Ep 43: How to Hire Great SDRs Using MAGIC: The Scorecard for Spotting Raw Talent

Timestamps:

02:35  Don’t Hire for Familiarity – Hire for Possibility

09:35 M is for Multiplier – Look for People Who Make Others Better

10:28 A is for AI-Ready – They Must Be Tech Curious and Tool Fluent

11:52 G is for Growth Mindset – Hire for Change, Not Comfort

14:02 Your Past Biases Will Burn You – Start With a Clean Slate

15:59 Look for the Pacesetter – One Hire Can Uplift the Whole Team

16:16  Don’t Just Ask MAGIC – Be MAGIC

17:37 Ask Better Questions – Interviews Are Discovery, Not Validation

17:40 Don’t Rely on Memory – Record Interviews and Track Curiosity

18:52  I is for Innovator – They Go Beyond the Job Description

20:50 C is for Courageous Communicator – They Say What Others Won’t

About Josh English:

Josh English is a Leader of Business Development Teams.  He led a large team of managers and SDRs at Salesforce and then ran Sales Development for APAC at Procore. He shares his Magic Formula for hiring great SDRs without prior sales experience.

When Josh English called me out of the blue, I knew straight away this wasn’t your average sales leader. It wasn’t just the research he’d done, the pitch-perfect voicemail, or the fact he’d already watched the podcast. It was the courage to reach out, the clarity in his ask, and the curiosity in his tone. He was clearly prospecting ready.

What followed was a conversation that left me energised—and wanting to hand every sales leader a practical checklist.

So here it is: the MAGIC scorecard. A simple acronym and structured approach to interview and identify high-potential Sales Development Reps—even if they’ve never sold a day in their life.

Because let’s be honest. The perfect rep on paper is often mediocre in person. Experience is overrated. Hunger, humility, and horsepower? That’s the gold.

Let’s unpack this scorecard. Use it like a coach’s clipboard. Each letter matters. Each quality is measurable. And each one shows up in the story.

1. M is for Multiplier – Look for People Who Make Others Better

• They bring something different to the team
• They raise the baseline, not just hit it
• They show up with energy that shifts the room

I’ve hired a comedian, a co-pilot, a teacher, and a retail store manager. Not one had traditional SDR experience. But every single one brought something the team didn’t have. And it multiplied our output.

The pilot? Insanely calm under pressure. The comedian? Best in class at handling objections.

A Multiplier doesn’t just do the job. They elevate everyone else while doing it. That’s your first checkbox.

2. A is for AI-Ready – They Must Be Tech Curious and Tool Fluent

• They’ve played with AI tools in daily life
• They can explain how they’ve used new tech to save time
• They don't glaze over when you say "workflow automation"

This generation grew up with iPads. But don’t assume they’re tech-savvy just because they have a smartphone.

Ask them: "Tell me what Apple Intelligence is and how you’ve used it." If they fumble or look blank, that’s data.

An AI-ready rep can bounce across 20 tabs, use tools creatively, and solve for friction. SDR tech stacks aren’t simple anymore. The job has changed—and your hires need to have changed with it.

3. G is for Growth Mindset – Hire for Change, Not Comfort

• They’ve changed their mind after hearing someone out
• They’ve done something hard that forced them to adapt
• They take feedback like it’s fuel, not fire

Want to know how I find out if someone has a growth mindset? I ask: "Tell me about a time someone changed your perspective."

You’ll hear gold. Or you’ll hear fluff. But either way, you’ll know.

Josh nailed it: Most people didn’t grow up knowing what SaaS sales was. We didn’t have that blueprint. We figured it out by trying, failing, listening, and trying again. The reps who succeed now? They do the same.

4. I is for Innovator – They Go Beyond the Job Description

• They’ve improved something that wasn’t broken
• They’ve influenced change, not just executed orders
• They’ve created value where none existed before

Ask: "What did you do that wasn’t in your job description—but helped your team?"

