How to Hire a Sales Manager Who Actually Hits Target

I've spent over a decade building and leading commercial teams across EMEA, opening new markets in the UK and UAE, and hiring sales people at every level from graduate to VP. If there's one thing that pattern repeats across every business I've worked with, it's this: most sales hiring decisions are made on the wrong evidence.

Why Sales Hiring Gets It Wrong So Often

Most hiring managers default to two things when reviewing a sales CV: the brand names on it, and the numbers next to each role. Both are useful, but neither tells you what you actually need to know — whether this person can sell into your market, your product, and your buying process specifically. A strong number against an easy target in a hot market means something very different from the same number achieved against real resistance. Without context, a CV full of impressive figures can be a mirage.

What To Look For Instead

• Market context behind the numbers — was this an inbound-rich, growing market, or a genuinely hard sell?

• Evidence of process, not just outcome — can they walk you through how they actually built a pipeline, not just the result?

• Coachability — strong performers who can also take direction tend to outlast naturally gifted closers who can't

• Resilience signals — how they talk about a quarter that went badly tells you more than how they talk about one that went well

• Motion fit — a hunter thrives on new business; a farmer thrives on account growth. Hiring the wrong type into the wrong seat is one of the most common, avoidable mistakes

Red Flags Worth Taking Seriously

Watch for candidates who can't explain a loss without blaming the product, the market, or their manager. Watch for vague answers when you ask how they actually built their pipeline, as opposed to what it delivered. And watch for people whose energy in the interview doesn't match the energy they'll need to bring to your specific sales motion — a brilliant enterprise seller dropped into a high-velocity SMB sales floor, or vice versa, rarely works out the way either side hoped.

How We Approach Sales & Marketing Recruitment

At Pro Recruitment Ireland, we don't just match keywords on a CV against a job spec. Because our own commercial background sits in building and scaling sales teams ourselves, we know what questions actually separate a strong sales hire from a CV that just looks strong. We brief every client conversation around your specific sales motion, your market, and the kind of person who genuinely thrives in that environment, not a generic profile of 'a good salesperson.'

If you're hiring for a Sales or Marketing role and want a conversation that goes beyond ticking boxes on a job spec, get in touch — we're happy to talk through what's actually working in the current Irish market right now.