EXECUTIVE SEARCH · CRO & VP SALES
Sales leaders interview better than anyone. That's the problem.
The best close in their career might be your interview process. We test what happens after the close.
THE RECOGNITION
The pipeline reviews were confident. The forecast had a story every quarter. The number didn’t move. You didn’t hire a seller - you hired a presenter.
Research heritage since 1999 · 60%+ of the Fortune 500 have used Qualigence · 85% retention on placed candidates over 24 months
THE KIND OF QUESTION OUR INTERVIEW ASKS
“Show me the quarter you missed. What did you change besides the forecast?”
WHAT WE TEST
What they do when the quarter breaks
How they hold activity standards without theater
Who they've developed, and where those people are now
Forecast honesty under pressure
THE SCIENCE
Why selection - the science under every service.
Most firms compete on access - who they know. We compete on evidence - what a candidate has actually done under pressure, tested against a definition of winning your team wrote down before the search opened. That is the 6-Step Performance Engine™: define winning, test identity and behavior against it, protect the standard through feedback and the decision.
It’s why 85% of our placed candidates are still performing at 24 months, and why 60%+ of the Fortune 500 have used Qualigence since 1999.
THE PLAN
One call. Bring the role and the problem you haven't been able to solve.
The engine takes it from there - research, screen, evidence, debrief.
You own the decision. We built the system that made it defensible.
QUESTIONS
Why is sales leadership so hard to evaluate in an interview?
Because selling is what they do for a living - and your interview is a sale. The preparation, the energy, the confidence, the story - it is a polished performance by the most practiced closers in your industry. We test what happens when the script breaks: the quarter they missed, the pipeline that collapsed, the team they couldn't move. That is not a coachable answer. It is evidence.
What is the difference between a CRO who builds a team and one who carries the number personally?
The CRO who carries the number personally is a liability at scale. We ask for the people they developed and where those people are now - not in a general way, but specifically: name the two sales leaders who came out of your team, and what they run today. A builder can answer that question in two minutes. A performer who never coached cannot answer it at all.
What does the written evidence file include for a sales leadership finalist?
For each finalist: the revenue, pipeline, and leadership outcomes the role requires at 90 days, 6 months, and 12 months; the specific behaviors we evaluated (forecast integrity, activity discipline, talent development); the evidence gathered; the remaining risk; and our recommendation. You receive decision clarity, not a quota sheet.
Stop being the best close of their career.
