Traditional Sales Hiring Flaws: How Behavioral Data Fixes Them

What is the average turnover in the sales department? Our Voice of the Sales Manager survey reveals that it’s over 30%. This turnover is due, in part, to common flaws in sales hiring processes. Feeling the pressure to make their numbers, sales leaders often rush to hire a rep to fill a vacancy on the team. These fast hiring decisions can lead to bringing the wrong person into the organization.

Instead of watching the new team member succeed, hiring managers realize that they have a problem. A sales slowdown is one of the many unfortunate outcomes, along with other sales reps deciding to leave the company. Ultimately, the manager must make the difficult decision to offboard the candidate they were so excited about.

Managers can avoid these outcomes when they use behavioral data from sales hiring assessment tools to improve their hiring decisions. These assessments provide objective insight into a candidate’s likely on-​the-​job behavior. Sticking with the status quo in sales hiring only perpetuates high turnover rates and repeated hiring mistakes.

Why Sales Hiring Is Broken

The traditional sales hiring process relies on a resume review, interviews, perhaps a mock presentation, and a reference check. These traditional methods are increasingly seen as outdated, with limitations such as bias and inefficiency compared to newer, data-​driven tools.

The traditional process allows candidates to show their strengths. But managers can’t always determine their weaknesses.

The traditional sales hiring process no longer works for the evolving sales role. Automation such as generative AI is taking on some of the routine sales tasks. This change means organizations need reps with major soft skills working in the sales department. To ensure candidates meet the role's demands, companies are turning to skills-​based hiring and skills assessments, which use objective, role-​specific tests and simulations to evaluate abilities and reduce bias. They are also using employee behavioral assessment tools.

In addition, some businesses are modifying the sales role. Reps may be specializing as new business hunters. Or they may handle the full cycle of sales. Sales roles require a combination of skills, including negotiation and closing deals, which can be effectively assessed through practical assessments during recruitment.

Most Common Flaws in Traditional Sales Hiring

In the traditional sales hiring process, managers make decisions with an incomplete set of data. 

Their decisions result in hiring mistakes such as:

• Relying on a charismatic interview performance
• Relying on a recommendation from a trusted colleague
• Failing to define the job specifically
• Failing to test a candidate for specific sales skills
• Failing to screen for mindset and honest desire to work in the company

In addition, many companies still rely on job boards and resume screening as their primary hiring methods. This often yields a pool of unqualified candidates and inefficiently screens potential candidates.

Relying on a charismatic interview performance

Sales managers know that candidates for a sales job can excel at presentations. These individuals possess outstanding communication skills. They can easily impress a sales manager during a mock presentation.

When a manager hires on the basis of an interview performance, they fail to consider other aspects about the candidate, such as whether they’ll show up for work consistently. Traditional interviews often favor charisma over competence, leading to hiring “great talkers” who may struggle to close deals.

Relying on trusted colleagues

Some managers trust the power of networking when it’s time to hire their next sales rep. They reach out to friends, former colleagues and online acquaintances. They believe that a solid recommendation cuts down on hiring risk.

To some extent that belief may be true. But these candidates come with the halo effect. Hiring managers are willing to overlook small issues about the candidate, because of the recommendation. Hiring from competitors can also be risky, as top producers may struggle to adapt to new products, cultures and sales processes.

Failing to define the job

The wrong job description can quickly sink the sales hiring process. When the hiring manager doesn’t clearly communicate the job responsibilities to the HR department, problems can multiply. For example, candidates who are better suited for account management end up applying for a new business hunter position.

Failing to test for key skills

When a sales position requires a candidate to excel as a customer service agent, managers should be looking for specific skills. These individuals should be accomplished at assuring customer satisfaction and continuing loyalty. If the manager overlooks this detail, they could hire an individual who is not suited for the job. In addition, managers may be relying too heavily on resumes, despite the fact that over 70% of applicants admit embellishing the details.

Failing to test for mindset

In a difficult job market, candidates apply for any job opening. They need to get paid to maintain their lifestyle – to pay the mortgage, put food on the table. If they are particularly desperate for work, they can convince a hiring manager that they truly want the open position.

Over time, the failure to screen for mindset could become an obvious hiring disaster. After investing training resources, the manager may see the new hire leave for the position they’ve always wanted at another company.

The Real Cost of These Hiring Flaws

Relying on the traditional sales hiring process and its flaws results in a huge cost for businesses. When the wrong person starts working in sales, the manager will soon notice performance issues. They will spend too much of their limited time trying to coach the rep. They may even enroll the rep in more training programs. That will result in additional direct expense.

Meanwhile, the rep is not closing sales. But the competition probably is. And this failure impacts the entire organization. We have calculated the cost of a bad sales hire to be $177,171 in the B2B vertical. 

How Behavioral Data Transforms Sales Hiring

Around 45% of managers use sales skills assessment to evaluate sales candidates, our research shows. But these assessments don’t give a complete picture of the individual, especially in a work environment. A data-​driven approach that incorporates structured assessments provides more reliable, objective insights into candidates' competencies and potential than traditional methods.

