Hiring exceptional salespeople is critical to driving revenue and growth in your company. Yet identifying candidates who can thrive in high-pressure sales environments requires more than just assessing resumes and asking standard interview questions. As Chet Holmes explains in The Ultimate Sales Machine, a counterintuitive but effective strategy is to use rejection during the interview process to gauge a candidate’s resilience, confidence, and ability to sell themselves.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to incorporating rejection as a strategic filter in your hiring process, ensuring you bring in sales professionals who can excel in challenging conditions.

Step 1: Understand the Role of Rejection in Sales

Rejection is an unavoidable part of sales. Whether cold-calling prospects or negotiating deals, salespeople often hear “no” far more than “yes.” The best salespeople don’t just tolerate rejection—they thrive on it, using it as motivation to persist and succeed.

Your interview process should reflect this reality. By introducing rejection or doubt strategically, you can observe how candidates respond under pressure and identify those with the grit and tenacity to handle the challenges of the role.

Step 2: Incorporate Rejection Early in the Process

Testing resilience can begin as early as the initial phone screen. Subtle challenges during this stage reveal how candidates handle doubt and defend their qualifications.

Initial Phone Screen

When discussing the candidate’s background and achievements, introduce a gentle challenge:

• “It sounds like you’ve done well in your past roles, but I’m not sure how that experience translates to our industry.”

• “Why should we consider you over candidates with more industry-specific experience?”

Pay attention to their response:

• Do they calmly and confidently defend their qualifications?

• Do they turn the objection into an opportunity to highlight their value?

• Or do they falter under pressure?

This stage helps filter out candidates who lack confidence and the ability to think on their feet.

Step 3: Role-Playing with Rejection

Role-playing is a valuable tool to simulate real-world sales challenges. During the in-person interview, create scenarios that include intentional rejection to test how candidates handle objections.

How to Conduct Role-Playing

1. Choose a Product or Service: Ask the candidate to sell your product, a hypothetical service, or even a simple item like a pen.

2. Introduce Objections: Present realistic objections, such as:

   • “I don’t see how this would benefit me.”

   • “Your product seems overpriced compared to competitors.”

   • “I’m not ready to make a decision right now.”

3. Push Back Harder: Reject their initial responses to see if they persist. For example:

   • “I’m still not convinced. What else can you offer?”

What to Observe

• Do they remain composed and continue trying to close the sale?

• Can they address objections with creativity and confidence?

• Do they ask insightful questions to uncover your underlying concerns?

This exercise helps you evaluate how well candidates can adapt and persist when faced with resistance.

Step 4: Actively Reject the Candidate to Test Their Grit

Chet Holmes teaches that rejection isn’t just a filter—it’s a definitive test of whether a salesperson has the resilience and determination to succeed. During the interview, take the bold step of outright rejecting the candidate to gauge their response.

How to Deliver the Rejection

After exploring the candidate’s qualifications or role-playing exercises, issue a firm rejection. For example:

• “If I were hiring two or three salespeople, I might hire you, but I’m really looking for one sales rockstar, and I'm just not seeing it in you."

Then pause and observe.

What to Evaluate

The way a candidate reacts to this rejection speaks volumes about their resilience and self-belief. Strong candidates will push back, defending themselves with confidence and clarity. For example, they might say:

• “I understand your concerns, but I’d like to point out a few things you might not be considering. Let me give you an example of how I’ve handled similar challenges and succeeded.”

• “I hear you, but I think you’re overlooking how my skills directly align with this role. Here’s why I believe I’d be a valuable addition to your team.”

If a candidate accepts the rejection without resistance—perhaps saying something like “I understand, thank you for your time”—that’s a red flag. It indicates a lack of the persistence needed to succeed in sales.

However, candidates who seize this opportunity to advocate for themselves demonstrate exactly the qualities you want: confidence, tenacity, and the ability to turn a setback into a win.

Step 5: Observe Emotional Intelligence

Success in sales requires not just persistence but also emotional intelligence. Observe how candidates handle rejection and objections:

• Do they remain composed and professional, or do they show signs of frustration?

• Do they listen actively and adapt their approach based on feedback?

• Can they turn a negative situation into a positive one?

Candidates who display self-awareness and adaptability, even under pressure, are likely to excel in real-world sales environments.

Step 6: Finish with a Final Challenge

Conclude the interview with one last test of resilience. For example:

• “This has been a tough process, and I’m still not convinced. If you had one last chance to convince me to hire you, what would you say?”

Top candidates will embrace this challenge with conviction, delivering a confident and persuasive argument for why they deserve the role.

Final Thoughts

Incorporating rejection into your interview process may feel counterintuitive, but it’s a proven strategy for identifying sales talent. By testing candidates’ ability to handle objections, pushback, and outright rejection, you can ensure you hire individuals who are not only skilled but also resilient and confident.

Exceptional salespeople thrive on overcoming challenges. By designing an interview process that mirrors the real-world conditions they’ll face, you can attract and hire the sales professionals who will drive your company’s success.