How do you check a salesperson before the interview?

Give them a practical task in chat: a role-play where the sales lead plays the client. The script has an ordinary question, an objection and a pause. You score reply speed, spelling, clarity, how they handle the objection and whether they set a concrete next step.

How long should probation last for a rep who sells in chat?

Two to four weeks is usually enough if the criteria are known from day one. Week one is speed, spelling and the rules; week two is objections and next steps; after that, dropped conversations, kept promises and first agreements.

Why give a work number to someone still on probation?

So the mentor reviews real conversations, and the clients the new rep has started with stay with the company even if probation doesn’t work out. Put the rules for the number in the contract under your country’s law.

Where do you find reps who can sell in chat?

On job sites, in industry communities, through referrals from your strong people and among support staff who are used to writing a lot. A candidate’s first reply already shows how they write.

How to hire a salesperson: check them in chat first

A salesperson who writes is checked by writing. Everything else is their story about themselves.

The candidate is confident in the interview. A month later they write to clients at length, with typos and three hours late. Selling out loud and selling in writing are different skills. If your team sells in messaging apps, hire for the second one.

This piece is about choosing the salesperson. How to run candidates through messaging apps without losing them along the way is covered separately: hiring through Telegram and WhatsApp.

Who you are looking for

Write the profile before you post the job, or you will pick the person you liked, not the one who fits.

A rep who sells in chat:

Writes clearly. One thought, one message. The client gets it the first time.
Replies fast. Not in a rush, just without the gaps in which a client cools down.
Writes correctly. Clients read typos as carelessness of the company, not of one person.
Holds many conversations. A dozen at once, and none forgotten.
Gets to an agreement. Every conversation ends with a next step: a date, an amount, a call, a payment. Not “sure, have a think.”

The last point matters more than the rest. Plenty of people write politely and quickly. Few close a conversation with an agreement.

Where to look

The usual channels: job sites, industry communities, referrals from your strong reps, former employees who left on good terms. Also look at people from support: they are used to writing fast, and selling can be taught.

What matters more than where is how the first reply is written. A candidate’s message is already a sample of their chat work. No greeting, one solid block of text, three typos — that is an answer before any task.

Say plainly in the job post that the work is in chat and selection includes a practical task. That filters out those who don’t want this format.

A practical task in chat, before the interview

A work sample for a chat salesperson should be a chat. Not a questionnaire or an essay.

How to set it up:

Agree on a time. 20–30 minutes, the candidate is available, and so are you.
Play the client. The sales lead or an experienced rep writes. The script is ready in advance and the same for everyone.
Give the basics. What you sell, the price, the terms — what a new hire knows on day one.
Start with an ordinary question. “How much is it, and when can you do it?” Watch whether the candidate asks questions back or just sends the price list.
Raise an objection. “Too expensive, others are cheaper,” or “I’ll think about it.” Watch what they do: give in, argue, or find out what is behind the words.
Go quiet for ten minutes. Does the candidate come back on their own, and how.
Wait for the next step. Do they offer something concrete: “Let me book Thursday for you, I’ll send the invoice today.”

Afterwards, score everyone on one scale:

reply time for each message;
typos and errors;
length and clarity of messages;
the objection: found the reason or gave up;
whether there is a concrete agreement at the end.

Then you compare people, not your mood on different days.

The interview

The task has already shown how the person writes. The meeting is there to understand how they think and what they want.

Ask about cases, not qualities. Not “do you handle stress well?” but “tell me about a client who went silent after the price. What did you do?” A good answer is concrete: what they wrote, when they came back, how it ended.

Go through the chat from the task with the candidate. What would they change? Where do they think they might have lost the client? Seeing your own mistake matters more than making none.

And say plainly how the work is set up: work numbers, chat rules, what the sales lead sees. Better they hear it now than in week two.

Probation: the first 2–4 weeks

Probation isn’t time to “see how it goes.” It is a set of criteria both sides know from the first day.

A mentor

Assign one experienced rep with time set aside for it, not “ask anyone you like.” In the first days the new rep reads the mentor’s chats; then they write, and the mentor watches.

Reviews

Once a week, a review: two or three good conversations and two or three bad ones. Not to grade, but to reach one conclusion — what to do differently.

What to watch

Week 1. Reply speed and spelling. Knowing the product and the chat policy.
Week 2. Handling objections. How many conversations end with a next step.
Weeks 3–4. Dropped conversations, kept promises, first agreements and payments.

What to measure in chat: KPIs for reps in chat. On speed specifically: reply speed to clients.

Decide at the end of probation by these criteria. If the person improves week after week, that is a strong signal, even when sales are still few. If nothing changes after the reviews, don’t drag it out.

A work number from day one

A new rep doesn’t write to clients from a personal phone, not even “while the paperwork is sorted.” From the first day, it is a company work number.

You need this: the mentor reviews real conversations, not retellings. They need it too: private life stays apart from work. And it is insurance if probation doesn’t work out — the clients they started with stay with the company. How it goes otherwise: a rep left and took the clients. How to move people already working from personal phones: moving a team to work numbers.

Put the rules for the number and the chats in the contract and get the employee’s consent. Details depend on your country’s law, so discuss them with a lawyer.

A short checklist

The candidate profile is written before the job goes up
The job post mentions chat work and a practical task
There is one “client” script with an objection and a pause
There is a scale: speed, spelling, objection, next step
The interview asks about cases and goes through the task chat
A mentor is assigned before the new rep starts
The new rep knows the probation criteria on day one
A work number is issued before the first message to a client

The whole selection rests on the task script. Start there.

People are hired for how they talk. They are kept for how they write.

How to hire a salesperson who sells in chat