This YouTube interview clip (Jason M. Lemkin, uploaded Sep 21, 2024) discusses how to evaluate early sales hires. Lemkin recommends a practical exercise—asking candidates to "sell me this pen" (adapted to "sell me this app")—and expects candidates to do preparatory work (e.g., 30 minutes to a couple hours) rather than rely on gimmicks. He favors straightforward, second-interview style tests over surprise games.
To close the loop on this thread, when you're interviewing the early sales reps, those first two quirky folks, what are some questions and ways to know if they're maybe a good fit? You mentioned one of like you feel like you would buy from them.
Okay, the one, really, the simplest one. And, and early in my career I thought this was silly or hated it. This Glengarry Glenn Ross. I don't know if it was Glengarry Glen Ross or that, that, that Toxic Leo movie about sales, which is still entertaining. But. What? Yeah, one way or another, Lenny, it's gotta be Sell me this pen. But it's not Sell me this pen. It's Sell me this app. So I don't like surprises. I don't like games. I like to do this in a second interview or whatever, give them time. And I don't like to judge too harshly, but it, whether it's the first interview or the second, they gotta sell you this pen. They've gotta put in the 30 minutes of work and maybe it's two hours. But here's the thing. Today's world, you can go on YouTube or someone's website.
