Reference Check Script for Sales Hires

Before you call

• Request 3 references: a former manager (for quota data), a peer (for the unfiltered truth), and ideally a cross-functional partner (CS, marketing, ops).
• Have the candidate's stated numbers in front of you so you can cross-check claims live.

Opening (say this verbatim)

"Hi [Name], thanks for making time. I'm [Your Name], [Title] at [Company]. [Candidate] gave your name as a reference for a [Role] we're hiring for. This'll take about 15 minutes, and everything you tell me stays between us — I won't share specifics back with [Candidate]. Is now still good?"

Section 1 — Context (establishes how much weight to give their answers)

1. "How did you work with [Candidate] — were you their manager, a peer, or did you work cross-functionally with them?"
2. "How long did you work together, and what was your team's setup — quota, territory, product?"
3. "What was the environment like at the time — hypergrowth, turnaround, steady-state?"

Section 2 — Quantitative performance (numbers, not adjectives)

1. "What was [Candidate]'s quota, and what did they attain in their last two full quarters/years with you?"
2. "Where did they rank on the team — top, middle, or bottom third? Out of how many reps?"
3. "How does that compare to where you'd expect a [Role] to land at this stage of their career?"
4. "Was their performance consistent quarter over quarter, or did it swing? What drove the swings?"

Section 3 — Behavioral specifics (force concrete stories)

1. "Tell me about the best deal you saw [Candidate] run — what made it good?"
2. "Tell me about a deal or quarter that didn't go well. What happened, and what did they do about it?"
3. "Give me a specific example of [Candidate] handling a tough objection or a stalled deal."
4. "What's one skill [Candidate] was clearly still developing while working with you?"

Section 4 — Coachability & feedback response (the highest-leverage section)

1. "Think of a specific time you gave [Candidate] direct, critical feedback. What was it, and what did they do in the two weeks after?"
2. "Did they ever push back on feedback? Walk me through that."
3. "How much coaching did they need compared to reps who were more self-sufficient?"

Section 5 — Team & culture fit

1. "How did [Candidate] show up in team settings — pipeline reviews, team meetings, peer coaching?"
2. "Was there ever friction between [Candidate] and other reps or departments? What caused it?"

Section 6 — The closer (highest-signal question on the whole call)

1. "If you had a role open today, would you hire [Candidate] again — no hesitation?"

Listen for hesitation, qualifiers ("depends on the role"), or a pause before "yes." A genuine advocate answers instantly and specifically.

1. "Is there anything I haven't asked that I should know before we make a decision?"

Reading hesitation and red flags

• A pause longer than 2–3 seconds before answering the rehire question.
• Generic praise with zero specifics ("great guy, hard worker") and nothing else offered.
• "They were fine" / "no real issues" delivered flatly, without energy.
• Won't answer the ranking question directly.

Probe with: "I want to make sure I understand — was there something specific that gives you pause?"

Post-call scoring rubric