Inside sales teams can go through many iterations of change as managers seek to grow their business. Sales reps come and go for a multitude of reasons, and the new blood can greatly impact the office’s success.

Hiring managers seek to keep a productive culture that yields bountiful profits and motivated team members, and new teammates can either work for or against that mission. That is why interviewing for new inside sales reps should be a carefully curated process. There are things you need to know – things that will tell you very quickly if your prospective sales rep has the chops to keep pace or even accelerate your team’s success.

• What goals has your new rep set for himself and what goals in the past has he achieved?

Inside sales reps need to have clear and tangible goals and set benchmarks for obtaining those goals. When screening candidates, asking what goals they currently have will lend you insight into their ambition, drive and sense of purpose. Knowing what goals they’ve achieved in the past can help you gauge their ability to stick to a plan and conquer obstacles. 

• Why did they want to join your team?

It’s a simple, often overlooked question. But the “why” is an incredible indicator for how inside sales reps will perform. Understanding your reps’ motivation is important in the scope of their future success. They must hold consistent resolve to get the job done, and maintain a willingness to learn and grow at all times. The wrong motivations will yield the wrong results. The right motivations can carry your team to the top.

• How does your rep handle obstacles?

It is important that you asses an inside sales person’s ability to effectively plan and respond to changes and disruptions that occur. The battlefield of inside sales is ever-changing, and new reps need a dynamic spirit that can ebb and flow with new objectives. Our reps must be able to reflect, adjust and overcome with tenacity and self evaluation. 

Certain truths are well-known to inside sales interviewers. Attitude and motivation make up a large slice of a sales candidate’s potential. Even if they are young and inexperienced, the willingness to learn and aptitude for business can greatly compensate for their lack of previous experience. Similarly, a jaded veteran with many years under his belt can quickly anchor a productive team. By probing through the above bullets, you can help sift out the riff-raff and build a winning sales squad.

Stuart Croft is the VP of Sales at NewVoiceMedia.