Businesses can reduce their bad hiring rate by turning to behavioral data when they’re looking for a topnotch seller. Behavioral data comes from structured assessments that candidates take as part of their applicant journey. The objective data about how a person is likely to behave on the job gives hiring managers key insights. They no longer have to rely on their gut when deciding who to hire.

Implementing a structured process can also speed up hiring by eliminating unqualified candidates earlier in the recruitment cycle.

What Is Behavioral Data in Hiring?

Behavioral data includes information about multiple aspects of an individual’s approach to work. The assessments pose a series of questions and then score the answers. The questions reveal how a person thinks, what motivates them to work and how they make on-​the-​job decisions. These details, combined, shed light on potential future sales performance.

Psychometric testing is another tool that can provide measurable and unbiased evaluations of a candidate's potential and suitability, complementing behavioral assessments.

Why Behavioral Assessments Are More Predictive

A behavioral assessment is “a systematic, evidence-​based approach to understanding behavior in its full context, grounded in the learning principles that explain how behaviors are acquired and maintained.”

Structured assessments and structured interviews with scoring rubrics improve hiring accuracy and reduce bias by providing objective, data-​driven insights into candidates' competencies and potential. Additionally, a structured interview process with predetermined questions and scoring criteria further reduces bias in hiring decisions.

A carefully designed and tested assessment explores aspects of a person’s behavior that they may not understand. They also may not realize how some aspects of their behavior impact their work outcomes or their interactions with others. Candidates can’t influence the outcomes of these assessments. The data is a valuable addition to the candidate-​influenced resumes and, often, interviews.

Key Behavioral Traits That Predict Sales Success

Successful sellers should possess the following traits:

• Drive — the willingness to work through problems and challenges to achieve a goal or complete a task. Identifying top tier talent with strong drive is essential, as high performing sales professionals consistently demonstrate persistence and determination to press a prospect to close a deal.
• Coachability — the interest in learning better ways to perform job duties and the willingness to try them. The acceptance that other methods exist to complete tasks.
• Critical thinking — the skill that allows the individual to review, analyze and develop a strategy to proceed with a challenging task or situation. In many sectors, technical expertise is a valuable asset that enhances critical thinking, especially when specialized knowledge is required to evaluate complex scenarios.
• Problem solving — the ability to identify and resolve issues that are impeding progress towards achieving a goal.

Improving Hiring Practices with Technology

The hiring process for sales professionals has been transformed by advances in technology. Today, sales recruitment benefits from AI-​powered tools that streamline the recruitment process, automate administrative tasks, and enhance candidate engagement. These technologies enable hiring managers to quickly identify top performers and predict which candidates are most likely to achieve sales success.

By leveraging data and analytics, companies can make more informed hiring decisions and minimize the risk of a bad hire. Technology also helps refine job descriptions, making them more attractive to qualified candidates and reducing the time it takes to fill open positions. Automated systems can screen resumes, schedule interviews, and even conduct initial assessments, freeing up hiring managers to focus on evaluating the best candidates.

Embracing technology in the recruitment process not only improves efficiency but also ensures that companies attract and retain top talent. By staying ahead of the curve, organizations can build high-​performing sales teams that consistently meet and exceed sales targets.

The Role of Hiring Managers in Sales Hiring

Hiring managers are at the heart of the sales hiring process, responsible for shaping the future of the sales team. Their decisions directly impact sales performance, team morale and the company’s ability to hit sales targets.

However, relying solely on traditional hiring methods — such as resume screening and unstructured interviews — can lead to missed opportunities and costly hiring mistakes.

To improve recruitment outcomes, hiring managers should adopt a more structured approach. This includes using behavioral assessments to objectively evaluate candidates’ skills, motivations and fit for the sales role. Structured interviews and clear scoring criteria help reduce bias and ensure that the best candidates are selected based on merit, not just interview performance or recommendations.

Collaboration is also key. By working closely with HR and other stakeholders, hiring managers can develop recruitment strategies that align with company culture and business goals. This comprehensive approach ensures that every new hire strengthens the sales team and contributes to long-​term sales success.

How TeamTrait Fixes Traditional Sales Hiring Flaws

TeamTrait^TM, the leading sales hiring assessment platform, allows managers to make hiring decisions based on a candidate’s likely job behavior instead of the best behavior demonstrated during the interview process.

Without assessment data, a manager may be inclined to hire a candidate who delivers a knockout presentation. That’s an emotional response to a persuasive performance.

When the manager reviews the scores for a candidate’s sales acumen or their decision-​making abilities, they may change their mind. These insights allow a manager to hire the best candidate for the position.

TeamTrait provides data-​driven insights that help determine a candidate's fit for both the role and the company culture, going beyond surface-​level impressions. The platform enables managers to identify and attract the right candidates and best talent by defining role with purpose.

