The Personal Context of Sales | Idan Cataife, Sales and Business Development Expert

Idan Cataife, Sales and Business Development Expert, joined James on Tech Salescraft, sharing his effective approach to unlocking personality in the interview process. Identifying the strongest skills and professional abilities is only half the battle in sales. Interviewing for character and personality can be a difficult task in the interview process as the structures often don’t invite this. Idan offers a masterclass that deconstructs traditional interview technqiues, and shares actionable advice that allows you to identify the best salespeople for your business.

“I’ve seen some fantastic resumes. People who did SaaS, who sold to banks, who sold to financial institutions. If you look at their record, you say this is someone I want on my team. But then how do you take one onion layer, and the second onion layer, and another one, to get to the core? And then you need to ask yourself, is this core, which is the person’s willingness, on my side of the table?”

Across Tech Salescraft, conversations have been revealed the importance of adopting a multi-faceted interview process. As stressed by Idan, the CV is simply a starting point; it isn’t often the most accurate and complete reflection of a person. Idan and James’ discussion around international expansion furthers this point, honing in on the importance of having people on your team that are invested in your mission and strategy. So what are the core skills needed?

  • Authenticity: You need to address how committed a person is to a career in sales, and guage the level of investment they have in the role they are pursuing.
  • Mission-Fit: Do they understand what the company mission is? And do they recognise the role they play in furthering and fulfilling this mission?
  • Cultural-Fit: Particularly relevant to firms that are expanding on an international basis, will your new hire thrive in your company culture, irrespective of geography?

And how do you identify this?

  • Meet face-to-face: whilst it’s brilliant we have access to tools that allow us to collaborate virtually, meeting face-to-face should not be dimissed. Adding a personable edge to the interview process is Idan’s key to understanding a new potential hire.
  • Ask for a presentation: This is an insight into skills and innovation. And you don’t have to get them to centre their presentation around your own product; allow them to showcase skills your product may not naturally invite.
  • Create an “informal” interview stage: this is how you truly get to meet someone’s authentic personality. Invite them into a setting that welcomes character, and allows you to “peel back the onion layers”.
  • References: a vetting tool that is often up for debate, but for Idan they remain key professional indicators. If you have access to them, use them.

Creating a seamless, insightful interview process is no straightforward task; and what works for one firm, often can’t be translated to another. However, Idan has shared tools and approaches that offer a more hollistic overview, and work to serve a brilliant breadth of firms- particularly those exploring international growth.

Thank you Idan for joining us on Tech Salescraft! You can watch the full episode now on YouTube, or listen across all major podcast streaming platforms here.