Hiring guide
How to Hire a Sales Executive
Hiring a sales executive: define the sales motion, source from adjacent markets, run a discovery call role-play, check pipeline habits and spot red flags.
The short answer
Hiring a Sales Executive comes down to verifying discovery: asking layered questions that uncover the buyer's problem, cost of inaction and decision process, qualification using a clear framework such as meddic, bant or spin, applied consistently and prospecting discipline across email, phone and linkedin, beyond working inbound leads before you commit interview time. The process below runs 5 stages, screens on evidence rather than résumé claims, and scores every candidate against the same criteria.
- Watch for: Cannot explain how a specific deal was won, only that they hit target
- Watch for: Quotes quota attainment but cannot say what the quota was or how it was measured
- Score on: Quality and depth of discovery questions in the role-play
- Score on: Qualification judgement: do they know when a deal is not real
Paste your Sales Executive job description; Cohesyve finds, contacts and tests candidates on the real work and ranks them. Ten candidates free, no card.
Applying for a role like this? Practise the assessment free →To hire a sales executive well, start by writing down the sales motion they will run: who they sell to, how deals are sourced, how long a typical cycle is in your business and whether they own the deal from first call to signature. The title means different things in different companies. In some it is a field or account executive closing mid-sized deals, in others a junior seller handling inbound leads. This guide covers defining the role, where to source, how to test real selling skill with a discovery call and the red flags that show up in interviews.
Why this role matters
A sales executive turns interest into revenue. They qualify prospects, run discovery, present a solution, handle objections, negotiate and close, and they keep the CRM accurate so the business can forecast. A good one builds a predictable pipeline and leaves customers who trust what they were sold. A poor hire burns through leads your marketing team paid for, discounts too early, overpromises to close and leaves a forecast nobody believes.
Where to find candidates
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator, searching for sellers at companies that sell to the same buyer as you
- Sellers at your competitors and at adjacent vendors whose customers overlap with yours
- Strong sales development representatives ready for their first closing role, including your own
- Sales communities such as RevGenius, where sellers share playbooks and job posts
- Customer-facing people from your target industry, for example ex-pharmacists for pharmacy software, who can learn to sell
- Referrals from your current sales team and from customers who were impressed by a seller elsewhere
- Job boards: LinkedIn Jobs and Indeed; Naukri in India
Skills to look for
Red flags
- Cannot explain how a specific deal was won, only that they hit target
- Quotes quota attainment but cannot say what the quota was or how it was measured
- Talks through the whole discovery call and asks few questions
- Blames marketing, product or territory for every missed number
- Relies on discounting as the main closing tactic
- Has never sourced their own pipeline when your role needs outbound
- Does not research your company or product before the interview
The interview process
- 1
Recruiter or hiring manager screen
Confirm the sales motion they come from: deal size, buyer, inbound or outbound, and cycle length. Ask them to walk through their last full year against target, including how the number was set.
- 2
Deal deep-dive
Ask them to pick one deal they won and one they lost and walk through each: how it started, who was involved, what objections came up, what they would do differently. Listen for specifics such as names of roles, next steps and the decision process.
- 3
Discovery call role-play
Send a short brief about a fictional prospect a day ahead. A manager plays the buyer, with a hidden problem and a sceptical stakeholder. Assess whether they uncover the real need, qualify the deal and agree a concrete next step. A job simulation of the real work is one option for giving every candidate the same scenario.
- 4
Written follow-up
After the role-play, ask them to send the follow-up email they would send the buyer. This shows how well they listened and whether they can write a clear recap and next steps.
- 5
Team meeting and references
Let them meet a peer seller and someone from customer success. Take references from a former sales manager and ask how they forecast and how they responded to coaching.
Cohesyve
Start the Sales Executive interviews from a ranked shortlist
Cohesyve takes your Sales Executive job description, finds and contacts candidates and tests each one on an AI job simulation of the job, so the stages above start with people who have already done the work. Ten candidates free, no card.
How to evaluate
- Quality and depth of discovery questions in the role-play
- Qualification judgement: do they know when a deal is not real
- Specific, credible detail in the deal deep-dive
- Clarity and accuracy of the written follow-up
- Fit between their past sales motion and yours
- How they respond to feedback during the interview
Onboarding
- 1Certify them on your product demo and pitch before they take live calls
- 2Have them shadow calls with your best seller and with customer success
- 3Give them a written ideal customer profile and qualification checklist
- 4Set early activity and pipeline goals before closed-revenue goals
- 5Review call recordings together each week in the first months
Common questions
What is the difference between a sales executive and a sales representative?
It varies by company. A sales executive usually owns deals through to close, often larger or more complex ones, while a sales representative may cover a defined territory or a higher volume of smaller transactions. Define the role by the work it involves.
Should I hire from my industry or for sales skill?
If your buyers expect deep domain knowledge, industry experience shortens the ramp. If your product is easy to understand, a strong seller from a similar sales motion often adapts faster than an industry expert who has never closed.
How do I check a candidate's sales track record?
Ask for the quota, the attainment and how both were measured, then confirm with a former manager in a reference call. Ask the manager how reliable their forecasts were as well as whether they hit target.
Is a role-play a fair test for experienced sellers?
Yes, if you give them a brief in advance and play a realistic buyer. It shows how they actually run a call, which interviews alone rarely reveal.
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