Traditional Hiring vs Behavioral Hiring

In the traditional hiring process, managers often hire a candidate who doesn’t succeed. The problems with this style of hiring center on:

• Decision basis: Managers are missing critical information about a candidate’s on-​the-​job behavior.
• Accuracy: The element of accuracy is missing in this system because managers learn only what candidate’s want them to know.
• Bias: Managers can be easily influenced by a friend’s recommendation.
• Predictive power: Managers develop their own understanding of a candidate’s likely job performance based only on what the candidate has accomplished to date.
• Candidate evaluation: The HR department and the manager can evaluate with biased information provided by the candidate.
• Retention impact: Without objective data, managers do not always know what motivates their team members. Neglecting onboarding leaves new hires to navigate on their own, resulting in high turnover within the first six months. Failing to showcase workplace culture and provide effective onboarding programs makes it harder to retain sales talent and can negatively impact organizational performance.

In behavioral data-​driven hiring, managers increase the chances of hiring a candidate with a great fit. The advantages of this style of hiring center on:

• Decision basis: When combined with candidate-​provided data such as a resume, behavioral assessments give a well-​rounded picture.
• Accuracy: Assessments cannot be adjusted by candidates. They are valid because they measure what the designer intends to measure. They are reliable because they deliver consistent results.
• Bias: Assessments results are not influenced by the emotions or opinions of the hiring manager or other people on the interview team.
• Predictive power: Because assessments use multiple data points from questions, they lead to a better understanding of how a candidate will perform on the job.
• Candidate evaluation: The behavioral assessment data yields a broad view of the candidate.
• Retention impact: With objective data about motivation and a candidate’s career clarity, managers can customize a work plan and a promotion plan. This approach includes using the behavioral assessment tool for employee retention. A structured process and robust onboarding program introduce new hires to their role, products, and company culture, which is crucial for their success and retention. Effective onboarding programs are essential for retaining sales talent and can significantly improve retention rates.

How to Start Using Behavioral Data in Sales Hiring

To improve outcomes in sales hiring, managers must turn to employee behavioral assessment tools. The best-​in-​class assessments measure sales acumen by using situational judgement tests. These tests reveal how quickly the candidate can pivot when the situation changes rapidly. Additionally, it is important to assess candidates' proficiency with CRM systems, as these are essential tools for managing sales processes and customer relationships.

Managers should ask candidates to take assessments after the initial screening but before the interview. This workflow gives managers time to consider a candidate’s work strengths and weaknesses. With objective data in front of them they can ask questions about areas of concern.

Behavioral assessments also measure key traits like drive, motivation, decision-​making and problem solving.

Hiring managers will know which candidate fits with the job. And they will also understand how to customize training and coaching. These details save money and decrease the ramp-​up time a new sales rep needs before becoming productive. Finally, with behavioral assessment data, managers can customize promotions and job assignments to improve retention. Proactive and targeted sourcing, such as using LinkedIn and professional networks to reach passive candidates, further enhances the quality of hires.

Key Takeaways for Hiring Managers

To build a high-​performing sales team and achieve better recruitment outcomes, hiring managers should focus on these key strategies:

• Utilize behavioral assessments: These tools provide objective insights into a candidate’s potential for sales success, helping to predict on-​the-​job performance more accurately.
• Adopt a structured hiring approach: Implement clear scoring criteria and objective assessments to minimize bias and improve the quality of each hire.
• Leverage technology: Streamline the recruitment process, enhance the candidate experience, and reduce administrative tasks by integrating advanced hiring tools.
• Develop a comprehensive hiring strategy: Align recruitment efforts with company culture and business goals and collaborate closely with HR and other stakeholders to ensure consistency and effectiveness.
• Prioritize transferable skills and specialized knowledge: Look beyond past performance and traditional hiring methods to find candidates who bring unique strengths, adaptability and a strong fit with the company culture.

By following these best practices, hiring managers can reduce the risk of a bad hire, improve team performance and drive sales success for their organization.

Final Thoughts: The Future of Sales Hiring Is Behavioral TeamTrait scores behavioral assessments results in an easy-​to-​use report. Managers quickly know which candidate will work best in their sales department. The reports also indicate how well-​suited the candidate is for future management and leadership roles. When managers coach their reps, as advised by TeamTrait, they develop a clear path to future promotions and reduce costly turnover. TeamTrait, one of the best behavioral assessment tools, can help managers excel at sales hiring.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What are the biggest mistakes companies make when hiring salespeople?

When hiring a new sales professional, managers fail to consider all the key data points needed to make an informed decision.

What is behavioral data in sales hiring?

Behavioral data, when used in selling, allows a manager to understand how the candidate will act and react in a work setting.

How is behavioral hiring different from traditional hiring?

In traditional hiring, managers rely on candidate-​provided information such as a resume or a presentation. In behavioral hiring, managers add objective data points about work behavior and motivations, and sales skills scores to the information they have about candidates.

How does behavioral data reduce hiring bias?

With behavioral data, managers do not need to rely on their gut or the recommendations of others about the qualities of a candidate.

Does using behavioral hiring tools improve employee retention?

With behavioral hiring tools, managers understand an employee’s motivations. They can use that information to offer what the employee wants and therefore increase retention.

Is behavioral hiring suitable for all types of sales roles?

Behavioral hiring is appropriate for all types of sales roles. The assessments with behavioral data include data points on leadership potential, valuable information for hiring managers to have.

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