as any skill on the resume. Change does not deter them.

4 Ways to Actually Find Them

1. Let your market know you’re hiring. Networking events, LinkedIn, industry conferences. Top candidates can’t consider a role they’ve never heard about.

2. Maintain relationships at every level. Stay connected with salespeople across their whole careers, from rising stars to seasoned pros. Access to talent comes from relationships you built before you needed them.

3. Ask the one referral question that works. Ask top performers: “Who’s the best salesperson you’ve ever worked with?” The names you get back are high performers who aren’t looking, which is exactly why they’re worth pursuing.

4. Keep a targeted list. When you identify the top salespeople in your market, write the names down and keep the list current. When the right role opens, you already know who to call.

Go Full Force

The best candidates have options and won’t wait for you, which is why hiring sales talent is hard in any market. But the recruiters and hiring managers who win aren’t the ones with the biggest brand. They’re the ones who know the traits, keep the list, ask the question, and go at the search like a rookie who doesn’t know enough to hesitate.

Then, once the candidates are in front of you, screen them with filters that hold up. The traits get them on your list. The track record gets them the offer.