Hire salespeople
who sell.
Sales sucess isn't random. It's driven by patterns in how people think, behave and sell.
It's rarely about ability.
It's about fit.
Top reasons employees fail: not a good fit for the job… don't fit the company culture… didn't fit the team. Most sales failure is predictable and preventable before day one.
Prospecting struggle
They struggle with prospecting, fear rejection, avoid difficult conversations, or lack resilience under pressure.
Culture mismatch
Sales requires pace, competitiveness, accountability and urgency. Some people simply don't operate that way.
Team misalignment
Territory expectations, collaboration style and communication norms vary. Misalignment leads to friction and underperformance.
Twenty core characteristics.
Three questions.
Every candidate is measured against the traits, behaviours and drivers that actually predict sales performance, not just what's on the CV.
Can they think their way through a deal?
Verbal skill, numerical ability and reasoning: the mental agility behind solving customer problems, handling numbers under pressure, and adapting quickly to new products or markets.
How do they actually operate day to day?
Assertiveness, resilience, independence, decisiveness and pace: shape how someone responds to pressure, takes ownership and performs in a target driven sales enviroment.
What actually motivates them?
Enterprising, people-focused, motivated by influencing and competing: interests predict engagement and longevity in the role long after the induction period ends.
Identify & assess your top performers
Start with the sales people who consistently deliver. Then assess the attributes and behaviours that distinguish them from the rest
Build a sales performance model
A performance model captures the "DNA" of your top performers and becomes your hiring benchmark. Choose a role to see its ideal profile.
- High assertiveness
- High pace
- Strong numerical reasoning
- Low conformity
- High independence
New business hunters need to open doors cold, push through rejection at pace, and think on their feet without close supervision. Low conformity means they won’t default to "the way it’s always been done" when a deal needs a different angle.
Evaluate candidates against the model
Easily spot future hires who share common traits with your most successful people. Here's a real candidate scored against a New Business Sales benchmark.
- Moderate assertiveness
- Lower decisiveness
- Lower independence
| Attribute | Candidate | Model range | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal skill | 8 | 7–10 | |
| Numeric reasoning | 7 | 6–10 | |
| Pace | 7 | 6–8 | |
| Assertiveness | 6 | 6–9 | |
| Sociability | 4 | 6–9 | |
| Decisiveness | 4 | 6–9 | |
| Independence | 6 | 6–8 | |
| Enterprising interest | Tied 4th | 1st |
Sample candidate profile shown for illustration. Full reports break down all 20 characteristics with a debrief call.
Hiring for job fit transformed one team's results
A mid-size sales organisation struggled with turnover and inconsistent number attainment. After implementing a sales performance model:
Choose your level of support
Prices shown are illustrative starting points per candidate assessment, ex. VAT. Confirm final pricing on your free call.
- Creating a job fit
- Sales PXT Select® assessment
- Sales personality profile
- Red-flag email summary
- Full candidate debrief (online meeting)
- Creating a job fit
- Sales PXT Select® assessment
- Sales personality profile
- Red-flag email summary
- Full candidate debrief (online meeting)
- Everything in Silver
- Full debrief on each candidate (online meeting)
- We interview final candidates
- We attend final interviews in person
- Everything in Gold
- We interview final candidates (30 min)
- We attend final interviews in person
Let's build your winning team.
Book a free Sales PXT Select® demo and see exactly how your next hire measures up before you make the offer.