The Sales Director who interviews best is often the riskiest hire
Selling is the job, so of course they sell themselves well. A great interview tells you less than you think, and sometimes it hides the very thing you needed to know.
Insights
Hard-won, occasionally uncomfortable lessons from searching for Sales Directors in UK manufacturing.
Much of what businesses believe about hiring senior commercial leaders feels sensible and turns out to be wrong. These are short notes on the lessons I have learned the hard way, some of them a little uncomfortable.
Your job spec is probably the reason the shortlist is weak
Most Sales Director specs describe a perfect person who doesn’t exist, and quietly put off the real people who would be brilliant.
“Culture fit” interviews usually select for likability, not fit
“Would I enjoy a pint with them?” is a fine question for a friend. As a hiring test for a Sales Director, it quietly filters for people like you.
The candidates who want the role most are often the ones you should park
Enthusiasm feels like commitment. Sometimes it is. Often it is a sign that the move matters more to them than the role does.
A counter-offer that “saves” a hire usually just delays the exit
Money can stop a resignation. It rarely fixes the reason behind it. Why accepted counter-offers so often unravel, on both sides of the table.
You don’t have a Sales Director shortage — you have a stay shortage
The problem is rarely that good commercial leaders can’t be found. It’s that too many businesses can’t keep them past the second year.