Stop Hiring for "Salesforce Experience"

The Problem

"3+ years Salesforce experience required."

I see this in almost every sales job description. And it's nonsense.

What You're Really Saying

When you require Salesforce experience, you're saying:

• We can't train people on our tools
• We're lazy in our hiring criteria
• We value credentials over capability

What Actually Predicts Success

After hiring 200+ salespeople, here's what actually matters:

1. Coachability - Can they take feedback and improve?
2. Work ethic - Will they do the activity?
3. Curiosity - Do they actually care about understanding customers?
4. Resilience - Can they handle rejection?

Notice "knows how to log activities in Salesforce" isn't on the list.

The Data

In my last org, our top 5 performers included:

• A former chef
• A teacher
• Someone who'd never used a CRM before

Our worst performers? All had "5+ years Salesforce experience."

The Fix

Hire for traits. Train for skills.