Podcast Summary: Revenue Builders

Episode: Recruiting and the Art of the Interview with Frederik Maris
Date: April 13, 2025
Hosts: John McMahon and John Kaplan
Guest: Frederik Maris (CRO, ATAS Software)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the art and science of recruiting top-performing enterprise salespeople. Frederik Maris, CRO of ATAS Software, shares his frameworks and favorite interview tactics for identifying elite sales talent. The conversation explores qualities that separate great reps from the rest, practical techniques for assessing emotional intelligence (EQ), and actionable interview questions to use. Throughout, Maris emphasizes the importance of both systematic approaches and gut instinct in hiring.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What Makes a Great Enterprise Sales Rep

Frederik's core philosophy centers around the "ICE" criteria: Intelligence, Character, Coachability, and Experience.

• ICE Criteria Defined ([00:49])

  • Intelligence – Mental quickness, ability to learn fast.
  • Character – Competitive drive, resilience, teamwork, positivity, integrity, and curiosity.
  • Coachability – Willingness and openness to change or accept feedback.
  • Experience – Industry fit, relevant experience, but always weighted behind the first three.

• Notable Quote:

  "I'm always looking for people that want to find a way to get things done, that want to win and that are not going to give up... They have to be very competitive, but they have to be team players as well."
  — Frederik Maris ([02:59])

• On Experience:

  "I usually take people that are very high intelligence, character and then coachability as well over the experience because those people are going to grow quickly. Experience is only a matter of, could be days, could be weeks, could be months. All the other stuff, and especially the first two you have or you don't have."
  — Frederik Maris ([05:24])

2. Interview Tactics: What to Look For and How to Probe

• Candidate Self-Awareness and Initiative

  • Maris wants candidates who seek to understand what he, as an interviewer, is looking for:

    "If they don't ask those questions, then how in the hell are they going to go to a customer to understand what their issues are and what their criteria are...?"
    — Frederik Maris ([01:11])

  • This reveals sales acumen and curiosity—two key predictors of sales success.

• Using the Spin Selling Methodology in Recruiting

  • Maris links effective sales meetings and interviews:

    • Preliminaries: Building warmth, setting the agenda.
    • Questioning: Uncovering needs, situations, implications.
    • Value Proposition: Matching candidate qualifications to hiring criteria.
    • Disqualification: Allowing candidates to decide if they fit, preventing mismatched hires.

  • Quote:

    "In the third, that's where you prove your value... If my criteria are way out and they're not interested in those criteria, then at least they can disqualify that very quickly. Because for them to join a wrong company is not good either."
    — Frederik Maris ([02:11])

3. Assessing Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in Candidates

• Observation Is Critical

  • Maris relies on behavioral cues and rapport-building during interviews:

    "Some people are just, they're cold, they're... difficult to have a conversation with... You can feel pretty clearly... that triangulation with gut feel is super important as well because we are still human beings, right?"
    — Frederik Maris ([06:26])

  • Early interactions, even with support staff, are noted as EQ indicators: Does the candidate build quick rapport with everyone?

• Validating with References

  • Maris emphasizes going beyond the references provided:

    "But checking with people that you know, that know them or somehow... you trust to really tell you how they are and, and what the good things are and what the bad things are, because everybody has those things, right? That's just incredibly important."
    — Frederik Maris ([07:23])

4. Favorite Interview Question: Testing Self-Awareness

([07:54])

• Example Question: "How do you think you're doing in this interview?"

  • Used to gauge the candidate's self-awareness and perception, simulating a customer-facing reflection.

  • Demonstrates how candidates interpret real-time feedback and adjust accordingly—a vital sales skill.

  • Notable Quote:

    "It tells me a lot about how they feel that situation's going... The way in which they lay it out to me about how they think they're doing and how, how they think I'm reacting to it really is an amazing... question and response."
    — John Kaplan ([08:23])

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• Mission-Driven Mindset:

  • "I always say it's a bit naive but... I think we should also do something that's good for the world. We're not here to only drive in a nice car, to live in a fancy house. I think we've got a responsibility towards, you know, our children or whoever comes after us to try to leave this place in a better way than we found it."
    — Frederik Maris ([04:01])

• On Gut Feel in Hiring:

  • "That triangulation with gut feel is super important as well because we are still human beings, right?"
    — Frederik Maris ([06:37])

Notable Timestamps

• [00:49] — Frederik introduces ICE framework for hiring.
• [02:11] — Parallels between the sales process and the interview process.
• [04:01] — Frederik discusses character traits and a mission-driven outlook.
• [05:24] — Emphasizing intelligence and coachability over raw experience.
• [06:26] — How to observe and assess EQ in interviews.
• [07:54] — Favorite question for probing self-awareness.
• [08:23] — Reflections on interpreting candidate self-awareness.

Tangible Hiring Takeaways

• Use the ICE criteria to direct your interview strategy and candidate assessment.
• Model interview questions on the sales discovery process.
• Probe for self-awareness and EQ through direct questions and observation.
• Reference checks should be indirect & network-based for honesty.
• Prioritize team orientation, curiosity, and mindset above only experience.

This episode is an excellent resource for anyone hiring for sales roles or aiming to sharpen their interview process—full of practical approaches and real-world wisdom from leaders who’ve built top teams.