Two Hiring Errors that Burn Capital and Leads

As you evaluate results from last quarter, you're likely making changes to your sales team. But smart leaders know something others miss: this is the perfect moment to upgrade your *hiring process,* not just your team.

Why? Because bad sales hires are devastatingly expensive.

We're talking $50K+ in salary waste alone—before counting burned leads and delayed revenue. Yet most startups make this mistake repeatedly.

Two critical errors are sabotaging your hiring:

Error 1: Targeting the wrong talent pool

Many startups look for lots of prior experience. They'll hit the ground running, right?

Actually, that's a trap. Most experienced reps don't want to take the risk of working at a startup. They can make more money with less risk somewhere else.

There are exceptions, but experienced reps who are good are likely to choose to work somewhere else.

That means that the pool of experienced reps that's available to early-stage startups is disproportionately folks who couldn't get roles elsewhere. Lots of them just don't have what it takes.

Smart startups set the required experience level as low as they reasonably can so they are hiring from a pool that has lots of talented reps.

Error 2: Using the wrong assessment methods

Lots of companies ask behavioral questions designed to uncover personality traits that predict success.

That might work if you're a big company with lots of data about what traits predict success at your company.

But you're not. And you don't.

The winning approach: Skills-based simulations that reveal what candidates can actually DO, not just what they say in interviews.

This methodology consistently uncovers hidden-gem reps that your competitors miss.

Check out the Hidden-Gem Hiring Process for more.

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If you liked this article, have a look at our piece on Action-Focused Onboarding to see how to set your new hires up for success. You can also check out the P.S.I. Selling Content Page for more insights on sales communication, strategy, and leadership.

Want to build a sales process that proves value and a team that can execute? Get in touch.

For more about the author, check out Mike's bio.