Best Practices for Interviewing Referred Candidates

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A client asks, "I belong to a young executives association and have been paired with a mentor. My mentor has an extensive and impressive network. Several times she's introduced me to sales candidates when I've had an opening. Based on her recommendation I've hired them. One worked out while the others have been disasters. Recently, she passed along another name to me. I don't want to automatically hire this person exclusively on her say so. How do I handle this situation?"

You deal with it by implementing a hiring system.

The Candidate

Without engaging in due diligence beyond the recommendation, you put yourself and the candidate at risk. Just because your mentor thinks highly of them doesn't mean the candidate is the right match for your company.

Most likely, the candidate has accepted the sales role with the sincere intent of succeeding with your organization. A termination affects them from a career standpoint as well as financially and emotionally.

Do right by yourself, the company, and the applicant by being as certain as you can that they have a strong likelihood of success at your company.

The Successful Rep

Think about the one salesperson you've hired who's achieving quota. Why has this person worked out? What traits and skills does he/she possess? Which ones have proven to be critical to achieving quota at your company?

Have a conversation with them. What do they enjoy about the job? Do they see any room for improvement? What do they think it takes to succeed at your company?

Unsuccessful Reps

Now take a moment and contemplate the non-performers.

As a group, did the disastrous reps lack some / all of the crucial traits possessed by the successful rep? If so, which ones? Was there a common point at which you realized they wouldn't work out (3 months, 6 months)?

Would you be willing to have a conversation with one or two of them? Though potentially awkward, you might come away with some good information

Implement a Hiring System

Going forward, no matter how you come across a candidate (mentor, recruiter, network, job board or LinkedIn) put all of them through the same hiring process. This could include:

  • Resume review

  • Phone screen

  • Pre-employment assessment

  • Face-to-face interviews

  • Current employee interviews

  • Reference check

  • Job offer

Put together a methodology with checks and balances enabling you to determine whether or not candidates have the ability to exceed quota in your organization.

Clear Expectations

The first 90 days in reps' tenures impacts their success or failure with an organization. Think about what they need to accomplish during those critical first critical months.

Set minimum standards for:

  • Prospecting calls

  • Product demonstrations

  • Proposals

  • Closed sales

With specific information like this, reps understand the results needed to succeed.

Support

Your mentor sounds like a generous person, someone really vested in your success. How nice. You don't want to cut yourself off from that. But you need to take control of the hiring process and expand your horizons in terms of meeting potential reps.

The next time she passes along a potential salesperson say, "Thank you so much for this recommendation. I really appreciate all you do on my behalf. If you like them, I will meet them. I've been working hard to put a hiring system in place with the first step being a phone interview, so I'll contact them and set up a time to talk. I'll tell you my hiring ideas when we have coffee in a few weeks."

In this way, you involve them in your new process. They may have some good suggestions.

Final Thoughts

By all means, accept recommendations from respected mentors, colleagues and friends. They can be golden. But have an objective hiring system in place to help you determine candidates' suitability for the open position.