When it comes to hiring top-performing salespeople, most leaders start with résumés, references, or personality scores. But before any of that, there’s one trait that predicts whether a person will grow—or stall:
Mindset.
If you overlook this, you may end up hiring people who check every box—except the one that actually determines whether they’ll improve.
Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning, and feedback.
People with a growth mindset:
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Seek challenge
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Persist through difficulty
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See failure as feedback
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Welcome coaching
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Believe others can grow too
A fixed mindset, on the other hand, sees ability as fixed.
People with a fixed mindset:
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Avoid challenge
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Give up quickly
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View feedback as a threat
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Protect their ego
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Believe talent is innate
Mindset ≠ Intelligence
Here’s a key misunderstanding: Mindset and intelligence are not the same thing.
A candidate with a 140 IQ may still have a fragile mindset and resist growth. Meanwhile, a modestly intelligent candidate with grit and humility may grow into one of your top performers.
So don’t just hire the smartest person. Hire the most growth-oriented one—someone who has the personality traits to sell your product, handle your process, and learn through training.
What Growth Mindset Really Determines
When combined with the right personality fit and a solid onboarding process, growth mindset does three things:
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Helps reps learn faster and more effectively
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Reduces coaching fatigue by improving responsiveness
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Builds a culture of resilience and progress
This is especially critical in entry-level or early-career sales roles, where teachability is more valuable than experience.
Final Takeaway
Before you dig into resume or interviews, ask yourself:
Does this candidate believe they can grow—and are they willing to prove it?
In our next post, we’ll show you how to measure growth mindset using CTS Profile traits and conscientiousness-based interview questions—so you’re not guessing, you’re predicting with greater certainty.
Until then, remember: coachability is king.