The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Navigating through the selection process to find the next strong addition to your team can feel like navigating through an obstacle course.

The direction that seems like a safe bet may be mired with hidden traps. The direction that makes your internal “red flags” go up could be just as dangerous, though. How do you know what the right decision is?

Let’s walk through some common “red flags” and “green lights” hiring managers experience with candidates. They may not always be what they appear to be.

A spot opens up on the sales team and the hiring manager needs to fill it. Fast. They look over their talent bank, find a few candidates, look over their Sales Talent Assessments, and decide who has the sales talents they need.

One is available.

Hired.

That’s it but for the onboarding, right? Unfortunately, no. Finding new talent for a sales team involves more than just finding a talented person who wants the job. It’s also critically important to find talent that will fit on the team.

According to the World Economic Forum, by 2025, Gen Z will account for one-third of the workforce.

As a group, they are the most technologically savvy ever to hit the workforce. Many have definite opinions on what they expect from their companies and managers and are not afraid to express those opinions.

They have specific expectations of what their work life will look like, and unlike other generations, they are not afraid to hop to a new job or quit even if they don’t have another job lined up. In fact, according to ResumeLab, 83% of Gen Z employees consider themselves job hoppers, and 75% would leave a job even if they didn’t have another one waiting.

Undoubtedly, the newest generation to hit the workforce has a lot to offer your organization, so what are the secrets to retaining your Gen Z workforce?

There is nothing more impactful than adding the right seller to your team. Conversely, nothing is more impactful than adding the wrong seller to your team!

Here’s a list of six scenarios managers find themselves in when hiring sellers that lead to hiring the wrong person, plus things managers can do to avoid them.

You know the feeling… a position on your team suddenly comes open and catches you off guard without any promising candidates in sight. You stir up a tornado of job postings, resume reviews, and hopeful prayers that the perfect candidate will miraculously appear… and you feel completely overwhelmed.

Here’s the good news. You can change this!

Picture your sales team working together like a well-oiled machine. They collaborate effectively, support each other without question, celebrate every success with enthusiasm, and, of course, they close a lot of deals.

Now, imagine adding a new member to this tight-knit group who has top talent, skills, and experience on paper but clashes with the team. He doesn’t collaborate well, wants all of the recognition for himself, and blames mistakes on others. Suddenly, the harmony is disrupted, and chaos threatens to unravel the team you’ve worked hard to build. But he looked like a great fit on paper, right?

Finding the right fit goes beyond skills and experience —it's about cultural alignment. In today's fiercely competitive business landscape, cultural alignment in recruitment has become more than just a buzzword; it's a strategic necessity.

Finding a candidate with top talent to fill an open position is a good feeling. You’ve found someone that possesses the skills and experience necessary to perform the job at hand and do it well. Box checked! 

During the interview process, you focused mainly on their qualifications and professional background, but it was hard to get a sense of who they are and what they are about. You tell yourself that it’s not too much of a concern; with their skills and talent, it should all work out.  

Sometimes it does work out, but many times it doesn’t. Don't overlook this one key factor when hiring a new candidate!

Scenario: A team member comes to you, excited because a former coworker, a Top Performer, has just let them know that they are looking for a new position.

They are perfect for an opening on your team! You become excited because that opening has been hard to fill. Finding quality candidates has been hard and the competitive job market brutal.

So you can’t wait to hire this person. But before you meet with them, you have them take the Sales Talent Assessment, confident that their talents will match the glowing description by your AE.

Then comes that email. Not recommended to move forward in your process.

What?! How can this happen? And what do you do next?

You are not alone if you think it is difficult to find talented job candidates.

An employee study from LinkedIn says that 76% percent of hiring managers admit attracting the right job candidates is their greatest challenge.

According to Fortune, 65% of US workers are looking for a new job. If you’re looking to fill a position, that sounds promising, right?

But wait — LinkedIn found that 76% of managers admit attracting the right candidates is their greatest challenge.

With so many workers looking for new jobs, why are managers still struggling to attract talent? The answer is recruitment.