How We Screen Candidates for Potential, Not Just Experience

A vital part of graduate recruitment in sales, where formal education opportunities are few, is screening for potential. So, our screening process at Prime focuses on skills like coachability and resilience rather than a traditional sales experience. Although they don't have all of the necessary knowledge yet, they take feedback well and learn skills quickly.

The Importance of Screening for Potential

Screening for potential, rather than the skills candidates already have, can be challenging. It means reading in-between the lines and understanding how skills can transfer from an extracurricular or educational setting to a workplace. It also means forming relationships with your candidates and picking up on the skills they don't mention.

So, why do it? Why spend the extra time interviewing candidates to find their potential? The first reason can be summed up with the phrase 'the past doesn't dictate the future'. Having some sales experience - like door-to-door sales - can be helpful. But by fast-tracking those candidates without digging deeper you may miss red flags and poor techniques they picked up on the job.

Putting forward candidates based on attributes like coachability are also important because they future-proof your sales team. Sales, especially in the tech sectors, is ever-changing. Therefore, having a team that are willing to develop and evolve with the times and as their career progresses is vital.

What we Look for in Candidates

Firstly, and most importantly, we look for coachability - the measure of a candidate's openness to feedback, how they take criticism and their ability to learn. This is important in sales because SDRs and BDEs are always learning. Whether during their onboarding training or to prepare for a promotion, their role will constantly be evolving.

Secondly, we look for candidates who are highly motivated. Sales can be incredibly difficult at times. So having strong motivators, whether they're financial or developmental, is important. These are things they can look to at times of hardship or rejection to remain focused on their targets.

A healthy level of competitiveness is also something we look for whilst screening candidates. This includes candidates from a sporting or academic competition background (think football captains, mooting teams etc..) who are usually driven by numbers and league-tables.

The final thing we look for in graduate candidates is people skills. Sales involves talking to lots of people and creating relationships that eventually turn into clients. So, it's important that any potential salesperson is comfortable talking to strangers and engaging in conversations.

How our Process Fosters Potential

Here at Prime, we prioritise graduates in our hiring process - tailoring it to give candidates the best chance to succeed. This means that we have two meetings with them, one over the phone and one over video call, to really understand their values, motivations and qualities.

Then, each candidate has access to an afternoon of our award-winning sales training for free. This gives them a chance to learn the basics of communication and pitching in a group setting. It also allows us (and some of our clients) to see their personalities and skills in action. Clients who attend also have exclusive access to choose candidates from the training day.

Why you Should Care About Potential

It might feel risky to hire someone based on what they could bring to your business, rather than their past experience. But, there are long-term benefits to this approach.

Instead of hiring for specific past experiences, hiring for potential means you feed the development of your team. Sales skills can be learnt, but without the key traits that make up a great potential salesperson, there may be issues in the future when the time comes to adapt to new processes and technologies.

Your employees are an investment, and those hired based on their potential have the chance to provide a strong return your investment in the long-term. This is because employees with a higher growth potential are more likely to stay and grow with their company. This is especially true when they feel that their skills and development are being invested in.

If you're interested in hiring top graduates with potential, contact This is Prime to get started. You can send us a contact form through our website, or call us on 0161 672 5550.