Salespeople interview well. It is their job. That makes them one of the hardest groups to assess, because the skills that win the interview are not always the skills that win deals.
Here are ten red flags we look for when assessing SaaS sales candidates, and the question that tests each one.
1. Quota attainment with no quota
"I hit 140% last year" means nothing without the number underneath it. A 140% attainment against a small quota is a different story to 100% against a large one.
Ask: What was your quota in euro, what did you close, and how many reps on your team hit target?
The last part matters. If everyone on the team hit 150%, the quota was too low.
2. Deal sizes that move during the interview
A candidate who says their average deal was €40,000 in the first conversation and €70,000 in the second is either guessing or stretching.
Ask: Walk me through your three largest deals last year. Annual value, number of seats or licences, and who signed.
Specific deals are hard to invent on the spot.
3. "We" for the wins, "they" for the losses
Listen to the pronouns. Strong closers own their deals, good and bad. Candidates who say "we closed" on every win and "marketing didn't give us leads" on every miss tend to bring that habit with them.
Ask: Tell me about a deal you lost that you should have won. What would you do differently?
4. Short tenures with a story for each
One short stint is normal. Startups fold, roles change, managers leave. Three in a row, each with a reason that blames someone else, is a pattern.
Ask: If I called your manager from each of those roles, what would they say about why you left?
Then take the references.
5. No pipeline they built themselves
Some AEs have never generated a single opportunity. Inbound leads, an SDR team and a strong brand did the work. That is fine for a company with all three. It is a problem for a startup that has none of them.
Ask: What percentage of your closed revenue last year came from pipeline you sourced yourself?
6. A vague sales cycle
Good salespeople know their numbers: how long deals take, where they stall and why. A candidate who cannot describe their own sales cycle probably did not manage it.
Ask: From first meeting to signed contract, how long does a typical deal take, and what are the stages?
7. They can't explain what they sold
If a candidate cannot explain their current product simply, they will struggle to explain yours.
Ask: Explain what your current company sells as if I were a prospect. Then tell me why customers buy it over the competition.
8. Only talking about the product, never the customer
Strong sellers talk about their customers' problems. Weaker ones talk about features.
Ask: Who was your buyer, what was their biggest problem, and how did your product solve it?
9. No questions about your company
A candidate who asks nothing about your pipeline, your customers or how quota is set is either not interested or not experienced enough to know what matters.
The strongest candidates interview you back. They want to know if the quota is achievable, how many reps hit target, where leads come from and what the comp plan looks like in writing.
10. Pay expectations that don't match their history
A candidate earning €70,000 OTE asking for €140,000 OTE is either underpaid, overreaching or competing an offer. You need to know which.
Ask: What is your current base and OTE, what did you actually earn last year, and what would it take for you to move?
Compare the answers to the market. Our GTM Salary Benchmarks for Ireland 2026 gives OTE ranges for every GTM role from SDR to VP Sales.
How to use this list
No candidate is perfect. One red flag is a question to explore, not a reason to reject. Three or more is a pattern.
The best protection is a structured process:
Agree the success criteria before the first interview, so every candidate is measured against the same bar.
Ask every candidate the same core questions, so you are comparing like with like.
Score each interview straight after, before the next one changes your view.
Take references from former managers, not peers or friends.
Hiring your first salesperson? Read our guide to hiring your first salesperson in Ireland.
Hiring an Account Executive? We assess every candidate against the success criteria agreed at the brief before you meet them. Read more about our Account Executive recruitment, or book a discovery call.
The Recruiter is Ireland's specialist GTM and SaaS recruitment agency. We partner with VC-backed SaaS companies from Pre-Seed to Series C across Ireland and EMEA. Employment Agency Licence EA 4551.
