The APQ Sales Aptitude Test Is the Key to Success When Hiring Sales Hunters

Hiring sales hunters is one of the best ways to set your company on the fast track to success. Elite outside sales hunters not only have bigger deal pipelines, they also close deals faster than the average salesperson. When you’re looking to see if you’re sitting in front of the right person, you might want to think about the APQ Sales Aptitude Test as the key to a successful hire.

In certain industries and regions, it can be very difficult to hire good sales hunters due to extreme competition. Compounding the difficulty is that some outside sales hunters simply inherited a good team of junior salespeople and assistants – and they are not that gifted on their own. They fail when they transfer to other companies.

I am going to give you a couple of pointers on hiring outside sales hunters based on extensive experience both as a recruiter and as a consultant to hundreds of companies. After the first two, I will explain THE key to success used by successful sales organizations the world over (spoiler alert: it’s the APQ Sales Aptitude Test).

Tip #1: Watch how they sell themselves

Everyone sells. Children sell their parents on giving them an extra cookie; spouses sell each other on where to eat dinner; and bosses sell employees on working harder. Selling is everywhere – it’s just not everyone is good at it.

With this in mind, pay attention to how an outside sales hunter candidate sells herself. If she speaks about herself constantly, without asking YOU some guided questions to discover your needs as a company, then this candidate might not be a great choice. They will sell your prospects the same way they sell you – and this is a poor approach as any consultative seller knows.

While the APQ Sales Aptitude Test will reveal more, this is a good litmus test. Salespeople should listen more than they talk when trying to motivate a decision.

Tip #2: Gather social proof

The best sales hunters will be known in your region. Your buyers might even have been approached by them several times. It is easy to know who these sales pros are because they will come up in conversation or you will see them at events.

This is a form of social proof. If your candidate is well-known in your area, this likely means he is actively seeking business and networking. Of course, a new transfer might not have a large personal network, but you can still judge his influence through his online presence, such as social media participation, industry group membership, discussion board posts, etc.

Tip #3: Use scientific testing

Finally, the true key to success when hiring outside sales hunters is to use the APQ Sales Aptitude Test to confirm your observations. It is specifically designed to test suitability for sales roles, including outside sales hunters, inside farmers, sales managers, executives, customer service reps, and more.

Rather than fly by the seat of your pants when making hiring decisions, the APQ Sales Aptitude Test permits you to use science, rather than some form of hiring voodoo, to choose the right people. It removes a tremendous amount of personal bias and can save you a ton of headaches – and money.

So there you have it – I hope the APQ Sales Aptitude Test helps you in your next recruiting cycle and that you start to close deals faster through better hires!