How to Speed Up Your Sales Hiring Without Sacrificing Quality

Top sales talent is usually off the job market in as little as 10 days – but most businesses still take weeks to make a sales hiring decision. That gap is costing sales leaders their best candidates and slowing revenue growth.

Many sales leader worry that moving faster means cutting corners, taking risks and potentially making the wrong hire. But, with the right processes, you can accelerate sales hiring without sacrificing quality. In some cases, a streamlined process can even help you secure better candidates!

Why you might need new hires fast

In sales, every week without the right person in seat is a week of missed opportunities and lost revenue. But needing to hire quickly isn’t always a sign of crisis. It can also be a sign of opportunity:

  • Business growth & expansion – like new funding, opening a new location or the launch of a new product line.
  • Seasonal or market opportunities – some industries benefit from fast turnaround to maximise on short, high-impact windows of product demand.
  • Surges in inbound demand – when a campaign takes off beyond your capacity, you need new people fast to fill demand.
  • Strategic pivots – if you’re moving into a new sales model or targeting a different customer segment, you need people with specific experience, and fast.

In all of these cases, speed isn’t about panic. It’s about the readiness and agility to turn opportunity into revenue before competitors catch up.

1. Start with a clear sales hiring brief

Too often, hiring is held back because those involved aren’t aligned on what a great hire looks like. So, before you start on your recruitment journey, define:

  • The core skills and experience your new hire must have (keep this list short and essential)
  • The sales behaviours and values that align with your culture
  • The results you expect within the first 6 months

Cutting out the ‘nice-to-haves’ can actually make it easier to find and secure the right person without worrying about ticking arbitrary boxes.

Whether you choose to work with a sales recruiter or run the process internally, having a clear brief means you know what to prioritise from candidates from the beginning.

2. Streamline your interview process

Sales is notorious for long, drawn-out interview stages. But, they are the fastest way to lose the interest of top candidates. So, take an objective look at your processes before you advertise, and ask yourself:

  • Can you combine assessments into one or two high-impact interviews?
  • Are you using structured scorecards to make decision-making faster and fairer?
  • Is your panel trained to spot both skill and cultural fit in the same conversation?

By removing unnecessary steps, you can reduce your drop-off and keep momentum. Candidates will see you as decisive and efficient, both of which are attractive traits in an employer.

3. Rethink your sales assessment day

Traditional assessment centres have long been a part of the sales recruitment process. It’s a way for employers to see a large group handle a variety of activities at the same time. They can be effective, especially with a high volume of applicants and lots of roles to fill. But they can be time-consuming and off-putting to candidates, especially those juggling multiple offers.

That’s why at Prime, we have reimagined the assessment day. Our key mission is to change the perception of sales. So, we’ve exchanged assessments for training, giving every shortlisted candidate a place on one of our free, award-winning training days that:

  • Let our recruiters and clients see candidates’ sales skills in action
  • Gives attendees a real insight into sales, and sometimes the company or role in particular
  • Helps us make faster hiring decisions with confidence

The result? A process that’s faster, more enjoyable and more accurate. Plus, candidates don’t leave empty-handed. Every attendee can put the training on their LinkedIn and CV.

4. Pre-qualify sales candidates before you interview

Wasting time on putting the wrong candidates through multiple stages is a huge cause of hiring delays. It can take time to really get to know a candidate, and sometimes that’s not something you have as a leader. Every extra interview with the wrong candidates puts key players out of action.

That’s where working with a specialist sales recruiter can be helpful. Before any Prime candidate reaches one of our training days, we put them through two stages of screening calls. These allow our team to:

  • Truly understand their specific motivations and drivers
  • Assess their communication style
  • Find out where they would best be a cultural fit

5. Sell the role from the first touchpoint

Top performers aren’t just looking for a job, they are usually weighing up multiple opportunities. If you want them to take the time to apply and wait for your offer – they need to be hooked from the start.

Our recruiters work with your team to understand both what you’re looking for and what you can offer to a new recruit. So, make sure you’re clear on your perks and culture from the start.

Beyond the job description, having a strong employer brand is also important. This means:

The Bottom Line

You don’t have to choose between hiring quickly and hiring well. In fact, a streamlined process often means keeping the best candidates engaged and stopping competitors from getting there first.

If you want to hire high-calibre sales talent to match your fast-paced growth without lowering standards, our team at This is Prime specialises in fast, high-quality sales recruitment.

Our clients hire faster, hire better, and keep their top salespeople longer, because we know exactly what to look for. From entry-level to experienced hires, we’ll deliver sales talent that drives results from day one.

Contact us through our website (www.thisisprime.co.uk) or drop us an email at hello@thisisprime.co.uk to find out more.

Written by: This Is Prime
August 14 2025