The four behaviours we hire for.
Curiosity, coachability, communication and grit. Every candidate we send you has been read against all four, plus the skills the role needs, by a sales expert. Published in full, free to read.
The four that predict.
The behaviours that show up in every high performer we have placed. A CV cannot show you any of them. A spoken assessment can.
The behaviours are universal. The skills are not.
An SDR is not an AE is not a sales leader. On top of the four behaviours, we read the specific skills that matter for the role you are hiring.
For SDRs / BDRs.
- Outbound cadence
- Cold-call presence
- Discovery questioning
- CRM hygiene
- Objection handling
For Account Executives.
- Multi-threading
- Forecast accuracy
- Commercial framing
- MEDDIC / qualification
- Stakeholder mapping
For Sales Leaders.
- Pipeline coaching
- Forecast rigour
- Hiring & ramping
- Operating cadence
- Cross-functional alignment
How we hire with it.
The four behaviours are the spine. This is the system around them: how the brief sets the bar, how the candidate is assessed, and what lands with the shortlist.
The brief.
An hour with a sales person to scope the role and what good looks like. It sets the archetype and the skills every candidate is read against.
Archetypes.
Every role maps to one of a small set of sales archetypes: Hunter, Closer, Builder, Steward. The archetype sets the bar before anyone is assessed.
One scenario per role.
A spoken role-play set inside a real company. The same scenario for every candidate on the role, so they compare side by side.
Prep before they start.
Every candidate gets the company brief before they begin. No traps, no revision. The assessment reads how they think, not what they memorised.
Out loud.
The candidate talks it through. Our AI runs the conversation and does the listening: it transcribes and finds the moments that matter, so nothing gets missed.
A sales expert reads it.
Each behaviour and skill is marked strong or some signal, with the quote that proves it. Nobody is put forward or turned down by a machine alone.
Where to dig.
The fit report says which skills the assessment did not surface, and gives you the probes for your own interview. Useful at hire, essential at coaching.
The candidate keeps it.
Every candidate gets a developmental read on how they sell, whether or not they land the role. Good people say yes to a process that treats them this way.
A CV tells you where someone has been. The methodology tells you whether they can sell, before you ever pay them to find out.
The methodology, answered.
What is the meritt methodology?
A way to read whether someone can sell, built over twenty years in sales. Every candidate is read against four behaviours plus the specific skills the role needs, from one short spoken assessment, and every judgment has a quote behind it.
What are the four behaviours?
Curiosity, coachability, communication and grit. They show up in every high performer meritt has placed, and every candidate we send is read against them alongside the skills that matter for the role.
How does meritt assess salespeople?
Each candidate works a spoken scenario built for the role, the same one for everyone on that role. Our AI runs the conversation and does the listening. A sales expert reads it against the behaviours and the role skills and writes the fit report, so candidates compare side by side.
Does meritt give a score?
No number. Each behaviour and skill is marked as a strong or some signal, with the exact moment that proves it. The read is a development tool for the candidate as much as a hiring tool for you.
Does the methodology work for any sales role?
The four behaviours are universal. On top of them, meritt reads the specific skills the role needs, so an SDR, an AE and a CSM are each held to the right bar.
Do I need to use the methodology to hire with meritt?
It is built in. Every candidate on a meritt shortlist has been assessed against it before you meet them. You get the fit report with the shortlist; there is nothing to set up.
The methodology, in practice.
Field notes on the behaviours, the skills, and how to hire for them.
Stop Hiring Salespeople Who Know Your Product. Start Hiring Salespeople Who Can Sell..
How to Actually Assess SDR Skills.
The Interview Questions That Reveal SDR Coachability (And Why Experience Doesn't Always Matter).
Why Grit Will Get You Into Sales (Even Without Experience).
Intellectual Curiosity in Tech Sales Interviews: How to Stand Out.
Your Best Candidate Just Got Another Offer. Here Is What To Do Next..
Bring us the role.
Thirty minutes with a sales person. We scope the role, tell you which behaviours and skills matter most, and give you a straight answer on whether we can fill it.