Sales · Consulting
Sales Recruitment & Team Building: Hire Salespeople Who Actually Sell
Because the best interviewer in the room is usually the worst performer on the floor.
The problem
What this usually looks like
Salespeople interview for a living. They are trained to build rapport, handle objections and close, which is exactly what a job interview is. So companies hire the best interviewer, not the best seller, then spend nine months and a full salary finding out. A bad sales hire costs far more than the salary: it costs the territory, the accounts and the year.
How I approach it
I hire salespeople the way I'd buy a business, with evidence, not impressions. Every candidate gets a written scorecard tied to your actual sales motion, a live selling exercise instead of a conversation, and reference checks that ask about numbers. Then I build the onboarding so week one is productive instead of a laptop and a login.
Scope
What I actually do
Build the role scorecard: the actual outcomes, activities and competencies the job requires, before a single résumé is read.
Write job postings that attract closers rather than professional applicants, and place them where real salespeople look.
Source and headhunt passive candidates, the best reps in your market already have jobs.
Screen for selling ability with live role-plays, discovery exercises and territory plans, not personality impressions.
Run structured, scored interviews with a consistent rubric so you compare candidates on the same axis.
Reference-check on performance: quota attainment, ranking, ramp time, verified, not vibes.
Build the 30/60/90 onboarding and ramp plan so a new rep produces in weeks instead of quarters.
Deliverables
What you get
- Role scorecard and competency rubric
- Job posting copy and sourcing channel plan
- Structured interview guide with scoring sheets
- Live selling assessment exercise
- Reference-check script focused on verified performance
- 30/60/90 onboarding and ramp plan
- Compensation benchmark for your market and role
Outcomes
What changes
- Fewer expensive mis-hires
- Faster ramp to first closed deal
- A repeatable hiring process your managers can run themselves
- A bench of qualified candidates instead of a panic search
Engagement
How we work together
Per-hire recruitment support
Build-the-hiring-system engagement (you run it afterward)
Ongoing advisory for scaling teams
Questions
Straight answers
Are you a recruitment agency?
No, and that matters. An agency is paid to fill the seat. I am paid to make sure the person in the seat sells. I build your hiring system, screen for actual selling ability, and hand you a process you own going forward.
How do you test whether someone can really sell?
Live exercises. A cold-call role-play against a realistic objection, a discovery conversation on your actual product, and a written territory or account plan. Talkers fall apart in the role-play; sellers get better in it.
Can you help us hire a sales manager, not just reps?
Yes. Sales manager hiring is where most companies get it most wrong, they promote or hire the best closer and get a bad manager and a lost quota. I assess specifically for coaching, forecasting and accountability capability.
Related
Services that usually go with this
Sales Management Consulting
For owners and executives whose sales team is busy but not closing, and whose forecast is fiction.
Sales Training & Enablement
Delivered by someone who still sells, not a trainer who read about it.
Fractional & Interim Sales Leadership
For companies that need senior leadership now but cannot yet justify a full-time executive hire.
Hiring instead of contracting? See the full-time roles, or the ATS-formatted resume.
Contact
Tell me what you are hiring for
- Call: +1 519 278 5085
- Email: tim@timarmstrong.ca
- Based: London & Southwestern Ontario, Ontario, America/Toronto (Eastern Time)
- Availability: Available nationally across Canada, on-site, hybrid or remote
- Serving: London · Stratford · Woodstock · Kitchener: Waterloo · Cambridge · Guelph · Brantford · Sarnia · Chatham-Kent · Windsor · Toronto · Mississauga and Canada-wide