Stop recruiting salespeople until you read this

Are you tired of the hiring rollercoaster? The candidate who aces the interview but fails on the floor? The costly mistake of a bad hire that sets your team back months?

Recruiting isn't about finding someone who can talk like a great salesperson; it's about finding someone who can perform like one. Lori Richardson's Hire Right, Higher Every Time is the antidote to guesswork. It provides a structured, practical playbook to transform your hiring from a stressful gamble into a predictable, repeatable system for building a top-performing team.

Before you read the summary, ask yourself these interactive questions to pinpoint your own hiring gaps.

Interactive questions for your hiring process

1. The scorecard test: Could you right now, without looking at a job description, write down the 5-7 measurable outcomes and core competencies that define a "successful hire" for your open role?

2. The sourcing dilemma: Where did your last three great hires come from? If you can't answer quickly, is your sourcing strategy reactive (post and pray) or proactive (building a talent pipeline)?

3. The interview trap: Do you ask every candidate the same set of core questions, designed to uncover past behavior, or do you tend to have a free-flowing "conversation" that can be easily swayed by a candidate's charm?

4. The reference check reality check: When you check references, do you simply confirm employment dates, or do you use a structured script to uncover patterns in performance, strengths, and weaknesses?

5. The cost calculation: Have you ever calculated the true cost—recruiting fees, onboarding time, lost deals, team morale—of your last bad hire?

If any of these gave you pause, the summary below will show you the way forward.

Summary: Hire Right, Higher Every Time by Lori Richardson

Core thesis: Hiring top sales talent is not a matter of luck or intuition. It is a disciplined, repeatable process that, when followed, drastically reduces costly mistakes and builds a foundation for sustainable growth.

The key principles & process

Richardson's book is a comprehensive playbook that guides you through the entire hiring lifecycle:

1. Define the Right Profile (The "Scorecard")

• Move beyond the job description. You must first create a "Success Profile" that outlines:

  • Key Accountabilities: What are the 3-5 must-achieve outcomes for this role in the first year?

  • Core Competencies: What specific skills are needed? (e.g., prospecting, discovery, negotiating, using a CRM).

  • Cultural Fit: What behaviors and values are non-negotiable for your team?

2. Source beyond the obvious

• The best candidates are often passive and not on job boards.

• Richardson emphasizes proactive sourcing: leveraging your network, employee referrals, social media (especially LinkedIn), and building a talent pipeline before you have an opening.

3. The structured interview: uncovering truth, not talk

• This is the core of the book. Ditch casual conversations for a structured process that reveals past behavior as a predictor of future performance.

• Use behavioral questions: Ask "How?" and "Tell me about a time..." questions.

  • Instead of: "Are you good at closing?"

  • Ask: "Walk me through your most complex deal from first contact to close. What was your specific role and what strategies did you use?"

• The "Selling Philosophy" interview: Understand how a candidate thinks about selling. Ask about their preparation for a call, how they handle rejection, and how they build trust with a client.

4. Involve the team & assess objectively

• Have other team members conduct structured interviews with their own focus areas (e.g., a peer can assess collaboration, a manager can assess strategic thinking). Use a consistent scoring system to reduce individual bias.

5. Master the close & the onboarding

• Selling the offer: Top candidates have options. You must effectively "sell" them on the vision, the team, and the growth opportunity.

• Onboarding is part of hiring: A structured first 90-day onboarding plan is critical to ensure your new hire becomes productive and integrated quickly.

Key Takeaway for Hiring Managers

Stop relying on your "gut feeling." By implementing Richardson's structured process, you replace hiring anxiety with hiring confidence. You will no longer be fooled by the smooth talker; instead, you will systematically uncover a candidate's past behaviors, selling philosophy, and true cultural fit, allowing you to make a data-informed decision that benefits your team for years to come.