On a recent episode of The Sales Hunter Podcast, Mark was joined by Alice Heiman, a renowned advisor to CEOs and a thought leader in B2B sales, especially within the tech sector. With a front-row seat in the C-suite, Alice brought fresh perspective on why the sales hiring process is failing so many organizations—and what leaders can do to fix it.
Why Sales Hiring Is Broken
The landscape of selling has changed dramatically. Yet, many companies are still hiring and enabling sales teams the way they did in the 1980s and 1990s. As Alice put it, “The customer journey has changed. And the type of person that your customer wants to interact with is a different type… but we’re still hiring the same type of sellers.”
This misalignment between how buyers want to engage today and who companies hire to sell to them is causing friction, high turnover, and stagnant growth.
Start With the Customer’s Journey
Too many organizations build their hiring profile first—then try to force sellers into buyer interactions that no longer work. The right approach is to begin with the customer’s journey. Who are your modern buyers? Where do they find information? What kind of expertise do they value?
Alice challenged leaders: “Who should I hire that my customers would actually want to talk to, that could have the level of conversation with any of those buyer personas that is needed to get them into a great conversation and help guide them through to a purchase?”
The “Peer-to-Peer” Gap
Many CEOs worry experienced salespeople will cost too much. But five highly experienced, well-connected sellers will outperform fifteen entry-level reps every time. The right seller can relate to the buyer as a peer—the fastest track to building trust and closing deals.
Flooding the market with inexpensive, junior-level hires rarely leads to results. In the end, it boosts churn and increases the hidden cost of missed opportunities. In Alice’s words, “Every time a salesperson goes in and can’t have a decent conversation or every time they go in and lose a deal, that just hurt your company.”
Measure What Matters: Conversations, Not Activity
One problem stems from measuring what’s easy—how many calls, emails, or LinkedIn connections are made—rather than what actually drives results. Companies should track quality conversations with real decision-makers, not vanity metrics. “How many buyers who can buy from me got on the phone with a seller today? That conversation is the only thing you should be measuring.”
More volume does not equal more success when outreach is impersonal or irrelevant. As buyers raise the bar, so must sales teams.
The SDR/BDR/AE Model Needs a Rethink
The traditional sales structure of SDRs making cold calls and emails to set appointments for AEs is falling short. Too many entry-level reps “cannot even book one meeting a day anymore. We’re lucky if they can book one meeting a week.” With the rise of AI, automation is speeding up bad outreach—not making it better.
Instead, companies need to shift from volume to value, prioritizing smarter, customer-centric interactions over mass outreach.
Leverage Introductions for Warm Paths
Internal data often shows that great salespeople rarely go in cold—they use their networks. Unfortunately, most companies aren’t tapping their existing customers and advocates for introductions. This is a huge missed opportunity.
Alice emphasized, “We have all those people who know us and love us who could absolutely make an introduction to one of their own customers, one of their own vendors, one of their partners, another company that they know.” Tapping into these networks builds credibility and increases the likelihood of meaningful conversations.
Senior Sellers Mean Stronger Results
Experienced sales professionals know how to leverage relationships and networks to open doors. They understand the nuances of their industry and work as peers with decision-makers. That’s why they consistently outperform, even when market conditions get tough.
The Bottom Line: Match Your Sellers to Your Buyers
Great selling today isn’t just about hustle or activity metrics. It’s about aligning your sales talent to the customer journey—and hiring people your buyers actually want to talk to. Start with understanding who your buyer is, and build your team with that profile in mind. Fewer, higher-quality sellers far outperform larger teams of entry-level reps.
Sales hiring isn’t a numbers game anymore. It’s a people game—focused on experience, relationships, and genuine conversations that move deals forward.
If you want to learn more from Alice Heiman, she’s available at aliceheiman.com, or on LinkedIn. As Mark reminds listeners every week, “You do not close a sale. You open a relationship.”
