The $115K Mistake No One Wants to Admit

I probably shouldn’t share this yet…

But if you’re hiring salespeople based on interviews and gut instinct…

you’re gambling.

20 years in sales.
101 teams built.
$375M generated.
12,000+ salespeople assessed.

Here’s what I know for certain:

The hiring process in sales is broken.

And most founders don’t realize how expensive that truth is.

Do you know the average cost of a bad sales hire?

Not $10K.
Not $25K.

$115,000.

Ramp time.
Lost pipeline.
Team drag.
Management distraction.
Opportunity cost.

Most companies make that mistake 3–4 times before they get it right.

That’s not bad luck.

That’s a broken system.

And after assessing thousands of reps, here are 10 patterns I have seen repeat over 12,000 times:

1. “They Interviewed Well.”

The most expensive sentence in business.

Charisma ≠ closing under pressure.

The interview is a performance.
Pressure reveals truth.

2. There’s No Such Thing as a “Great Salesperson.”

There’s only a great salesperson for a specific seat.

A killer closer fails as an enterprise strategist.
A relationship builder collapses in high-velocity volume.

Same human. Different seat. Different result.

3. Founders Underestimate the Real Cost

By the time you “figure out” it’s not working…

The money is already gone.

4. Most Assessments Give a Verdict, Not a Plan

Hire.
Don’t hire.

No context.
No development blueprint.
No 90-day correction strategy.

So founders roll the dice anyway.

5. Need for Approval Is the Silent Revenue Killer

High Need for Approval reps accept:

“Let me think about it.”
“Circle back next quarter.”
“Send me info.”

They protect likability over revenue.

Most hiring tools don’t even flag it.

6. Athlete DNA Is Real

Some people are wired to compete.

Economic drive.
Pain tolerance.
Internal scoreboard that never shuts off.

You can feel it.
You can measure it.

And it matters more than charm.

7. One Deal Killer Overrides Everything

A rep can score 78/100 and still fail.

One fatal flaw under pressure destroys performance.

Resilience.
Money beliefs.
Emotional containment.

One deal killer > ten strengths.

8. Assessment Should Trigger Development

Prediction without coaching is useless.

The real power is knowing:

If we hire this person…
What must change in 90 days for them to win?

9. Most Teams Don’t Have a Talent Problem

They have a placement problem.

Your “underperformer” might be:

A strategist stuck in a closer role.
A hunter buried in account management.
A thinker measured on speed.

Move the seat. Not the person.

10. The Future of Sales Hiring Is Prediction

“Trust your gut” is expensive.

Data + pattern recognition + feedback loops win.

Every hire should make your system smarter.

Here’s the Truth

After 12,000 assessments, I realized something uncomfortable:

Most founders aren’t bad at hiring.

They’re blind.

Blind to deal killers.
Blind to misalignment.
Blind to what actually predicts performance.

So we’re building something that fixes that.

It’s not public yet.

But it’s coming.

And when it launches, hiring in sales won’t be guesswork anymore.

If this hit, reply and tell me:

What’s the most expensive sales hire you’ve made?

Let’s have the real conversation.

— Kayvon