I once worked in ops and ended up refining our ERP workflow. No one asked me to. I just saw the inefficiency and couldn’t help myself.

That same pattern showed up in retail managers I hired. They didn’t just hit sales targets—they fixed systems, mentored juniors, redesigned store layouts. They created momentum, not maintenance.

5. C is for Courageous Communicator – They Say What Others Won’t

• They challenge the status quo respectfully but firmly
• They speak up when silence is easier
• They advocate for better, even if it's uncomfortable

Sales is change management. That means speaking up, asking tough questions, and pushing back when something doesn’t make sense.

Josh brought up Ned Brockman—the guy who ran across Australia. He said what others wouldn’t. He did what others wouldn’t.

I don’t need an SDR who blends in. I want the one who’ll say, “Why are we doing it this way?” and offer an alternative.

6. Don’t Hire for Familiarity – Hire for Possibility

• Referrals create bias loops
• Familiarity makes us lazy
• Sameness kills innovation

You’ve seen it. The candidate looks like someone who succeeded before. So you go with the safe bet.

Except now you’ve got a team of clones. Same background. Same network. Same blind spots.

Josh said it best: “What’s the likelihood someone at 16 picked the perfect degree, had the perfect mentors, and found sales as their calling?” It’s near zero.

So look beyond sameness. Look for the signal.

7. Your Past Biases Will Burn You – Start With a Clean Slate

• You can’t predict performance from a resume alone
• Gut feel is a liar if you don’t back it with data
• Biases formed early will filter out your future star

Josh shared how early in his career, women in sales were failing in his team. It would’ve been easy to create a false narrative—“female SDRs don’t work.”

But he asked different questions. He stayed open. That’s how you learn. That’s how you grow. And that’s how you find talent that others miss.

8. Ask Better Questions – Interviews Are Discovery, Not Validation

• Design open-ended questions anyone can answer
• Stop assuming people know the jargon
• Get them talking about real life, not ideal answers

As a recruiter, I hear this all the time: “They just didn’t have it.”

So I ask: “What did you ask them?”

And it turns out… not much. Maybe a few half-hearted questions about KPIs or objection handling. But no real discovery.

If you’re serious about hiring potential, your interview should be a gold mine of insight—not a checkbox exercise.

9. Look for the Pacesetter – One Hire Can Uplift the Whole Team

• They bring new energy to stale teams
• They raise the bar through action, not talk
• They model what great looks like—without being asked

Great hires are rarely just about hitting target. They’re about lifting the average.

Josh called it being a “pacesetter.” That’s the rep who makes others want to step up. Not by preaching. Just by doing the work.

If your team’s flatlining, don’t just plug the gap. Raise the tempo.

10. Don’t Rely on Memory – Record Interviews and Track Curiosity

• Capture every question they ask you
• Look for patterns of curiosity and depth
• Build a library of proof, not just vibes

Josh’s suggestion? Record your interviews. Not for compliance. For clarity.

You want to know if someone’s curious? Check how many real questions they asked over three interviews. That’s your indicator of discovery mindset.

If they’re not curious about you, your company, your product—they won’t be curious with your prospects either.

11. Don’t Just Ask MAGIC – Be MAGIC

• Check if YOU are being a Multiplier as a leader
• Are YOU AI-Ready? Learning? Innovating? Speaking up?
• The best hires mirror the best managers

It’s not enough to use the acronym. You’ve got to live it.

Ask yourself the hard questions. Are you just hiring on autopilot? Are you stuck in your own comfort zone?

Every great hire starts with a great conversation. And every great conversation starts with a leader who listens, challenges, and sees what others don’t.

Summary

Hiring SDRs with no prior experience isn’t risky—it’s smart, if you know what to look for. The MAGIC scorecard gives you a human lens with tactical focus. You’re not just evaluating resumes—you’re assessing mindset, curiosity, and impact.

The talent is out there. The only question is: will you spot it before your competitor does?

Hiring or replacing someone in the next 90 days?

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