Here we are…building out your process to hire for the final Sales Success Trait: Authenticity.

It might be the hardest one to select for, even though you could be inclined to think it’s the easiest.

Why Authenticity is Hard to Identify

The first reason why it is hard to identify if someone is being Authentic is that the interview process is a lot like dating – people put on their best face, their best behavior, focus on their strengths and none of their weaknesses, make their accomplishments sound amazing (even if they weren’t that great), and try to keep their skeletons hidden.

Hiring managers don’t help this process when they ask all the standard interview questions about a big deal they lost, how they deal with a difficult manager, their greatest weakness in the workplace (where everyone learns to answer “I work really hard and have a hard time with stopping and taking time off”). Before AI there were websites full of questions to ask to help hiring managers, and the best ways to prep and answer the questions in your favor for candidates. AI has made that instant…where you can compile those questions without effort.

Please stop asking those questions. You won’t get real people with that approach.

The second reason it’s hard to identify the Authenticity trait is that you are interviewing salespeople. If most salespeople who are in need of a job were as good at selling their prospects as they are at selling hiring managers as to why they are a perfect salesperson, they wouldn’t need this new job!

It can be really tough for some candidates to turn off the sales part of their brain and vocabulary and just be real.

Getting Beyond the "Interview" Persona

I have found one key set up question is “I want to make sure this is a good fit for us as much as it is for you” and before I ask certain questions, I will prompt them “Don’t give me the ‘interview’ answer.”

I want them to know I am looking for the real version of who they are. And if the real, Authentic fits with our company culture then that is exactly who we want to hire. And if we fall for thinking the interview façade and salesy version works for us, and we hire them and realize its not a good fit – that doesn’t do anyone any good.

Your ultimate goal should be (hopefully) to hire someone that is a good fit for your company, culture, and team. Someone who is Open, Curious, Creative, Persistent, and Authentic. The real key for identifying who someone is, beyond what they want you to think of them, is to pay super close attention to EVERYTHING they do and say.

And I mean everything (if you couldn’t tell).

Communication Patterns

When you ask them questions, do they talk way too much, monologuing unnecessarily? When they are monologuing do you feel like you are listening to a politician who doesn’t actually want to – or know how – to answer the question? If you feel bored, lost and/or confused when listening to them respond to your question – I promise that is what they do when their prospects ask them questions. They will be vague, rambling, and ineffective.

On the other end of the spectrum, do they answer with one-word answers? Does it feel like you are trying to get info out of a teenager at the dinner table? I promise, it will be the same thing with their prospects.

Are they nervous and fidgety (more than just standard expected interview ‘nervous’)? They seem to have trouble paying attention?

When I interview people in the office, I would intentionally put my back to the door and glass wall that people walked past, so the candidate had to face people walking by constantly. I wanted to see if they could focus or if they were constantly getting distracted or thrown off.

If you are interviewing them on video, what does their area look like? How well can they stay focused? Are they good enough with technology for what the role might involve?

Observing When They Think It Doesn’t Matter

Remember, people will be who they truly are when they don’t think anyone is looking. So constantly be looking, especially when they think it doesn’t matter. Like when you ask them non-standard interview questions.

If it’s possible, have them interact with other people in the company. Back in the ‘office’ days that was easy – give them a shot walking tour of the office and see how they interact with people and how they react to the office environment. For remote interviews, have them meet with a wide variety of people, to get a sense from different perspectives. Do phone calls, video calls, video panel interview.

Anything you can come up with to throw them off their game plan to see who they really are. You want to identify, as best as you can, who they Authentically they are- just like any relationship – during the courtship phase before you get into a committed relationship with them.



Conclusion

Focus on building your team around real, Authentic salespeople.