How to spot a bad sales hire before day one

We're all about data. Thorough, precise processes that leave emotions out of the equation.

And still, every recruiter knows the feeling. You've done everything right, the scorecard is green, and something in your gut says this one is off.

Over 400+ placements since 2021, we've seen the bad hires up close, and we've heard plenty of horror stories from founders. Here are the patterns, and the tests that catch them before day one.

The short answer: watch for candidates who are too good to be true, check who they offer as references, make every "hunter" walk you through how they'd find new business on day one, use a paid two-week trial when a BDR is a gamble, see senior candidates in a social setting, and give live feedback during the case study to see how they take it.

1. The double dipper

A company was hiring a very senior salesperson. Because of that seniority, he asked for a signing bonus and guaranteed commissions for his first six months. The company was happy to oblige. Someone that knowledgeable could save them years of figuring things out.

He never left his previous job. He was working several roles at the same time. With six months of guaranteed commission in his contract, he rode the wave for a couple of months, and when the warning signs showed up, he had an excuse for every one of them.

We call them double or triple dippers. There are a lot of them out there, in the trenches, looking for their next victim. They're very hard to spot, because they ace your hiring process: extremely prepared, always on time, always proactive, nice to everyone. Almost too good to be true.

Nobody's perfect. If it's too good to be true, it probably is.

How they get caught

Usually a few weeks or months in, when somebody finally confronts them. The signs:

• slow replies during working hours
• an empty pipeline
• an empty calendar
• something that feels off and keeps feeling off

Here's what makes it hard. We hire salespeople to be autonomous, and autonomy means trust. Double dippers live in that trust. Be extra careful before you guarantee commissions to someone with no track record at your company, and check in early on activity, well before results are due.

The best early filter: who vouches for them

Look at the quality of the people they send you for reference checks. The higher up the totem pole the reference, the more credible they are, and the better the chances the candidate is legit. We ask every reference:

• In what capacity did you work with them?
• How would you describe your experience working with them?
• What success did you see them have, first-hand?
• Role-specific questions: could they sell to CISOs? Did they find their own opportunities without BDRs?

2. The fake hunter

They present themselves as hunters. They ace the interviews. Once they're in the seat, they fumble and produce nothing, and it becomes obvious that most of what they said about new business was inflated.

Our fix is the case study. We need a very clear picture of how they would find new business on day one if they started tomorrow. Which accounts, which channels, which message, which first week.

Then you keep digging into their past wins. An inflated new-business record usually sounds like this, three questions in: "Okay, most of it came from trade shows. I ran the booth and stood there all day." That's inbound with extra steps.

3. When a BDR is a gamble: the paid two-week trial

One of our clients does this whenever there's a doubt on a BDR. The candidate joins for a two-week trial. It's paid, and it's explained plainly up front: for two weeks, you'll prove you can deliver.

The target is a realistic number of meetings booked. Not everyone gets there. Roughly half pass.

It works for both sides. Someone who's a bit of a gamble gets the chance to show instead of tell. The company limits its exposure and its risk.

4. For senior roles: the dinner test

Sales is a social, client-facing job. Your new hire will end up at dinners, events and kickoffs, so it's worth seeing how they handle one before you sign.

Stories we've heard (not from our placements, thankfully): the new hire who shows up to the company kickoff three weeks in, gets very drunk, and dances a little too close to the HR manager. Sad but true.

That's why a lot of our clients take senior candidates out for dinner. What they watch:

• How do they treat the waiter, the host, the junior people at the table? We want the same respect for everyone.
• Can they stay professional with alcohol around?
• How do they carry a conversation when nobody's asking interview questions?

One VP Sales we know had his own version. He'd drive prospective hires around in his Tesla, pull over, and hand them the wheel. How someone handles that says a lot.

5. The coaching test

We've seen great interviewees who couldn't take feedback once they were in the seat. Ego took over, and companies had to let genuinely talented people go.

You can test this during the interview. Here's how I run it:

1. They run the case study role play.
2. I pause it and ask for buy-in: "Okay Billy, thanks for going through the motions. Are you okay if we do a little feedback session?"
3. No compliment sandwich. I tell them straight: I loved this, this and this, because that's exactly what we look for. This wasn't up to our standards. This you misunderstood. And this was an assumption that was totally off.
4. I ask whether they noticed the same things, and we talk it through.

Then I watch. Do they find it valuable? Nobody's perfect, and a second set of eyes always helps. Will they act on it, and how? How have they handled tough feedback in the past?

The five tests at a glance

Risk	The test	What gives it away
Double dipper	Reference caliber, early activity checks	Too good to be true, then slow replies and an empty calendar
Fake hunter	Day-one new business case study	"It all came from the trade show booth"
Unproven BDR	Paid two-week trial on meetings booked	Missing a realistic target (about half do)
Poor judgment in social settings	Dinner with senior candidates	How they treat staff, how they handle alcohol
Ego	Live feedback during the case study	Defensiveness, no plan to act on it

Trust your process. Then trust your gut when it taps you on the shoulder. Most bad hires were visible before day one. Somebody just had to look.

FAQ

What is a double dipper in sales hiring?

A salesperson who takes a new job without leaving their current one, often after negotiating a signing bonus or guaranteed commissions. They tend to ace the interview process, then get caught weeks or months later through slow replies, an empty pipeline or an empty calendar.

How do you tell if a salesperson is really a hunter?

Ask them to walk through exactly how they would find new business on day one, then dig into their past wins. Inflated records usually unravel within a few questions, for example when most "new business" turns out to have come from staffing a trade show booth.

Should you do a paid trial period for BDRs?

When a BDR candidate is a gamble, a paid two-week trial with a realistic meetings-booked target works well. It is explained up front, the candidate can prove themselves, and the company limits its risk. Roughly half pass.

How do you test coachability in a sales interview?

Pause the case study role play, ask for permission to give feedback, then give it directly with no compliment sandwich. Watch whether the candidate recognizes the points, finds them valuable and explains how they would act on them.

What are red flags in a sales candidate?

Being too good to be true across the whole process, references who are only peers, vague answers on how they would generate new business, rudeness to junior staff, poor judgment around alcohol, and defensiveness when given feedback.