There is a misconception floating around the market that I hear constantly. And honestly, it is amateur thinking in today's world.

"People do business with people they like."

It sounds right. It feels intuitive. And it is costing companies good hires.

The real reason people buy

People do not do business with people they like. Not primarily anyway.

People do business with products and services they like. Products that work. Services that solve a real problem. The salesperson is the conduit, not the product itself.

Think about it this way. If a business has been using Company A's product for two years and it is working well, they are not going to switch to Company B just because the salesperson they liked moved there. The buyer is not following the rep. They are staying with the solution that works.

The relationship was never the asset. The product was.

Where this misconception costs companies money

The place this thinking does the most damage is in the hiring process.

I see it constantly. A hiring manager gets excited because a candidate has an immediate network they can supposedly bring over. The logic goes something like this: this person is likeable, their contacts will follow them, and we will inherit a book of business overnight.

It rarely works that way.

Because when that salesperson moves companies, their previous clients are not moving with them. They are staying with the product they trust. They are staying with the service that works. The new company gets the salesperson but not the relationships they were hired to bring.

That is a big gamble built on a flawed premise.

What to look for instead

When you are hiring salespeople, stop chasing rolodexes.

The profile that wins long term is not the person with the biggest existing network. It is the person who can build from scratch. The hunter who can pick up the phone, open doors that do not exist yet and develop genuine relationships with people who have never heard of your company.

Here is what actually matters when assessing a sales hire:

• Can they hunt for new business from zero? The best salespeople do not rely on who they already know. They are comfortable going into cold territory and building something from nothing. That skill does not depend on which company they are at or what industry they have come from.
• Can they build relationships quickly? Speed of trust is a real competitive advantage in sales. The ability to walk into a first conversation and make someone feel heard, understood and valued is far more valuable than a list of existing contacts.
• Can they run an exceptional discovery call? This is where great salespeople separate themselves. Not in the pitch. In the questions. The ability to uncover real pain, understand what a client actually needs and connect that to a solution is the craft of selling. It is what closes deals consistently over time.
• Can they close? All of the above means nothing without the ability to ask for the business, handle objections and see a deal through to the end.

The bottom line

Likeable is a bonus. A hunter is a necessity.

When you build your hiring process around someone's existing network, you are hiring for the past. When you build it around someone's ability to sell, you are hiring for the future.

The salespeople who thrive regardless of company, product or market conditions are the ones who know how to create opportunity from nothing. That is the profile worth finding. That is the hire worth making.

If you are building a sales team and want to find people built for the long game, that is exactly what we do at Athlete2Business.

Get in touch at athlete2business.com or DM us directly.